Do you know who was the original board game designer?

"If our name is not on the box lid, we will not design games for publishers!"

The picture above was signed by the protagonist of our article today and 13 other designers at the Nuremberg Toy Fair on February 4, 1988. They made a decision that day: drink this glass of beer, speak out boldly as a real game designer, and say the words that changed the fate of the designer. The protagonist is Alexander Randolph.

- Alexander Randolph -

He was born in 1922. Before him, the profession of "board game designer" never officially existed. Only the publishing house information can be found on the board game box, without the name of the designer. At that time, Randolph published the twixt game through the publishing house, but because he did not have signature on it, he did not have the copyright of twixt. Later, a fire destroyed all his works. After experiencing endless grief, Randolph decided to regain his position as a game designer, but he didn't expect that the twixt he designed did not belong to him. After he had to buy back the rights, he decided to stand up for the rights of the designers. After him, more and more designers' names began to appear on board game boxes.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of his birth, and the Toy Museum in Nuremberg has specially organized a year-long themed exhibition for him. Check Here. There are more than 160 table games invented by Randolph in his lifetime, 104 of which are completely different mechanisms, and more than 60 use the same mechanism, but have different story backgrounds and illustrations.

People respect Randolph, in addition to the changes he brought to the industry and his lifelong dedication to game invention, it may be that he has devoted a lot of his thinking to "games" and "playing". 

Tempo, kleine Schnecke! was published by Ravensburger in 1985 and remains one of Ravensburger's flagship board games to this day. Two colored dice, six colored snails. This is the first children's board game designed by Randolph. The original intention of designing this game is to let children learn the rules and do things according to the rules. For example, when the dice shows red, you can't move the blue snail . In this game, 6 snails do not belong to any one player. The player whose turn it is to throw two dice moves the snail one step forward according to the color of the dice. When a snail reaches the end first, the player who moves the snail to the end at this moment is the winner. When the last snail reaches the end, the player who moves this snail to the end at this moment is the second winner. This rule is a bit different from our perception of this type of board game.

But Randolph wants to tell children and adults through this game: "Every rule is a restriction." As social animals, we human beings explore what we can reach in the countless social rules and restrictions. Height and breadth, become the "winner" of one's own life.

In the industry, he is respected by many people as "Alt Meister"; outside the industry, he is regarded as the "game inventor" and "philosopher". Perhaps it is the latter identity that has allowed him to get more attention from outside the circle, thus promoting the faster development of the German board game industry. This "game inventor" was born in Bohemia, went to the United States when he was a teenager, and finally settled in Venice. He once lived in Japan, experienced world wars, knew multiple languages ​​such as German, English, French, and Italian, and was curious about unknown cultures. ——What would the board game industry be like without him?

If you love board games and value this cultural asset, come to QIDIAN Studio to experience the charm of board games with us and spread the word, so that more people will fall in love with board games! Board games are always not just a tool for entertainment, and it is also a tool for others to think about!