I generally feel that board games should be fun and interesting. Theme, look and feel are as important as mechanics. Some people might worry that I will only bring Ameri-trash games to the Board Game Monday Events but I welcome anyone to suggest and supply whatever they wish to play. I have also dug out my small supply of Euro-games and will be making events for them in the coming months.
Really the most important element is being able to have fun with the people you play with. The game, however mechanically flawed, is just an excuse to hang out.
Hmm…I kind of disagree. Mechanics mean a lot to me – understanding the ins and outs of a game is part of the fun. I like making meaningful decisions in a game, and if I lose, I like to know it’s because I made the wrong decisions, not because of arbitrary outcomes I had no control over.
An excuse to hang out? We organize five games a week! Since when has that been a major concern?
But I take your point on theme. I don’t discount the importance of it. But theme can be things other than fantasy and sci-fi, too. It can be farming or trains or the Rennaissance or anything else. It’s a bit like roleplaying games in that way. I love fantasy, but I also love Fiasco and Ribbon Drive and My Life With Master.
Hmm…I kind of disagree. Mechanics mean a lot to me – understanding the ins and outs of a game is part of the fun. I like making meaningful decisions in a game, and if I lose, I like to know it’s because I made the wrong decisions, not because of arbitrary outcomes I had no control over.
An excuse to hang out? We organize five games a week! Since when has that been a major concern?
But I take your point on theme. I don’t discount the importance of it. But theme can be things other than fantasy and sci-fi, too. It can be farming or trains or the Rennaissance or anything else. It’s a bit like roleplaying games in that way. I love fantasy, but I also love Fiasco and Ribbon Drive and My Life With Master.
Mechanics are important too. I just think that some games can be forgiven a weak mechanic or to if the rwst of the game incourages fun. Ive played alot of games with solid stratagy but just feel like a race to collec5 the most points, or wood cubes. Ive also played games where it seemed I had little or ocasional control but the action was exciting or funny enough that I didnt worry about it.
Not playing enough is not a concern for me, Im just saying the reason I show up is to injoy some social interaction and that can happen dispite a games weak mechanics or even bad theme
Mechanics are important too. I just think that some games can be forgiven a weak mechanic or to if the rwst of the game incourages fun. Ive played alot of games with solid stratagy but just feel like a race to collec5 the most points, or wood cubes. Ive also played games where it seemed I had little or ocasional control but the action was exciting or funny enough that I didnt worry about it.
Not playing enough is not a concern for me, Im just saying the reason I show up is to injoy some social interaction and that can happen dispite a games weak mechanics or even bad theme
Sorry, I am not good at texting on this tablet
Sorry, I am not good at texting on this tablet
Daniel Fowler I think we’re in agreement, essentially. I take for granted the social interaction part – if we’re not having fun, irrespective of the balance between theme and mechanics, what’s the point?
To me, I love when a game’s theme and mechanics match up. Even the best Euro games sometimes miss the mark there (I’m thinking of the games of Reiner Knizia which, while mechanically solid, tend to have pasted-on themes). Some examples of games that get it right: Agricola, Battlestar Galactica, Modern Art, Power Grid, Pandemic. In each case, the thing you’re doing mechanically feels like an interpretation of the thing your characters are supposed to be doing in the game’s fiction. That’s gaming Nirvana to me.
It’s the same with roleplaying games. 4E is an incredibly balanced game, but it has a bunch of mechanics that have no relationship to anything happening in the fiction, such as Health Surges. In the fiction, what the fuck is a ‘health surge?’ Who the hell knows? It exists solely to bring mechanical balance and, as such, it feels hollow.
On the other hand, My Life With Master is a game about the minions of an abusive Dr. Frankenstein-style master. The mechanics directly reflect the fiction in the sense that, in the beginning, the dice do not favor you and you constantly succumb to the master’s will. But as things progress, and as your minion establishes friendships in the community, he needs the master less and less, and so the dice start to favor him. It’s a very elegant mechanical interpretation of what the story is about.
Daniel Fowler I think we’re in agreement, essentially. I take for granted the social interaction part – if we’re not having fun, irrespective of the balance between theme and mechanics, what’s the point?
To me, I love when a game’s theme and mechanics match up. Even the best Euro games sometimes miss the mark there (I’m thinking of the games of Reiner Knizia which, while mechanically solid, tend to have pasted-on themes). Some examples of games that get it right: Agricola, Battlestar Galactica, Modern Art, Power Grid, Pandemic. In each case, the thing you’re doing mechanically feels like an interpretation of the thing your characters are supposed to be doing in the game’s fiction. That’s gaming Nirvana to me.
