I love a good game with an atmospheric setting. I want to feel the cold as my meeples climb up the mountain, hear the bees as I place my apple tree hexes in my cider orchard, smell the smoke and the grease when my trains operate or see the next station that my underground train enters. A game that whisks you away and fully immerses you in another world for an hour or two or three is truly awesome. In this article, I want to look at a few that do it for me.
Ice And Snow
It seems that I like the idea of ice and snow. I certainly like the seasons and couldn’t imagine spending Christmas on a sunny beach somewhere. I love a cold, crisp winter’s day and seeing the Northern Lights while slowly meandering through the tundra on a dog sleigh in the Arctic Circle sounds quite appealing to me.
So maybe it’s no surprise that my favourite immersive game is K2. When I play this game, I can definitely feel the cold on my face and hear the icy wind howling around me. I imagine the loneliness of spending a night in a tent halfway up a mountain and how awful it must feel when you know your fellow climber is stuck even further up in hostile weather with a good chance of not making it out alive. I know, it does sound a bit morose, but maybe K2 is a game that makes me appreciate life more and makes me grateful that I can turn on the heating to stay warm.
In a similar vein is Through Ice and Snow, which feels like an impossible journey where everything is trying to kill you. Yet, you’re not alone. There is your crew and your fellow explorers. Mind you, when it comes to life and death, it’s everybody for themselves. So when you get ashore and spot animals which you can hunt for food, everyone’s morale goes up and hunger is staved off for at least one more day.
Maybe these two games say more about me than I want to admit. I do seem to like the feeling of overcoming adversity and pulling through, making it out the other side, maybe a little bit beaten up and bedraggled, but making it out nonetheless.
On the Move
I also like certain modes of transport, at least for shorter journeys. Take the underground for example. I’ve used Berlin’s U-Bahn, which quite often travels above ground, London’s famous Underground system, as well as Paris’ Metro. So it won’t be a surprise when I say I enjoy the Next Station series of games. Yet, calling them immersive might feel like a stretch. Not to me though.
Sure, playing Next Station: London isn’t like going down endless escalators and walking along endless tunnels to a platform, but it does feel like you’re in charge of deciding how the network runs and how it connects the various places of interest in England’s capital. Every time you connect another station and draw another line with your coloured pencil makes you feel more like a great urban planner. When the game ends, you proudly show off the clever connections you have made and the spaghetti-like network you have created.
Immersive in a different way is Flamme Rouge, which also represents a different mode of transport. It’s one of those games where you all start fresh and full of energy and end with almost complete exhaustion, pushing yourself to make a few more pedal strokes so that you make it over the line. Every time you manage to slipstream the peloton you feel great. Every time you fall further behind and have to take a penalty card your frustration grows. It all pays off when you somehow make it to the front of the line, break away from the pack, glide into first place and win the stage, guaranteeing you the yellow jersey for the next day.
Flamme Rouge‘s short burst of adrenalin contrasts with K2‘s sense of despair, but both games are amazingly immersive and I love them both.
Fighting Fit
Battles can also be really immersive.
As a cooperative game set in a fantasy world of knights, archers, orcs and dragons, Castle Panic is great at whisking you and your fellow players away into a castle under siege from hordes of enemies for an hour or so. You quickly forget where you are and focus on the options in front of you. Sometimes you can make big tactical moves and wipe most of the attackers off the board, while other times you just about manage to buy everyone a little more time.
While a fantasy setting is light and whimsical, playing a game set against the background of a real-world historical conflict is much heavier and more serious. The Undaunted series of games, like many conflict simulation games, is unable to convey the horrors of war, but it does well at reminding players that there were real people on both sides who lost their lives in often awful conditions. Undaunted: Normandy in particular takes me away from the day-to-day and makes me think about my options and how I can help the troops win their objective, all the while being reminded of what awful choices people faced during this conflict.
Having less loss of life, Votes for Women is another historical conflict simulation that draws me in and immerses me in the tough fight for gender equality with respect to voting. As a card-driven game, the game allows players to get a glimpse of what went on and how each side fought in this political battle. You get just enough of a taster to be left wanting more.
What About You?
I hope I was able to give you an idea of the types of games that I like to play when I want to immerse myself in a world away from my day-to-day. Now I want to know what your favourite game is that allows you to forget your worries and problems for at least a little while. What game is your go-to game when you want to destress? What games give you comfort and allow your mind to wander into another world? As always, please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. I am keen to hear what games you choose for full immersion.
Useful Links
- K2 review: https://tabletopgamesblog.
com/ 2021/ 09/ 25/ k2-digital-eyes/ - Next Station: London review: https://tabletopgamesblog.
com/ 2023/ 06/ 17/ next-station-london-saturday-review/ - Flamme Rouge review: https://tabletopgamesblog.
com/ 2024/ 07/ 13/ flamme-rouge-saturday-review/ - Castle Panic review: https://tabletopgamesblog.
com/ 2023/ 05/ 06/ castle-panic-saturday-review/ - Undaunted: Normandy review: https://tabletopgamesblog.
com/ 2022/ 07/ 23/ undaunted-normandy-saturday-review/ - Votes for Women review: https://tabletopgamesblog.
com/ 2024/ 02/ 10/ votes-for-women-digital-eyes/
Audio Version
Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.
Dreamsphere 2 by Sascha Ende
Free download: https://filmmusic.
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.
Playlist
These are the songs I listened to while I was writing this topic discussion article: