Touch me. Feel me.

Back in 2014, I helped guide a company’s rebranding to focus on “real human connections.” There were signals back then to inform this direction including the rebirth of physical independent bookstores, increasing vinyl record sales, and the like. Today, five years later, this trend is continuing. Not only are human experiences all anyone talks about in marketing these days, but in our overwhelmingly digital lives, people are crying out for touch and feel.

So, when I recently read about the “booming” industry of board games — primarily coming out of Berlin — I naturally wanted to check this out more. According to a recent article in FastCompany, Germany is the home of modern board-gaming, and the industry has grown by over 40% in the past five years. The article talks not only about the desire for physicality — moving game pieces, shuffling cards, rolling dice, the fun of strategy and outwitting other players, and the artisanal beauty and craft of the games’ designs. But also about the human interaction and connection that comes when people sit down together and engage.

I think many readers of this blog know that Berlin is one of the most digital and entrepreneurially cities in the world, with a robust startup scene. So, in the crucible of digital life, it is interesting to see the power of human connection growing. Perhaps it’s a harbinger for the future? Or, it could be that Germans have always loved board games. When my wife and I lived in Frankfurt Germany between 1987 - 1990, our friends introduced us to Die Siedler von Catan which was first published there in 1995 by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag. If you remember, back in 1989, there were a lot of social anxieties in Germany related to reunification. So, maybe in times of stress and uncertainty we turn to board games and play.