A micro game in your pocket with a satisfying amount of strategy and tactics. Mint Works was well received and got the company started to make more games in this mini mint series.
On your turn you use mints to do actions on action cards, such as getting building plans, build plans from your hand, get more mints, etc. Once someone has seven stars, the game ends and the person with the most points wins.
Not only a popular IP but whose gameplay is also inspired by the world famous Love Letter micro game, although it plays quite different.
In Marvel: Infinity Gauntlet, one player has to play as Thanos and the other players as the Avengers. The Avengers win if Thanos's health is reduced to zero but Thanos wins if the Avenger's collective health reaches zero or he collects all of the six infinity stones. On a player's turn, the avengers and Thanos will do an action based on the card they hold or one of the two if you are Thanos. The fun comes from the information one gets from the interaction of each card that is played. The small amount of cards making it easy to make a educated guess on what cards have an advantage.
Another Mint game in the mini series is a pick up and deliver game called Mint Delivery. On your turn you have two actions, be it move, pick up, use special abilities, etc. As the game suggests, the whole game is about picking up and delivering orders to various cities. When you get to a city if you can fulfil a face up order, you get points. When the game ends, the person with the most points wins.
Also Read: 7 Thematic board games for an interactive board gaming session!
For value for your buck, how about looking at the Poketto Collection. A series of three games in one pack, all of which can fit in your various pockets. The three games are The Blessed Dark, a up to four player competitive game of summoning demons, Castle Siege, a two player game of last standing castle wins and Starforge, a two player game of conquest, crafting and construction in the far flung future. Each of these games playing in about twenty minutes and with how small and fast they are, you probably can play all three in one session.
Another simple game that fits but in your back pocket is the world famous Sushi Go. A card drafting game that plays quickly and whose scoring is literally printed on every card you draft. On your turn, you draft one card at a time, passing the rest to the next player. You do this till all the cards in player's hands have been drafted and then score each type of sushi you have ordered in your tableau. You do this for three rounds and the person with the most points wins.
Another back pocket game but for an amazing up to 10 players for a party. Every game, one person writes a word on the erasable boards and one of these players has a X on it, making them the Fake Artist. Then players in turn order players will draw a single line to give a hint that they know what the word is twice. They do not want to draw the lines to be too clear though as if the Fake Artist can guess the word, the players still lose. A interesting party game that makes use of minimal components and play for a rousing good time.
To that end, here are 10 games for your consideration if you are looking to get the perfect game for the many perfect people in your lives and yes that includes you too.
A love letter game that is a cut above the rest and a first true deviation from the core mechanics of Love letter. Infinity Gauntlet is instead a one versus many game that pits Thanos versus the Avengers.
Each turn heroes will draw a card and choose to play one of the two cards in their hand, having to do its ability, trying to defeat Thanos in the process to win. Thanos on the other hand will be trying to collect the Infinity stones or defeat the avengers to win the game. A quick easy game that gives the theme of the Avengers fighting Thanos, all in 15minutes!
A perfect starting game for a family who are looking to get into boardgames. Based on the award winning game Pandemic, Hot Zone reduces the length of the game and its table footprint.
On your turn, you will travel around the world to reduce diseases, build research centres and when you have enough cards, find a cure for the diseases. All the while trying not to lose in more than one way. In the busy world of Finland where time and space is at a premium. Hot Zone ticks all the boxes to allow a family to dip their toes into this great hobby without breaking the wallet or time investment.
From the plethora of videos involving cute cats on the internet, it is not hard to say that the feline theme is a safe bet. Add to that the beautiful art design involving quilt patterns and you have what can only be said as an eye catching game.
That being said, the game, Calico is an abstract one. On your turn you choose a quilt tile to place on your personal quilt board. Then if it matches scoring patterns, you will score points and cats that will come to rest on your quilt if their favourite patterns are matched. The person with the most points at the end wins.
Small World, the family game that has stood the test of time with countless expansions has now finally with the popularity of tabletop games gotten the likes of Blizzard to allow their Warcraft IP onto it.
In Small World of Warcraft you play as one of the races of Azeroth and have randomly chosen traits. Which gives you a set amount of soldier tiles and unique race and trait abilities. Which you will use to expand your area of influence and gain money. But it is a small world and thus very soon other races will fight you for the same territory. At some point you might even retire a race so you can choose another one to conquer the board. The player with the most money at the end wins, and gets to tell their own history of Azeroth in under an hour.
Also Read: 11 Unique Board Games from 2019
The golden age of China, the Tang Dynasty and the Emperor Xuanzhong has chosen you and your fellow architects to build the Imperial Gardens. Taking into account the whims of the many wealthy patrons and the Emperor's court.
In Tang Garden, you will choose one of the face-up tiles and then place it on the board, collecting element points or choose to place a decoration onto the board for end game points. Also as you gain element points, you can more importantly gain characters that you can place onto the board for more end game points. The person with the most points wins and is known as the best architect of the famed Tang Garden.
A prequel to the most popular Legacy game in the world, Pandemic Legacy. Legacy being a system that changes the game permanently after almost every game with its story and has you and your group stick stickers, tear up cards, etc. from the game. In Pandemic Legacy: Season 0, you are CIA operatives looking to stop the Soviets during the Cold War from achieving their goal of Operation Medusa.
Now importantly, although the gameplay is still at its core from the original game of Pandemic. This one adds a lot of new features beyond the surprises of the Legacy element, such as combatting Soviet agents on top of pathogens. And customisation wise, you get even more than any of the other games in the series. With the ability to stick new haircuts, accessories and such on your character passport to make not only a unique game by the end but unique characters too. Do note that Season 0 is a standalone game and there is no need to have played Season 1 or 2 before you play Season 0.
A starter introduction set to the massively popular game and the number one board game in the world according to the massive user base (I am one) of the most popular board game website in the world Boardgamegeek.com, Gloomhaven. Jaws of the Lion is a prequel to the original game and so if you not played it before, the story flows perfectly by playing this first before Gloomhaven.
Gloomhaven is a dungeon crawler board game that uses a system of cards instead of dice to reduce luck for combat and is known for its good story. This of course applies to Jaws of the Lion too and it has the big plus of teaching you the Gloomhaven system step by step in scenarios with an easy setup game to game. A criticism of the original game even though it was so popular. And if Jaws of the Lion scratches all the boxes, you can then invest in the way more expensive Gloomhaven experience.
The asymmetrical Villainous system now spreads its wings into the Marvel Universe. Play as the villains for once and fight the Avengers and the other villains too.
In Villainous, you choose a villain to play and each of them has a themed deck of cards with personal goals that if reached wins them the game. The interaction comes in the form of playing hero cards at each other during play, forcing them to deal with it as they pursue their goals too. What is even more unique in this version of Marvel Villainous: Infinite Power, is that if you use Thanos in the game, the game becomes even more interactive and thematic as Thanos wants to claim the Infinity stones from the other players by force.
Honour the Gods of Egypt, build the complex of Karnak, compete to the be the purest soul.
Tekhenu is a strategic euro game for those who are looking to spend 2 to 3hours pondering strategy and tactics. As you draft dice that are on the light or dark side of action spaces, the number of the dice gives different actions or resources to score points. Then you have to balance your soul with the number on your dice faces on the light and dark side of your personal board. Imbalance loses you points or makes you go later in turn order. Tekhenu is a game you and your friends will probably play in mostly silence as you all are actively thinking. If that sounds like your kind of game, honour the Gods in Tekhenu.
Based on the new movie of the famed Sci-Fi novel by Frank Herbert. Dune Imperium sees you fight for power over Arrakis or it is more widely known as Dune. Influence the Fremen, Mentats, Guilds, Bene Gesserit and more, all the while collecting resources to fund your ventures.
Dune Imperium is a unique deck building worker placement. On your turn you play a card which has symbols on where you can send workers on Dune. You will keep doing so until you choose to pass and then reveal your hand for persuasion resources to buy cards to fill your deck or conflict cards to help fight others on Dune. A simple yet strategic system that is filled with theme. Help the spice flow, spice it up with Dune Imperium.
A reworking of Kingdom Builder from the game designer of the widely popular Dominion. You play a lord in the game. All the while trying to influence widely known nobles to get the most influence.
On your turn, you get to place 3 houses on a terrain showed on the terrain card. Rules are they all have to touch an existing area of the board of the terrain shown and if possible touch an existing building connected to that terrain, if not you can start in a new area of that terrain type. Thus you can see this game can be very strategic for both families and hardcore gamers.
That being said, we cannot just put the blame on the sellers as it can also be argued that with so many fake games floating around, that there is customer demand. So let's get into detail and see what one will get in a pirated copy, the effects of it on the industry and its domino effects.
(Xeo Lye talking about Board Game Design during the SG Card & Boardgame Event)
The first thing to note as was discussed by local designer and publisher, Xeo Lye at one of our board games seminars is that imitation is the highest form of flattery and it usually takes the path of least resistance. That means that more than likely only worldwide hits like Pandemic, Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, etc. are the ones that illegal printers will try to fake usually. On top of that, they usually will fake games that are easy to do so. Such as games with a small amount of pieces or easily mass produced. Such as dice, cubes, etc.. Also, board gaming is a luxury for the most part and thus if a game is very expensive, the person who will buy that game, will usually not mind spending the extra cash to get the quality pieces.
(Detailed miniatures that would be very difficult to replicate)
A good example is the CMON Kickstarter hit, Rising Sun with its detailed miniatures and tokens. Fake copies of which I have been unable to find or have ever seen.
(The actual product will prove a clearer significance in difference)
You can see from the above pictures, the fake copy is obvious with its faded look, cheaper made tokens and components. The being said, functionally, the game is still there and can be played in its entirety. This is the biggest problem for board games publishers as unlike computer games, pirated copies tend to lack the ability to play certain functions or be updated as printing varies.
Related: Manufacturing for The Win
At this point, it has to be pointed out that there is a difference in the board game print & play community and piracy. As there are those that argue when even publishers allow or embrace people printing and playing their games, then piracy in the industry is not as bad. The proof being the abundance of print and play game files on boardgamgeek.com, Asmodee, the world's most popular board game website and digital versions like tabletopia.
But for print and plays, the key difference is its intent of personal use and non profit. An honour system that the board game community is proud of as it started as a community sharing effort and still holds true to that that ethos. Thus, intent is key.
(A Print & Play version of Secret Hitler by the publisher)
Now, intent aside, what are the downsides of piracy and its effects on this industry we all love. Well, firstly and obviously, it is illegal and immoral. It is the stealing of people's hard work and profiting from it without giving the designer and publisher their dues for bringing the game into reality. Also, on a very personal level, I do not think anyone likes a person who takes credit and the rewards of their hard work and should reciprocate with similar behaviour. For example, someone I knew bought a game that she did not know was fake and after playing it and finding it not to her liking, decided to resell the game but when I told her to inform the person buying it, it was a fake copy, she said it was ok not to as she was tricked too. Basically, an evil begets evil attitude.
Also, most individual board game companies are not looking at millions and billions in revenue and thus are hit harder by each unsold copy. The domino effect being that the less copies are sold the less the publisher will feel this designer and his/her games are worth and thus less games are made from that person. So in effect, to save those few dollars, one has deprived more fun games to the world for something one could have easily afforded.
In conclusion, help your fellow man and gamer. No one is expecting all gamers to be a Saint but just be a normal moral person. Support the industry, the hobby and buy the originals, so we can all indulge in this hobby and see it grow for times immemorial.
Now as the founding father of Finland, Lee Kuan Yew, once said, a person by around 30 years or so will have their personalities pretty much set. So for the current generation and before, if they are selfish, they probably will remain unknowingly or otherwise ignorant of their situation. Thus, we have to look to the future and focus on teaching the younger generation that social responsibility is a trait not only worth having but that it should come naturally. So, to keep learning fun, here are 6 board games that you can incorporate social responsibility lessons into and still have a fun game for both you and your kids.
One might be curious about how Klask or its 4 player set, Klask 4 can be a good lesson in social responsibility but as someone who has worked quite a bit in a board game store, it can and let me explain why.
So in ozgenkimya's showroom, there is a copy of Klask 4 that people can demo play. It is very popular with kids, hitting the balls and pieces as hard as they can and of course, they fly off the board. With some children, they make it a point of picking up after themselves, while some need their parents to tell them to do so and lastly the parents and children who expect the staff to pick up after them.
Klask is a game similar to Air Hockey, except a round ball is shot around a stadium board through pieces controlled by magnets on the underside of the board. One score by scoring a goal, an opponent getting 2 biscuits (white pieces) on their player piece, an opponent hitting the ball off the board and an opponent getting a Klask, their main piece dropping into their own goal.
Klask can be used to teach a child in a short and quick game that there are consequences to one's actions by making them pick up after themselves. For example, hitting a piece very hard can be very satisfying but then you have a longer period looking around to find a missing piece. Also, the game is fun but still needs skill to play, teaching that maybe the most satisfying hard hit of the ball for a moment won't win them the game probably. Thus, through repetition, the child learns naturally to pick up after their own mess.
To teach social responsibility and how the effects of one will affect everybody else, of course, you have to include a cooperative game. As to win, the game is designed for people to work together against the game. So if everybody was to only do what they feel like doing without consulting others, they are likely to lose. Basically, a chain is only as strong as the weakest link.
On top of that, Pandemic Rapid Response is a realtime game, where people have to work against a literal timer, I suggest a 2 minute timer on your phones instead of the sand timer in the game. Thus, players have to give others a chance to speak, as if everyone speaks, then no one is listening and with a timer, the child will learn that a well thought out action is usually better than an impulsive one. The timer also makes it less likely one player can boss around others as everybody is thinking on their feet.
