Berlin

Airport delay byproduct

Finally a board game about an airport! And not just any airport: BER! UnberechenB€R: Das Verrückte Flughafenspiel satirises Berlin's famous ineptitude when it comes to handling its big project.

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Photo by Joe Mangie

Achtung Satire!” reads the red label on UnberechenB€R: Das Verrückte Flughafenspiel, as if anyone in Berlin might miss the point of a board game where the goal is to spend as many taxpayer euros as possible while building an airport. Developed on a whim by locals Philipp Messinger and Bastian Ignaszewski, UnberechenB€R mocks BER’s endless construction delays with sledgehammer-like subtlety. Two to five players take turns placing chips on the terminals and runways illustrated on the board (which for legal reasons contains no obvious Berlin identifiers) and drawing cards that describe all-too-plausible roadblocks, like residents’ noise complaints, failed inspections or “Someone stole an ashtray”. With every move, you receive Monopoly-like receipts for the tax money you’ve “burned”. Gameplay is brisk: after about 45 minutes, either the airport will be complete or everyone’s chips will have been used up, and the player with the most receipts wins. Suited for German speakers only, it’s a good alternative to Settlers of Catan if you don’t want your next game night to drag on as long as BER construction itself. Just remember, it’s satire.

Avaliable online (€35) or at various retailers (€30); order or find sales points at flughafenspiel.de