The last resort
It’s like in football. At the German Board Game Championships, referees make sure no one cheats. In an interview with zuspieler.de, referee Kathrin Nos reveals how she reacts to foul play, which technical aids are used and which stimulants are officially allowed.
Note: This interview first appeared in 2012 on zuspieler.de
Aspiring football referees have to pass an exam before they can officiate league matches. How do you become a referee for board games?
No exam required. Our team qualified for the 2011 German Board Game Championship final. After the competition, we interviewed Jo Weigand and Peter Janshoff for the Spielermagazin Fairplay as journalists. Jo was a referee at the time and thus our predecessor, and Peter is the head of the Spielezentrum Herne. At the same time, the event was a farewell to Jo. He had announced his retirement as a referee at the awards ceremony for personal reasons. Peter Janshoff asked us if we would be willing to take over from him.
This year, Peter Nos and you were not participants but referees at the German Board Game Championship. How did you prepare for the tournament?
Our first task was selecting the games. At the Nuremberg Toy Fair, we chose the final games in consultation with the publishers and Peter Janshoff.
What criteria do the games have to meet?
The requirements arise from the nature of the tournament. Every game must be playable by four players and allow a clear ranking from first to fourth place. The latter can also be achieved through rule modifications. For example, we applied Waka Waka’s tie-breaking rule for first place to second to fourth place. The number of gold pieces and the order of ascent played a role.
The games must not take too long. If a game ends no earlier than after two hours, it exceeds the time frame. After all, four different games are played. The participants travel from all over Germany and often have a long journey home after the tournament.
Also, a game must be available in time. Some new releases only hit the shelves in April or May. That’s too late for the championship. The teams need time to train.
Lastly, four games from four publishers and four authors should be selected. With these criteria, we can narrow the games down to a manageable number of candidates.
Adidas pays FIFA a lot of money to produce the Euro ball. Do game publishers also pay to have their games in the final?
No. But the publishers must be willing to provide a certain number of copies of their game. On the one hand, so the teams can practise beforehand. They buy the training copies through the Spielezentrum. The proceeds cover the costs for organisation, helpers, room rental and catering. On the other hand, we need the games for the tournament itself. Here we only use sealed copies. This ensures that no rigged copies are brought in.
Back to the preparations. What happens once the final games are set?
Once the games are set, we play them intensively. We think about which rule ambiguities might arise and whether we need to change any rules. With Santa Cruz, it was already clear in Nuremberg that players could distinguish the bird chips from the side. The red parrots worth three points were recognisable. This was an easy problem to solve: in the tournament, players drew the chips from a bag. Also, we generally change the starting player order for all games. Before the tournament, it’s drawn which table a player has to play which game at. They will be the starting player once, and begin once as second, third and fourth.
From March onwards, questions from participants started coming in. Classics include questions about resolving ties, as well as which materials should be kept open and which concealed. Some questions can be answered by looking at the rules. For more complex issues, we contacted the authors or the publishers’ representatives.
Your work isn’t over yet. After all, you also have to keep an eye on things during the tournament itself. Which fouls did you penalise in Herne?
The word “foul” refers to deliberate obstruction. I’ve never experienced anything like that at board game championships. The atmosphere is competitive but almost always friendly. Some players take it very seriously. Here it’s important to take a clear stance on decisions and enforce them in a friendly but firm manner. This worked very well in the few cases where we had to intervene. We found it a nice experience when one player apologised during the awards ceremony. His emotions had boiled over a bit in the final game.
Some athletes take tablets to enhance performance. Which stimulants are allowed at the board game championships?
Drinks are available for a boost. Coffee and cola are explicitly allowed to maintain caffeine levels. There’s also a snack during the day. However, nothing may be eaten at the tables themselves – the games must not be affected.
But the winners don’t have to take a doping test after the final whistle, do they?
No, quite the opposite: more “drugs” are administered. The winning teams can toast their success with a glass of sparkling wine.
FIFA has long discussed video evidence. What technical aids do the referees use at the board game championships?
The most important technical aid is the computer. It records team data (team name and player names), carries out the draw for the matches, provides an interface for recording individual games and finally evaluates the team and individual player rankings.
Two employees of the Spielezentrum supported Peter and you. How do just four people keep track when 150 people are playing at the same time?
It works without any problems. The players find their seats, start setting up the game and begin their match. During the games, we walk through the rows. Not so much to exert control, but more to estimate the game duration and to be present if any minor questions arise. If there’s a misunderstanding, rule question or need for a referee decision at a table, it’s like at school: raise your hand. Then we come to the table and make a decision …
… what does that decision look like?
In one case, a player in Africana had missed a completed expedition and wanted to score it after the official end of their turn. By revealing a new expedition, we could retrace the end of the turn. The tournament rule states that a turn can only be taken back if everyone at the table agrees. In this case, however, one player had vetoed. So the scoring did not take place at that time. Another time, the question arose whether the goods in Village are collected openly or concealed. The answer is openly. As a rule, we reject such artificial memory elements.
In football, there are assistants and the main referee. Is there also a head referee at the board game championships who has the final say?
Peter and I. By participating in the board game championship, the teams agree to accept this.
Are you also on duty as referees next year?
Yes. The collaboration with the Spielezentrum was great. We enjoyed our role and are looking forward to next year. We’re curious to see which games will be up for selection.
By the way: This year’s German Board Game Champion title was won by the team Brettspielteam Hamburg (formerly “Name”) from Hamburg. Last year’s winner, the team “Aachener Fantastics” from Aachen, came in sixth place.