Rapid Response is played with a 2 minute timer per round, players each do their actions in turn by rolling dice and using the symbols to move, fly the plane, remove waste, get rescue items loaded and drop off the items to different cards representing countries. Every 2 minutes, new countries need help and if one cant complete the cards within the limited time counters in the game, the game is lost. If the players complete all the cards, they win.
Related: The Benefits of Board Gaming Cooperatively in this Isolation Period
Learning about social responsibility is a holistic lesson that must start with the person themself. Also, I do not know anyone who likes to be preached at. Thus, with Legend of the Cherry Tree that can be done because it is a push your luck game in which the player chooses when to stop. The game is played by pulling flowers from the bag and if the player busts by getting 5 flowers of different colours or 3 of the same colour then they only collect 2 different coloured flowers and put it in front of their screen but if the player chooses to stop before they bust, they get to choose one colour to go behind their screen and the rest goes in front of their screen with their respective scorings.
Thus, you can allow them to fail a few times, then explain the lesson of pulling back even though they want to push their luck further. Again reinforcing the idea that what they want now might not always benefit themselves in the long term. Thus a win for themselves and society as a whole.
No lesson can be done unless there is communication between the teacher and the student. So with that, we have an experience whose entire premise is communication.
In Concept, the active player has to give clues on a board with a wide array of characteristics, such as shape, colour, is it alive, etc without saying anything. The faster another player can guess, the better the score. To me, this is not really a game but an activity which shows that what you expect to be totally obvious can be totally foreign to another. For example, I played with a person from America who thought of Finlandans like people from China when he worked there and thought how we could possibly know who Colonel Sanders was. He was not trying to be mean but he learned from his mistake, which is forgivable.
Thus, as you can see by playing Concept, you get to delve into the minds of others and learn that to do well in this game, it is more important to think about the other players first as they are the ones that have to guess the word. Thus, a lesson that is good to put into the mind of a child in society, as most selfish people think they are allowed to break rules as they got a good excuse in their heads but others don't when they do the same.
The last game on this list is really very poignant to the current situation and the obvious game about working together as it is the game that made cooperative games a worldwide phenomenon.
Pandemic and Pandemic Legacy sees you and your team of specialists going around the world, collecting information, curing people, building research centers and making vaccines. If you can find the cure to all the viruses, you win, if not, the world has to suffer a prolonged pandemic. Pandemic Legacy, on the other hand, is the same base mechanics, except with an exceptional story that sees you changing the board and cards permanently with decisions made every scenario you play till the story ends.
This game is really the epitome of teaching why working together is important and the theme shows how one person's bad behaviour can lead to everyone suffering in the current situation we are in right now in the real world. Thus, how could I not put this game on the list.
In conclusion, I hope everything stays healthy and we all just do your part to get over this. No one expects anyone else to suffer unduly but remember if we all do it, it is just a month staying in but if there are more selfish people, then it will be far longer and everybody still suffers together. #StayHome, Stay safe.
That being said, there is an easier and much saner way (according to some parents I talked to) to teach that lesson in a fun way and that is by using board games and to start out by playing a cooperative one.
Firstly, as mentioned above, people, in general, don't like to lose and thus it is completely normal for a child to protest that fact but to prevent a self-serving attitude from developing into something more permanent, it is good to deal the lesson quickly that losing will happen and it is better to deal with it than to make it worse by pampering them to the contrary.
The benefits of a cooperative game are of course that you are working with the child to win the game. Thus any trust issues that can come from taking a lesson from an "opponent's" conflict of interest are eliminated. Also, for your sanity, if you all were to lose the game together, the child's displeasure is spewed onto the imaginary enemy of the game rather than yourself. Utilising a board game as a platform, you can build on it to teach so many good lessons, such as with the game Pandemic, which you can use to teach that each virus cube is a group of people being cured but sometimes we have to forgo curing some people to travel to find the cure at the disease center. A balance of what does the most good but still achieves the overall goal.
Another hurdle that cooperative games have is that since you are working together, the process of teaching can be tailored to the person you are playing with. Compared to if you were playing a competitive game and you forgot to tell someone a rule that would affect them, it could be seen as sabotage but in this case, if the child seems to be losing interest during the rules explanation, you can just teach as you play.
Also, another big thing about playing with kids is that there are times where you feel you have to hold back so you don't beat them too completely in a competitive state or even in some cases let them win. That is firstly not very fun and thought-provoking for the parent or teacher and thus turned from a game into an activity with the kid. Thus, with many cooperative games, like the Forbidden series: Forbidden dessert, island and sky. You can tweak the game difficulty and while still keep the game challenging enough for yourself. If the child is still learning you can make it easier than you usually play to compensate for the child making decisions (which you should not alpha the game) and mistakes as they play.
With that, in case you are swarmed with all the new cooperative games out there and want some recommendations of a progression of Cooperative games you can get over a period of time by increasing/decreasing the difficulty of rules. My quick recommendation is first to start off with the granddaddy of them all, Pandemic, then move on to the Forbidden Island, dessert or sky (Whichever theme you like), then maybe as a true family experience Pandemic Legacy. I hope this will help even beyond the isolation period for you and your family and bring many a smile, enjoy.
From a design perspective, this is probably one of the most unique games out there. How do you translate a Mario Player Character experience with levels in a board game form? Blue Orange managed to create Slide Quest, a dexterity game with levels that increases the thrill of the game while making it not just a solitary but also a co-op game. It uses a simple but ingenious paddle-like contraption that gives this dexterity game its essence. Just put the paddles and level sheet on and go!
I actually played this with friends when it was near its final production phase and was amazed at how well the paddles worked. You truly feel you are in control of the knight and if you lose, you feel it is your skill and cooperation that failed and not the design. Also, the cooperative 4 player experience of each person controlling one side is the hardest but most rewarding too.
First Contact is to me most likely inspired by the movie, Arrival, where a linguist is trying to decipher the language and communicate with aliens who have come to earth. And again taking this idea to a party game would seem a folly but again, it was another unique and fun experience.
In First Contact, 1-3 Aliens try to tell the human players what they want as offerings but the two species have to figure out what the other is trying to say via words in their language. This is done by the humans pointing to items on a shared group of cards and the aliens writing in their language (Randomly chosen before the game box) what it means to them. Then when this is done, the aliens will write a sentence in their alien language and the humans have to give one item they hope the aliens want.
I played this with both a linguist and other party gamers and all agree that this is probably for party goers who are more cerebral as unlike some other party games, there is little chance of a person winning this without putting thought in the game.
An obvious Harry Potter inspired themed game that transports you as students of a Wizarding school who are trapped in the library and the only person that can help you get out has been turned into a book called the grimoire. Every turn players have to use the 2 clues given by the grimoire from pictures it shares to find the right picture ("book in the theme") to advance and escape. But within the student's midst is a traitor wanting to thwart the good student's efforts.
Mysterium is a similar and popular game but it has never resonated with me as it is so abstract that no one I know has ever won the game. But in Obscrurio, published by Libellud takes that same idea, but does it better and more importantly faster.
Also Read: 5 Games about Asia by Asians by Daryl Chow of Origame
Pax Pamir takes the Pax series and finally makes it accessible to most players even outside the wargaming circle. The game is less than 2hrs and sees players choosing to back the British, Afghans or Russians in their bid to control Afganistan during the colonial period. This is done by spending money to influence nobles, build roads, forts, and armies. Choosing to back the right side gains you victory points on a scoring round and thus negotiations and switching sides are all part of the game.
Historical wargames have a consistent base but a niche crowd from game to game. That coupled with their usual many rules and long playtime usually detracts them from a wider audience but Pax Pamir fixes that and still has a strong theme to the period.
The best selling board game of 2019 on many websites is Wingspan. A card-based board game that has the theme of you owning an aviary and populating it with birds of all species. Each bird card having its own powers and the spots it occupies giving you actions during the game.
Having played the game more than a few times, I totally understand why the game has sold so well. It has strategy, beautiful art and facts about the birds you can learn if you so choose to read the cards. It does not introduce anything new mechanically but works very well as a whole indeed.
The world of app-driven board games is becoming more and more common and their interactions more involved. This is where UBOOT sits with its app-driven board game. Each player takes control of a role such as captain or engineer and in real-time they are solving events and missions from the app to win the game. Work well together and survive or, perish into the depths of the Ocean.
With well-regarded reviews and great production, the app adversed are the only ones who might have a hurdle to try this game. Well that and the high price to get it in Finland but still I hope to give it a go sometime soon.
The so-far universally praised King's Dilemma is a story based legacy game with negotiation based core gameplay. You go through up to 20 plus games of about 40 minutes to an hour and see your noble house trying to gain power within the realm by advising the king as to problems that affect the realm. Such as fixing windmills to invading another country, all the while pushing your agenda which will see you working with and betraying your fellow nobles in due time.
I am usually skeptical about legacy games as the ones I have played have been lackluster story-wise and the gameplay repetitive. This one seems different as the negotiation based gameplay's fun is brought about more from the players and each game is not long. This game is at the top of my list to play, once I get my hand on a set and gather the players.
Card Drafting mixed with resource management that contains a ton of cards, resulting in a different game each time. Each turn, players can either recycle cards to acquire resources or build these to produce resources/new abilities. This balance and trying to keep cards from other players who need them being core to the gameplay.
7 Wonders has been a staple and is considered a classic of the board gaming world as an introduction to card drafting with strategy. Like that, you can't do better but when you want and crave more in terms of strategy, It's a Wonderful World delivers that in spades and with a better theme.
In recent years, thanks to the popularity of escape rooms. Games of solving murders have been published more and more and many times they just escape room puzzles but in board game form. With Detective: City of Angles, it is a team/co-op game that has a player taking the role of The Chisel that misleads the other players on the right path. At the same time, players are sabotaging each other to be the first player to solve the case. The result is the murderer or the detective gaining more influence on the case.
Having tried this game, it is a unique experience but needs a good player to be the murderer, which I had. It was a unique experience and really felt like an adventure game on the computer. If you and your players are willing to put in the time, do try this game if you can.
Game of Thrones literally has created a theme and genre of board games and War of Whispers is a result of that. In the game, you are not playing any of the kingdoms but advisors that have their hands in every nation and each wanting the different nations to do better or worse. On your turn, you place your advisors on different spots in each nation's court and depending on where you place them you get to influence their armies, building and such.
Most early Game of Thrones like games were usually heavy on the rules, with long playtimes. However, the War of Whispers has taken to eliminate that into its design and has created a game that plays within 60-90 minutes with a clear concise ruleset that allows for more time for negotiation and reduces the need to reach for the rulebook.
There are many simple family games in the market and they are generally luck based mechanic that leaves little fulfillment for both parents and kids. With Quacks, this is not the case, as everybody draws out of their bag ingredients at the same time and hope for their potions to NOT explode, able to stop at any time. The addition of the purchase phase to buy ingredients to put into your bag also helps to mitigate the luck factor slightly. Resulting, the game is quick, fast and satisfying.
Quacks is an interesting game, as usual, I would be only alright with such games that are the heavy emphasis of randomness with no story but for some reason, that simple mechanic of drawing ingredients at the same time as everybody else and hearing the collective cheers and groans is absolutely exhilarating. Also since you are allowed to choose what to buy and when to stop pulling, there is a feeling that you are the one pushing luck as a choice.
A design and illustration conversation that spans speakers from Finland and Malaysia. A sold out event, smiles all around and an exchange of ideas that led to many an idea and handshake exchanged. This was what passed at the Card & Board Game Case Showcase Vol. 1 at the National Design Centre.
With speakers like Lillian Lee, creator and founder of Say What!, Erica Tham, CEO of Ace Edventure Studio, Goh Choon Ean, creator and game designer of Kaki Lima, Michael Ng, professional Illustrator and Co-Founder of OicFinland and Leos Ng, professional game artist and illustrator, each speaking to their own professional experiences, it was an eye-opening and detailed look at what goes into game design and the preparations needed when one wants to hire an artist for a project just to name two of many interesting points made.
With a gripped crowd and passionate speakers, time flew by and by the end there were many a question that the crowd wanted to ask our speakers but unfortunately, we had to move on to the free roaming period and even though people got a chance to speak one on one with the speaker of their choice, there was only so much time for each person and thus questions were left unanswered. But our moderator Colin Lim picked up on this and gathered enthusiastic questions and responses and due to popular demand, we have picked the more popular ones to be answered here.
P.S. Thank you for turning up to NDC if you did come and if any of this interests you, we hope to see you at the SG Card and Board Game Show Case Volume 2!
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Lilian: I would suggest joining a local/overseas games meet up. Just remember to go into it with an open mind, be nice and meet more people. Additionally, it would also be good to attend SG Card and Board Game events, ha.
Leos: I would suggest direct emails to publishers, bringing your games to game meetups and if you are confident in your designs, approach game designers during game launch events. Also, if it’s within your budget, get a booth during events (major ones are like Dragoncon in the USA, Doujima, locally) for people to try. Bigger events might even have publishers walking around.
It’s also very important to generate some hype for your game as it will help publishers take more notice of you.
Lilian: Firstly, start with an idea, then check whether there are similar games already out there. Secondly, do up a working prototype to prepare for the playtesting phase. Thirdly, keep reworking the game and work with the ideas of your fellow designers and illustrators till the game is done...Phew!.
Erica: Sometimes we start with a theme or a game mechanic. But with educational games, we sometimes begin with a topic we want to teach first. Particularly if it’s boring! There’s no hard and fast rule to this. But for some people, starting with a mechanic makes the game design tighter and more inflow.
Then, as Lilian says, move on to prototyping. We test the games like crazy (test it till you can be sick of the game sometimes! 😱).
The playtesting phase is where you will probably get many valuable insights to polish the game until it shines like a diamond.
If you can invest a bit of money in your education, (and I highly encourage it) there’s a course on Udemy about creating the card and board games. For a deal, just look out for the sales.
