Prestigio is a board game in which 2 to 6 players assume the roles of Mayors struggling to gather wealth without losing status.
It was developed by a team of gaming enthusiasts from Cluj, Romania, in order to mark the 20 year anniversary of the local German Cultural Center’s very own Board Game Club (Spielezentrum).
Having toiled on the brilliant concept and game-play for about a year, the good people of Spielezentrum then called upon a highly skilled illustrator to make everything look pretty and comprehensive. She was busy, so they got me instead.
The developers had already made a working version of the boardgame using Microsoft Powerpoint (!!). The only thing missing were the drawings, which needed to provide some relief from the whole dreary business of endemic corruption.
Coming up with the player avatars was a fun chore.
The game was released in a limited edition of 100 copies.
Studio Impress did a terrific job preparing the hundreds of game-pieces that went into every box (notice the festive bowtie).
Below you can see how the game looks while being played - the individual player boards are aligned next to a main hexagonal surface. There are six levels during which the players have to make local policy decisions and then work through "intermediaries" (game pawns) to develop their shady side-businesses. The seventh (and final) level consists in auctioning the remaining luxury items that hold victory points.
Undoubtedly, my favorite part was coming up with the various possessions (boats, cars, mansions and exotic pets) that the players have to collect in order to win the game.
As the game's catchphrase goes...
