Board Game Study

[miztef]

I think there is a general neglect of game designers researching board games as well as video games. I myself find that they tend to be much more interesting from a design perspective most of the time, and it can be great fun to mix and match board games to design your own!

Right now I'm looking to buy:

- A mahjong set
- Settlers of Catan
- Carcassonne
- Diplomacy
- Shogi

Of the ones I have played, I'd recommend:

- Chess
- Clue
- Risk
- Scrabble
- Monopoly
- Stratego
- Boggle

So, What does everyone else recommend? What do you think of the idea of studying board games as well as video games?

(oh, and if anyone can tell me what stores sell Mahjong sets, I'll give you a cookie. I can't find them anywhere!)

[Gshonk]

Well I have a friend who is obsessed with bored games so when I go back home we have board game nights. I think one thing that I always study with board games is how different people react to them. For example Flux. Flux is a card game with two rules draw a card play a card. And every card that is played can change the rules. Some people love this because its crazy and open ended. Some people hate it because there are no laws to govern and tell you what to do.

I generally try to look for peoples reactions to games.

I'll try to make a list sometime of good board games.

[EvilLlama]

A few I'd recommend:

Candyland--a game of pure chance, a straightforward board, no strategy involved at all, so essentially the player has no control whatsoever. A lot of discussion has come up around videogames about how players want more and more control over their environments with sandbox type play etc. And yet Candyland, which is the exact opposite of this, is still popular and fun. Is Candyland truly interactive? This game is good to study, since it really pushes the definition of a game when you think about it.

A board game based on a popular franchise, such as Pokemon Monopoly. How is the franchise incorporated into a game? Does this franchise really add a dimension to the game, or is it just used to snare consumers who will buy anything Pokemon without a second thought?

Palenque, Heroscape, etc--or a adventure/exploration/collecting treasure game. Whereas videogames can contain seemingly endless worlds, the limits to a board game world are quite obvious. How does the game make the player feel like there are a lot of treasures to collect, places to go, etc within these obvious restrictions?

An educational game, such as Equate or even Scrabble. How does the game make something seemingly boring (ie basic math, spelling, etc) and make it fun? Are they successful?

Yahtzee, SORRY! and Peanut Panic are also really fun to play.

As for Mahjong, they have one on amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Oriental-Mahjo...7901763&sr=8-2

Board games are good to study. If I recall correctly, Civilization was actually based off of Risk.

[ronnoc10]

Iron Dragon - Great train simulation game.


I love board games myself. I wouldn't play video games if board games came with single player campaigns.

[Adrir]

Originally Posted by Gshonk

Well I have a friend who is obsessed with bored games so when I go back home we have board game nights. I think one thing that I always study with board games is how different people react to them. For example Flux. Flux is a card game with two rules draw a card play a card. And every card that is played can change the rules. Some people love this because its crazy and open ended. Some people hate it because there are no laws to govern and tell you what to do.

Sounds similar to Uno...except proberbly a bit more complicated?

Originally Posted by ronnoc10

I love board games myself. I wouldn't play video games if board games came with single player campaigns.

Hehehe, personally I can't stand playing board games unless there are other people who want to play. Then again, I'm the same with most non-RPG console games...

[EvilLlama]

I play my board games against my stuffed animals sometimes. They usually win.

[The Jedi Pirate]

I'd definitely recommend Heroscape. There's just so much you can do with that game, it's awesome. Another I'd recommend is Zombies! because of all the expansions.

Originally Posted by ronnoc10

I love board games myself. I wouldn't play video games if board games came with single player campaigns.

I love board games too, but I can't think of playing them by myself, even if they had single player campaigns.

Originally Posted by EvilLlama

I play my board games against my stuffed animals sometimes. They usually win.

That's hilarious.

[Adrir]

Originally Posted by The Jedi Pirate

I love board games too, but I can't think of playing them by myself, even if they had single player campaigns...That's hilarious.

I think the randomness may have contaminated the forums!

[The Jedi Pirate]

Originally Posted by Adrir

I think the randomness may have contaminated the forums!

Oh no! Whatever shall we do?

*puts on a sombrero* This is considered normal.

</random>

[Gshonk]

Here are some games that I enjoy whenever I get the time. If I think of more I'll add them

Mix and Fix
Star Wars Duels
Killer Bunnies
Poker
Careers
Pay Day
Clue
Blokus