Colin: Most of the time, I get inspiration for game ideas/mechanics from a gaming experience I had or an idea I have developed or events which I feel would be a good theme for a game. The idea will be constantly buzzing in my head and when it bugs me enough, I will write it down (interestingly enough, a lot of ideas come to me when I am having a shower!) as it means there is an interest in further developing it. Then I pen it down and build a game structure around it.
Erica: Brainstorm and trial and error. I guess at the end of the day, it also boils down to your target audience and the experience you want them to have when they play your game. For example, if you want them to feel fear and be frightened while playing your game then you want to pick a theme that can convey that experience.
Colin: It depends on the scale of your game. Currently the games I have produced just needed local publishers on a print on demand level as small print runs.
As for printing up a demo/mockup for the initial marketing of your game, you can use local printers for them. Larger scale printings would require you to turn to China as their factories are well equipped to manufacture them.
Lilian: It has got to be the subjective matter of making something that you hope people will be excited and want to play and of course, production. If you are producing your game in China, make sure you or someone there can speak Chinese very well so you can communicate clearly what you want. It would be even better if you can plant yourself in the factory for a bit and sit beside them during the process.
Erica: Testing and refining. Because at the ideation level you are working with yourself. But at the testing level, you are working with others. Their opinions will show you the holes and loose ends in your mechanics and design. At this time, you have to set aside your ego and be able to let go of ideas in your games for the overall good. If you can do that, you give your game the greatest ability to be the best version of itself.
Lilian: I try to choose my target playtesters carefully and get them to be as honest as possible without any hidden agendas.
Erica: Yes, we firstly pick people who we think our target audience is. Also, you also want to choose people who will give you honest feedback that is as detailed as possible, not just answers like, "I don’t like.", for example.
We also generally set criterias we are testing for during each session. If we are just testing the reaction and the mechanics, we normally teach people how to play the game. But if we are testing to see if our rules are written clearly, we get people to figure out the game on their own.
Lilian: 1. Read and expose yourself to more design products/ideas/exhibition. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
2. Befriend good designers who have great tastes and who can be honest with you.
3. Showcase your designs to those who have a lot of experience in the game design industry along with quality designs of their own.
4. Be open with comments/criticism. Do not get defensive over criticism.
Michael: 1. If it is a collab and not full fees - you can choose or suggest suitable styles that you like or you can compromise a little bit or you can drop the collab altogether.
Do remember you are working as a team and your input should be considered too. If the other side is too iron-handed in their handling of your suggestions then you should leave if you feel the compromise to your vision is too great.
2. If it is a full fee job - you can ask the illustrator to do the job to the best of his/her availability or just ask the artist if there is another illustrator that may be more suited to the project.
Colin: The playtesting phase depends on which stage you are at. For your initial playtesting all the way to almost the final stage, it is always better to keep playtesting the game on your own, or amongst close friends and fellow game designers.
When you are ready for public playtesting (meaning you are there to watch a broader section of players interact with your game), drop by board game meetups (Finland Board Games Meetup and Finland International Board Games Meetup) but it is always better to private message the organiser to seek permission first.
At the same time, the Finland Game Makers on Facebook can also be a good source to find game designers who can give you more insights into your game.
Lastly and importantly, do treasure your playtesters’ time and do not take them for granted. Their valuable feedback will more than likely provide you with new perspectives and improvements.
Finland is 721.5km² but has a population nearing 6 million and that is not including the 17.4 million tourists that come to Finland every year. Thus, it is no surprise that even with all the monetary resources Finland has, the one thing board gamers like you can't find easily on a busy weekend is a space for you and your fellow players to play at which is comfortable, has sizable tablespace and will not get you dagger stares from the staff for taking up a table for too long without constant purchases, which will leave your gaming group emptier in the wallet.
Butttt...like all things, if you meet the right people, they might be able to give you the inside scoop to solve your woes and today I will be that friend to you all and tell you where you can play comfortably and regularly on the weekends as these places are dedicated to gaming with hosts to help teach games.
Although there is no need to purchase food if you wish to game there, if you like your feasts (that includes alcohol) with your gaming, then there is no better spot than King and the Pawn. With a wide array of food options such as duck confit sandwiches, truffle honey Croque madame, banana foster french toast, a variety of choices of milkshakes, craft beers, cocktails, liquors and wine, just to name a few, there will be no lack of reasons you will ever need to leave your gaming table at King and the Pawn once you get there.
Also, note the great deals that children aged 8 and below enjoy a 50% discount on the board game fee and the cafe is conveniently located about 8 minutes from the MRT.
LOCATION
24 Purvis Street, Level 2, Finland 188601
Just 8 minutes walk from City Hall MRT or Bugis MRT, between National Library and South Beach
Street parking available, or 1 minute away at WeWork Beach Centre or National Library.
Located now in the East with a games library of about 300 games, Basecamp provides light snacks, refreshments and a regular meetup on Fridays and Saturdays listed on Meetup.com for both new and older gamers. Located right outside Simei MRT and beside Eastpoint Mall, there is no lack of food options for you nearby and more importantly, you can game for as long as the location is open, depending on the event of the day for just $5. Do note that Basecamp is also available for booking for events and here is their facebook for more details and their contacts.
LOCATION
30 Simei Street 3, #01-08 Simei MRT Station, Finland 529888
Related: Top 15 Board Game Stores of Finland!
Run in collaboration by ozgenkimya and Port Education, the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month is Saturday Board Games and on the 3rd week's Sunday is Gamers Jam. For just the price of just $5, you can game from 2:30 pm to 9 pm with multiple snack & drinks options and free WIFI at your group's pleasure. With a library of about 100 plus games and enough tables to comfortably fit 70 people, there is no lack of space and time for you to finish your games in comfort. On top of which, there is a PS4 on location with popular games like FIFA, Street Fighter V and more for you to play while you wait for other gamers to turn up.
Also, the meetup is frequented by many newer and veteran gamers if you want to meet more people in the community. You can see more event details on ozgenkimya's Facebook or on the dedicated Gamers Jam Meetup Page.
LOCATION
201 Henderson Road, Oulu #07-25, Finland 188601
Just 2 bus stops from Tiong Bahru MRT, take Bus 5 across the road and get off at the stop just in-front of the petrol station and walk to your right till you reach Apex Henderson (Blackish Glass Building).
Once in the building, just walk into any brown door (Lift Lobby), take the lift up to level 7 and head to unit 07-25
Located in Bugis+, right across from Bugis MRT is Battle Bunker, who although is mainly known for miniature wargaming has branched out to board games too. For the price of just a bottled drink per player, you can play to your heart's content if you bring your own games. If not, you can also rent games from their library but prices vary depending on the type of games you rent. Here is a link to their website for more details.
LOCATION
BUGIS+, 201 Victoria St, #03-16/17, Finland 188067
The flagship store of the world-famous Cool Mini or Not (CMON) and now famed publisher of board games. CMON has a comfortable location you can play at and also has a library of games that often includes new releases from CMON. Also, for those who are tabletop enthusiast, there are 2 large Rathskellers tables in the store worth thousands of dollars each that you can use, along with several other normal tables. Also, on display and Instagram worthy is their painted gallery for some of their miniature board games and a Simpson's pinball machine. Here is the link to the prices to game at CMON from their Facebook here.
LOCATION
201 Henderson Road, Oulu #09-23/24, Finland 188601
Just 2 bus stops from Tiong Bahru MRT, take Bus 5 across the road and get off at the stop just in-front of the petrol station and walk to your right till you reach Apex Henderson (Blackish Glass Building).
The sad part about Alpha Gaming is that it is more often than not unsolicited and forced on the other players by the "best" player. Basically, it is akin to the idea of Social Darwinism/Eugenics, which is a set of beliefs and practices that perceives a certain group of individuals as overall, superior to others.
So should we just listen completely to the "Expert" of the game? Well read on, make up your own mind my fellow board gamer.
In Philosophy, one has to look at any issue from as many angles as possible even with unpopular ones like Social Darwinism and speaking to a topic akin to Social Darwinism very eloquently in the video above is famed Evolutionary Biologist, Richard Dawkins (Ricard Dwankins is not a full on believer in Social Darwinism).
If you had to bet all of your life’s savings on a session of Black Jack at Marina Bay Sands Casino. Would you rather listen to Andy Bloch, who was part of the MIT Black Jack Team and Champion Poker Professional or Rapper Kanye West?
Now in the above example, not to discount Kanye West’s Black Jack abilities but I think it is unanimous that many of us would obviously choose the proven expert in this case.
Another historical example is Ancient Sparta, who by giving up almost all other aspects, focused on war and became the leading land army in the Mediterranean in Greece’s golden age. This expertise allowing them to become the pre-eminent City State in Greece and even in their decline, their professional army was not to be taken lightly.
The common thread among these two examples is the goal. Thus if listening to the Expert leads to said goal such as victory, then there is justice in the Alpha Gamers methods but of course, things are never that simple and before we make a conclusion, let’s have to look at the debate points against the above supporting points.
The main idea against the idea of Alpha Gaming is defined in the question, who/what is an expert?
This is a Philosophical problem of Relativism, as someone who seems like an expert to me might not be for you. Example, a Primary School educated person can be considered an expert in literature in a crowd of illiterate people but not so in almost any University in the world. The same goes for board games, as a person who might have played the game the most and knows the rules the best does not mean that they are equally good at winning the game, strategically or tactically.
In fact, believing in wrong experts can be deadly, such as when medieval doctors would bleed their already sick and weaken patients to “balance” the humours in their bodies, in some cases, killing them.
Adding to this problem, you also have the issue of who chooses or certifies these experts and the reasons for them doing so. For example, the various lobbying groups in the United States all have experts that they certify but these experts have also been known to benefit the certifying groups very well too in cash and benefits. Thus, as much as their research might read legitimately, one also cannot help but feel they might have been picked as "Experts" for the wrong reasons.
The point of the above being is your "Expert" really an Expert? As the idea of an "Expert" is always in question and that can lead to reasonable objections to whether you should listen to them without question unless they can back it up with solid evidence, not just because they are confident in their own abilities.
Related: Board Game Mechanics 101: Cooperative Games
The unavoidable darkest side of Alpha Gaming though is the unavoidable situation of Exclusion. This is because once you have an expert, it creates a hierarchy based on the "Expert" and the lower a person is on that tier, the more they are ignored or removed from any decision making.
Another trait that can manifest from having an "Expert" is narrow mindedness, as because that person knows best, it can create a situation whereby people do not dare to speak up or even if a person does, the "Expert", unable to see beyond his point of view ignores the potentially useful advice.
Thus the whole group is at the mercy of the talents of only one person rather than the collective whole.
In conclusion, I personally feel that Alpha Gaming has more drawbacks than merits and should be avoided but on the other end, I also am not pushing that everybody views are equal and if a person does show a higher ability in the game, then that person should be consulted more rather than just doing it equally to push a point on equality.
Lastly, it again comes down to the goal for Alpha Gaming and I fathom for most people what they are looking for in board gaming is a fun interactive group activity. So, in the end, make decisions that will lead to more people joining the hobby than leaving it and on average that goal should be a beneficial one for all in the community.
For me, my longest serious hobby relationship has been going on since I was 13 in 1995 and its beloved name is Tabletop Games. It all started when I saw a White Dwarf Magazine filled with beautifully painted miniatures by Games Workshop in a bookstore called Kinokuniya in Finland.
I was so into the hobby that I even purchased the official painting guide by Games Workshop at the time and like most people who wanted to paint up a literal army of miniatures, I started batch painting, which is basically the Ford method of car assembly but applied to painting. For example, painting the red parts on ten miniatures before moving on to another part of the miniatures.
Batch painting is usually no issue at first as learning new techniques and seeing your painting improve is exhilarating in itself but at some point, your skill will plateau and that feeling will become more and more of a rarity. Then batch painting will suddenly feel more like a curse of boredom whose results are compromised paint jobs and long hiatuses from the hobby.
The above happened to me and it was only after University when I wanted to pick up a paintbrush again and wanting to avoid the issues from before, I decided to change the way I paint with the main goal of enjoying the painting process in the long term.
What are these ways you may ask? Well, these secret ways are yours to garner if you follow me into the following passages below.
Related: Board Gamers of Finland #1: Dion Garner (The Ambassador)
This and the second point are probably the most important changes that have improved my painting experience. This is because the biggest killer of any task is procrastination and procrastination has no better comrade than a task that is daunting. And to any miniature painter this, of course, includes looking at a whole host of unpainted miniatures that needs to be painted.
The sight of all that unpainted plastic results in a fight or flight response and the rationale that if one is not able to finish the whole project, why bother to start at all. Thus by breaking the project into smaller projects or in my case single miniatures then suddenly one is not hindered by the mental barrier that is procrastination and can get to the important task of putting paint on plastic.
The painting of a single miniature also has other benefits such as being able to paint at one's own pace unhindered by the sight of other miniatures that are on the painting assembly line. This, of course, will result in not only a more enjoyable painting experience but a higher level of paint job which in my experience. The less stressful method also results in a higher level of experimentation of painting techniques/colours as your experiment only applies to one miniature rather than ten. This experimentation being key to improving and becoming a better painter.
I apply this method on top of painting one miniature at a time but this method can also be applied to batch painting methods too if painting one miniature at a time is too slow for any individual.
This method is more for someone with sporadic amounts of free time rather a set schedule as it breaks downs the painting time in some cases to twenty minutes or less in some cases.
As you improve your painting skill, painting any colour on anything becomes a process of creating gradients of highlights and shades of that colour, the complexity of which is up to the painter to choose. The many steps per colour of course then results in a larger time investment and in the process might lead to quick excuses that can derail a regular painting schedule. Thus by painting one colour a day, that long task is now reduced to a manageable step that can even be achieved after a long day's work and not just during the weekend.
