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The idea for Friedrich de Luxe was born in 2006 when I started to organize the 1st Friedrich World Championship.

In Friedrich players use an army sheet to write down the allocation of their troops to their generals. Basically, this is a good method, but it is prone to cheating. While this seems not a problem in a game with friends – because when you realize that a friend is cheating, you would simply stop playing with him – it becomes an issue in a tournament; and even more when the tournament is a World Championship.

So, the question was: How can you play Friedrich without the army sheets? What method can be used to provide security against cheating during recruitment, troop transfer, and loss-taking while still maintaining secrecy, and, on top of that, be easy and comfortable for the players to use?

I don't remember who came up with the idea of using matchbox lids. Certainly, it was not me. But the idea was brilliant. It was simple and met all requirements in an optimum way.

And so the system of the matchbox lids was used, from the 1st World Championship since today. It was also adapted by the organizers of the Spanish and British Opens (CAFE & FUK).

The participants of these tournaments loved the matchbox lid system, and so it was an obvious thought to produce it in a large scale. But, the years went by and I was unable to solve the core problem. Since the De-Luxe-expansion offers no surplus gaming value, but only a higher comfort, the price should not be too high. Otherwise I would not be able to sell it.

The main source of costs are the lids: For a professional production, matchbox lids were no option, because they are too flimsy and don't feel de-luxe at all. Stable card stock boxes are impossibel to produce in the required small size; there are technical limits of the machines. The only option were plastic box lids. For these, however, you need a mold. And a mold is really expensive!

But then I thought: When players should ever be able to play Friedrich in a de-luxe way, I have to be a bit radical. Therefore, I decided to produce the expansion without a box (since the components will fit in the original box when you remove the inlay), and to sell it without the help of distributors, but only directly. By this, I was able to lower the price significantly.

Considering this, the de-luxe project is a bit risky. But I hope that players will understand my decision and enjoy playing Friedrich and Maria without a pen.

Richard Sivél
Berlin, February, 2021