 | |
| Designers | Michael Palm, Lukas Zach |
|---|---|
| Publishers | Pegasus Spiele [de] |
| Publication | November 2022 |
| Genres | Cooperative board game |
| Players | 1–6 |
| Playing time | 30–60 minutes |
| Age range | 8+ |
| Website | pegasusna |
Dorfromantik:The Board Game (German:Dorfromantik: Das Brettspiel)[a] is a 2022board game by Lukas Zach and Michael Palm based on the 2022video game of the same name. The game was published by the German companyPegasus Spiele [de]. Dorfromantik is acooperative board game in which players lay hexagonaltiles to create a rural landscape and follow tasks to gain points.Dorfromantik also has acampaign mode, and players open boxes as they play games to continually increase their scores. It has won several awards, including the 2023Spiel des Jahres German board game award.
As of April 2025[update], two mini-expansions forDorfromantik have been released,The Great Mill andTheWetterau. In addition, two subsequent games have been launched:Dorfromantik: The Duel andDorfromantik:Sakura.
The video gameDorfromantik was developed in Berlin by Toukana Interactive.[2] Toukana is a Germanindie game studio which was founded in 2020 as part of amaster's degree program at theBerlin University of Applied Sciences.[3][2] The video game version ofDorfromantik was inspired by board games, and designed to look like one.[2][4] The firstprototype of the video game was released in April 2020 during thegame jamLudum Dare 46, and released into early access in March 2021.[5][6] The game was released in full on 28 April 2022, and has since sold around 1.5 million copies.[5][7]Dorfromantik: The Board Game is based on and named after this video game.[4]
In the early 2000s, Lukas Zach and Michael Palm published their first game together,Die Kutschfahrt zur Teufelsburg.[8][9] They have been working at the board game studio Pegasus Spiele since at least 2012.[10][11][12]
When the video gameDorfromantik won theDeutsche Computerspielepreis[b] in 2021, Zach's studio was nominated as well.[13][2] This drew Zach's attention to the video game, as it was similar to a hex-placing board game that he and Palm had been working on for several years.[2] They soon started communication with Toukana to begin collaboration on a board game version ofDorfromantik, agreeing on a licensed cooperation.[2][14] After much playtesting the two teams first met at Essen SPIEL.[2]
Dorfromantik: Das Brettspiel, the German version of the board game, was originally released in November 2022, with an English-language version of the game releasing in October 2023.[15][3]
Dorfromantik consists of a basic game and a campaign. In the basic game, players place hexagonal tiles (hexes) to create a landscape with wheat fields, forests, villages, meadows, railroads, and rivers while trying to complete tasks to gain points. At the conclusion of a game, players advance along a campaign sheet, and eventually unlock smaller campaign boxes which contain new material for future games.[8][16]
In the basic game ofDorfromantik, there are two main types of tiles and six terrain types. The two main types of tiles are Landscape tiles and Task tiles. There is also a third type of tile that comes in the campaign boxes. On every tile, there are six sections that can each contain one terrain type. The six terrain types appear on both Landscape and Task tiles, but only five terrains have corresponding tasks. The five terrains with task tiles are wheat fields, forests, villages, railroad tracks, and rivers, and the remaining "neutral" terrain type is meadows. Neither landscape nor task tiles may be placed in such a way that a railroad or river tile edge does not continue on to the next tile. Except for the very first tile, all tiles placed must be connected by at least one edge to the rest of the game map.[8][13]
When a task tile is placed, a random task marker of the same terrain type is drawn. On the back, task markers have a terrain type, and on the other side is a number from four to six. The number on the front of the task marker is exactly how many tiles of the terrain on the back must be connected by hexsides in order to score points. This connected area of one type of terrain (except for meadows) is called aterritory. The greater the number on the front of the marker, the more points are scored by that task. Flags on tiles score more points for large territories, as long as the territory has been closed off (i.e., no tile edges with the type of terrain that is the flag's colour are open to the edge of the map).[8][13]
To start, players draw three task tiles and place them down to start the map. After these three original tasks are drawn and placed, landscape tiles start being drawn. These landscape tiles are used to expand territories, and therefore complete tasks for points. Once a task is completed, the players draw another task tile and corresponding task marker to always bring the number of tasks to three. Once the task pile is exhausted and no task tiles remain, the game ends immediately and scoring begins. In the basic game, points are scored based on completed based on tasks, flags, and the longest railroad track and river.[8]
Dorfromantik is a cooperative game, so player order does not particularly matter, although the rulebook recommends playing in a clockwise order. All players contribute to the hex map of tiles, and points are not distributed individually.[8]
After scoring is complete, players may start or continue a campaign. On the campaign sheet, players round their score down to the nearest ten, then consult the campaign sheet.[8]
On the campaign sheet, players match their rounded score to the campaign sheet and consult the number of steps on the sheet that they can fill in.[17] The number shown corresponds to bubbles on the sheet, which are filled in by the players to unlock campaign boxes and achievement cards.[8] The campaign consists of five boxes which are closed at the beginning of the campaign.[13][14] These boxes, which are not randomised, contain other ways to score points such as new tokens, tiles, or achievement cards.[18] While there is no definitive end toDorfromantik, the campaign does eventually run out of boxes and achievements to unlock, which usually takes 15-20 games.[19] Following this (as well as the unlocking of all achievements), the game does not have any more content remaining.[8] Players can either start the campaign again or keep playing without unlocking any more campaign content.[18]