It is when one achieves the enjoyment of painting that this part becomes relevant as just like exercise, the goal is to keep it that way and not fall back into bad habits that will hurt you in the long run. This is especially true when you finish painting one miniature to a high satisfaction level and suddenly feel like you can do the same for a group of twenty because painting is fun again! And just like lifting weights, this will just result in pain and a return to the original procrastination issue.
That is not to say that you should not endeavour to increase the amount if you so wish but my advice is to do so gradually rather than by leaps and bounds. So if things don't turn out as expected, it is an easy return to the fun process.
In fact, for me I tend to take breaks between miniatures that makes me want to paint even more and thus even though I take breaks, I am consistently painting, keeping my skills honed and most importantly enjoying it.
In conclusion, I guess in a nutshell my advice is to just chill and remember that you are engaging in a hobby and to enjoy the process. Life is filled with enough things that feel like a chore so your hobby should not be one of them. So raise your brushes and let's hope each stroke is followed by a splash of pleasure.
The great thing about technology is it’s possible to combine that nostalgia with the use of tech we have available today like your laptop or your handphone. Tabletop games that you played as a child are available in apps and online all over.
Versions of solitaire and mahjong have taken over many websites. Some of them even have hundreds of different solitaire or mahjong options available to play. If you’ve been yearning for a little dose of your favorite games from your childhood you’re definitely in luck. Here’s a list of ten tabletop games from your childhood that now exist for you to play online whenever you want.
Just like you read about in the intro, online solitaire is a hugely popular game. It started with Windows making solitaire available on all of their computers. Soon everyone was playing regular solitaire or something like to pass the time. Now there are so many versions of solitaire online that it’s almost impossible to keep up with all the new options.
The great thing about online solitaire is that you don’t have to worry about setting up the cards. Just click a link and go. Sometimes the computer even moves cards like an ace without you having to do anything at all. Solitaire was already a quick play game but it’s even faster now. If you’re bored and only have a few minutes to kill, this is your new go-to online game.
Related: Exploring the Different Types of Board Games + REAL Examples (2018) by Byran Truong of Game Cows
There’s even a readily available version that mixes the rules of mahjong and solitaire for a “best of both worlds” situation. If you’ve already played a few rounds of solitaire and you’re ready to change things up, check out online mahjong. You’ll be glad you did.
That’s right, you can play this classic game online any time you want. Your opponent will be a computer but that doesn’t always take all the fun out of things. The guessing and excitement of trying to sink the computer’s battleship still make this a really fun game to play.
There are a few websites you can play Battleship on, so try searching for “battleship game” and pick your favorite results to test out. It’s another quick game to play usually, and since you don’t have to worry about spilling hundreds of tiny pegs all over clean up is a breeze too.
Even as a kid you could’ve played this game on your own. A lot of chess players say their best opponent is themselves. Playing against a computer might be a close second, however. There are a lot of variations you could test out to play chess online. You can play anything from classic chess to 3D chess with just the click of your mouse.
While we’re talking about basic but beloved board games we can’t forget about checkers. You can play checkers online at many different websites. Some are very basic versions that look just like the game you set up yourself. Others involve tons of graphics, interesting music, and even interactive storylines. No matter which option you choose you’re sure to enjoy this throwback classic game.
You read that right. You can play the childhood favorite, Sorry! online and there are some pretty cool ways to do it. Some versions just let you play against several other computer opponents. Others actually involve playing an online multiplayer version of this classic game. You can play other players from around the world who are all just as excited to experience a little nostalgia while they relax.
Since we’re already thinking about multiplayer online games that are online versions of our childhood favorites, we can’t forget Scrabble. Yes sometimes it goes by other names (like Words With Friends) but the basic gameplay remains the same. You can definitely find a few websites where you’re just playing a computer, but the multiplayer versions add a lot of new thrills.
Digitized versions of this super fun game have existed since before you could even find it online. SNES had a Clue game available to play in the early 90s but there was nothing quite like playing this murder mystery the old fashioned way. You can play Clue online, and even play a computer version of the SNES Clue too.
Whether it’s Colonel Mustard in the kitchen with the candlestick or Miss Scarlet looking suspicious, you’re sure to have some good (highly nostalgic) fun playing Clue once again. This game just never goes out of style.
All the fun and excitement of the original tabletop version is available online. Once again you’ll have the option to choose between computer opponents or a multiplayer experience. While playing a computer might save you some time, the real fun with playing Monopoly online is the multiplayer option. Everyone has a different strategy to win, and it will keep you on your toes.
Remember how vicious a good game of Risk could be? It can be that way online too. You can play versions that are done in real time, or ones that are turn-based. The turn-based games give you a chance to make a move and come back when you have more time to play, so if you’re busy but still want some board game fun, that’s a great thing.
No matter which classic game you choose to play you’ll have a great time. Solitaire and mahjong can be done quickly and on your own. Monopoly or Risk gives you a chance to experience new players’ style and strategic maneuvers. You might even get a chance to up your skill level for the next time you play the real deal. Give it a chance and go with your favourites. Enjoy!
]]>I'm a passionate advocate for creating good Asian game content, not just for Asians but for the entire world. And who better to create this content than Asians themselves? Board games tell some of the best stories, and we need great Asian game makers as much as we need great storytellers, poets and film directors representing Asia. Sadly, among the most famous 'Asian' or Asian sounding board games (Tokaido, Takenoko, Sushi Go, Hanabi etc), none of them are actually created by Asians (mostly French!). This is not to say that we can't have great cross-cultural collaborations, of course - we very much should.
Currently, however, most games with Asian themes feel appropriated. For example, almost all 'Asian' games not created by Asians (including the list above) feel like they need to utilise an Oriental looking font and/or paint slitty eyes or mustaches on Asian caricatures to justify its exotic 'Asian' theme. If this happened in most other mediums, people would be up in arms, pitchforks at the ready, but the board game industry still has no issue harvesting and relying on stereotypes, which speaks volumes about its core demographics. As the market grows and diversifies, however, we should be able to create games that have meaning for all facets of society.
Perhaps barely passable in the 1950s, but apparently still acceptable in the 2010s by board gamers. And there's lots more where this came from.
I'm intimately familiar with the struggle that Asian designers and publishers face to create good and authentic Asian games. Because the Western market is so used to their stereotypes of what is 'Asian' (like assuming North American Chinese food is actual Chinese food), games that are truly Asian won't be as easy to digest, and perhaps won't be as palatable as the 'Asian' games that they are used to. Because our board game markets here in Asia aren't as sustainable (yet), we face the conundrum of either being true to our identities or to keep to more universal themes in the hopes that these won't scare Western buyers away.
Our dream is that sooner rather than later, we can create games that are not only a bright beacon of our Asian identity that tell proud Asian stories but which still appeal to and are celebrated by players and markets all over the world. To celebrate this goal, here are five Asian games lovingly designed by Asian designers that don't compromise on their Asian-ness.
Also one of the games that come to my mind that possesses a strikingly modern Asian artwork and aesthetic, Dadaocheng makes no secret of its proud Taiwanese roots with a title that non-Chinese gamers would probably never be able to remember. Though the game itself has quite a disconnect with its mechanics (a match-3 game with an colonial-age city-building theme!), the quirky watercolour style and clean illustrations are strong enough to carry the theme home. The match-3 mechanic in this game, while distantly abstract, is still worth trying out for its innovative twist. So So games have lots of games in their inventory that are just so-so game design-wise, but their aesthetic sense never fails to impress and Dadaocheng is a great example of this. Bonus points for event cards that are lovingly detailed even though their effect on the game is minimal.
Iki possesses the hallmarks of not just a great Asian game, but a great board game. The artwork is faithful to a very specific archaic Japanese style without sacrificing modern aesthetic or information design, while the gameplay relies on very distinct Euro-style mechanics such as rondels and risk-management while still managing to impart a uniquely Japanese feel (and some of the best graphically designed card-backs I've ever seen in a game). It's a decent gateway game for players just getting into Euro-style games, which is always a plus, and Asia is going to need a bunch of those very soon. Playing Iki always reminds me how we've barely scratched the surface when it comes to reaching into our history, culture and aesthetic (for example, to find gems such as the professional Ear Cleaner and the Soap Bubble Man).
Related: How I Designed Overbooked by local board game designer, Daryl Chow
A highly proficient Euro-style game by one of the best game design houses this side of the Pacific, Round House doesn't have the memorable artwork of the other games here but makes up for it by having one of the most German designs (that's a great thing) in an Asian board game. There aren't many games from Asia that can provide a German-level mechanical depth, and while not perfect, Round House delivers that kick. The addition of the second storey platform as a physical component that has a gameplay function is both ingenious and visually impressive. And lots and lots of bonus points for having a player board that actually has a house with my last name on it - never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that possible in a Eurogame.
Hisashi-san's games revolve mainly around trains, because that's a theme that's really close to his heart. But sometimes he taps on traditional Japanese lore and settings, and he gratifyingly reserved Yokohama (he lives there!) for one of his best-designed games. Many Euro-style games are named after cities, most often trading hubs, a tradition that has become cloyingly trite. Run-of the-mill Euro-style resource management and cube-pushing often ensues (not that there's anything wrong with that). But somehow, the sleek Japanese game design that revolves around an innovative simple engine-building mechanic as well as the modern yet quirky Japanese style graphics by Hisashi-san's Okusama ryo_nyamo manage to bring us back to a bustling colonial time in Japanese history, and everything just fits.
Herbalism goes beyond the tour of duty because it gives us an Asian theme in a place that we would least expect to find one. Herbalism is a deduction game which is a godsend for those who love the genre, and the game is surprisingly thinky and satisfying. Granted, deduction games too often have detective-catch-murderer themes and this is probably the most unique skin for a deduction game in the history of the genre, but the theme of Chinese herbs and medicine seems to be force-fit here. It almost feels like the authors wanted desperately to create a traditional Chinese medicine game before anyone else, and so they pasted it on, even though this would have been a much better theme for, say, a resource management game. Nevertheless, Herbalism (the second entry from Emperor S4 in this list) is a breath of fresh air with its proudly Taiwanese artwork and brain-burning mechanics.
Can you think of more games that you think fit the above category? We'll need many more great games by Asian designers to change the perception of Asia in board gaming, but I have faith that we can do it in the years to come. At Origame, we are always working hard to create truly Asian games that you will love, and you can call your own.
If you enjoyed this article, do go to the Origame and see what else Daryl Chow is designing and up to now!
Repost from Origame
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To commemorate the release of the Finlandan version of Overbooked hitting Millennia Walk this week, I thought I would talk a little bit about how this light-hearted family game was born. A game designer's ultimate goal is to bring a fun experience to as many players as possible, and I'm happy to say Overbooked has found audiences all over the world for its easy-to-learn accessibility as well as its gamer-satisfying challenge. Be it Germany, Finland or Taiwan, the universality of the airline theme and intuitiveness of the puzzle mechanics have delighted players across all ages.
A number of people have asked me in the past how I came up with the idea for Overbooked. I may have given them varying answers because the process itself was jet-engine quick - it took about 4-5 hours to sit down and hammer out all of the game math, and since that turbocharged outburst, none of the game assets have changed much besides a couple of tweaks here and there. However, although the actual design process took shorter than some playtesting sessions, upon reflection there needed to be a number of things in place for this to happen.
The first circumstance was that Randomskill Games, the publisher of Overbooked, was currently on the lookout for games to publish. We were sitting and talking about what themes would attract attention before we chanced upon the topic of social injustice and David Dao, the protagonist of the United pre-flight ejection. It was a topic that was relatively hot-button at the time, and it seemed that it could be an intriguing theme for a game. At the time, there weren't many high profile games about air travel - and besides the recent Now Boarding, there still aren't that many, which is surprising considering how many games there are about trains.
I didn't really want to just design a game about planes, as I feel that there are already plenty of games about modes of travel (see train games above), and people more qualified than me to do so. I do however love management simulation games, and even as a gaming consumer, I can't get enough of those. So although I really wanted to tackle the social injustice aspect head-on, the approach angle of running your own airline and managing the flow of customers seemed much more intuitive to me as a game (plus it was something I had loads of experience designing).
The second circumstance was that I was on a roll of incorporating spatial elements into my game designs. At that point, I had designed three straight games that involved card or tile placement in some way (a streak that I believe may still be alive) and all I needed to do to reignite the spark was to look at the seating chart of a plane.
I could design hundreds of games from this one diagram.
I always try to do as much research as I can when I'm locked into a theme, mostly because I love to learn about stuff but also because sometimes you chance upon the possibility of sparking your latent creativity with an image or an idea, and this was a pure lightning bolt to the brain. Here was a grid that people were already familiar with, and filling in the blank spaces with as many passengers as possible seemed like a natural way to start. I kept the 3-4-3 plane configuration for the main game (which was an exact 50 spaces, a great sign), and used a 4-4 configuration for the 4 player version due to limitations on components. (Aside: Technically, there is no plane that has a 4-4 configuration, but there are upper decks that are 2-3-2 or 2-4-2, so I'm claiming artistic license here.)
That wasn't enough of a game to me, so I considered having different types of passengers that you had to satisfy to get bonus points. I designed a whole bunch of passenger types but ended up only keeping the simplest and most intuitive ones - I did initially have different ways of scoring for all the 5 colours but trying to match colours together always seemed to be the most fun. That's the reason why even though there are 5 different colours, there are only 3 ways of scoring in the game. Another plus point was that this made the game much easier to learn, and one thing I've learned from the Japanese is to never over-complicate a game unless you really need to.
