La Famiglia: The Great Mafia War: A board game based on the mafia conflicts that ravaged Sicily in the 1980s has ignited a storm of controversy in Italy, with the sister of anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone expressing her concerns that the game does not honour those who fought to rid the country of organised crime.
Produced by German company Boardgame Atelier, this game has faced harsh criticism after it was translated into Italian and made available on various online retail platforms. The game, which won the prestigious As d'Or (Golden Ace) award at a French games festival last year, is described by its creators as a “conflict game set against the backdrop of a mafia feud in Sicily.” Players take on the role of rival mafia families, competing to seize control of the island using various tactics.
Despite the widespread condemnation, the game’s designer, Maximilian Maria Thiel, defended La Famiglia, offering an apology to those offended. He explained, “First of all, I am very sorry if anyone feels hurt or offended by this game. This was not our intention. In this game, only mobsters kill each other. So I don’t see the problem—apart from the theme, which for some seems to be a trigger. The game is deliberately kept abstract, using blocks instead of figures, so that the violence is not made conscious in the game.”
Thiel further clarified that the murders of judges Falcone and Borsellino, although central to the real-life mafia wars, were not part of the game’s narrative, which focuses on internal mafia conflicts.
As the controversy continues to unfold, many are left questioning whether the line between entertainment and respect for historical memory has been crossed...
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