I am a gamer.
When I say that, I don't mean that I play video games,
although my wife is a Nintendo girl who has introduced me to the wonders of
Mario Kart, Kirby and Professor Layton. Nor do I mean I'm a role player,
although I have many years if D&D under my belt and still love a good RPG
session.
Okay, now that I think about it, I pretty much love games
in general. But what I'm talking about here is playing board games.
In particular, I'm talking about the modern board games
that developed out of European family games. They get labeled Euros and German
Games and Ameritrash and Designer Games. In general, though we are talking
about games aimed at an older audience and have an emphasis on tactics and
strategy.
Although, seriously, how did board games get a reputation
for being just for kiddies? Card games from Poker to Rummy to Bridge are all considered
adult fair, suitable for gambling high stakes. Games like Chess and Go are
considered erudite and intellectual. Tons of people of all ages play Scrabble.
As for war games, those are clearly aimed at an older audience, seeing as how
half of them have rulebooks that read like engineering handbooks.
Really, unless we are talking about Hungry Hungry Hippos
and the like, I don't see why games get a kiddy label. (I'm looking forward to
when my son is old enough to play Hungry Hungry Hippos, by the way) Maybe it's
because kiddy games are where the marketing is really aimed at.
At any rate, I had been planning on trying to describe
what defines a Designer Game a Designer Game, other than having the designers
name on the box. Ten years ago, I would have said a two-hour play time, low
conflict, no player elimination and simple rules that allow for complex
decisions.
However, over the last few years, I don't think it's so
cut-and-dried anymore. Game designers seem to be constantly looking for next
big innovation. The word of gaming is a constantly evolving one, which is part
of what makes it so fascinating.
I came to board games from role playing games. Role
playing games, at least for me at that time, meant being committed to a long,
ongoing campaign on a rigid schedule. More than that, even though everyone was
supposed to be on the same team, there was constant jockeying for the spotlight
in most of the games I was in. (And, often, I was as guilty as the next person
of trying to hog the attention)
Board games, on the other hand, lent themselves to a
casual, more friendly environment. Maybe the fact that we were openly competing
helped folks relax. And you didn’t need a rigid schedule and have the same
people every time. Yeah, I know for some people, that’s the draw but as I got
further and further into my thirties, trying to keep up with a Dungeons and
Dragons campaign felt more like a chore than recreation.
Just like folks who play lots of video games will tell you
it helps develop hand-eye coordination and reflexes, I’ll tell you that board
games help develop analytical skills, pattern recognition, negotiation, and
system management. Sad to say, if you play enough economic games, the math
practice will help you balance your check book. In short, I’d say that board
games have enhanced my life as well as entertained me.
At the moment, I’m not playing many board games. It’s a
side effect of being the dad to a son who’s less than a year old and, honestly,
I wouldn’t trade that for anything. But I am pretty sure board games will be a
part of my life, one way or another, for good.