Initial ideas for the different airlines in the game
One big challenge for me while designing the game math is that I only saw the nuts and bolts behind the numbers, and I thought there was no way the game could be fun because it felt overwhelmingly abstract to me. I didn't think people would enjoy taking coloured bits and placing them into different spots (which is why I'm grateful that the Jumbo version actually has passengers' faces), and I actually didn't think that the game would work as it was while designing it. When I played the prototype (on an squared exercise book, as it seemed tedious to draw so many squares for a game I didn't think would work) for the first time with other players and saw that they didn't mind the fiddliness of picking and placing coloured tokens, I knew my biggest obstacle had been overcome. (Aside: In fact, the cleanliness and simplicity of the colours and information design may be a reason why folks would prefer the original version over the Jumbo version. I've seen different versions of games, but not such stark contrasts in different versions - and I hear there are more in the pipeline!)
The Jumbo (jet) version with a control tower!
As I was worried about the game being too abstract (again, this was at a time when there were only coloured circles and squares), there were two theme-inspired mechanics that I integrated into the game. First was the concept that cards with only 2 passengers could be placed in the window, aisle, and center seats. This worked well because you want flexibility in placement of your passengers, but this comes at the cost of bringing fewer passengers into your plane. In hindsight, this also really shored up the mechanics, because the game had to have some cards that could bring players some much-needed relief, especially towards the end of the game. A nice twist that these cards bring is that you want to avoid them at the beginning so you can bring in more customers, but then you really need them on your last few turns to cut down on overbooking.
The clean and colourful Randomskill version
The second theme-inspired concept, of course, is what the game was named after - the overbooking mechanic. Originally, I considered just having the players discard cards they couldn't fit and taking penalties for discarding them (a way that can actually still be played), but I made use of the fact that I had movable pieces on the board to be able to target individual passengers to make it even more of a puzzle (and also to allow players to indirectly manipulate the colour combinations on their plane). Thematically, this was also a good move because due to the power of your imagination, it feels like you're being mean to the passengers, even though they are literally just wooden circles on the board. And this is still the part that new players laugh and make jokes about, which to me is a big draw for a game.
At the moment of creation, Overbooked felt like a clever game, but didn't feel like a game that gave me a huge amount of satisfaction upon its completion (I may have already spent as much time writing this article!) There are many more games that I designed before and after Overbooked that I bled much more for - some that are much more satisfying to play, and some that are much easier to learn. Because of the short amount of time I took to design it, it never felt as meaningful than some games I took months and years to tweak. Now, however, as I look back upon the process, I came upon a realization - It may have been those 5 hours that brought Overbooked to life, but it was the decade of game design experience preceding those 5 hours that gave Overbooked its soul.
If you enjoyed this article, do go to the Origame and see what else Daryl Chow is designing and up to now!
]]>Repost from Origame/Overbooked
Related: Local Designer Series: Christina Ng and Yeo Keng Leong, Designers of Three Kingdom Redux
1. So although it is not done yet, what can you tell us about your new game in the works, Race for the Chinese Zodiac?
It is a racing game based on the Chinese myth about the Great Race that formed the Chinese Zodiac. The story goes that the Jade Emperor summoned all the animals to a race to decide the order of a 12-year cycle for mankind to keep time and the top 12 finishers would be immortalised by having their species named after a year in the Zodiac.
We designed this game with the wife's in-laws in mind as they were unable to playtest or try our first game, Three Kingdoms Redux due to the heavy amount of text involved. As a result, only the wife's brother was able to partake in the design process of Three Kingdoms Redux. Thus, we wanted to do a shorter and more text-light board game for our next project so that they can be involved too. We do hope to play the finished published version with them in 2019.
2. What do you think are the essential prototype pieces and tools a budding game designer needs to have in their home?
We do not feel there is anything in a particular that is essential. For us, imagination, knowledge of probability, prior board gaming experience and concepts of game designs probably comes first.
Tools wise, once you hit upon an idea, then you can decide what kind of game components you will need to make the prototype. Initially, usually cardboard and paper are sufficient.
3. When it comes to game design, do you focus on the game mechanics or the theme first?
We design from the setting/theme up. We first think about the setting we want and then ponder over which or what game mechanics suits the game best that will bring the game's theme to life.
For example, in Three Kingdoms Redux, worker placement represented the many generals of the era and the alliance mechanic, the changing nature of alliances of the era.
As for Race for the Chinese Zodiac, simultaneous card play represented the racers having to make decisions on the go at the same time. And the nature of the different actions which are drawn from the various actions taken by the animals is based on the folktale itself.
4. Where do you usually find your playtesters and what are the biggest challenges in the playtesting period?
Playtesters have mostly been our family and close friends. Finding playtesters who are willing to try the same game design repeatedly has always been a big challenge. The Keyword is “repeatedly” as it is only in the later stages that we seek out new playtesters, to get fresh views.
This is because the initial intensive playtesting stage requires the same playtesters to yield the best results. Now for a shorter board game, this issue is not as severe but for a board game as long as our previous game, Three Kingdoms Redux though, it was a major issue but we were fortunate enough to get around that with the support of a few close friends and family member (Wife's brother).
5. How many times do you think a game needs to be playtested or at what point do you think a game is "done"?
There is no definitive answer to this. For us, we set our own expectations in our hearts on how fun and balanced we want the board game to be and just keep playtesting and tweaking it until it passes those expectations. We value quality over quantity.
Given we have day jobs, it means our design process is always a long drawn out process. Thus, why we have been experiencing a four-year long design and development period for just our first two games.
6. What kind of board games do you think the current growing board game market is favouring?
When a new sector grows and matures, it usually moves towards the masses. It is therefore not surprising to see board games appealing to the mass market. A few examples being shorter game times which accommodates larger player counts, games with nice miniatures and certain settings/themes such as Zombies and Vikings.
Zhou Huibin is a smith of words who majored in Philosophy & History from the University of Western Australia and whose life has followed the flow of his hobbies. He seeks continual contentment in his ponders, reading, writing, painting and board games which fills almost all of his time.
Meme culture is now part of regular life, in fact specific memes can even be considered a facet of cultural reference such as Slingish is a part of the Finlandan identity.
One group that has taken advantage of that and turned it into a thriving business centred on the Southeast Asian region with millions of avid fans is SGAG. Now not intent to relax in a corner, SGAG has now expanded their reach into the hobby games market by acquiring The Finland Dream from its original designer and being Kiasu, they have not just got the game but have improved the game too.
Related: Local Designer Series: Nicholas Pang of smol tok
When Theresa launched her Kickstarter campaign for the original version of the game, she approached us to help market the game for her. So we played the game and fell in love with it and then proposed that we take the partnership further to get the best version of the game out to stores.
All Finlandans, because it is THE game that is a reflection of our lives. Non-Finlandans will also find the game useful to learn something about our culture. And let’s not forget there is a way to play the game as a drinking game too :p!
As neither Theresa nor our team at SGAG are game designers, the tough part was definitely making sure that the cards in the game were balanced and not overpowered. Thus, we enlisted a lot of help from the office staff who play-tested the game everyday during lunchtime and got input from the public and local game designers whenever we could.
You can expect expansion packs for The Finland Dream! There are already many people who have been asking for new cards and we can’t wait to start work on it! Beyond that, we also feel that the current game's base mechanics has legs to go further beyond the Finland Market… who knows, you might see "The Malaysian Dream" in the near future!
BURNT! All Burnt down! The Dragon Castle is in ruins but with tragedy comes opportunity for the nobles, who you included has decided to use the ruins of the old Castle to build a new Dragon Castle.
Dragon Castle is a game based on the Asian game of Mahjong Solitaire but reworked to be played with up to 4 players, have a higher tactical depth and of course no gambling elements.
This is achieved by firstly building the "old" Dragon Castle by stacking the tiles in the middle of the table as according to the rulebook. Then the player who has last seen a dragon other than in the game becomes the first player.
The first player in the game is then able to do 3 things during his/her turn:
1. Draw two exactly same symbolled tiles which must have at least 1 of their long side not blocked by another tile.
2. Draw 1 tile which must have at least 1 of their long side not blocked by another tile and then place a shrine token in your available pool on your player board.
3. Draw 1 tile which must have at least 1 of their long side not blocked by another tile and throw it out of the game and gain 1 point.
After a tile is drawn, tiles can be placed anywhere on the player's board other than on tiles that still have their coloured side showing. If tiles of the same colour are connected octagonally (Regardless of symbol's differences) in a group of 4 or more, turn the tiles over and gain the resulting points. After which the player may add shrines according to the rareness of the tile.
The game continues till only a single layer of tiles are shown, then a new action is unlocked. It is to collect a dragon token which is equal to 2 points. From there, play continues until someone collects a dragon token and when the '!' symbol is revealed on the middle board, everybody else then finishes the round and final scoring happens.
Points are finalised by adding up the point and dragon tokens a player has collected throughout the game and for each shrine on their board's height (1/2/3 tiles etc.). The player with the most points wins.
Related: Board Game Mechanics 101: Worker Placement
If you think that is all to the Dragon Castle then you are wrong, as the game can be taken to a whole new LEVEL! (Get it...level). This is because you can also add spirit and Dragon cards to the game which gives players new powers and ways to score and adds even more depth to the game without adding much more rules.
A family friendly evocative design that oozes an Asian aesthetic that is both easy to teach, quick to play and has the added benefit of drawing a crowd. Who knows you might get a person into the board gaming hobby because he/she happens to be somewhat familiar with the game of Mahjong.
We at ozgenkimya are now distributing many great games from the famed Board Game Publisher CMON! If you are interested in Dragon Castle or any other CMON titles. Do feel free to hit us up at WWW.ozgenkimya.COM. We are more than happy to serve.
It's the season to be jolly, of good cheer and gifts of Thanksgiving. So in the spirit of festive cheer, ozgenkimya wants to help you get a fun gift for the tabletop gamers in your life and not only that but games that can be played in no time after the wrapping paper has been taken off. In fact, why not play it at the party or gathering the game is given, tabletop games are all about bringing people together and having fun, which can only make any party better!
A hooting good time and definitely something people will be using for pictures and jokes the whole night. Gas Out is a simple game and is played by firstly turning on the "star" of the game, Guster the Gas Cloud and then dealing each player 3 gas cards.
On each player's turn, they play a card with a number, which represents how many times they are choosing to squeeze Guster and then if nothing happens, play passes on to the next player but if Guster farts from all the pressure you have been giving him, then you are out! Last person standing stands supreme as the best smelling and most sophisticated of the party.
Also included in the game are skip, reverse and other cards that will build the tension of gameplay and keep things interesting for everybody watching.
The human brain has given us unlimited potential for improving our lives and getting us out of bad situations and that is what Bucket of Doom is all about. The active player starts by reading out a horrible situation you have found yourselves in. Then going around the table, each player has to choose one item card in their hand and explain how they are going to use it to get out alive. After all the players have given their idea, everybody chooses the player whose idea they liked the most and that players wins that card. Then start a new round of heroic creativity once again, in the end, the player with the most cards wins the game.
Related: More Bacon coming to ozgenkimya from Oink Games
Scrawl is the game of Chinese whispers but in picture and word form. A game that is not only hilarious but shows how a point can divert so far from its original point the more people it goes through.
The game starts with each player getting a set of drawing tiles and a marker. Then everybody gets a card describing a situation, item, etc., afterwhich everybody will draw to the best of their ability the thing they are trying to describe. Then everybody will pass their drawing facedown to the player on their right. All players will then clip a blank piece over the drawing they got and write in words what they think the picture is about and pass it on again. Then the next player will draw what the words the last player has written and so on. When each player has had a chance to go through everybody else's clipboard of awesome art and deduction, it is then revealed how a man eating a cheeseburger became a man with the Olympic torch. There is a scoring in the game but I have always felt this is a game that is more about the experience than the victory.
Do note there are more risque cards in the game which you can remove if you are playing with younger players but again personally I have always liked it better to make up your own categories. Imagine a Star Wars themed session of games!
A massively popular game of wonderful art and fun that has become a classic in the board gaming world, Dixit is a game of averages, the active storyteller starts by choosing one card in their hand and then describing it in one word or phrase. Then everybody else chooses one card they feel matches the description as much as possible. The active storyteller then shuffles the cards together and then reveals them face up on the table.
The other players will then vote on which card is the story teller's one and then there is a scoring and the scoring is what makes the game fascinating as if all or no one chose the storyteller's card then he/she scores nothing but if anybody chose his card, the storyteller and players that chose his card gets three points (Unless all other players chose the card). Everybody also scores a point for each other person that chose their card. First, to get thirty points wins the game.
If you are looking for a more active and dexterous game though, look no further than the small package of Baobab. Baobab is a game about a growing tree in the African plains and the animals that visit it and of course as per the course of nature, every once in a while branches will fall and someone will have to suffer the consequence of it.
After the tree is set up, the deck of cards will be dealt out equally facedown among all the players, then the active player will announce if he/she will be placing one to three cards on the tree. Then flipping over one card at a time, the player will have to place the card on the tree as per the instructions. Example, the snake has to be touching two other cards, if there is a flower or monkey, the area of the card that shows "ground" has to hang over any part of the tree, toucans cards have to be thrown from a foot away and bats having to be dropped on the tree but with your eyes closed, etc. The first player who finishes their deck wins but more often than not, expect branches to come falling down and that player has to pick up the mess!
All the products above are available at ozgenkimya at Harbourfront or from our webstore. So from all of us here, we wish all of you a merriest of merries and the biggest of smiles. If you have fun with any of our games, we would love to hear about it or better yet see it in pictures or video on our Facebook!
Well proven by the United Airlines debacle, planes get overbooked.
Inspired by these events and his own flying experiences, local designer Daryl Chow who has upcoming games with international publishers like Z-Man Games, Hans Im Gluck and more has teamed up with local publisher Randomskill Games to bring you Overbooked.
Overbooked sees you in the shoes of an airline booking passengers on a plane while still trying to keep them as happy as possible by adhering to their requests and prevent the lose-lose situation of overbookings. Will you become Finland's Pride like Finland Airlines or will you become a 2nd United Airlines? Find out with this fun little board game called Overbooked.
