Patriotic board games on Latvia's birthday

As the national holiday approaches, enjoy one of the themed Latvian games. Games in Latvian are available for various interest groups, starting with new players who are just getting to know the world of board games, and ending with those who are constantly running out of space for new game boxes on their game shelf.

Shortly before Latvia's birthday, a new patriotic game has reached store shelves - "War of Latvian Independence 1918-1920" , which is a cooperative game for one to four players. In it, players act out the events of the Latvian War of Independence and fight for the country's independence.

The idea for the Latvian War of Independence game came to its author Jānis Gruntes a long time ago, but the active development of the game started a little more than a year ago. "The Ministry of Defense of Latvia announced a tender that they wanted to purchase the game for this period, then all the stars aligned correctly and the game development journey began," said Grunte.

Both the Ministry of Defense and the Latvian War Museum helped in the development of the game. "All images in the game are from the war museum," explained the game's author. Also, the Ministry of Defense insisted that the game should be cooperative, which was not a mandatory condition in Grunte's first drafts of the game. "This is a co-op wargame, which is a pretty unique combination in the gaming world," Grunte said of the final product.

The game itself is based on historical events. It includes three scenarios that reflect the course of the Latvian War of Independence. For example, in the first of them, the forces of Latvia and its allies try to repel the Latvian Soviet army from Liepāja and occupy Riga and Cēsis. Also, the game uses cards that depict different personalities of this time period.

The author of the game, Jānis Grunte, believes that this game is suitable not only for board game experts. "I would say the game is an inch harder than Catan," Grunte said. Also, he states that the recommended age for the game is 12+, but younger players can try playing it as well. "The game will be more interesting when this time period has already been learned or is being learned in history lessons," added the author.

"I hope that someday history teachers can use this game as a more interactive teaching tool about the period," Grunte said, adding that he is willing to help history teachers understand how to use the game.

Also, the game has several features to make it enjoyable to play again and again. First, the game has three scenarios, each with a different level of difficulty. "Each of them has seven scenario cards, of which only three or four will be used," the author stated. There are also personality cards, about a quarter of which will be covered in one game. "Even after four games, new cards will be seen," explained Grunte.

In addition, the "Latvian War of Independence 1918-1920" is not only designed, but also produced right here in Latvia!

"War of Latvian Independence 1918-1920" is the first game that does not require reading the rules, as they can be learned interactively on the "DIZED" platform in Latvian!

Check out the DIZED page here .

Touring Latvia with "Shurpa turpa"

However, if you want an easier family game, then Grunte recommends "Shurpa" , which is a game about traveling around Latvia. "Shurpu turpu" was created in a competition when students created board games in honor of Latvia's centenary. It was designed by two girls from Ogre.

"We liked the idea of ​​showing lesser-known places in Latvia," said Brain Games representative Grunte. In addition, the final version of the game is illustrated by cartoonist Gatis Šłukas, which gives it an additional charm.

While playing "Shurpa turpa", players not only have fun at the game table, but also learn about various tourist attractions in Latvia, which they may decide to visit later in life.

Several other Latvian-themed games are also available for patriotic game nights , such as the quiz game "Latvija".

There are also several other games from Latvian companies. For example, "Spelling Championships" ,"Latgalian dominoes" and other games produced by "Kokmaizīte". Grunte also spoke highly of this developer, emphasizing that the company has been producing educational games in Latvia for more than ten years.

On the other hand, a patriotic choice for the younger players would be the game "ICECOOL" created by Latvians. Although "War of Latvian Independence 1918-1920" is the first game for which Grunte is a solo author, he also participated in the creation of "ICECOOL". The game box says "author Brian Gomez", but four Latvians hide under this pseudonym - Reinis Butāns, Egils Grasmanis, Jānis Grunte and Edgars Zaķis.

The penguin game "ICECOOL" is the most titled Latvian game of all time, and in 2017 it also won the prestigious "Kinderspiel des Jahres" award as the best board game for children of the year.

The hobby of board games in Latvia continues to flourish, and from time to time domestic manufacturers and authors come up with new games. Which Latvian games have you already tried and which ones do you plan to play this November?