THINK: Update your board games
2009/11/13
EDWIN WONG
Many of us have fond memories playing traditional board games but isn’t it time we moved on?
IN today’s fast-paced world, keeping up with the latest “version” of everything, from mobile phones to computer software, has become second nature to most people.
Just take a look around you. How many people are still using ATUR (Automatic Telephone Using Radio) 450 mobile phones introduced in 1985? How about those with computers using the MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) released in 1982? Or even playing Pong, the iconic tennis video arcade game that swept the world in 1972? In fact, such is the pace of today’s world that Windows Vista and the first generation iPod Touch are already passe! And they are less than three years old! So it’s rather odd that while almost every other retail store stack their shelves with the latest versions of products, stores that sell board games in Malaysia can only think of stacking their shelves for the forthcoming holiday season with a range of games that are older than old.
Let’s stop for a moment and take a deep breath as we find out how old these games that department stores and toy superstores are trying to sell to Malaysians.
● Monopoly — 1935.
● Battleship — 1943.
● Clue (Cluedo) — 1949.
● Scrabble — 1949.
● Risk — 1957.
● The Game of Life — 1960 (but can be traced back to “The Checkered Game of Life”, originally created 100 years earlier!).
Don’t get me wrong. Many of us still have fond memories of Pong, PlayStation 1 and even our first mobile phone.
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In the same way, many of us have fond memories playing these traditional board games as we grew up. But folks, isn’t it time we moved on? Board games evolve too. Not just in the quality of design and components but, in game mechanics, player interaction, strategy, depth and special interest themes as well, leading ultimately to greater enjoyment and satisfaction.
Thus, designer games are the new generation of board games. Designer games are today’s Windows 7 and iPhone 3GS.
So kudos to Borders Bookstores and Starbucks Coffee (@ Borders Bookstores) for taking the lead in introducing the latest designer games to Malaysians during their new Sunday Games Meetups.
■ Email imagine.games@mac.com to find out more, or log on to gamesmeetup.blogspot.com to join the Borders/Starbucks Sunday Games Meetup!
Money making games
Traditional = Monopoly; Update = Railroad Tycoon
In Monopoly, you buy properties, build houses and hotels and collect rent from fellow players. You roll a dice, move and repeat until everyone else is bankrupt.
In Railroad Tycoon, you run a railroad company in the age of steam, building tracks between cities as you try to be the first pick up and deliver goods to cities that need them.
Decide how you want to build your company and achieve your “vision” (each player starts the game with a different “vision” which pays extra money if you achieve it at the end of the game).
While both games provide you the thrill of making money, there are significant improvements in the two: ● There’s no dice in RT. Thus, there’s no element of luck involved, only planning, strategy, tactics and good decision-making.
Monopoly on the other hand, is a game substantially of luck as players are victims of their die roll.
● There’s no downtime during other players’ turns! You’re constantly involved during other players’ turns since their actions affect your next move.
In Monopoly, you can take a toilet break during the other players’ turns since there’s nothing you can do.
● There are many different ways to win in RT since you’re totally in control of your actions.
In Monopoly, there’s only one way to win — get lucky and land on the right squares.
Some other great designer games that allow you a money making experience include Acquire (start and merge hotel chains, and invest in the shares of these chains), Container (produce goods, buy from/sell to others and export them for a profit), and I’m The Boss! (negotiate and persuade your way as you close big money deals).
Logic and deduction games
Traditional = Clue; Update = The Name of the Rose
In Clue, players move from room to room (yes, with a die roll!) in a mansion to solve a mystery of “who done it”, “with what” and “where”.
By making accusations at characters, you make other players show the cards on their hands, and through deductive reasoning, you must guess which character, weapon and location cards are hidden in the secret file.
Though not as luck-driven as Monopoly, rolling the dice to move is nevertheless very outdated, and the game doesn’t allow any room for deception.
Also, it’s more about being systematic than having fun, making it a rather bland exercise rather than a fun game.
The Name of the Rose, on the other hand, is not only dripping in the theme of Umberto Eco’s whodunit novel set in an Italian monastery in 1327, it is actually really fun to play.
The Rose is not a game of precise note-taking and elimination (read: boring!), but a very clever game of guise and deception as you constantly plot to lead the other players to believe you’re someone else.
However, at the end of the game, each player gets to guess which characters belong to the other players.
For each correct guess against them, more suspicion points are added, effectively preventing players from making it too obvious that they are trying to benefit their own character.
The character with the least suspicion points wins the game!
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World conquest, war games
Traditional = Risk; Update = Antike
Risk’s a dice-rolling fiesta where players attack others to gain territory and eventually win the game.
Nothing sophisticated here, just plan to attack with superior numbers and hope for a good roll of the die.
Compared to Risk, Antike oozes class and sophistication.
First off, it has no dice.
Next, it offers you a variety of ways to grow your civilization (a.k.a. conquer the world) and win the game, with war being just one of them (and usually not the best option).
However, it’s not technically a war game, so those inclined may turn to the many other designer war games such as Memoir 44 (which now has everything from the D-Day landings to the Eastern Front, to the Mediterranean and even the Pacific) or the Combat Commander series.
For those who prefer their conquests intergalactic-style, then the mother of all space operas is Twilight Imperium 3, where you have to use the full array of diplomacy, military force, technology and special skills of your alien race to rule the galaxy.
And if it’s just a sci-fi showdown you seek, then Starcraft (from the legendary computer game) is your designer game as you face-off against the other races for control of the universe.
Despite the mega-showdowns between warring factions, no dice are used, giving you an idea of the level of control and depth of strategy and tactics offered.
The same goes for Neuroshima Hex!, another no-dice strategy game set in the post-apocalyptic world of Neuroshima where up to four players face-off and try to take out each other’s HQ.
Victory point games
Update = Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne
Simply put, a VP game means that either the first player to achieve a pre-set number of VPs, or the player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Because you can collect points in a variety of ways, VP games allow you different paths to victory (and consequently, opportunities to try different strategies and tactics).
VP games are short (1-2 hours) and allow players much more control (hence, fun!) over what they do.
In Settlers of Catan, arguably the most popular of all VP games, you decide each turn what actions you want to take as you race to be the first to achieve.
You can build roads, trade resources with other players, build settlements, upgrade them into cities or even buy development cards - all of which eventually help you to win points.
Carcassonne is another popular VP game where players take turns to lay a tile as they build the city of Carcassonne.
Each player has eight followers (called Meeples). Throughout the game, they must deploy them cleverly as knights (in castles), highway robbers (on roads), clerics (on cloisters) or farmers (on farms) to win points.
The entire concept of designer games like Settlers only surfaced around 1995 (Carcassonne, 2000), so you would find no equivalent of it in any traditional game, most of which are more than 30 years old.
Even Uno, despite being the newer of traditional games, is almost 40 years old!