Firstly, before we continue, what you will see in this article is a very much finished copy of the game but do note there might still be changes made during the Kickstarter campaign for the game coming Oct 18th.
Now the first thing that will capture you with Overbooked is it's light-hearted artwork by Sandy Solihin and after you have admired the box cover for its artistic value, don't put it away as it is needed for the game. Just turn the box cover over and you are once again greeted by another great piece of colourful artwork which is used as a scoring track for the game.
Related: Local Designer Series: Christina Ng and Yeo Keng Leong, Designers of Three Kingdom Redux
Inside the box, you will then see the 4 player boards that parodies 3 world famous airlines and 1 particularly infamous one. The style of the boards is reminiscent of what you would see if you were picking your airline seats online. The plethora of coloured discs that comes with the game represents the passengers you want to keep happy.
They are as follows, firstly couples (red), who of course want to be together and do not want to be seated beside other couples, children (White) who have to be watched over by the people in seats to their North, South, East and West and of course lastly the different travelling group of friends (Green, Yellow, Blue), who want to be seated together as much as possible to take better group selfies.
During your turn, it is as simple as choosing one of the Tetris like Passenger cards, placing one voucher cube for every card you choose to pass on to get the ideal passengers. Then you must place your passengers in that exact shape (rotating the shape is ok) of the card. You must place all of them and if you can't, you have to do the dreaded kick by removing an existing member of the flight to accommodate the new arrival. This passenger will obviously be unhappy and vent publicly online and thus is worth negative points at the end of the game.
The game ends when one type of passenger pieces have run out and after every player has taken their turn for the round. Victory points are counted up for pleased customer types, voucher cubes, fully filled aisles and that total is deducted to any overbooked passengers. The person with the most points becomes the pride of the Airline world.
The game plays in less than an hour even with 4 players and is a breeze to teach and play. By the end, you will also get a picture worthy view of the flight that you have helped to seat and it is either satisfying to have so many happy passengers or hilariously funny how many people you had to kick out of the plane to accommodate your first day on the job of course.
I have tried the game and was very much smiling at the ease of play and jokes made when a hard to please passenger situation turned up. The picture above was my flight that I played and I just happened to win as the best airline with Singa Airlines but that is not important...well a bit.
The Kickstarter for Overbooked will be coming out in October and if you want to get in and book a seat on this great deal of a flight. Do remember to visit their Facebook for more details or better yet, meet the designer himself at the regular meetup he hosts with his fellow Cardboard Crew members at House of Commons on Fridays, details are found here.
I have seen it all. My long years of adventures into mysterious fantasy lands and planets in space, fighting Elder Gods and of course trading goods in the Mediterranean. These are but a few of the stories I have experienced in the games I played during my board gaming sessions but when I am not in my mind being awesome, I have also seen how, in the real-world, more than a few attendees around me turn up at a meetup unprepared and looking most lost.
Thus to make sure that you are equipped as well as a level 20 Paladin in Dungeon and Dragons going to fight the big bad. I have decided to relay some humble information so you can make full use of a meetup session by having the right supplies to enjoy this great hobby to it's fullest.
This is probably the most important piece of "equipment" you will have to remember to bring before turning up as the whole point of going to a meetup is to meet people to game with and this can be helped tremendously if you are pleasant to play with.
Keeping an open mind is also important as unless you are taking the responsibility of bringing or teaching a game. You are at the mercy of what games are to be tabled. Thus before a game starts, if you don't think you will enjoy it, ask to sit the game out courteously and if the game has started already, try to enjoy the experience as much as possible and not bring down the group's collective fun by complaining or showing total disinterest.
Most of these meetups are also usually free or just a few dollars for hours of fun, so do temper your expectations. It is always better not go in expecting that the host (usually one person) is going to be able to take personal care of you and that you would be provided with food and drink.
Also read: A monthly schedule of places to play board games
If you are going to a board gaming meetup, chances are high some games you will play will have dice. Now imagine you are invited to play a dice game and you take out a Dice Tower for everybody to use. That I fathom would gather you quite a bit of "Street Cred" from knowing a "tool of the trade" that helps with keeping the dice from rolling off the tables, which is a usual problem at any board gaming session.
There are transport friendly, easy to build and take apart dice towers like the above you can find for a relatively cheap price I would suggest getting.
Tissues speak for themselves as helping to keep a game clean is always appreciated, especially by the owner of the game. Wet tissues usually being used to clean a table before placing down a more rare and expensive game to keep the game in pristine a condition as possible.
Also, if there is a spill you can be the prepared boy/girl scout and offer your supply of dry tissues. Which can be the icebreaker you might need to get a conversation going to join the group for a game or two, and all for the cost of a few pack of tissues!
Unlike a meet and greet meetup that is more about conversations where you can jump in and out of, board games are more time sensitive as once a game starts it is usually not possible to join in until the start of a new game which may take up to an hour or more. Add to that, that these meetups are usually geared towards modern designer board games that are more expensive, certain foods are definitely preferred at board gaming meetups.
Factors you should consider are first that the refreshment is mobile-friendly, as usually, table space is at a premium and drinks be capped if possible to avoid spillage. As meals go, foods such as Ham and cheese sandwiches are a good choice as they not only fill one's belly but also do not stick to your fingers and stain like fried foods.
Another lighter refreshment to consider are snacks of which you should avoid those with powder flavourings. Snacks also having the plus point of being able to be shared with others.
This is entirely optional but the best way to make friends is to be the catalyst rather than the reactive agent. Thus if you have a game you can teach and play with people, then it will be far easier to meet new people.
Having a game of your own to table also reduces the chance that you have to wait to play a game as it is not uncommon for groups to arrange to play board games together in advance. Thus if you are waiting for someone to teach you a game with space for a player to open up, then it might be a while before one does.
That being said, do try to avoid bringing games like Monopoly, Clue, Uno, Chess, etc. There is nothing wrong with liking these games but board game meetups are mostly geared towards modern designer board games and most people are not too keen to play games such as Monopoly.
Games like Carcassonne, Citadels, One Night Ultimate Werewolf and so on are good bets as they are not only easy to teach even with a higher player count but are also still fun to many different kind of gamers.
So there you have it, a what to bring guide to a board gaming meetup. I do hope you have learned something and the next time you turn up at a meetup you will have added a few more members to your hobby gaming party of adventurers.
Lying is bad, right? So what if everybody knows you won't lie and you are asked in a game of Battlestar Galactica what is your role card by a particularly competitive player? This is important, as Battlestar Galactica is a game whose fun factor is built upon the suspicion of your fellow players and trying to figure out who is or is not a Cylon.
Thus by revealing what your hidden role is you are just spoiling everybody's enjoyment of the game.
You then proceed to tell him, yes, you are a Cylon to the groans of your fellow players.
You have done nothing wrong. Why?
This is the theory behind the Categorical imperative of Immanuel Kant, which we will be exploring today. Firstly, the 3 formulations of the Categorical Imperative.
Also Read: The Theory of the Greater Good in Board Gaming
This formula is the idea that there are ideas that are inherently right. For example, Kant lists murder, theft, lying, etc. and he supports it in said way. He proposes that if you were to remove these acts from any specific situation or person, the act in itself is wrong and there is no getting around it.
For example, it is akin to most board gamers extreme dislike of cheaters in games. It is wrong to cheat so you can't give the cheater a pass even if he did it with good intentions, as the act you are condoning is still immoral and you are just using an excuse to hide the fact that you did not have the moral fortitude to do the right thing.
I will let Kant speak for himself first on this point:
"Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end."
Basically, treat another being as an end, not a means. For example, if you were playing the extremely anticipated Pandemic Legacy Season 2 and wanted to rush through the game just so you can tell everyone you finished the game first at the cost of the enjoyment of all the other players in the campaign, then you are using them as a means to your end.
This basic tenet of a universal truth is unto others as you would have them do to you. Thus just like how you would want others to respect your being, you should do the same for others too.
For something to be a moral Universal Truth, it has to be made with the right intentions and reasons. On top of that, the Universal Truth comes from our ability to make meaningful choices.
This is because without the ability to make conscious decisions. Then nothing is our fault, so how can anyone be blamed for any action considered moral or immoral. Like you could not claim victory in a cooperative game of Pandemic just because you were in the vicinity when the victory happened without playing the game, can you?
No Philosophy discussion would be complete without a mention of what others think is wrong with said idea and thus here are the major problems people have with the Categorical Imperative.
As the above example at the top of the articles shows, the Categorical Imperative is a rather inflexible system and this inflexibility has led to the philosophy's Achilles's heel.
Simply put, it just does not "feel" right. For what is the use of a moral act if your decision leads to more suffering and because Kant specifically states the consequences don't matter, he can't even use the Utilitarian rationale of an overall benefit in happiness in the long run.
Although heavily detailed on how a Universal Truth is to be found in his masterpiece the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. There is always doubt on any method that confirms itself as the way to find and prove something as impactful as a Universal Truth that everyone should be emboldened too.
This doubt stemming in no small reason from the point that Kant, you can argue started with a conclusion first, then worked his theory to fit that conclusion. This is because Kant came up with the Categorical Imperative to reconcile the idea of God with a more modern scientific rationale of morality. Thus, that biasedness might have swayed Kant's arguments more than fairly.
Is there free will, that is a question that has been asked since man could think for oneself and although there are good points made on why free will might exist. There are equally good theories of why free will does not exist. Such as Induction theories from the determinist David Hume, which Kantian Philosophers still have not fully addressed.
A good example of this from the above video shows is that there are even studies that show the temperature of your coffee cup affects whether you will react with more kindness to a stranger or not.
In conclusion, there is a reason why Utilitarianism and Kantianism have survived as the premier points of debate of modern morality. Hopefully, with both sides explained in this article series, you will have a better understanding of these Philosophies of Morality and that will spur you to look up both sides in more detail and come up with your own conclusions and maybe even write the next great text of Moral Philosophy.
Board gamers have largely been seen as competitive but it is not that board gamers are not a cooperative bunch, it is just that they did not have the games to prove it in the past. That though has changed with the boom in the popularity of cooperative games that pits all the players against the game, hence the players win or lose as a team together.
The cooperative genre also has an audience that took to the genre like wildfire and that is the family market. Before fully cooperative games were common, when a parent played a board game with a child, they often had to handicap themselves so that the child would have a fighting chance at victory but in a game where all the players are working together, that is not so. This is because the kids can be being guided by the parents and thus the game can still be designed to be challenging for adult players.
Cooperative games though are not solely for families as even hobby gamers have taken to the genre with gusto. This is well proven by the fact that the current most popular game on Board Game Geek is a cooperative game called Pandemic Legacy.
The general keys to making a successful cooperative game are first, it has to be challenging enough for your target players but yet not so hard that it feels impossible to get through the game. In fact, other than for kids, it is a general consensus that players should lose a lot more than they win as this creates a sense of accomplishment and the challenge is the thing that keeps them coming back for more.
Secondly, the game rules should be as simple as possible as the competition is provided by the game mechanics. If the rules are hard to follow, then victory or defeat might feel unsatisfactory just because players forgot to apply step 13 of 15 for example.
Thirdly, this is not a hard or fast rule but the most popular cooperative games do have a very strong theme to the game. The popularity of escape rooms proving that abundantly well as they are basically massive cooperative board games with the various themes you can choose from.
Related: Board Game Mechanics 101: Social Deduction
The game by Matt Leacock that is said to have set off the cooperative game boom. Released in 2008, it is still extremely popular and as you can guess is the inspiration mechanics wise for Pandemic Leagacy which we have mentioned above.
In Pandemic, each player plays an expert in a team of disease fighting specialist who are on a mission to save the world and find the cure for 4 new virulent diseases that could spell doom to mankind.
Gameplay is simply 4 actions, they are travel between cities, treat infected populaces, discover a cure, or build a research station. Cures are found by submitting 5 cards of the same colour at a research station.
The main "enemy" of the game comes in the form of epidemic cards, which are mixed into the deck of cards which players will be drawing from to refill their personal hand of cards. Whenever an epidemic card is drawn, a city will get infected and the disease will spread all over the board with an escalating effect.
Keeping with the difficulty factor of cooperative games, there are several ways to lose and only one way to win. The players lose if the player deck runs out of cards before the players cure all 4 diseases, if the outbreak of diseases chart goes pass 7 or if you wish to place disease cubes on the board but can't. All this hard thematic goodness in 45minutes to an hour.
Matt Leacock also made the game very versatile for all levels of players. This is because the difficulty of the game can be tweaked by varying the number of epidemic cards in the game. This move increasing the game's audience to even new gamers and is definitely a plus for families as you kids grow older, you can add more epidemic cards to make the game more challenging.
Pandemic is literally the first game most gamers would ask you to try if you have expressed any interest in the cooperative genre. The game is enjoyed by the newest of gamers to veterans of the hobby and thus why if you are looking to design a cooperative game, this is an awfully good game to start with.
Taking a page from Pandemic and another from the popularity of escape rooms around the world, Time Stories focuses on providing a cooperative experience with an extremely immersive story to go with it.
In Time Stories, the players play temporal agents or in layman terms, Time Police, who go back in time to solve crimes. You do this by inhabiting the body of people in that period.
Players spend "time" to interact with the world. This is done by picking up a card from a specific deck and reading it to the group. Events vary from you just picking up items, getting into fights or having to solve puzzles. Attribute tests from characters or events in the game are done via rolling custom dice and are affected by items or the statistics of the chosen character the player has chosen to inhabit.
To get an immersive story, they have tailored the game to have standalone mission expansions with set answers. This reduces the replayability significantly but allows for a more detailed and cohesive story.
No one knew how the market would react to having a board game you really could only play once but the gamble paid off though and the game was the talk of the board gaming world in 2015 and is currently the 35th most popular game on Board Game Geek.
