One thing I try to remind folks in the board game industry is that hobbyists quickly forget how complex our hobby is. What we call a "light" game is considerably heavy and odd to the vast majority of people in the country.
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Same. I've been wondering recently if we should call euros "efficiency point games" and ameritrash as "chance" or "head to head games" but thinking those terms might even be too complicated?
Haha, yep, but descriptive at least? I'm sure there's a better evaluation out there somewhere about what really separates ameritrash and euro mechanically, but either way, that's not gonna entice a new player to it - what entices new players is the promise of an experience.
I really like this kind of description of games. I think that several publishers already post scales of their games on stuff like crunch/thinkyness, length, luck, player interaction, etc.
I'd always thought of the term "filler" to strictly be about length, rather than complexity. My group had designated it as "games to play when while we wait for Jim who says he's 20 minutes late."
I think a lot of folks with good vibes use it that way! But it can be dismissive/viewed as “not a real game” by questionable crowds, so it’s easier to just say quick to avoid that judgmental aspect. Filler in most other avenues is seen as negative. It’s why Sum 41 released All Killer, No Filler. 😂
I saw Let's go! to Japan described as "lite". And I think this really fits the bill for your description here 🤣.
Yeah, it's short! And you're just placing cards.... But the complexities of scoring opportunities. Wow. You ain't introducing that to any social gamers! Haha.
There's nothing light about it. The fact too that a number of my friends have bookshelves dedicated to board games shows how well the "hobby" is beloved by so many folks out there. ^o^
When I worked for the place that shan't be named, we learned that we had to dumb down our language without seeming like we were dumbing it down.
Game Expert: Do you like strategy games?
Guest: Like Balderdash?
The average person knows next to nothing about our hobby.
I grew up on the generic board games and then stopped playing in my late teens.
Recently decided to give The Night Cage board game a try & was not prepared for how hard it was😂 it's now my most favorite board game ever.
Mad respect for y'all!
It's interesting how components can affect a layperson's expectations. Foundations of Rome looks great on a table but even my game group had to be convinced it was a simple game due to its overproduction so much, I'm thinking of selling it to get Foundations of Metropolis.
components should ideally communicate gameplay as much as possible. you can intuit the rules of jenga kinda just by looking at jenga. incredible design.
Our hobby terminology is virtually useless at mass... "euro" "amerithrash" "worker placement" "perfect information" "meaty" etc. Meaningless. We're talking to ourselves - at the exclusion of many many many others, even the folks who might love board games.
I remember someone asked about “card games” versus some other genres where I realized a major aspect was they’re targeting an audience that won’t know what a “trick taking” or “deck building” or TCG or whatever is.
Board gaming is a luxury hobby, that is endlessly complicated and difficult to communicate. There is no consolidated, organized, funded effort to break through and connect with non-gamers in a way that they understand and find appealing.
We're so busy being SO smart arguing whether Twilight Struggle really deserved to be on BGG's top list for so long or telling folks our 3yo plays Brass or writing screeds on how every game ever made is not balanced and that's an affront to gaming. We're so fucking smart.
Well, yes but games like Pandemic or Ticket to Ride used to be “hobby” but are now mass market: they are in my local supermarket. I think over the past, oh 20 years, people have been more exposed to complex problems like climate so more complex games aren’t as hard.
But yes, games like ‘Mr President’ are quite intimidating. But every hobby has easy and hard: I can putter round in boats but I’ll never race a flying fifteen.
So we can do better, but there are limits, and we shouldn’t beat ourselves up too much.
The one thing rules continually fail on, is letting people know not just what they can do, but why they would want to. That super-clever decision space that was built into a game won't be uncovered if ppl, esp noobs, won't know how to find it themselves. A hint, or exp of play, showing that off pls.
100%. I think a lot of gaming enthusiasts can't stop themselves from promoting a game they love as easy, or easy once you start playing. Drives me crazy to see Terraforming Mars or Ark Nova being thrown at people looking to move from gateway to gateway+ or medium-light.
I'm going through this with my partner. She's taking to the hobby super fast and os gravitating quickly to heavier euros. She gets so excited with these new toys though and wants to show her friends and parents and they're just not there and it frustrates her.
I repeatedly get reminded of this fact when I bring a game into work to play with co-workers during lunch. I've heard on more than one occasion, "I just want to play something where I can turn off my brain..."
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Or like orange juice. How much pulp you like? 🍊
(Thanks for taking my response in the tone it was intended!)
But also.
Yes. Compare the People of Play's game awards vs the SdJ
Yeah, it's short! And you're just placing cards.... But the complexities of scoring opportunities. Wow. You ain't introducing that to any social gamers! Haha.
Game Expert: Do you like strategy games?
Guest: Like Balderdash?
The average person knows next to nothing about our hobby.
Recently decided to give The Night Cage board game a try & was not prepared for how hard it was😂 it's now my most favorite board game ever.
Mad respect for y'all!
Much of it to the detriment to hobby/industry health and growth.
So we can do better, but there are limits, and we shouldn’t beat ourselves up too much.