What the Wiki doesn't say

Federico da Montefeltro: il Duca™, the game of the Federician Celebrations 2022: Federico 600, with Alessio Spalluto, also bears the authoritative signature of the Roman author Andrea Angiolino, an important figure in the Italian gaming world. To get to know him better, we asked him a few questions. Here are his interesting answers.

Tell us how you became part of this gaming project.

I have always gladly gone to play in Urbino. Not only for the unforgettable Italian Game Festival in 1994, but also later, invited by the Ludoteca club IDDU both for the event Urbino in Gioco and for conferences and presentations at their headquarters. We got along well and the desire to collaborate was born. They are very active in the area, and I have a long experience with themed games on commission as well as titles for the market with historical settings, such as Wings of Glory, I Cavalieri del Tempio, Il Gobbo Maledetto, I Misteri delle Catacombe, the supplement Italia for Lex Arcana... And so, when the 600th anniversary of the birth of Federico da Montefeltro approached, on the initiative of the Pro Loco, they asked me if I wanted to create a commemorative card game. They also suggested collaborating with an author from Urbino, Alessio Spalluto. It was a great experience and we quickly arrived at a working prototype, which was then refined through numerous tests.

Tell us a good reason to understand and appreciate Federico's game.

It is a simple but not trivial game, I believe, with tactical nuances that are appreciated game after game. At the same time, it evokes the splendor and ferment of a court that was very productive culturally and active politically and militarily. It makes you want to delve deeper into its history... perhaps by visiting those places.

Contextualize the inclusion of your game in today's gaming world.

Today there is a lot of talk about gamification and serious games. Gamification is using game elements to sugarcoat a non-playful activity such as work, study, or shopping: but the activity does not become a game, it only seems like one. Serious games are instead games in every respect, but created with a main purpose that is not to entertain but rather to instruct, advertise, or inform. These are the very trendy strands of edutainment, advergames, newsgames. I am more for creating "real" games, for players, whose main purpose is to entertain: and then perhaps as a side effect they convey atmospheres or notions, stimulate cultural curiosity. Federico da Montefeltro: il Duca™ is one of the latter. Well-crafted, well-illustrated, and with language-independent materials, to suit an increasingly globalized market.