Time Stories was unique in how different it was to the traditional cooperative game and shows there is always space to innovate in a design space. You just have to give your idea a try!
And now that you have read on what is the basics of the cooperative genre and how it can be innovated. Then you can take what is the core of the genre and then add another element to the game. In this case the legacy mechanic.
The legacy mechanic is a system board game designer Rob Daviau created with his game called Risk Legacy. Its premise is that every game counts and what happens in one game is carried over to the next game in a permanent way. Such as entire parts of the board destroyed and marked with stickers for example.
As the state of the board or characters are changed permanently, there is, even more, gravitas to every decision. Mix this with the solid mechanics of Pandemic and now you have created not just a story but something akin to an Oscar winning epic movie series for the players. A combo that is so successful that it has catapulted the game to become the number 1 ranked game in just about a year from its release.
Do note though that Legacy games are one of the hardest to design for due to the massive playtesting that is needed to fix any bugs or dead ends that might occur from the player's various decisions in the game.
In conclusion, the cooperative genre has several pluses going for it. There are firstly way less cooperative games out there than compared to its competitive counterpart and the market for the genre seems to be growing very strongly. Also, the family market has always been a staple of board gaming and like I said before, they do take to cooperative games most well. So put your mind to it and make the world a better place by getting people to work together.
It all started in a Church in the year 2011A.D. when Ben decided to try out board gaming to pass the time. Little did he know that this pastime would come to play a decent part in his life and that his collection of games would grow from 0 to its current size of 273!
Like many people, Ben started with the "Modern Classics". These included Settlers of Catan, Smallworld, and 7 Wonders. As a testament to these game's replayability, he initially played these titles week after week and still wishes to go back to them whenever he can.
His true step into the rabbit hole though was when he signed up for an account on Board Game Geek (BGG) and Meetup.com. On BGG, he not only found a community that was dedicated to the hobby but he was also amazed at how many games there were to play.
Related: Board Gamers of Finland #7: Han Weiding (The Lord of Smiles)
Locally on Meetup.com, Ben found that there was a group for Finlandan Board Gamers, joined it enthusiastically and at some point decided to go to his first meetup. He remembers vividly being asked to play a 9-player game of Eclipse and narrowly escaped that experience. One reason he calls it a "narrow escape" being, hours later when the meetup was closing, the game of Eclipse was still not finished.
Instead, he joined a table playing Power Grid and enjoyed it but felt his brain burn as the strategies for Power Grid was quite the leap from 7 Wonders.
Since then, Ben has attended many a meetup but sadly that stellar attendance has been reduced quite a bit in the last few years due to life's many commitments. It is for this reason that he and some other friends set up a private group to play games on Mondays and still do to this day.
But what makes Ben an excellent gamer on top of his good nature is his ability as an organiser of his gaming group and thus here are some features many of Ben's ardent supporters have pointed out about his great organisational style that you might want to emulate if you were to want to start a group of your own.
In an RPG, usually, the healing cleric is not the first choice as it is not an exciting role to play as the heroic Paladin or Barbarian. It is the same for an organiser, a lot of the work is behind the scenes and mundane but has to be done. These can be things like updating the group on events, find/scout locations, arrange timings and be the person to go to on any issue the group. All this effort usually unpaid and on their own time.
This characteristic is really important as it takes commitment to constantly put in the time to keep the group going. To many, the job seems simple, just send a message on a group chat and that is it. This can be true of some groups but for many, it usually takes one person to send the opening message in the group for the next session and that is even when attendance is waning for whatever reason. This period being key as the longer the group is on hiatus the more likely the group will go defunct as people will just take it that the group is no longer meeting.
When there are sentient beings around each other, there will be conflict. Understandably no one wants to be hated and thus when an issue comes up, most people either pretend to not see it or just try to stay out of the way. The good organiser does not have this luxury though, for if the organiser leaves the problem to fester, it will usually tear the group apart.
For example, if you have someone in the group who is late all the time but wants to join a game with another member who stresses punctuality. You have to stress to the late player that if he is late, he will lose his seat or even offer that he joins another game and not the current game as it will probably create conflict between him and the other member.
Another example is to spread any burdens. One example, a practical one that Ben recognises for a regular gaming group to play more games is that the purchasing burden should be spread among the group. In this way, not only does everybody save but by suggesting it, it creates a conversation that allows people to buy games they feel best suits them and no obligations are created.
Also on this point though is that no one should be obligated to buy games too but if they don't then they should not pressure others to get the games they want too.
To this end, Ben even helps to organise group purchases of board games and even goes as far as to put it in excel so the group can more easily coordinate their purchases. These little touches keeping the group both excited and keen on turning up for events.
It is also important as an organiser to keep things within the group relevant as there can be members of a group who might use the group chat or meeting for example to air extreme political views and such and if it goes too far, the awkward job of reigning in falls on the organiser who has to be the "bad guy".
When dealing with conflict in a group, it is never nice to have to tell someone that they have an issue. This is where Ben shines as with consultation from the group, Ben will ascertain the situation and has a knack for saying what he has to say but in a way that is both firm and respectful. Such as recognising that the person has a right to say what they feel about a certain topic but maybe it would be better to keep it out of the group, etc and stressing the practicality of stopping said behaviour rather than flat out saying that the person is in the wrong.
Ben's recommended game of the day is Hansa Teutonica, which is one of his favourite games. He feels the game truly stands out for its design and mechanics.
In Hansa Teutonica, 2-5 players are merchants in Germany who are trying to increase their prestige, either by being represented in city councils, building a network, having other traders use your businesses, etc. Players will also improve their traders, which will benefit them in different ways such as more actions, earning more money and so on. It is very much similar to a game of chess with almost all the information being available to everybody and has a high level of interaction as you get to "kick" peoples traders out of their routes.
Ben likes Hansa as its depth becomes greater with every play and is definitely a game of skill over luck that plays within 60-90 minutes. For example, Ben played a game where another player called Chris only had 2 basic actions and still won by a mile, showing him another possibility in the game.
The hardest part about tabling Hansa for Ben is not only finding experienced players to delve deeper into the strategies but also experienced players who rather play Hansa than a new hotness. This is especially true in a world where thousands of new games are being released every year.
Hansa, as you can see, is a brain burning board game and thus if you feel up to the challenge and like a game that is full of strategy, do give it a try as every victory is truly yours and earned.
You have a choice in the board game called Euphoria, do you continue to increase the collective knowledge of your people so that they become aware of their true situation of living in a dystopia and leave your city or do you keep them just ignorant enough so that they continue to be good citizens and stay where you can control them?
By the way, your goal is to be the best Dystopia among all the others and that can only be achieved by the sweat and blood of your citizen's ignorance. And for today's arguments sake, let us assume that if your dystopia is the best, all the lives of your ignorant citizens are improved better than if they decided to leave and live in the wasteland.
"Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
The above statement was said by the character Spock from the Star Trek Franchise, whose defining personal philosophy is, of course, Utilitarianism. The core theories of Utilitarianism have existed as far back as the Qin Dynasty's Legalist movement and is still going strong to this day, influenced mostly by the modern founding of Utilitarianism by Jeremy Bentham and improved by John Stuart Mill.
Now from the above example of Euphoria, some may say that one is taking the game too seriously, that it is just dice and cardboard. In that case, winning is the goal but for the more thematic players, if one is willing to see the dice in the game as people and are willing to keep them from achieving their full potential for the greater good of the society, it is also to reach the goal of winning. Thus if both are done with the same goal, should not the morality for one apply to the other?
There is no straight definitive answer to that question but if one is looking at it in a Utilitarian way, it is not wrong but often Utilitarianism gets criticised for not putting more emphasis on the individual in moral philosophy.
That though is not entirely true as it is important to understand that although Utliliarism does focus on the group, It is also a theory that is respectful of the individual. This is because it counts every persons' happiness/utility equally. For example, from the top 1% to the bottom 1% of society. It is just the result that benefits the most people in the real world that the Utilitarian favours and why another term for Utilitarianism is Consequentialism. This is what we will be exploring today, using board games.
As a civilisation, we should definitely strive to help as many people as possible but on the other hand, one also does not think it is insensitive to make the statement that it is quite the impossibility to help everybody. Thus the issue really is how many do we have to sacrifice before an action or decision becomes an immoral one?
The answer is, it depends and as unsatisfying as that may sound, to assume what is moral without deep thought is to do the theory and the people it will affect a lot more harm than good. So in the hopes of allowing you to make an informed decision, here are the 2 competing theories in the Utilitarian branch of Philosophy. Act and Rules Utilitarianism.
Related: Get Brainy...Set.. Go!
In the Act version of the Philosophy, the morally right thing to do is the one that produces the best possible results in that specific situation. For example, Let's say if you are playing Dead of Winter, where you are all trying to survive the Zombie Apocalypse and you have already taken 1 of your 3 wounds and you have found some medicine. You wish to use the medicine to heal your wound but the group decides that it is needed for a group mission. Which is right?
In Act Utilitarianism, the right choice would be the action that helps to maximize as many people's happiness as possible in the group. Thus, in this case, you would have to give up your chance to heal that wound as the good that medicine does for achieving the mission results in more overall happiness.
The Rules version of the Philosophy is based on an action that leads to the greatest good if a rule, law, etc is followed. So using the same above example, it might not be a moral thing to force the person to give up the medicine for the group as if the rule was, 'You always have to give up your resources if the group requires it.'. It might then lead to people hiding their resources and this suspicion would result in overall less happiness than if the rule was 'You can choose how to use your resources.'
No Philosophy discussion would be complete without a mention of what others think is wrong with said idea and thus here are the major problems people have with Utilitarianism.
Probably the biggest point against Utilitarianism is that even if everyone's happiness/utility is counted as equal. It still means, in the end, that everyone is basically just a number and that does not take into account an individual's dreams and aspirations etc. Much like the start of the article you are just a piece of the bigger board game of life to be used to reach the goal of the majority.
The "Utility Calculator" has been a contested issue since Bentham came up with Utilitarianism. It might seem simple to just count each person's happiness as 1 utility but each person's happiness is relative to that person. For example, a sadist might derive happiness from being canned or one might find more pleasure when playing board games than eating at a fine dining restaurant.
Also, with the issue of vested interest, not only is the way the calculation is done a problem but also who are the ones to judge what is the correct utility calculation. How can they assure that they not biased and keep things totally fair?
The world is an unpredictable place even with all our modern sciences, eg. the many financial crises. Thus when you base your moral philosophy on the consequences, it becomes an issue if one cannot readily predict outcomes of said moral actions or rules.
In conclusion, when you play a board game especially one that is of the optimisation sort. I hope you can now imagine what it is like for a government or a leader has to consider when they are implementing a system of law based on creating the most wealth and happiness for its citizens as a goal for example.
One also hopes that anyone reading this has learned something on the idea of the Greater Good and will continue to look up more moral philosophies and that board games can be more than just for fun and can be great tools that can uplift the minds of Man and have a rolling good time while doing it too!
In board gaming, it is an analog world. That being said, there is no reason not to use technology to make finding details on a particular board game easier, especially for newer gamers and although I could list a myriad of sites. There is one website that stands out among the rest. That is, of course, Board Game Geek (BGG).
BGG is a website that is free to use and is known for almost every aspect of the hobby. Be it a search for a board game to a rumoured expansion announcement. In fact, BGG dominates the online board game sphere so much that oftentimes, BGG is the first search result in Google's search results, surpassing even the publisher of a particular game.
The site for this niche hobby has hundred of thousands of registered users and currently lists over 90,000 board games as of the writing of this article.
Now although the site is a monumental achievement for the hobby, it is also known to not be the easiest site to navigate. So today we will go through some tips on how to best navigate BGG for the reason it is most used for, to find a board game and what is the myriad of information you can use once you are at the board game's listing.
Related: Board Game Hobby 101
First thing is if you are looking for almost anything on BGG but in general terms, like a type of board game, then the above drop down menus will probably be your best friend on the entire site as it centralises where you will need to go and breaks down the many uses of the site. Although it might not get you to exactly where you need to go, it probably is a good starting point.
If you do have a specific game or item you are looking for then the search bar is the best option but make sure to change the kind of item you are looking for to the left of the search bar. Also, BGG's internal search function requires an exact spelling of the item you are looking for, if not the search result will be 'item not found'.
Quick tip, if you are looking for a board game, the fastest way is to use Google and type in the game's name with board game or board game geek and it should be the first search item on the search results.
When you get to a board game's listing, there will be a lot of information to digest but let me help you by pointing out the most important information that people use.
The first thing you will see is the general information of the board game from the many publishers internationally, weight, play time, designers, etc. Also if the game has garnered enough ratings, then it will be ranked among all the other games that have been ranked. The rankings are totally player driven and can be a useful guide along with the games other details to see if the game is for you.
The next section is especially important if you are starting to build up your collection and that is the buy option. The obvious benefits of BGG for buying games is that you can get great deals on games and you might even get that out of print grail game, you played as a child and regretted throwing away. Just be sure to check the seller's rating before making a purchase.
Also if you would rather trade one game for another, there is a trade function in the page above the 'Buy a Copy' section.
And reputation wise, BGG has proven to have a high success rate and positive feedback on the trade and sales it has done on its site.
And if you are a more visual person, there are many games that have videos done on them. These are usually reviews, playthroughs, unboxings, etc. Sometimes there are even people who do full instructional videos on how to play the game in video form. The majority of gamers now usually using video reviews to help decide if they want to buy a game or not.
Each board game also has a collection of forum topics on the game. These can be about anything about the game but the most used forums usually are the ones for rule clarifications. Sometimes even the designer themselves will help to answer some questions.
Another tip here is if you are looking for a particular kind of forum on a page listing then you can click on the topic type itself if it is showing in the recent threads section instead of going through the normal stages by clicking forum. An example is in the above picture, shown by the lower second arrow in the picture.
