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Despite success on Siegers’ part - he landed them an SdJ winner, after all - the publisher abandoned their efforts a couple of years later, exiting the Eurogame scene. Mattel - best known for their kid’s toys such as Barbie - asked Siegers if he could make contact with the prominent game designers popular in Germany, such as Sackson, Randolph, and Kramer. Mattel picked up Café International through the efforts of Roland Siegers. Hoffmann did much of the game’s art himself, as was the case with many of his games. He had always thought it rewarding to meet the people of different nations, and he thought it would make a great theme for the game. The idea of the game featuring different nationalities came to Hoffmann shortly before the game’s publication. The bar was abstracted in the final game because alcohol consumption was considered too touchy of a subject. The points for visiting the bar in the middle of the gameboard represented the ups and downs of alcohol consumption when drinking alone: first comes fun with each additional drink, but that soon triggers a drunken downward slide.

When Hoffmann originally conceived the idea it was not different nationalities seated in a cafe, but rather different folklore groups seated in a Bavarian-themed tavern. The jury cited the game’s theme, family friendliness, and healthy combination of luck and skill.Ĭafé International was in development for nearly 20 years before its 1989 publication by Mattel. His best known work, Café International, won the SdJ in 1989 after being ranked number one that year by eight of the nine jury members. He wasn’t as active during the early 1980s (although he did receive a 1981 SdJ nomination for Ganoven Jagd), but he made a comeback later in the decade, receiving nominations for Janus (1988), Maestro (1989), Heuchel und Meuchel (1990), Ramparts (1993), and Minister (1998). He released his first game in the 1960s, and then he released more than 20 titles in the 1970s. Though his name isn’t mentioned much today, he had an enormous impact on the German hobby, and his name belongs alongside Sid Sackson and Alex Randolph. Rudi Hoffmann was one of the earliest – and most prolific – of the German game designers. Times Played: > 5 (On the 1989 Mattel German Second Edition)Ĭafé International: Rudi Hoffmann gets a win….