Board Game Arena

Sicily, the 80s. The sun is high in the sky and you soak in the Mediterranean life. You sit a café terrace, savoring an espresso, watching the world go by. Life seems calm, almost idyllic. But appearances can be deceiving. Beneath this sunlit façade, the Cosa Nostra, in what is known as “The Great Mafia War,” is tearing through Sicily, leaving no family, town, or street untouched.
 
In La Famiglia: The Great Mafia War, you face off one another to take control of Sicily. Six distinct families are at your disposal, each offering different advantages, from ruthless enforcers to clever schemers.
 
The game rounds are divided into two phases. In the planning phase, you develop your abilities and bring fighters as well as secret orders to the board. In the combat phase, these orders are revealed and executed. Whoever best combines and coordinates its abilities will dominate as many regions as possible and, ultimately, Sicily.
 
Winner of the 2024 As d’Or Expert Game, La Famiglia is an intense area-control experience that offers a simple but innovative combat system where strategic planning is key to domination. Whether you’re a seasoned strategist or a newcomer (we have a tutorial for you), get a taste of mafia life where every move matters, and betrayal is always just around the corner.
https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=lafamiglia
 
Our gratitude goes to Maximilian Maria Thiel, the game designer, and the Boardgame Atelier family.** And we’d like to extend our thanks to LeSteffen and Tishanu for the BGA port.
 
This was your Wednesday "heavy" release!
No rings were kissed during the making of this article. Take care and play fair… or else.

The game was controversial in Italy:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/ ... mafia-wars

Ingoschi wrote: ↑15 April 2026, 15:51 The game was controversial in Italy:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/ ... mafia-wars

It is indeed. No shop is selling this. Very sad argument to make a game***

Edited

I agree. I’m Italian and I remember when Giovanni Falcone,Paolo Borsellino and their staff were murdered. I love board games , but this is a sad page of Italian history and I can’t imagine to assume this role in a game

E74 wrote: ↑15 April 2026, 18:57 I agree. I’m Italian and I remember when Giovanni Falcone,Paolo Borsellino and their staff were murdered. I love board games , but this is a sad page of Italian history and I can’t imagine to assume this role in a game

I agree. But apparently only the Americans have the right to be offended about everything (see countless controversial topics on Boardgamegeek), while for this game everything is fine

Aren't war games in general problematic for the same reasons? I rarely play combat based games and especially deterred by those with a historical element rather than fictitious circumstance.
However, historical games can create talking points that are useful as educational tools.
What makes this game worse than other games of this genre?

I disagree with the negative comments. Plenty of games about morally questionable topics. Also plenty of italians calling the new puerto rico without slavery "woke". Now suddenly there are topics that shouldn't be made a game because it touches us. Grow up.

A very "Leave the gun, take the cannoli" themed game. Appreciate the publisher, designer, and developers bringing this to BGA. Nice to see some heavies here.

It is not at all clear to me why this game should be especially offensive to anyone. Are all WW2 games "offensive" to Germany, Italy, and Japan? Should the French be offended by Waterloo? Are all Greeks in high dudgeon about any game based on the Battle of Thermopylae? Should the English refuse to play any Robin Hood themed game? As an "American" I am not even slightly offended by games based on the Vietnam War. There are more board games about U.S. based gangsters such as Al Capone than I can enumerate off the top of my head.

How many numerous video games are offensive to different people. To each their own, player discretion is advised.