Heavy Times (Topic Discussion)

Post read time 4 min readLeave a Comment on Heavy Times (Topic Discussion)

Text and board games are inextricably linked. You find text in various places in every board game to a greater or lesser extent. I can't think of any game that doesn't have some text somewhere, but feel free to prove me wrong in the comments below. At the very least, there will be text on the box, stating where the game was made or what its player count is. At the other end of the spectrum, you'll find games that are text-heavy. I want to look at the varying levels of use of text in modern board games.

Design challenges (Topic Discussion)

Post read time 5 min readLeave a Comment on Design challenges (Topic Discussion)

The list of tasks a game designer has open at any one point in time can be very long and it is constantly evolving. Designing a game is a long journey, even for the simplest of games. It can be a battle between what's good for the game and what the game designer wants the game to be. It comes with a lot of changes, some of them very painful, some of them creating the long-needed breakthrough that breaks an impasse. Elements get added, others get taken out until eventually, the final product bears little resemblance to the notes that were scribbled on a piece of paper when the designer had an initial idea.

Leading role (Topic Discussion)

Post read time 6 min readLeave a Comment on Leading role (Topic Discussion)

We all love high quality, gorgeous game components. Chunky dice, metal coins, thick cardboard, linen finished cards, detailed miniatures or custom meeples. However, what we often forget is how components are used in games. We all know about rolling dice, playing cards and placing workers, but there are other, much more inventive ways of using components in games that can make playing them more memorable and exciting for us and it is one of the things that I am always keeping an eye out for.

Great expectations (Topic Discussion)

Post read time 5 min readLeave a Comment on Great expectations (Topic Discussion)

Of course it is important to make sure everyone knows about the game you're planning to release very soon or the campaign that's going to launch on Kickstarter shortly. You want people to be excited, so they share it with their friends. You want people to think your game is the best fit for them, so it can compete with the myriad of other games vying for people's attention all the time. In fact, you want your game to be amazing - the best it can be. You want others to love it as much as you do. However, there comes a point at which you might be promising more than the game can deliver. You can run the risk of overhyping your game, which can have a hugely negative effect.

Faking it (Topic Discussion)

Post read time 3 min read4 Comments on Faking it (Topic Discussion)

We all have heard of knock-off copies of designer bags or clothing, illegal copying of DVDs and CDs, as well as cheap versions of toys that are basically replicas of products sold by big brands. After all, there is good money to be had by the makers of these fakes, as well as a good chunk of money to be saved by people who buy the copies instead of the much more expensive originals. However, what is probably less well known is that modern board games have also become a target of unscrupulous people who want to make a quick buck. So, let me give you a couple of examples of games which were counterfeit in the last couple of years and the lessons we should take away.

Playing together (Topic Discussion)

Post read time 4 min read1 Comment on Playing together (Topic Discussion)

In recent years, there seems to have been a surge in board game events in the UK, where people come together for a day or two to play games with old friends and new. I'm thinking of events like AireCon, Manorcon or Tabletop Scotland, but there are many more. These events are different to expos, like the UK Games Expo, which do have open play or tournaments, but whose main focus is on exhibitors showing off their products. What I want to talk about here are more like festivals, where the focus is on playing, and exhibitors, seminars and other activities are secondary - and I want to look at AireCon in particular.

Fear of the new (Topic Discussion)

Post read time 3 min readLeave a Comment on Fear of the new (Topic Discussion)

Sure. It's always great to play with the latest shinies and be at the cutting edge of what board games have to offer. It makes you feel trendy, in-the-know or it's just great to have bought something new. I love it myself. It's amazing when someone offers you a game for review that hasn't been released yet. You feel honoured. It's a special thing. It just makes you happy, and enjoying games has a lot to do with happiness for a lot of people. However, there is also the flipside. It can be stressful, and often very expensive, to always hunt for the latest game, the newest release. Your fear of missing out can turn into panic. That's when it's time to remind ourselves where our interest in the hobby started.

Home teaching (Topic Discussion)

Post read time 3 min readLeave a Comment on Home teaching (Topic Discussion)

Growing up, I played a lot of tabletop games with my parents and brother. Yes, there was Monopoly of course, as well as other roll and move games such as Winnetou, but also tableau builders like Ogalala and a stock market game called Die Börse which required a little more strategic thinking. It was mostly my brother who would teach us these sort of games, and my parents would teach us trick-taking games like Skat and Doppelkopf.

Play styles (Topic Discussion)

Post read time 3 min read4 Comments on Play styles (Topic Discussion)

We all play games for different reasons, and we all approach them differently. In fact, we may play the same game differently on two different days, just because we're in a different mood. However, I'm not talking about playing a different strategy or choosing a different character or even just playing with a different player colour. I'm talking about something different altogether.

Enjoyable design (Topic Discussion)

Post read time 5 min readLeave a Comment on Enjoyable design (Topic Discussion)

Tabletop game designers want to create an enjoyable experience for people - whatever enjoyable means in this context. From that starting point, they create a game that is balanced, flows well and meets the desired complexity requirements, as well as meets other criteria. They may use the skillset of developers to refine everything, and if a publisher is involved, there will be additional criteria that have to be met. However, in this article, I want to focus on enjoyment, what it means and whose responsibility it is to make a game enjoyable.