To celebrate its 15th anniversary, Fuorisalone.it has created a real game of Fuorisalone, a board game born from the desire to revive the most important design week in the world, that of Milan Design Week.
As part of Design Week 2018, scheduled from 17 to 22 April in Milan, Studiolabo introduces the board game Fuorisalone, a game produced by Cranio Creations that invites participants to experience the frenzy of that week of must-see events
Fuorisalone.it decided to celebrate its 15th anniversary creating the Fuorisalone board game, a project originating from the desire to turn the amazing and unique experience of the Milan Design Week into a game, allowing people to live the most important design week everywhere in the world.
Fuorisalone is the set of events which take place in different areas of Milan, that take place for a week at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, the most important trade fair in the world.
Every April, designers, creatives, and buyers venture to Italy for the whirlwind spectacle that is Milan Design Week.
Much like the real thing, Fuorisalone is all about seeing and doing more than everyone else
During the design week, Milan becomes a chaotic city where hundreds of events take place at the same time; will you be able to visit them all?
Choose the best daily route and collect design objects before anyone else, but remember you just have six days for that!
The Fuorisalone game asks players to basically breeze through a week’s worth of events as efficiently as possible.
Using a map and a card deck illustrated by artist Silvia Gherra, up to four players will have to “ choose the best daily route and collect design objects before anyone else.”
In essence, the game formalizes the unspoken competition that design lovers embark on each year, without any of the tedious small talk, crowds, or obligation to leave the house.
And while it’s literally impossible to attend every one of the thousands of events, the “ Fear of Missing Out “ is even worse for those stuck at home, cut off from the annual beating heart of the design world.
In order to perform, the Fuorisalone “pro” is able to minimize useless happenings, to dribble long-winding talkers, to follow alternative suggestions.
And, year after year, the game ends late at night, when he or she collapses on the sofa, filled up with adrenaline (and often more liquids than solids).
Shall we call it an exhilarating experience? Or A nightmare?
The answer to these questions varies, depending on the day (and the time) in which it is asked
Making a smart agenda to miss as little as possible, running from one place to the next, while carefully avoiding the rubbish.
“For all those who work in design, the Fuorisalone is a stressful moment. Yet when they are in the middle of it, the sentence that we hear the most is: “wouldn’t it be great if it could be just like this all year round”? ” ………. Cristian Confalonieri of StudioLabo
The Milan Design Week board game incorporates the main design districts of the Fuorisalone, such as
5 vie art+design,
BASE Milano,
Brera Design District,
Milano Space Makers,
Oriental Design Week,
Superstudio più,
Tortona Design Week,
Triennale di Milano,
Ventura Future,
Zona Sant’Ambrogio.
Authors: Cristian Confalonieri (Studiolabo), Lorenzo Tucci Sorrentino (Cranio Creations)
Illustrations: Silvia Gherra (silosilo.com)
Graphics: Andrea Venegoni (Studiolabo)
Game rules: Fabrizio Somma (Studiolabo)
Edited by: Giuliano Acquati (Cranio Creations)
Game Creators
15 years ago, Cristian Confalonieri and Paolo Casati ( from StudioLabo ) created the platform that clusters all the events of the Milan Design Week = Fuorisalone.it
They designed the game in collaboration with Cranio Creations, an Italian company specialised in the creation, production and distribution of board games.
StudioLabo curated the play section in the 999 questions exhibition currently at the Triennale and developed the idea during the 2017 Brera Design district part of FuoriSalone
“ Our objective was to create a truly original game, not just a gadget for the event, something that could evoke the atmosphere of Fuorisalone, simple and easy to play with by anyone and at anytime, also those who don’t know anything about Fuorisalone. Board games are becoming very popular and a project for a board game is a fully-fledged design project, much more complex than it might seem, at which a team of game designers, graphic designers and experts in usability, marketing and communication all worked hand in hand for months.”
