If I were to ask your average American to list 10 boardgames, their choices would probably look something like this: Monopoly, Clue, Risk, Pictionary, Uno, Scrabble, Chess, Cranium, Trivial Pursuit, and Yahtzee.
What do all of the above games have in common? If you guessed that they are popular because they are mass produced and mass marketed to the public - you would be exactly right. These games have been ingrained into the public perception as to what boardgames are all about. They are not exactly bad games per say, its just that they encompass a very small slice of the TYPE of games available, while encompassing a MUCH larger percentage of people owning them. Well, I am here to tell you that there is a whole world out there of boardgames that are not getting ANY mass media press and little to no attention.
German games or "euro" or "designer" games have an avid following in Europe and other parts of the world, but are not well known here in America. (The German title is somewhat warranted as some of the games do indeed orginiate from Germany). I first stumbled upon "German" games back in 2002 while surfing the internet and happening upon the website for Funagain Games. What I found there was a multitude of games that I have never heard of, but that sounded really interesting. My first purchase was a highly rated little game called
Carcassonne, which we to this day still refer to as "the Tile game". The first time playing this I was amazed at how simple it was at its core, but also how much strategy and variation was present in the game which is sorely lacking in many "popular" American boardgames. From then on, I was hooked. My next purchase was the much heralded Settlers of Catan. While Catan is a little more complex then Carcassonne, it had a deeper level of strategy and an instant addictive quality. After introducing these two games to friends, we got together to play them every week and always had a great time. After the success of Carcassonne and Settlers, I went on to research and purchase many more "euro" games over the past few years. Some of them have been big hits like: Bang!, Citadels, Lost Cities, Blokus and Wits & Wagers and have been requested by my wife or friends. Other games that I have bought that have got only a few plays or have yet to be played, but look promising include: Boomtown, For Sale, Niagara, Nexus Ops, Candamir, and HAVOC: Hundred Year's War.
What are some other differences between American and "euro" games besides the difference of not being mass produced? The other major difference is that "euro" games tend to offer more opportunities to make strategic decisions and offer a player more control. On the other hand, American games tend towards being highly luck-driven and sacrifice strategic choices for simplicity. However, some "euro" games go too far on the strategy side of things to the point that the rules to the game become overly complicated to learn or explain or the gameplay is too dry (not enough "fun"). While these "heavier" games certainly have a following, these type of games will never hold a large appeal to the average game player.
The best "euro" games, in my opinion, are the ones that introduce more strategy into the gaming experience without sacrificing simplicity. I think that these games hold the most promise in bringing more Americans into the fold of "euro" gaming. These games have been giving the name "Gateway" games for this reason. Carcassonne, Settlers of Catan, as well as Ticket to Ride are the 3 most mentioned games, but there are many others. Another segment of games that I see becoming more popular in America are party-style games that introduce some strategy and are not strictly based on knowledge and drawing/speaking abilities. I think Wits & Wagers is a prime example of this.
So where do "euro" boardgames go from here? I think that many more people will continue to get introduced to the best "euro" games through friends and game groups and help to spread the word. The internet is the best place to find out about boardgames and Boardgamegeek (BGG) is the premier site. There are also quite a few avid game players that have their own websites, or write blogs on the subject of boardgames. Tom Vasel is probably one of the most well known as he has wrote over 400 reviews and runs a weekly podcast on boardgames. Many game designers also have their own websites and participate on BGG. Many more game players are also trying their hand at game design (myself included) and you can find them at the Board Game Designer's Forum talking about their latest game ideas.
Another source for finding out about boardgames are printed magazines. A few of these are geared towards gamers only and are not even readily available in the U.S. However, there is a brand new publication on the shelves at your local bookstore called Knucklebones. I just picked up issue #3 and I was very impressed. I would call this magazine a "gateway" magazine as it is very accessible for someone who has never played a "euro" game, but yet still provides enough depth and content for those who do. I would highly recommend Knucklebones to anyone and it even has a puzzle section in the back for puzzle lovers.Next on Boardgames... I will talk about the Florida Suncoast Gamers - a group of people I recently met who get together regularly to play strategy boardgames.
No comments:
Post a Comment