The Asterix of the board game sector

Just recently in February 2025, Tom Werneck could, of course, be found at the Spielwarenmesse. Specifically, at the International Game Inventors’ Convention he established. While the get-togethers for this were held in Haar, near Munich, for 25 years, the event was moved in 2023 and is now hosted by us at the Nuremberg Spielwarenmesse. As usual, Werneck was brimming with energy and anticipation, well-dressed in a classic fashion with jacket and tie paired with freshly polished shoes. He has dedicated his life to board games and is the impresario of the industry, the puppet master, the person who opens doors and creates spaces for people to play. 

Oldest PhD student in Bavaria

He has now fulfilled a dream of his through a great deal of hard work and also been recognised as Bavaria’s oldest PhD student. Born during the war in 1939, Werneck will celebrate his 86th birthday in July: “I’m delighted to have concluded my studies with my dissertation here: at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle!” Naturally, his dissertation was about board games, with the title: “Spiele im Wandel: Die Evolution des modernen Brettspiels in Deutschland (1949-2000). Eine Bestandsaufnahme” (English: Games in Flux: the Evolution of the Modern Board Game in Germany (1949 to 2000). A Review.)

Game reviewer pens history of board games

The legal expert mainly worked as a successful manager in the electrical industry during his lengthy career. But that wasn’t enough to satisfy him, as board games are his true passion. He made a name for himself early on as an insightful critic, writing reviews of board games for a number of German newspapers, starting with the Nürnberger Nachrichten, Die ZEIT and the FAZ. Now on 25 April 2025, he will publish a version of his doctorate intended for the general reader, freed from any “academic ballast” and complete with numerous photos of people and games – a history of the board game that will be an essential read for countless fans: “Das Moderne Brettspiel. Die erstaunliche Entwicklung von 1950 bis 2000.” (English: The Modern Board Game. The Incredible Evolution from 1950 to 2000.)

In the thick of the action: the establishment of the Spiel des Jahres association

The book benefits from the fact that Tom Werneck is a contemporary witness who was in the thick of the action from an early stage and wanted to play his part rather than sit on the sidelines. He was keen to apply his core talents – namely, his ability to see the big picture and capacity to create structures from nothing. Werneck recalls how the Spiel des Jahres (German for “Game of the Year”) association was founded in his living room (with the organisation going on to turn the entire industry on its head). “On Thursday, 8 February 1978, the evening before the toy fair opened in Nuremberg, Bernward Thole, Alex Randolph, Jürgen Herz, Gilbert Obermair, Dieter Hasselblatt, Hannelore Ganslandt, Frank Ullmann and a few others from the industry sat around the hearth. Jürgen Herz, a journalistic colleague, waited for a lull in the conversation and then proposed we select the best game of the year.” From this idea was born the still powerful Spiel des Jahres association. This is all detailed in Tom Werneck’s work, which also includes profiles of pioneering game designers and a comprehensive tribute to the milestones achieved with Catan and Carcassonne. Werneck doesn’t spare his criticism of some developments in the Spiel des Jahres association or the industry in general, either – by nature, he’s not backwards about coming forwards. 

Long road to the “intangible cultural heritage” label

This fascinating book is fully recommended for all board game nerds and historians. It is a detailed reference work, an homage to play and a documentation of all the battles, for example to get board games labelled a cultural asset and an explanation of why this is so important. It also highlights the lengthy efforts to get board games recognised as an intangible cultural heritage – initially achieved in Thuringia and only very recently for all of Germany on the Nationwide Inventory in March 2025. He and his comrade-in-arms Jens Junge, Director of the Institute for Ludology (linked text in German), celebrated in March 2025: “Germany’s Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs has added board game culture to UNESCO’s Nationwide Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Germany.” 

Battle scars

Werneck has not been scarred by the long-standing battles. If anything, he seems even more energised at 85. Walt Whitman, America’s great champion of democracy in the 19th century, could have been describing him when he wrote: “Oh while I live, to be the ruler of life, not a slave, to meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to me will ever take command of me.” Certainly, Tom Werneck has ruffled some feathers along the way, but being liked by everyone was not his main goal. In the industry in which he moves, bold comparisons are fair game: in size and stature, Tom Werneck is like Asterix, with his natural instinct for fighting.

About the author

Peter Budig studied Protestant theology, history and political science. He worked as a freelance journalist, headed up the editorial department of a large advertising paper in Nuremberg for ten years and was the editor of Nuremberg’s Abendzeitung newspaper. He has been freelancing again since 2014 as a journalist, book author and copywriter. Storytelling is absolutely his favourite form.