We all prefer different types of tabletop games, but there is now a trend towards games that take longer to play – and we are talking several hours. These games aren’t necessarily heavy or difficult to play, but use simple mechanisms to tell a story that simply takes a long time to explore.
7th Continent by Serious Poulp is a good example for a game that isn’t too difficult to learn, but intentionally takes many, many hours to finish. It comes with a save mechanism, which is a life saver and encourages you to break the game into smaller sessions. You can literally put it all away and continue play where you left off.
However, many other games don’t offer that option. Rising Sun by CMON and Scythe by Stonemaier Games are two games that are quite heavy and easily take a couple of hours to play through – which can be too long for some player. These games don’t have an easy way of putting it all away and picking it up at the same place on another day.
Some people revert to taking photos of the game, or writing down who has what, so that they can put everything back in the box and continue play on another occasion. That of course does work for some, but other people may find it too much of a hassle.
There are also people who are lucky enough to have a dedicated games table, or even a dedicated games room, where they can leave their game set up for as long as they like and continue play when they are ready. Some games tables, such as those from Geeknson, even allow you to cover up the play area, leaving the game state untouched, while making the table usable for other things – maybe even for setting up a second game, while you pause the first.
So, what do you do about long games? Do you just bear it and play all the way through? Do you simply take photos and set everything up the next time you play? Or do you even avoid long games altogether, because you simply can’t be fussed? Please post your thoughts in the comments below.