Andrea “Liga” Ligabue: Cosa Bolle in Pentola ? #18 - Marco Donadoni

Hi Gamers

here we are at interview #18. This time I’m gone to catch Marco Donadoni, really a famous designer in Italy since most of the Italian’s gamers between 30 and 50 are grown up playing his wargames published by International Team. Zargo’s Lord, together with Idro, was the first 2 games I bought using my own moneys. Marco is still someway involved in games industry so I think it could be good to go and interview him!

[Liga] Hi Marco. Is for me really a great honor to interview you. So, please, give us a shot introduction about yourself

[Marco] I’m Alberto Donadoni.  I’m born in Milan the 8.11.1951, Apparently healthy of mind and body, until eight years I grow as all my contemporaries with toys and games you play in the first and second infancy.  To expiring of the ninth year I have discovered with joy the possibility to structure the games I play with military models using rules to define movements (number of floor tiles of the pavement) and shooting (launch a number of small glass spheres).  My first wargame and also my first rules set was born and repeatedly modified in function of the victorious actions of the game companions:  to every game lost I was changing the rules to my advantage until obtaining a) rules much complicated and b) solo version because nobody wants anymore to play with me.  From then my passion for the rules has continued uninterrupted until today: more than 200 titles published in more than 9 countries (Japan too!).

My more famous games are Zargo’ s Lord - a fantasy wargame - from “the trilogy of Tchai” (Jack Vance), VII Legio, a boardgame close to RGP, Roma and Leonardo.  Games for several publishers including International Team, Editrice Giochi and Ricordi.  Recently daVinci has published Tuchulcha, a game about the Etruscan demon of the perdition and the massacre.  The game is based on a mechanism of personality exchange that allows one of the players to assume the demon in himself (indicated by levels of dice, obviously) and to try to destroy the maximum number of opposing pawns.  It could appear not too much educational but without doubt really calming. 

[Liga] A long story. And now, Cosa Bolle in Pentola ?

[Marco] Currently my activity is all concentrated in the business formation and development of the human resources (with the acronym MAD whose meant, beyond obvious “the crazy one”, Marco A. Donadoni) in collaboration with various societies of advising applying, with objective above all of strategic vision, team building, taken of decision and innovation.  In this I have contributed to create and distribute many editions and classrooms with titles variously esoteric like Kammamuri 45, Skandinsky Platz, Samarcanda, Drakkar and numerous others. 

[Liga] Projects for the future ?

[Marco] For the future I have not much in classic publishing, some books and much search also in the multimedia, whose outcome, for definition, is unforeseeable. 

[Liga] And finally, the 10 games you like to play most

[Marco] My preferred games:  some classic games like chess, backgammon, poker and card game called “briscola”; some board games:  Battle Cry, Cathedral, several simulations of cashes and battles with dolls and toys, D&D in homemade version (little rules and much fantasy), Bang.  But I’m not ad attached to the green table ...  I prefer to plan and see to play the others rather than to attempt directly.

[Liga] Thank you very much Marco. See you at ModCon!

Next week Lorenzo Marchetto e Fabio “Jacknife” Paulotto (ManorHouse Workshop)

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