The Czech Republic has become a gaming superpower - whether it's modern board games that have conquered the world or record-breaking computer titles. From Dragon's Den to the phenomenal Codenames to Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Czech games are entertaining millions of people around the world. Join us in the world of board games and computer adventures, where Czechs are among the world's top players. If someone had told you some time ago that board games would become a mass phenomenon, that a new industry would be born, that there would be clubs, rentals, clubs and clubs of board game players, that tournaments, festivals, exhibitions and summer camps would be organized for board game fans, and most importantly that new (and often great) titles would appear on the market almost every week, you would probably have tapped your forehead.
Playing Prague: Build your own Prague
Speaking of games that connect entertainment with the Czech environment, another new game was added in the summer of 2025 - this time with a clear Prague signature. The game that lets you build Prague piece by piece is called Playing Prague. For Prague City Tourism, it's a tribute to talent.How to play Playing Prague? Six levels await you, in which you logically put together prescribed patterns. With cards depicting Prague's most famous house signs, you build iconic Prague landmarks step by step - for example, the Old Town Hall, the towers of Charles Bridge or the cable car to Petrin Hill. Each level also introduces you to the story of world figures associated with Prague, from Mozart to Einstein to Franz Kafka.
The game does not forget about sports legends either: among the characters you can find, for example, javelin thrower Dana Zátopková or gymnast Vera Čáslavská. At the end you will get a collector's collection of not only famous buildings, but also great personalities who made Prague famous all over the world. And because this is also a game with atmosphere, you can become a bohemian for a while and build your own Prague. The game is ideal for travelling by train or bus, but some players find it too short. Based on the positive feedback, game studio Charles Games is already considering an expansion with new levels and another batch of stories. But Prague is worth exploring not only digitally!
The Astronomical Clock: the Heart of Old Prague - build the symbol of the city step by step Another play with a distinct Prague footprint is called Orloj: The Heart of Old Prague. In the game, you will take on the role of a master builder and compete with other players to see who can add the legendary and majestic calendar of painter Josef Mánes to the ancient astronomical clock at the Old Town Hall. The game is a tribute to one of Prague's most famous landmarks and combines a historical theme with modern gameplay mechanisms. It features sophisticated components such as an astronomical dial, twelve zodiac signs, apostle tiles and action cards. The game was developed by authors from Spain, the Czech edition is published by Bohemian Games in Olomouc. The game Orloj: Heart of Old Prague will delight lovers of history, Prague and strategy board games. But above all, it shows that inspiration for contemporary games can be found in symbols more than six centuries old.
Dragon's Den and BattleTech: first inspiration
Games that have barely changed the rules over the years, just have a more modern look and are still played today are Dragon's Den and BattleTech. BattleTech first appeared in 1984, the predecessor of Dragon's Den or Dungeons & Dragons, the most famous and successful role-playing game, is even a decade older. Both appeared on the Czech market in the 1990s thanks to the publisher Altar. Veterans still return to their early editions today, often bringing their younger siblings or children to play. In particular, BattleTech, a strategic sci-fi game full of battles between giant battle robots, has an unexpected Czech footprint. In the description of the fictional history, Czech is listed as one of the official languages, and on the map of the BattleTech universe you can find, for example, the planet Satalice and the continents Boleslav and Liberec. The capital of another world is New Prague, there is also the Duchy of Tabor, a city named House of Horror, and a unit of one of the armies is called the Czech Lancers. The head of the federation called the League of Free Worlds is Tomas Marik, a descendant of the Marik family - or is it Marik? - from Czechoslovakia. Could it be a memory of the childhood hero Kája Mařík?
Proven blockbusters
Of course, the world of board games has its icons and flops: the former include Settlers of Catan, the most played board game of the last 25 years, which has sold over 25 million copies. Similarly, almost everyone knows games like Scrabble, Brainbox, Dixit, Dobble or Carcassonne - or at least some of them. While you may not find the best one on your first try, board games cover so many themes that you'll undoubtedly discover „yours“ in time - whether you want to build cathedrals, cities, gardens and railways, explore islands and find sunken treasures, put out fires or start them, hunt mammoths, start a detective investigation or commit crimes on a grand scale, venture to Middle Earth, the Wild West or Hogwarts, fight orcs and dragons or delve deep into history. Choose ancient Egypt, Rome, the Vikings or the Middle Ages? Or would you rather build a spaceship and venture into the unexplored depths of space? Anything is possible.
The Kingdom Come phenomenon
Kingdom Come has become a real phenomenon in the world of computer games: Deliverance, a realistic and historical action role-playing game from Warhorse Studios. The first installment was released in 2018 and sold over a million copies in its first week alone. Fans will see the sequel in February 2025: Kingdom Come: Deliverance II was one of the most anticipated releases of 2025. In less than 24 hours of its release on February 4, it sold one million copies, an absolute record. Take a journey from boredom to a world of exploration, swordplay and medieval fun, or play other computer games that take you through the Czech Republic!
