German Game Authors Revisited #24 - Reinhold Wittig

By Joe Huber
January 10, 2006

Editor’s Note: This article is a continuation of a series that was originally posted on rec.games.board in 2004.  We’re happy to be hosting Joe’s newest additions to the series.

Foreword:
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This is the twenty-fourth in a series of twenty-four articles I have written about “German Game” authors.  I wrote them for the fun of it; I claim no particular expertise on board games, nor am I a collector of board games.  I just happen to play them and occasionally write about the experience.  I would welcome any constructive feedback. 

Disclaimer:
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This article represents my own opinions only.  Some opinions are based on only a single play; some of the information presented is based on nothing more than hearsay.  I will always try to note such instances, but I would always recommend playing a game before buying it (or deciding not to buy it, for that matter).

Copyright 2005, Joseph M. Huber
Updated December 28th, 2005.

Authors:
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Reinhold Wittig

Games Covered:
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Auf Fotosafari in Ombagassa (Edition Perlhuhn)
Baubylon (Fagus / Clemens Gerhards / Das Spiel)
Corda (franckh)
Cubus (franckh)
Das Spiel (franckh / Abacus)
Dino (Hexagames)
Hotu Matua (Edition Perlhuhn / franckh)
Maritim (Edition Perlhuhn / franckh / Blatz)
Mary Dowser (Edition Perlhuhn)
Nacht des Sterne (Kosmos)
Piratenbillard (Abacus)
Quanta Costa (Edition Perlhuhn)
Strudel (Edition Perlhuhn)
Tolstoi (Edition Perlhuhn)
Wabanti (franckh)
Wolf in Schafspelz (Edition Perlhuhn)

(Note: It’s a reasonable guess that most of these games were released by Wittig from Edition Perlhuhn at one time; I’ve only included Edition Perlhuhn as a publisher for those I know were released that way.)

I might as well be up front about this - this article will not do justice to Reinhold Wittig, and the impact he’s had on the German gaming scene.  Whereas with many designers I’ve played 50% or more of their games, I’ve barely scratched the surface of Wittig’s designs.  I’m writing this more because I realize that I should than because I’m close to ready to do so.

Reinhold Wittig is one of the most prolific game authors - or, perhaps more appropriately, game artists.  Wittig’s games are intended as art, as it shows.  Edition Perlhuhn games aren’t always good - Wittig’s designed some of the less playable games around - but they’re always beautiful.  Which, when a game works, can make it spectacular.

Mary Dowser isn’t the first of Wittig’s games I played, but it is a classic example of a Wittig design.  The game has a critical central theme - dowsing for water - and the components (a dowsing rod and magnets to attract them) help to sell the theme.  Beyond that, the mechanics are fairly pedestrian - simple auctions, in the case of Mary Dowser - and often leave as many questions as the rules answer.  I enjoy Mary Dowser quite a bit - the theme sells the game for me - but I seem to value it more than most others.  Auf Fotosafari in Ombagassa has more devotees - it’s a simpler game, though with a fascinating puzzle aspect - and is therefore a better introduction to Wittig - save for the problem that’s it’s nigh impossible to get a copy, being long out of print and with limited publication.  Another of Wittig’s I’ve played that’s only available in an Edition Perlhuhn edition is Tolstoi, an interesting game not disimilar to the old Atari 2600 game Surround, but adding some odd random elements to the mix.  I’m very tempted to tweak the game - eliminating the random lose-a-turn cards, for a start - but the central idea behind the game is quite interesting and works just fine.

Having had reasonable luck with the Edition Perlhuhn tubes, I’ve recently been giving tries to more of them.  Quanta Costa uses checkout lines as its central theme, and worked rather well on my first play.  Strudel also provided a very satisfactory first play, in spite of its abstractness; it’s an interesting take on Parcheesi, where instead of trying to get pieces home you’re desperately trying to avoid it.  My favorite find, however, is Wolf in Schafspelz, a simple two player deduction game wherein one player hides the wolf in sheep’s clothing, and the other tries to find it.  This works well enough, but my copy came with a second wolf - and hiding a second wolf made for a _very_ interesting challenge.

For quite some time Wittig and Edition Perlhuhn had an agreement going with franckh (now Kosmos), leading to larger printings of some of Wittig’s better games, with the quality fully maintained.  Corda isn’t much of a game - it’s essentially a multi-player puzzle, without enough meaningful options as to really work.  Cubus, utilizing the same sized box and tiles, works much better as a puzzle game; here, player build boxes.  It’s a game relying heavily upon visualization skills, and odd choice to strike well with me, but it does; it’s not a favorite, but I do enjoy it.  Hotu Matua is a two player race game, with too great an ability to slow down your opponent to really work, IMHO.  Maritim was for a long time my favorite of Wittig’s games; while the floating lighthouses never quite made sense (and still don’t, for that matter), but it doesn’t feel as abstract as many of Wittig’s games, and the theme (sailboat racing, while trying to stick to lighted paths) works for me.  Wabanti is a pure abstract with the typical beautiful pieces, but it didn’t seem to work for us, as it always ended too quickly.  Nacht der Sterne is a more recent Kosmos offering, and one that very quickly hit the bargain piles; it’s not a bad timing game, but there are better choices around.

The most famous of Wittig’s franckh offerings, and in fact the game he’s best known for, is Das Spiel.  Das Spiel is a completely abstract family of games, consisting of nothing more so than a plethora of dice in multiple colors and a base on which to build the dice into a pyramid (or tear down a pyramid, or play everything from speed to dexterity to strategy to wargames of many varieties).  My introduction to the game is with the Abacus edition, but using the franckh ruleset, and I quite enjoy a number of games in the set.  Now, none are favorites - without even a hint of a theme that was unlikely - but there are a number of very enjoyable games included, and I’d strongly recommend the collection to anyone who enjoys abstracts.

I’ve only played three other games from Wittig, with mixed success.  Baubylon is an interesting take on king-of-the-hill using dice for movement and nice wooden blocks to build the hill.  Dino feels under-produced for a Wittig game, and was rather unmemorable. Piratenbilliard is a decent little dexterity game, but not as compelling for me as Spinball or Crokinole.

Recommending Wittig’s games must be accompanied by a caveat - even the best themed of them is at its heart an abstract, and this is far more apparent in general than for most authors.  Having said that, everyone should play a few of the better games from Das Spiel, as they are classics within the German game genre.  And I must recommend Auf Fotosafari in Ombagassa, Maritim, and Wolf in Schafspelz - with the understanding that by their nature they will flop entirely with many players.  I have had sufficiently good success with Edition Perlhuhn games that I am selectively adding to my collection; they are quite different from other games around, in a way that works for me.

Wittig games I own, and always expect to: Auf Fotosafari in Ombagassa, Das Spiel, Maritim, Mary Dowser, Wolf in Schafspelz

Other Wittig games I own: Baubylon, Cubus, Quanta Costa, Strudel, Tolstoi

Other Wittig games I might play: Nacht des Sterne, Piratenbillard.

Notes:
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This article may be reproduced in whole either mechanically or electronically provided the copyright notice is included and I am notified of the use before publication.

© 2006 Rick Thornquist

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Comments:

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Great to see you continuing the series, Joe.  I hope there will be more installments! Posted by Larry Levy on Jan 10, 2006 at 10:02 PM | #

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