"It started in 2010", Simon explains. "None of us really understood the crisis. But we thought maybe it would be easier from the banks' point of view." So, the board game enthusiasts started out with a game that used the financial market's mechanism of banks giving out capital to gain profit via dividends. "But it quickly becomes boring, when you only lend out money", says the tall medical student. That was when they decided to bring political elements into the game. 

An introduction to the game

Banks can buy gold and weapons on the black market in Moscow. Lobbying is a valuable option in Europe –  mainly by throwing Bunga-Bunga parties for politicians in order to get a much needed reform. During the next round, I bribe the French conservatives. This lowers the national debt, but also the people's happiness. (Socialist reforms work the other way round.) The discontent in the country grows and due to the subsequent rebellion of the French people, my opponent’s privatised property is re-nationalised. The Eiffel Tower is back on the table! Meanwhile, Greece faces yet another haircut. And in this game, there are no all-night political discussions in Brussels, no bailout funds. 

"Of course, we are somehow cynical" says Simon, himself a former Erasmus student in Greece, with regards to the latest events in the country. "But it is meant to be a positive, pro-European project. Satire should point out deficiencies. Normally, as a player, you don't question a game's rules. Here, you do. And it is not just bankers that cause a crisis. It is also a political system that always demands more and more economic growth." 

He imagines his audience consists of experienced gamers –  whichdoesn’t come as a surprise for a game that takes 30 minutes to explain. But there might also be financial experts who simply cannot get enough of their job. "I hope there won't be a Gordon Gecko effect" he laughs, referring to the Eighties bankers that idealised Michael Douglas' infamous greedy stockbroker character.

Photo courtesy of doppeldenk-spiele Everything for sale: gain Irish Guinness, the French Sécurité Sociale or some nice Greek islands

For now, the group are concentrating on producing the game, presenting it at the next board game fair in Essen, Germany, and selling it via their website. They hope to find foreign resellers to distribute "€uro Crisis" all over the continent. Their Erasmus friends already had to try it, with the French being most indignant that their country, too, can be in for a haircut. Meanwhile, Simon is already thinking about which countries to include for future add-ons.

For not so experienced board gamers, that might be too much. By the time we finish the game I, for instance, am a bit overwhelmed by the complexity of the rules - even though there is a considerable number of simplifications compared to the actual Euro crisis. I count my remaining gold and property and come second of four. Not too bad for the first time as a bad, bad bank. While my privatisations paid off, the Euro is worthless at the end. Kind of scary – but there is an upside, too: this crisis only lasts three (game) years.