“ We have been working on games for a while now And while studying some games we realized that much of the logic required to play well was similar to the one that needs to be used to creare a “good” Fuorisalone agenda. The reason why we preferred a Board game rather than a video game is that this is segment that the public seems to appreciate more and more, it’s a return, and a very creatively lively area to work on “ ……………..Cristian Confalonieri
After first outlining the game concept, some 7 months were spent working with Lorenzo Tucci Sorrentino,
“ We decided to join this interesting and innovative project because Fuorisalone.it is one of the most internationally-known Milan-based brands and, just like Cranio Creations, it exports the image of the high-quality, Made-in-Italy product worldwide. We believe that this alchemy generated a product that reflects the soul of Milan. The Fuorisalone board game will in fact allow you to relive this unique experience at home, remembering places and players that celebrate Milan as world design capital.” …………… Lorenzo Tucci Sorrentino, CEO and Game Designer of Cranio Creations
The game mirrors the Milan Design Week experience with 68 key Fuorisalone locations from the past few years, such as La Triennale di Milano, Bar Basso and BASE, to the hidden historic buildings of the city of Milan.
“ Deciding what to put on the board and what to leave out was like doing a 10,000 pieces puzzle. just to keep within the playing metaphor “ ……. Cristian Confalonieri
The other half of the board is divided into Morning, Afternoon and Evening
For each moment of the day there will be four events at the same time in different locations, the task of each player is to reach at least one event to collect the corresponding card.
Each Location card depicts a design object-icon, with multiple items you can complete the objectives that will earn you victory points.
The design icons included in the game are: Juicy Salif lemon squeezer by Philippe Starck (Alessi), Eclisse table lamp by Vico Magistretti (Artemide), Gnomes side table by Philippe Starck (Kartell), Panton chair by Verner Panton (Vitra), Puppy pouf by Eero Aarnio (Magis), P40 lounge chair by Osvaldo Borsani (Tecno).
At each go the player can stay still or move to another location on foot, if the two are connected, or using the tube.
Players can move once, or also many times.
But only the first move is free, for the other moves a Player will have to pay three coins (the ones that are given to the first attendee at events).
The winner is the one who, at the end, has collected more points
Players will then have to study the best strategy to collect the ones that will earn more points.
The objective being for each player to join as many events as possible to gain the highest score.
Just choose the best daily route and collect design objects before others, all in just six days!
Therefore, the winner is the one who is best at moving around the city, identifying the most important places and events according to the time of day, exactly as it happens in reality.
Just like in real life, also in the game you have the feeling to be missing something important all of the time.
But it’s important to keep focused and to plan long term:
What you do not want to happen (like at the real Fuorisalone) is to find yourself in the middle of the night in a place where nothing is going on.
A bit of stress is part of the game
Suitable for 2 to 4 players,
Age 14+,
Game time about 50 minutes.
The Game
Testing @ Game Play day at Sala Dino Buzzati Sede Rcs, Milan 21st March, 2018
Components of the game
1 Game board;
1 Day Scoreboard;
4 Player pawns;
161 Tokens Fuorisalone.it;
15 Location Flags;
68 Location Cards;
65 Objective Cards thus divided;
20 3-point cards (3-5-8-12 points);
6 Object Cards;
4 Instructions Cards;
1 Turn player card;
1 Day counter Fuorisalone.it;
1 Moment day counter Fuorisalone.it;
1 Regulation.
“ A board game is certainly a design project. It is complex and ever changing and it acquires a shape throughout actual testing. It’s an object that will have to sell: its development requires a certain attention from its market. And it has to have a presence on the shelves and online but also a clear interface. When you open the box, you should figure out immediately what to do ” ……… Christian
Like the Fuorisalone which changes, the game also expands and changes too
The first adaption is already available and can be downloaded from the web site.
The game also has a QR code that allows players to download extra cards and rules.
During the Fuorisalone there will be a workshop in which Polytechnic students will hack the game and include the Bovisa area on the board
Where to Buy
The game is available from March 9th, 2018 in the main specialty stores, bookstores and online at Cranio Creations website as well as on the main e-commerce websites for € 34,95.
It may not measure up to the real thing, but it’s certainly a steep discount over a round-trip flight to Milan.
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