Family games
The recent launch of Haunt the House and a visit to UK Games Expo where I picked up a copy of Spaghetti made me think about what family games are on the market and what distinguishes them from other tabletop games.
Tag: Family Games
Playtesting
When creating a new tabletop game, a large chunk of time is spent on testing. Even very simple games need to be thoroughly tested to ensure they work. Playtesting helps identify whether a game is fun, balanced or swingy, lasts the right amount of time, works with the intended number of players and if there any issues with the rules.
UK Games Expo 2018
If you are interested in any type of tabletop game for pretty much any reason, and you live in the UK, then the UK Games Expo 2018 at the NEC in Birmingham is a must. It's probably the biggest, and in my opinion best, tabletop games and accessories exhibition in the UK.
Variants and house rules
If you have played a few tabletop games, you will have probably come across some that either don't quite fit your expectations or are a little ambiguous. That's where variants and house rules come in.
Games on the go
It is great fun sitting around a table with friends or family playing a tabletop game. However, when you are out and about, you also want to play games. So you need something that is portable, quick to set up and quite rugged. If you want to play a game in a restaurant, while waiting for food, the game has to be either very quick, or easy to stop at any point. The game also can't take up too much space during play.
Rule books – the Holy Grail?
Every tabletop game comes with a rule book. Even the simplest game needs a basic set of rules. More complex games need longer rule books of course, but there comes a point at which a rule book becomes too long and turns people away from the game - and this point will be different for different people.
The long game
If you have played a few tabletop games, you will have noticed how game length varies drastically. Some games are specifically designed to last a very short amount of time. In fact, some games include a timer that explicitly limits the length of the game. Other games stretch over hours - or even days, but these are usually split into separate sessions, where you "save" the game and return to it another day.
Boxes full of air?
If you have bought a number of tabletop games, you will have noticed how some games fill out every inch of space in the box, while other games are basically a large box of air.
Design your own game – you can do it!
With the advent of crowd funding sites like Kickstarter, it has become easier to fund a new project - and the tabletop games industry has been overrun by games designers launching their own games with the help of people willing to sponsor their ideas. These days literally anyone can design a new game and try and make it a reality.
Chance or strategy
All games are a mixture of chance and strategy - Yahtzee is virtually pure chance, while Chess is virtually pure strategy, and there is a whole range in between of course. Chance and strategy affect specific aspects of games.