WhileDorfromantik does not come with a dedicated solo mode, the game is compatible to be played solo without many major adjustments.[17][19] German online board game magazineReich der Spiele (English:Realm of Games) said that the game functions best in solo mode.[13]
In October 2023, a mini-expansion forDorfromantik was released calledThe Great Mill (German:Große Mühle).[20] It contains a standee of a windmill which is used to score extra points in field tiles, as well as two new cards.[21] The German version ofThe Great Mill released in October 2023, however the English version of the mini-expansion released in November.[20][21]
In June 2024, another mini-expansion,The Wetterau (German:Die Wetterau), was released consisting of three new tiles depicting landmarks in theWetterau.[3] The 3 tiles depict the Adolfsturm tower, the Pegasus, and the Winterstein andSteinkopf TV tower.[22] Pegasus Spiele, the board game company that publishesDorfromantik, is based inFriedberg in the Wetterau.[23]Dorfromantik: The Wetterau was created for a board gaming convention in Friedberg on 30 June 2024.[24] The expansion was released atEssen SPIEL 2024.[25]
Also in October 2023, a new competitive game based onDorfromantik was released calledDorfromantik: The Duel (German:Dorfromantik: Das Duell).[2][26]Dorfromantik: The Duel is similar to the originalDorfromantik, howeverDorfromantik: The Duel is competitive.[27] It introduces new task types as well as a tile-matching system between the two players, eliminating most aspects of luck and making the game perfectly symmetrical.[27][7] InDorfromantik: The Duel, one player draws a tile and the other player then finds a matching tile, then both players place their tiles in their playing area.[28] With the two modules that come with the new game, it is possible for 4 players to play inDorfromantik: The Duel as well.[29][3] The two modules also include two new types of tasks as well as other new features.[2] It is the only standaloneDorfromantik game that does not contain unlockable content in the form of a campaign.[3] The German version ofDorfromantik: The Duel released in October 2023, and the English version released in February 2024.[c][29][26][28][30]
Dorfromantik:The Duel comes with several new tiles, counters, and cards for the base game ofDorfromantik.[3][19] The base game component ofDorfromantik: The Duel released in 2023 with the new game, and the expansion comes in the same box asDorfromantik: The Duel.[31]
The game has been criticised for taking up an excessive amount of space on the table.[7][19] Due to the nature of the tile-matching, all 183 tiles have to be spread out on the table, taking up a lot of room.[7]Dorfromantik: The Duel has also received criticism for the incredibly close final scores, as small mistakes near the beginning of the game can have a large effect.[7]
About a year after the release ofDorfromantik: The Duel, a new stand-aloneDorfromantik game,Dorfromantik: Sakura, was released in September 2024.[32][33] It is based on the original design ofDorfromantik, and it is set in a Japanese landscape.[19]Dorfromantik: Sakura retains the campaign system from the original game, with six boxes and 40 achievements.[32] The rules ofDorfromantik: Sakura are incredibly similar to the original, although the terrain types are greatly changed.[34] InDorfromantik: Sakura, cherry trees replace forests from the originalDorfromantik,rice fields replace wheat fields, and roads replace railroads.[34][3][35] However, the campaign part of the game is modified to fit the new theme, with a new campaign sheet and new achievements which unlock new game material unique toDorfromantik: Sakura.[34]
Dorfromantik: Light Luggage (German:Dorfromantik: Leichtes Gepäck) is a compact, stand-alone version ofDorfromantik which released in German on 13 October 2025.[36] This smaller version of the game includes most of the base game's features, but tiles are smaller and playing time is reduced.[37]Dorfromantik: Light Luggage can also function as an introduction to the game.[38] The box is magnetic and is significantly smaller than the base game's.[37]
Dorfromantik has received overall positive reviews. On the board game forum and databaseBoardGameGeek, the base game ofDorfromantik ranks #341 with an average rating of 7.61 out of 10 as of October 2025[update].[39][40]IGN has said that the game "only gets more addictive the more you play".[41]Dicebreaker has described the game as "charming" and a "relaxed, satisfying experience from beginning to end".[4] The Tabletop Gaming magazine describedDorfromantik as "the board game equivalent of a warm bath with candles and relaxing music, followed by a lovely cuddle" and that it was "the perfect game if you want a relaxing, laid-back experience without any competitive pressure or heart-breaking failures".[42]Reich der Spiele calledDorfromantik a "feel-good game" (German:Wohlfühlspiel).[13] Following its announcement as the winner for 2023,Dorfromantik was described by the Spiele des Jahres jury as "idyllic" and a "feel-good game" that "takes the pressure out of everyday life".[43]
Dorfromantik also received some early criticism over the game's lack of a way to lose.[19][17]
By November 2023, around one year afterDorfromantik's release, the game had sold 500,000 copies.[44] Pegasus Spiele used some of the money from sales to plant 2,000 around Friedberg.[45]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Spiel des Jahres | Spiel des Jahres | Won | [43] |
| 2024 | American Tabletop Awards | Casual Games | Recommended | [46] |
| Guldtärningen | Adult Game of the Year | Won | [47] | |
| Gra Roku [pl] | Family Game of the Year | Nominated | [48] | |
| Guldbrikken | Best Family Game | Nominated | [49] |
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