Joe SlackPost read time 8 min readLeave a Comment on How Realtime Games Deliver Excitement (Topic Discussion)Hey there. It's Joe Slack from the Board Game Design Course. Oliver was kind enough to let me return and write another guest post on his blog, this time about realtime games and the experience that they deliver. I hope you enjoy the article!
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, there is no lion, but a bunch of four, intrepid explorers trying to make their way through. The paths they cut into the vegetation will cross each other and wind their way almost aimlessly from the edge of the forest to finally emerge at four different temples and each explorer is trying to get to their specific temple. It's not clear why each explorer has their heart set on only one, specific destination, but that's how it goes in Karuba by HABA.
The seasons had been disrupted, a clear indication that climate change was taking its toll. Animal migrations were affected and everything was out of sync. We had to do everything we could to restore order in the world and make everything right again. However, we only had 15 Days by ThunderGryph Games.
Sparkling jewels, shiny gems and precious stones lay in front of you - but only a handful and not necessarily the best example. Your hope was to sell some them for enough profit to be able to buy shares in a diamond mine and attract highly skilled craftspeople who would transform the slightly lacklustre gems into magnificent jewels and allow you to bask in Splendor by Space Cowboys.
Your stable is ready. You've chosen three creatures from your selection of 30. There are the Chill Wraith, the Stasis Golem and the Skinling. You know that some of them will lose and some will win, which is fine. In fact, it's what you're betting on happening, because if you win your bet, irrespective of whether the creature wins or loses, it will give you a strategic advantage in the next round of combat. You also have a few trumps up your sleeves. The Iron Tusks, which you have kept back for now, will make one of the creatures even stronger, and you have pulled some strings behind the scenes, so you know that you can fix one of the matches in your favour. You are confident that you will come out on top in Underleague by Cogwright Games.
"Diamonds, gold, silver, cloth, spices, leather," you shout from your stall into the hustle and bustle of the market. You are not the only trader vying for the many people wandering around the square, most of whom are tourists looking for a bargain. In fact, there is one other trader selling the same wares as you, and both of you pride yourselves on selling the finest goods. Neither of you wants to sell cheap, but if you're not quick enough, prices will drop and you will end up with a stall full of unsold items. However, what you both want most, over everything else, is to attract the Maharajah's eye and be granted one of his rare Seals of Excellence in the hope that you will become his personal trader in Jaipur by GameWorks.
For a lot of seasoned gamers only heavy games with a lot of complexity, many different mechanisms and that last at least two hours are worth playing. If you bring a light game to your weekly games group, chances are it will not be chosen and left on the pile. That is a real shame, because many of the recently released lighter games are a lot of fun and actually more tricky and demanding than you'd think.
Inspired by Tweets following the recent Essen Spiel 2018 by a fair few people, I thought I write about one of the reasons I love the tabletop games industry: wanting to play a game whenever, wherever. In fact, many of us try and see a game in everyday activities. It is usually not about being competitive, but much more about being playful, having imagination and sharing an experience with other people - or it can be about beating your own best score, whether this is in a competitive, co-operative or solo game.
Since the days of Yahtzee, roll-and-writes, as these games are now known, have made a huge comeback: Roll through the Ages by Matt Leacock, Kokoro: Avenue of the Kodama by Indie Boards and Cards, Harvest Dice by Grey Fox Games and the recent Railroad Ink by CMON are some of the many games in the genre.