The success of Kingdom Come shows that computer games today are no longer just entertainment for a few enthusiasts. They are full-fledged works of culture that are recognised at the world's most prestigious awards - for example, the BAFTA Games Awards, where they take their place alongside films and television productions. But the gaming world isn't just evolving towards big titles. Platforms where players create their own games are also playing an increasingly important role.
Roblox: a digital playground for millions of players and the Czech footprint in its DNA
When you say gaming superpower, most people think of big titles and famous studios. But the gaming world today is also built on platforms where games are not created in closed teams, but directly in the hands of players. One such platform is Roblox - a giant digital universe where tens of millions of people from all over the world play every day. Roblox is not one game, but rather an endless sandbox. In some ways, it's like Minecraft: anyone can create their own world, rules and story, and the most successful projects have attendance rates comparable to the big „A“ titles. For the alpha generation, Roblox is like a new gaming university, where they not only play but also create.
And this is where an interesting Czech trace appears. Michal Benátský, a Czech developer who has made a name for himself in Silicon Valley, is helping to shape the look of many of the games and the Roblox environment itself. His work influences how millions of players around the world see, build and experience their virtual worlds. Roblox shows that Czech gaming influence doesn't stop at finished games - it extends to the very tools that will define the future of digital entertainment.
Million Dollar Stories What's driving the world of board games? Apart from news about new releases, it's mostly stories about good ideas and good timing: like when Tadeáš Spousta and Markéta Bláhová created the new board game Euthia: Torment of Resurrection. After Kingdom Come: Deliverance by Warhorse studio headed by Daniel Vávra, which is set in medieval Posázaví and raised over a million pounds in a crowdfunding campaign, Euthia became the second most successful project from Czech creators on Kickstarter with 458 thousand dollars (almost 11 million crowns) raised.
What does Euthia offer? Many pieces, cards, cubes and tokens, which can be used to enter a whole new world for hours. The game has a given beginning and ending, but in between there are many scenarios where you create and determine the story of your hero. And because the world of board games never sleeps, Diea Games is already working on their next title - a new game that will explore space!
Muzzle Games and board games to eat
Kickstarter is also connected to the beginning of Tlama Games and the „eatable“ board games. Behind them is Miroslav Tlamicha, who was attracted by the new Escape Plan board game on Kickstarter. Together with a friend, they founded the publishing company Tlama games, translated the game into Czech and published it bilingually. Soon they managed to get new successful games on the Czech market, and today they have several dozen of them. In addition, you can also find games from other publishers on the e-shop, so the offer is incredibly wide.
The best Czech game developer
Vladimír Chvátil, or Vlaada Chvatil, is considered the best Czech game designer. His first well-known work was the multiplayer game Worms (Cervii, 1992), and he has also contributed to games such as Dragon's Den, Fish Fillets (1997), Original War (2001), Fish Fillets II (2007) and Family Farm (2010). However, he has made a name for himself as a board game designer. His most notable works include 2006's Through the Ages: A Tale of Civilization, which has long held the top spot on the BoardGameGeek rankings, 2007's Galaxy Trucker, 2008's Space Alert, 2011's Mage Knight, and 2015's Codenames. The game has been translated into dozens of languages, has sold about 15 million units, and has also won the Spiel des Jahres award. In 2019, Vlaada Chvátil was inducted into the Origins Awards Hall of Fame.
What are the best board and computer games and what games to play?
While about 15 years ago there were 20 to 30 new board games a year in the Czech Republic, now there are more than 300. The board game Monopoly (which evolved into Racing and Betting) had an interesting Czech version, which some families still guard like a treasure. The game was sold under the name Business, and instead of horses one bought land in Prague, from the cheapest in Braník to the most expensive on Wenceslas Square, a power station, a waterworks or a telephone company; the Coach boxes were replaced by railway lines. Board games have one more advantage: they do not irritate adults, because children do not have to turn on the computer to play them. Moreover, they take care of the moments spent together with family or friends.
Not to be boastful: count on the fact that board games are usually not cheap, and if you don't really know anything about them, the prices will probably blow your mind when you first meet them. Better than buying blindly is to use a board game rental store and try out different types and kinds, or explore the internet first and read user reviews and blogs. With big board games you can't do without a really big table, but there are smaller (and cheaper) games that you can easily take with you on a trip, on holiday or on the train. Count on the fact that with old evergreens like Man, Don't Be Angry or Horse Racing and Betting, today's board games often have only the board in common. They're more complicated, more elaborate, and it can take a while to read and memorize the game instructions. Have your children grown up and left you to play games on your own? Just as there are themed expansions for board games, there are also variations for fewer players - including the popular Settlers of Catan, for example.
According to Research and Markets, by 2023, the value of the board game market will reach $12 billion. Incidentally, this is about a tenth of the amount the computer games market has seen in the same period. For novice players who don't like learning rules that range from very simple to very complex, there is a video on YouTube for most of the games released where experts explain the rules of the games step by step. So then you can just get on with playing. Still hesitant and thinking it's only fun for kids? Not at all, board games have been played since long before our era, in ancient, medieval and modern times, and it's a good thing that today they are thriving perhaps like never before. Enjoy!
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