Aurélien Assié, inventor of a board game relating to mining, stopped off in Decazeville. The opportunity to present “Mine!” to those present and to be able to explain its design.
You might think that board games are old-fashioned and have become a little dusty in today’s Internet age. This is not the case.
In recent years, gaming in all its forms – long confined to childhood or rainy Sundays – has found a second wind, with this desire to play and have good times together, with friends or family. And for some practitioners, it’s a way to recreate shared attention without an intervening screen.
There are the classic and essential games, chess, Monopoly, Mille Bornes, Cluedo, Trivial Pursuit, etc. However, new games are also created regularly, particularly in France, so much so that France has become the leading European board game market.
Aurélien Assié, originally from Carmaux but who also has roots in the Decazeville region, stepped into the breach and created a game called “Mine!”, an explicit reference to the mining country.
Pedagogical dimension
While visiting the Decazeville Press House (Presse Bulle), he met the public to explain the rules and subtleties of his game: “I have already invented other games, this one was close to my heart because of my origins. It sets in motion the strategy and the reflection, played in two phases, with a maximum of six players. During the first phase, we keep the cards hidden.
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The cards are revealed in the second phase, which allow the extraction of coal, its storage, its sale or even its theft, from one mine to another. Six French coal basins are concerned: Blanzy, Decazeville, Cagnac-les-Mines, Gardanne, Lens and Saint-Étienne. A game normally lasts 30 minutes. Besides the fun aspect, “Mine!” also offers an educational dimension.
To summarize another way, as a mine manager, you must best manage your coal mine, its operation and the inherent events.
Gift idea
Aurélien Assié was present at the Cransac-les-Thermes Gaming and Well-being Fair at the end of May. Furthermore, the “Lassalle de jeux” association, which was created in Decazeville at the beginning of last year, acquired “Mine!” in order to broaden your palette and delve, among other things, into the Basin’s mining past, but watch out for firedamp shots!
This can be an original gift idea (if you don’t yet have an idea for Father’s Day). “Mine !” is on sale at the Maison de la presse in Decazeville, at the La Mine à Feuille bookstore, at the Cransac thermal baths and at the tourist office (recommended price: €30).
