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"La Famiglia": German mafia board game causes outrage in Italy

24/1/2025

Translation: machine translated

The combination of Mafia and board game is criticised. The game "La Famiglia" is perceived as tasteless and insensitive. However, the development team defends it "as a critical examination".

The German board game "La Famiglia", which focuses on conflicts between mafia clans in the 1980s, is causing outrage in Italy. The central question is: is it appropriate to pack a sensitive topic such as the mafia into a game?

Board games

Feuerland La Famiglia -The Great Mafia War

English

Criticism of the Antimafia Foundation

The Fondazione Falcone, named after the prosecutor Giovanni Falcone who was murdered by the Mafia in 1992, made a clear statement to the newspaper "Corriere della Sera". "The mafia is not a folklore, not a game. It is a destructive, brutal reality that has claimed many victims," said Maria Falcone, the chairwoman of the foundation and sister of the murdered prosecutor.

Falcone warned that trivialising the mafia in a board game could undermine the work of Italian justice and anti-mafia movements: "A game of this kind jeopardises the work of all those who fight for the rule of law and against criminal repression by the mafia."

Voices from the world of politics

Roberto Lagalla, the mayor of Palermo, also criticised "La Famiglia". "This game trivialises the pain and suffering of many people. It is unacceptable for the mafia to be made the topic of a game," said Lagalla, according to a report by Der Spiegel.

The outrage is accompanied by a general rejection of portraying the mafia in a gaming context. Especially in Italy, where organised crime is still a real threat, such a portrayal is perceived as insensitive.

Reaction of the development team

The development team of "La Famiglia" defended their work: they were not interested in glorifying the Mafia, but rather in depicting the historical mechanisms and strategies of criminal organisations. The board game was designed as a challenging strategy game in which players take on the role of rival mafia clans. The aim of the game is to gain supremacy in Sicily through strategic battles, control of territories and skilful resource management.

The game mechanics are based on tactical decisions that require long-term planning and asymmetrical roles, which means that each clan plays differently. According to the Spiegel report, the developers emphasise that the game sheds light on the dark side of the mafia and takes a critical look at the topic.

Discussion about cultural sensitivity

The discussion surrounding "La Famiglia" shows how sensitive historical and social topics can be in games. Such debates are not new: "Secret Hitler", a game about the rise of authoritarian regimes, and "Puerto Rico", which has been criticised for its depiction of the colonial plantation economy, have sparked similar controversy.

These examples show that games - whether board games, computer games or mobile games - often push the boundaries between artistic freedom and responsibility. Some see them as an opportunity to deal with difficult topics, while others fear that they could trivialise suffering.

The fundamental question remains: How can difficult historical topics be realised in games without trivialising victims or unnecessarily restricting artistic freedom? And why do some media such as board games cause greater outrage than comparable films, series or games? It is clear that such debates are necessary - they could help to make the handling of sensitive topics in the gaming world more conscious and responsible.

Header image: Tierra del Fuego

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