It’s the same with roleplaying games. 4E is an incredibly balanced game, but it has a bunch of mechanics that have no relationship to anything happening in the fiction, such as Health Surges. In the fiction, what the fuck is a ‘health surge?’ Who the hell knows? It exists solely to bring mechanical balance and, as such, it feels hollow.
On the other hand, My Life With Master is a game about the minions of an abusive Dr. Frankenstein-style master. The mechanics directly reflect the fiction in the sense that, in the beginning, the dice do not favor you and you constantly succumb to the master’s will. But as things progress, and as your minion establishes friendships in the community, he needs the master less and less, and so the dice start to favor him. It’s a very elegant mechanical interpretation of what the story is about.
I agree with everything you just said except the health surge. Your character obviously drinks a red bull and then smashes the can aganst his skull
I agree with everything you just said except the health surge. Your character obviously drinks a red bull and then smashes the can aganst his skull
What player count are you guys considering ideal for game night? Something that plays at least 5-6? I’ve got a decent collection and wouldn’t mind supplying. I’m more into the euro side of things but my collection is all over the place.
What player count are you guys considering ideal for game night? Something that plays at least 5-6? I’ve got a decent collection and wouldn’t mind supplying. I’m more into the euro side of things but my collection is all over the place.
Some ideas:
Nations
Eldritch Horror
Tzolkin
Euphoria
Lewis and Clark
Kemet
Suburbia
Galaxy Trucker
Manhattan Project
Space Cadets: Dice Duel
Some ideas:
Nations
Eldritch Horror
Tzolkin
Euphoria
Lewis and Clark
Kemet
Suburbia
Galaxy Trucker
Manhattan Project
Space Cadets: Dice Duel
Greg Feeney Honestly, I’m not sure it matters. The way we normally do Gauntlet events is we fill-up the scheduled game first and then if we have too many people, we have back-up games ready to go. This hasn’t been an issue with board game night so far, because it’s new and doesn’t have much of a turnout yet, but this is how we handle RPGs on Wednesdays and Fridays, which typically have enough attendance for two or three games going at once.
So long as there are a few games on-hand, we’re usually good – with the understanding that we play the scheduled game first and foremost. What this won’t be is a loosely-defined thing where people bring whatever game they want and then we somehow try to decide what to play. That never works (and it’s also just not how we do business in The Gauntlet).
Having said all that, if there is a game you’d like to get to the table, let Daniel Fowler know so he can make it the scheduled game for an upcoming Monday.
Greg Feeney Honestly, I’m not sure it matters. The way we normally do Gauntlet events is we fill-up the scheduled game first and then if we have too many people, we have back-up games ready to go. This hasn’t been an issue with board game night so far, because it’s new and doesn’t have much of a turnout yet, but this is how we handle RPGs on Wednesdays and Fridays, which typically have enough attendance for two or three games going at once.
So long as there are a few games on-hand, we’re usually good – with the understanding that we play the scheduled game first and foremost. What this won’t be is a loosely-defined thing where people bring whatever game they want and then we somehow try to decide what to play. That never works (and it’s also just not how we do business in The Gauntlet).
Having said all that, if there is a game you’d like to get to the table, let Daniel Fowler know so he can make it the scheduled game for an upcoming Monday.
Sounds good. I use the same strategy at my own game night. Much easier to get a variety of games to the table that way and people can gauge their interest beforehand rather than getting stuck playing something that doesn’t interest them.
Sounds good. I use the same strategy at my own game night. Much easier to get a variety of games to the table that way and people can gauge their interest beforehand rather than getting stuck playing something that doesn’t interest them.
Greg Feeney In gaming, dictatorships are better than democracies.
Greg Feeney In gaming, dictatorships are better than democracies.
Also my parenting strategy. 😉
Also my parenting strategy. 😉
As long as it can work with 4 people it will be fine. We consistantly get 4 but I would love to se 6 or more. And I always have backups in my truck
I have played galaxy trucker befor and liked it. Will7ng to try just about any game
As long as it can work with 4 people it will be fine. We consistantly get 4 but I would love to se 6 or more. And I always have backups in my truck
I have played galaxy trucker befor and liked it. Will7ng to try just about any game