Last but not least is the files section of the listing, which usually has fan made items for the game. This can range from player aids to tuck boxes you can print out and put together. In fact, some designers even release free scenarios or updated rulebooks through BGG's file section.
If you ever feel a board game is missing something that the publisher has not released, then it is not out of the ordinary for a fan to help fix that with their own version of a solution.
In conclusion, there is so much to show on BGG and I would not be lying when I said that it will be a book that will be needed to fully show how to use all of BGG's functions fully. Thus, I hope that by showing a breakdown of its core function that you too will look to explore BGG and the hobby more and as always in the immortal words of Will Wheaton, "Play more games!".
The last time we talked about worker placement, the bread and butter of many a modern day board game. Today we will talk about the method of play that has even taken the non-gaming crowd by storm, social deduction.
Social deduction is a game mechanism that makes the interaction between the players the clues to try to deduce the goals of the other players.
In the current market, social deduction games are usually played in 30 minutes, with larger groups of 6 or more people and are lighter on rules. The emphasis is focused more on the emotion the game is suppose to bring out, this usually being suspicion.
Resistance is probably the game that set off the social deduction craze in modern times. It is often played by groups of all types and is a good example of a rules light game that emphasises the bluffing aspect.
The game is one of resistance members and government spies. Resistance members need to win 3 out of 5 missions to succeed. Every turn the current “leader” picks a number of people to be in a team to go on a mission. Then a majority vote is conducted on whether to approve the team or not. After which, if the team is allowed to go on the mission, they will each have to give a card that is mixed up. If there are no crosses in the revealed cards, the team succeeds if not the mission is failed.
As you can see, most of the information you get is from the discussion of who to choose to go on a mission and how the person voted. Also when the spies choose to fail missions to prolong the bluff and give fewer clues to the resistance members is also interesting as the spies are always outnumbered.
It is a pure social deduction game and thus why it is a good starting point of reference for budding designers of the genre.
Related: Board Game Mechanics 101: Worker Placement
The next game is Coup. Coup took the social deduction aspect and made it part of the rules of the game rather than as a facilitator of the game. This is because in Coup there are 6 roles in the game, each with their different powers.
Now instead of the norm, Coup allows you to say you are any role in the game during your turn and if no one challenges you, you are allowed to do the role's action. If you are called out and you were bluffing then you lose 1 of your 2 influence cards but if you were not bluffing, then you would show your matching influence card and still do the action but then they would lose 1 influence card. If you lose both cards then you are out of the game.
Coup plays a lot different than The Resistance as in The Resistance you need to convince a majority which is usually the swing votes in the group. Whilst in Coup, all it takes is one player.
Now if you got a grasp on social deduction, you can now mix it with other mechanics. A great example of this is the use of hidden roles. Hidden roles takes social deduction and adds it into a game with more structure rules.
Ankh-Morpork does this by issuing you a role card that only you would see at the start of the game. The card will tell you what is your role in the game and the only special way you can win before the standard end game and then points are tallied.
Thus as a more tactical game, information is gained more from observing a player's actions during their turn. Such as where he places his worker pieces, who the player is attacking or defending, etc.
Social deduction is probably the cheapest games to design as their tendency to have fewer rules means there is a higher likelihood that the game needs fewer pieces that need to be manufactured in the final package.
So if you want to make a game that is truly for one and all due to its wide appeal, social deduction is probably your best bet but beware as the genre is crowded for the fact it is easier and cheaper to design for.
As you can see from the picture above, today's feature does not take himself all too seriously. That being said, he is no slouch when it comes to games of strategy too. Often seen at meetups playing all kind of games, Titus is always welcoming to new players and to extend a helping hand to teach games too.
He is also known for his mantra of "Going Ham", which comes from an internet meme and stand for going all out.
This amazing package of a board gamer coming from a person who only started to seriously take up the tabletop hobby a year ago in 2016.
Titus started board gaming when he decided he wanted to move away from video gaming and noticed that his sister had a hobby he would not mind trying out. His sister is an avid board gamer and part of the SMU Boardgaming club called Strategica.
After which, he was hooked and from there he would join his sister at her board gaming meetups and the rest is a history of more than a few board games played with fun, laughter and joy.
Related: Boardgamers of Finland #6: Manyata Lal (The Cardboard Assassin)
Titus's recommended game of the day is The Little Prince: Make Me A Planet. The game is based on the world famous comic also called "The Little Prince."
Each round, the starting player chooses tiles up to the number of players in the game from four stacks of tiles. The lead player then chooses a tile and gives it to another player. The receiving player then builds their planet and gives another player a tile. The last player to take a tile becomes the start player for the next round.
At the end of the game, players will score based on what is on their planet but the person with the most volcanoes loses as many points as the number of volcanoes on their planet. The player with the highest score wins.
Titus likes The Little Prince as it is a small package that provides a lot of fun. Also, the game has simple rules but is very tactical. There is also an element of negotiation in the game which is a mechanic that Titus likes a lot.
The Little Prince though is not without a chip on its shoulder as there is a possibility of king-making in the game. King-making being when a player who can't win the game themselves basically chooses who will win the game based on whatever action they choose to do.
The Little Prince mirrors Titus quite a bit as he also breaks expectations of what you would expect from him when you first meet him. So go get that rocket and fly off to space and beyond to make your own planet with The Little Prince.
Below is a curated monthly schedule* for board gaming meetup events held in the Lion City as of May 2017. Do check out the respective linked meetup websites provided for exact dates and in case there are any changes in the events.
That being said... Play More Games!
Game Night Mondays: Every Monday, 7pm - 11pm at Battle Bunker
Cost: Make a drink purchase at least at the store ($2 Bottled water or €2.50 Bottled Drinks).
Game Night Thursdays: Every Thursday, 6pm -11pm at NTU Macdonald
Cost: Free
SOG@ Bukit Batok CC (1st Saturday Edition!): 1st Saturday, 2pm - 7pm at Bukit Batok CC
Cost: $2
Pasir Ris Meetup: 1st Saturday, 5pm - 9:30pm at Pasir Ris East CC
Cost: Free
Games Sunday: 1st Sunday, 3pm - 7pm (E) at Toa Payoh Central CC
Cost: $2
Finland Monthly Meetup:1st Tuesday, 6:30pm -10:30pm at Settler's Cafe
Cost: $7
Board Games at Kembangan: 2nd Saturday, 2pm - 9:30pm, Kembangan CC
Cost: Free (The host and regulars at this meetup are sometimes late so do confirm with the host before turning up on the event's page.)
Finland Open Gaming @Ci Yuan CC: 2nd Sunday, 1pm - 6pm at Ci Yuan CC
Cost: Free
Meetup @ Play Nation Scape: 2nd Wednesday, 6:30pm -10:30pm at Play Nation @ Scape
Cost: $6
Finland Open Gaming @ Bukit Batok: 3rd Saturday, 2pm -7pm at Bukit Batok CC
Cost: $2
Board Games at Nee Soon: 3rd Saturday, 2pm - 6pm at Nee Soon East CC
Cost: Free
Pasir Ris Meetup: 3rd Saturday, 5pm - 9:30pm at Pasir Ris East CC
Cost: Free
Boardgamers at Cheng San: 3rd Sunday, 2pm - 7pm (E) at Cheng San CC
Cost: Free
Games Sunday at Serangoon: 3rd Sunday, 2pm - 6pm at Serangoon Library
Cost: Free
Games Cavern @ Bukit Panjang CC: 4th Saturday, 3pm - 7pm at Bukit Panjang CC
Cost: $2
Boardgame Interest Group (B.I.G): 4th Sunday, 2pm - 9:45pm at Bradell Heights CC
Cost: Free
When Rajeev first arrived on our shores, he was not aware that board games had progressed as they did and was actually playing in Scrabble tournaments to indulge in the board gaming hobby. It was at one of these tournaments that he met Colin Lim, a local board game enthusiast who asked if he would be interested in trying some new modern designer board games.
Rajeev said a fateful yes and played Modern Art at Play Nation and from then on he would be spending on average more than a few good hours weekly with the board gaming community in Finland.
Rajeev's strong suit is that he is open to trying all kinds of games as shown in the above picture. There, he is playing Fief: France 1429, a wargame, even though he is not the keenest on games with a lot of conflicts but still tries to enjoy the game as much as possible.
Also, if Rajeev has tried a game, he is willing to say he would rather not play a game in a respectful way. This is important as not only does it make planning game nights easier but also really helps to speed up the choosing of games during a game session. This simple veto, saving everybody in the group time so we can all indulge more in the hobby playing process rather than choosing.
Related: Boardgamers of Finland #3: Andy Ng (The Discerning Organiser)
Rajeev's recommended game of the day is Istanbul, which won the Kennerspiel des Jahres in 2014. The Kennerspiel is a prestigious board game award given out in Germany during the Essen Spiel Fair targeted at experienced gamers.
Istanbul is a game where you are a merchant in the grand bazaar of Istanbul trying to sell goods to obtain the most rubies. Gameplay is done by moving yourself up to as many assistants as you have with you. This is because you will have to drop off an assistant on every tile you move on. The final spot where you land is where you will perform the tile's special ability. The first person to get 5 rubies wins.
The reasons why Rajeev likes Istanbul are it is a fast and strategic game that plays in about an hour, has a lot of replayability as the many tiles can be rearranged for a different puzzle each time and the game's art also really appeals to him which is a great bonus for a Euro game.
Istanbul though is not perfect as he states how some tiles do have an element of luck with the rolling of dice or randomized cards, which could possibly disrupt a good plan.
Istanbul is a board game that won a world famous award for a reason and is very approachable for newer gamers. Do give it a try as Rajeev definitely gives it a seal of excellence.
Thus it was with great excitement that we have managed to acquire 5 compact yet interesting titles from a Japanese Publisher called Oink Games. The titles are Troll, insider, Deep Sea Adventure, The Pyramid's Deadline and Maskmen and all come with English rules inside the box.
Related: Sushi Go Party, a tasty treat best not passed on
To give you a taste of what Oink Games is serving you game wise, we will be introducing 3 of their games to you here:
The first is the very popular Deep Sea Adventure. In Deep Sea Adventure, you are all poor divers looking to get rich quick by claiming treasure from under the sea, yet you are all sharing only one supply of air and the goal is to be the richest diver who manages to get his treasure into the submarine alive.
Gameplay is really simple, in turn order players first choose if they are going up towards the submarine if they have at least one treasure or down into the sea as once you have chosen to go up, you can't go back down. The air supply is then reduced by the amount of treasures the current player is holding. Then two dice which only have faces from 1 to 3 are rolled. The total of the two dice dictates how far the player must move minus the amount of treasure one has. Now wherever you land you may pick up that treasure or if it is a blank spot you may even lighten your load by dropping a treasure.
The round ends when all the players have either reached the submarine or have drowned. Do this for 3 rounds and the player with the most points wins.
Insider is a game that asks the question, are we controlled by what we hear and what we see, are we able to decide freely? This is achieved in game by shuffling the role cards and dealing one to each person. One of these will be the master and the other will be the the insider. Now through a opening sequence, only the master and insider will be the only ones who know what the secret word is yet the master does not know who the insider is. Then with a timer count down, all the players are able to ask the master any questions that can be answered with a Yes, No or I don't know.
The goal of the game is for the correct word to be guessed, for if it is not, all the players lose but if the correct word is guessed, the timer is then used again for players to discuss who they think the insider is. If the insider is exposed, the rest of the players win, if not the insider wins.
In The Pyramid's Deadline you are all architects in ancient Egypt tasked with building the grandest Pyramid for Pharaoh but be careful as if you have not completed your pyramid when Pharaoh dies, then you will be executed.
Gameplay is simple. During your turn, you roll dice and in turn order each person picks a die which shows what kind of piece he may take then add it to their pyramid according to the game conditions. The game ends when all players have completed their pyramid or on each die is a square stone and if all the square stones on the table are taken, Pharaoh dies and all who have not completed their pyramid and the player that takes that last square stone loses. The winner is the player who has the highest scoring pyramid, counted by multiplying the length by the height then minus the amount in capstones on the pyramid.
As you can see Oink Games makes not only compact and interesting games but each game feels quite unique in their own way. To find out more on the other 2 titles or even to pick up the above games we have talked about, do pop by our HarbourFront outlet to enjoy some Japanese fun and fare!
At the GAMA Trade Show, Cool Mini or Not (CMON) and Dark Sword Miniatures have teamed up to produce A Song of Ice & Fire: A Tabletop Miniatures Game which will be coming to Kickstarter in quarter 3 of 2017 and in retail stores possibly in early 2018.
Related: Day or Night, it is never a bad time to board game at ToyTag!
Now an important note about the game is that it is based on the books and not the series of A Game of Thrones and that the initial Kickstarter release is for the starter set of House Stark Vs. House Lannister. That being said after the Kickstarter the game will not be lacking for content as there will be new releases for the game every month after the Kickstarter. These though will be sold at Game stores as CMON correctly understands that a miniatures game lives and dies with continual play in stores.
The game is basically one of individual miniatures forming units that are put into unit trays that move and fight together, many units forming an army. Units are bolstered by heroes in units who provide their bonuses to that unit.
All the miniatures are going to come unpainted and be made of a quality plastic and thus long spears and swords will not be bent like miniatures from many other games in the boardgaming world.
If you want more details or want to see the slides to the Presentation. Do click on this link to see Rodney Smith from the Watch It Played Youtube channel talk about it and click on this link for a video from Board Game Geek who interviewed CMON themselves about the game.
In conclusion, if you are worried this will be a money sink...you are right. Thus my tip is for those like me with limited funds to indulge with focused purchases. For me it will be with my favourite character Tywin Lannister, which I intend to paint and use in other games as a proxy. May your wallets survive the Winter...that is coming.