Roll-and-write, free, big booty: three keywords that can provide a little variety in the otherwise probably monotonous everyday life in Corona times. The small publishing house Boardgame Racoon has published a dice game that can be downloaded as a print-and-play version free of charge, printed out and then played. But there is more to the action: It is intended to draw attention to the current tense situation among publishers and local retailers.
King is free in Corona times
"Free" is one of those keywords that you hear and read more and more often in times of the Corona crisis. Everywhere free actions are growing from the earth, which want to be understood as a sign of solidarity. The micro-publisher Boardgame Racoon has launched a corresponding online campaign.
Under boardgame-racoon.de/pages/spiele/stayathome there is not only a free dice game, but also an appeal to all board game fans: "Support your locals" is the motto. This refers to the many small board game shops that have suffered a sharp drop in sales due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Almost every influencer uses videos or podcasts to call on their followers to buy almost in panic – in exceptional cases, rightly so, because the local retailers are fighting for their economic existence.
It is only partly true that consumers keep their money together in times of crisis: people continue to buy happily, but online and not in stationary stores. Logistics giant DHL recently announced that the delivery staff would have as much to do as usual over Christmas. Presumably not every board game retailer will make it through the crisis. The appeal to use your purchasing power in the leisure sector instead of for disinfectants and toilet paper reserves seems justified. In the end, the customers – in this case board players – decide where their funds go. The call is not "stop buying online", but: think before you buy anything.
Roll-and-heist: the basics of burglary
Back to the free dice game. After weeks of preparation, the time has come on a moonless night: Silence lies over the old villa, only occasionally interrupted by the soft click that Matts Dietrich causes in the lock on the back door. What sounds like a damn lousy break-in is exactly that. In roll-and-heist, the criminal version of roll-and-write, author Benjamin Schultz invites 1 to 3 players to learn the basics of breaking in.
It all begins in London in the 60s. A gang of burglars rubs their mischief in the city on the Thames. Not much is needed: in addition to the print-and-play files and the subsequent printout, players need three standard six-sided dice. Then it can go.
In turns, players perform four actions, the last of which is always: Do you want to run away? Then there is nothing more to be won, the game ends and players get points. Two other conditions also end the game: If you put too many tracks, you lose. Whoever triggers the alarm still has the chance to escape, if this fails, the game is lost. Average burglars achieve more than ten points in the end, a legendary raid succeeds with 14 or more points.
Benjamin Schultz designed the roll-and-write for the #stayathome campaign. He stole the setting – from himself: “I have a game on the subject in the drawer, but it currently takes five hours”. Too long for family players, who are currently severely affected by the restrictions due to the daycare and school closures. So the author recycled the theme and used it for an entertaining dice game with simple rules. The "print-and-play" concept is ideal for the reduced shopping Corona period anyway. The game is also available for download in an ink-saving version.
Three new cases are added, then it's about the "extra large fractures". And to close the circle of support, there is an additional campaign for all those who support their local game shop with the big post train robbery.
There are currently 14 small game shops listed:
- Player: https://www.anspieler.de/
- Board game box: https://brettspielkiste-dinslaken.de/
- Captain: https://www.capito-shop.de/
- Board game hero: http://brettspielheld.de/
- Game board: http://blog.spielbrett-koeln.de/
- Playtime !: https://spielzeit.de/
- Voyager - Boardgame Bar: http://www.voyager-bonn.de/
- GameBar: http://www.spielbar-trier.de/
- Osna board: https://osnabrett.de/
- fun entertainment: https://www.funtainmentberlin.store/
- The dice cup: https://www.wuerfelbecher.com/webshop
- Highlander Games: https://www.highlander-bremen.de/
- Game Culture: https://spielkulturmuenster.com/
- Fugue: https://fugio-bonn.de/
From Trier to Berlin, local retailers ask for the support of the board game community. The 14 shops are representative of all game shops that are currently suffering from the Corona crisis. Incidentally, the list on the Boardgame Racoon campaign website is not exhaustive: "Other shops are welcome to contact us," says Benjamin Schultz. "I hope people have a little fun with it and that the stores do something - they could really use it right now," says the game designer.
Further information and the free dice game are available at: boardgame-racoon.de/pages/spiele/stayathome.
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