Games with artists as protagonists have a good tradition in European gaming, if one thinks of classics like ‘Princes of Florence’ or ‘Leonardo da Vinci’. There are also many games, in which artists (or at least artistically ambitious craftsmen) play an important role, like in ‘Pillars of the Earth’. It’s a well-liked theme, which perhaps can be explained by the special role of art itself in European history.

In ‘Fresco’ players emulate Michelangelo and mix their colour pots to create a huge ceiling painting. Important for this is not only good action management but also to keep one’s artist happy and inspired (that one cannot be happy and inspired with too little sleep should be common knowledge). ‘Fresco’ is one of those rare games in which theme and mechanics blend well. In fact the game is explained very easily because everything is logical and clear. In a wonderful way it is equally good as a family game (buying and mixing colours is fun) but also as a freak game (action optimizing) – therefore it can be wholeheartedly recommend to all kinds of gamers.