![]() ![]() Board games as a whole have kind of slipped to the bottom of the list. Obviously we all have many more choices than we did in the 70s when it comes to entertainment options. Computers and computer games and internet are the biggies. But since those days a lot of things have changed. I used to play quite a few board games back in the days when I first began playing AD&D. It's not the complexity, per se, hurting board games. The author is absolutely mistaken, because he's taking for granted the social capital that was involved in learning the rules to board games in the first place, and discounting the ease of availability of low or no-effort past-times in the modern era. Understanding the rules as written requires some amount of demonstration-I learned this trying to teach others how to play Risk. "What the heck is reinforcing?" "So I can roll a die for each person?" etc. The set up is confusing if you don't have a basis for what it means. Imagine learning to play risk from the written text alone. They become likened to the games that are truly arcane, because without a group of people learning together in actual play, they might as well be. Without all those people playing, there are few people from which to learn the rules or even play the game to get a feel for it. People who might otherwise have done games with friends by table top instead play online on aa multiplayer game that allows convenient and quick access to all the needed players. The monolith that is console and PC gaming has destroyed a lot of board game play. So why do the other games get the bad rap? Because board games are much less in-vogue. Go is exceedingly complex, but it's survived how many thousand years? They are not modern games by any stretch of the imagination. And don't forget, Dune and Axis and Allies remain simultaneously two of the most complex board games and two of the most cult classic board games. Let's be clear Gloomhaven, Arkham Horror, and a number of other recent-ish board games are exceedingly complicated. If not, it probably seems as dense as some of the games referred to. Most are some form of: draw a card and do what it says, take your turn with 1 of so many actions, then end your turn.īut here's the key. In fact, they're exceedingly straightforward once someone plays with you. 5-Minute Dungeon, Evolution, Legendary, Small World, Red Dragon Inn, Zombicide, Pandemic, The Captain is Dead, Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, Olympus, Lords of Waterdeep, Betrayal, Code Names, Medici, etc.-they all have their own complexities to be sure. Games aren't really that much more complex. One usually learns by demonstration, either from a friend or the internet or etc., and usually during play. You don't learn game rules strictly by reading the book. For example, the typical Australia strategy is a losing one against veteran players.īut even ignoring the author overlooking how complex rules they are familiar with are, the author also ignores the social aspect.īoard games are inherently social by nature. People often overlook complexity in things that feel straightforward. I remember a post about a month here, where another and I disagreed about Monopoly's complexity-largerly because the other poster did not see any strategy in it, while I (having been a witness to, though I don't engage in) competitive monopoly, see strategy in a lot of it. That's not to say it's complex like Axis and Allies.īut, the author is overlooking complexities that are built into the game. But also, because there are nuances to being the ghost that are hard for new players to grasp. It actually is exceedingly difficult for new players to learn, at least partially because the rules text is hard to penetrate. For example, he claims Mysterium is simple. I believe the last board game I played was checkers with my sister over 8 years ago. I’m not a prude but I do think the author could get his point out with a few less swears and utilize some wording a little better without sounding like some street kid down the road yelling at passerby’s. Are these new games really that complicated or is the author simply forgetting older games that also had complicated rules? I think I stopped played when I had no one to play or interest waned (about mid 90s). I rather liked my board game days as a kid and remember Mad Magazine, Dungeon!, Stratego, Battleship, Monopoly, amongst many others. Now, the article is about complicated rules in giant box board games and tbh, I don’t really have a CLUE on how these game are played nor how many there are. Playstationsux wrote: ↑ Mon 9:27 pm This article made me ponder this question. ![]()
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