The award-winning German board game "La Famiglia - The Great Mafia War" is attracting fierce criticism in Sicily. The game, published by Boardgame Atelier in Starnberg, is based on the events of the second great mafia war in the 1980s, in which feuding mafia families fought bloodily for supremacy in the south of the country.
An Italian version of the game, which won the Golden Ace award in Cannes, has recently been released. There is massive incomprehension from the south. "Der Spiegel" and other media reported.
Inventor: did not want to hurt
The inventor of the game, Maximilian Maria Thiel, expressed his shock at the reactions. "I didn't expect this, it's something I underestimated," Thiel told the German Press Agency.
"I'm very sorry if people feel hurt by the game. That was and never has been my intention." He himself had lived in Italy for a long time and was very attached to the country. He therefore chose the Italian Cosa Nostra for the game. There are various branches of the Mafia in Italy - including the Cosa Nostra from Sicily.
Originally, a booklet explaining the background was planned, said Thiel. They now want to ensure that this is included in all new editions, said Thiel. In the reactions, the war between the families is now being mixed up with the murder of Mafia hunters such as Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who do not appear in the game.
There are thousands of other war games. It is deliberately played with blocks, which underlines the strategic character of the game.
Outrage in Sicily
Alessandro De Leo, regional politician of the Forza Italia party, criticized according to "Corriere della Sera": "This product not only insults the dignity of Sicilians, but also devalues the daily commitment of millions of citizens who are fighting for legality and justice in our region."
According to the report, he turned to the Sicilian regional president Renato Schifani and asked him to examine all possibilities to stop the distribution of the game. "Even more serious in every respect is the trivialization of the violent elements, such as the use of car bombs, which have been reduced to mere game tools."
"Insults the memory"
Criticism has also come from the Falcones family, who died in a car bomb in 1992. "I don't understand how someone could come up with the idea of developing such a game that plays on the feelings of those who lost their lives in the service of the state," said his sister Maria Falcone, according toCorriere della Sera.
"The mafia has only brought death in Sicily and Italy," said Falcone. "The thought of such a game insults the memory of all those people who have contributed to freeing this country."