Bretting games: Unesco honor for Gosbach's game finder Burkhardt!

Bretting games: Unesco honor for Gosbach's game finder Burkhardt!

What a reason for joy for board game fans in Germany! UNESCO recognized the board game as an intangible cultural heritage. This significant decision was made by the German UNESCO Commission at the end of March 2025. The game finder Günter Burkhardt from Gosbach in the Göppingen district can now look forward to this award after he has fought for this recognition for many years. With his two new releases "cut it" and "subito", he brings a fresh air to the market, after more than 20 years of passion for game development. As Mein Stuttgart makes it clear that there are now 168 entries on the list of intangible cultural heritage, which is equivalent to an enormous progress for German culture.

a long way to recognize

The past decades have been shaped by numerous attempts to political recognition of German board game culture. First attempts started in Bavaria in 2017, but an initial application was unsuccessful. It was not until 2019 that a second application was submitted in Bavaria, which at least made it to the state list as "Best Practice". However, this long and stony path made it clear that there is definitely interest in recognizing this cultural asset. As Ludology , over 400 game cafes and clubs are committed to promoting this culture. But despite this commitment, many of these institutions have difficulties to achieve charity, which makes their work difficult.

Nevertheless, there is progress. While there has been a play card tradition in Thuringia for over 500 years and over 70% of the board games are produced, the region is preparing for submitting a new application. However, the path to the final admission to an international list of UNESCO still requires support and suggestions from other countries. An exciting potential that could set new impulses for the growing board game scene in Germany.

The future of board game culture

UNESCO recognition is not only a solemn act, but also an invitation to strengthen and promote the board game culture in Germany. The results of the recognition are already evident in a busy exchange among board play friends. Further initiatives and joint efforts are needed to further emphasize the importance of the board game as a cultural heritage. The talks about a Federal Archives for Bretting Games are a sign that the treasures of the game culture should not only be preserved, but should also be celebrated.

We can look forward to the coming years in which the German board game culture will surely reach many new heights. Who knows, maybe one or the other state representative will soon come to a game evening to experience a little bit of the magic of this culture itself.