Beyond "Good" and "Bad": Expanding the Art of Reviewing Board Games
Summary
TLDRThe video discusses the challenge of liking popular board games that may not resonate with everyone. It explores how gamers can better understand their preferences by analyzing a game's features objectively rather than relying solely on subjective reviews. The speaker highlights five key elements: complexity, motivation (mechanics vs. theme), interaction, artistry, and strategy. By examining these aspects, players can make more informed decisions. The video also introduces an accompanying web app for rating games based on these criteria, encouraging the community to engage in more structured game discussions.
Takeaways
- 🎯 Kickstarter board games can sometimes fall flat for individuals, even when popular with others.
- 🤔 It’s hard to give an honest response when a game isn't enjoyed but is loved by everyone else.
- 🎲 Identifying what type of games you enjoy comes with time and experience. For example, dice worker placement mechanics can help predict enjoyment.
- 📝 Board Game Geek's top-rated games might not always align with personal preferences, even if they are popular.
- 👀 Reviewers can be helpful in guiding choices, but personal preferences aren't always fully covered by a single reviewer.
- 🔍 Objective metrics for measuring board games, like complexity, exist but are limited. A more comprehensive vocabulary for describing games is needed.
- 🧠 Games can be divided between mechanically-driven (like Wingspan) and thematically-driven (like Redwood) designs, each appealing to different types of players.
- 👥 Games can have varying levels of player interaction, ranging from isolated experiences to highly involved ones.
- 🎨 Artistry in board games can vary from extravagant to minimalist, both having their own unique appeal.
- 📊 Strategy can be based on luck, skill, or a blend of both, and this greatly affects the accessibility and enjoyment of the game.
Q & A
What challenge does the speaker describe when being invited to play a highly praised game?
-The speaker describes the challenge of disliking a game that everyone else enjoys, making it difficult to share an honest opinion without feeling isolated.
Why does the speaker find it difficult to determine if a game is right for them, despite popular opinion or reviews?
-The speaker struggles with relying on popular opinions or reviews because personal preferences may differ, even when a game is highly praised or considered a top-rated game on platforms like Board Game Geek.
What method does the speaker suggest for finding games that match personal preferences over time?
-The speaker suggests that with time and experience, players will learn to recognize the characteristics of games they enjoy, such as specific mechanics like dice worker placement, and to follow reviewers whose tastes align with their own.
What problem did the speaker encounter with their own 'perfect board game formula'?
-The speaker's 'perfect board game formula' had two main issues: it wasn't intuitive for people to understand, and the use of a 10-point rating system made it seem subjective, despite the speaker's intention for it to be objective.
What is the widely accepted, objective metric for measuring a quality of board games mentioned by the speaker?
-Complexity is the most widely accepted and objective metric for measuring board games, often printed on game boxes to indicate how complex or simple a game is to play.
What are the five elements of game design that the speaker believes can objectively describe a game?
-The five elements of game design the speaker identifies are: motivation behind a game's design (mechanics vs. theme), degree of interaction, artistry, strategy (skill vs. luck), and complexity.
How does the speaker distinguish between a game motivated by mechanics and one motivated by theme?
-A mechanically motivated game, like Wingspan, focuses more on the gameplay mechanics, while a thematically motivated game, like Redwood, integrates mechanics inspired by its theme, making it harder to re-theme.
What does the speaker identify as an example of a balanced game in terms of mechanics and theme?
-The speaker cites the game Barrage as an example of a balanced game, where it is unclear whether the game was motivated more by its mechanics or its theme, as both are well-integrated.
Why did the speaker stop rating games based on their components and shift the focus to artistry?
-The speaker realized that rating components didn't work because good components are always seen as a positive. Instead, they shifted focus to artistry, recognizing a spectrum between extravagant and restrained design, both of which appeal to players in different ways.
How does the speaker explain their personal dislike for Wingspan despite acknowledging it as a good game?
-The speaker finds Wingspan to be too isolated, lacking enough skill-based strategy for its length, and believes that adding more luck might make the game move faster, which is why the game doesn't appeal to them personally.
Outlines
🎲 Dealing with Popular Games You Don't Like
The speaker describes the experience of disliking a popular game that others seem to enjoy. They reflect on the challenge of expressing one's dislike in these situations, especially when everyone else, including reviewers, is enthusiastic. They use Board Game Geek's top 100 list as an example, noting that while many games are highly rated, they may not resonate with everyone. The speaker explores how individual tastes vary and how identifying what you personally enjoy in a game can help find better matches.
⚙️ Mechanics vs. Theme: The Two Ends of Game Design
This paragraph introduces the idea of two main motivations behind game design: mechanics-driven and theme-driven games. The speaker contrasts Wingspan, a game with a strong bird-watching theme but primarily mechanics-driven gameplay, with Redwood, a thematically rich wildlife photography game. Wingspan's core mechanic can be re-themed, while Redwood’s mechanics are inseparable from its theme. The speaker explains that games can exist on a spectrum between these two extremes, with some games balancing both mechanics and theme.
🎨 Interaction, Artistry, and Strategy in Games
The speaker introduces additional elements of game design: interaction, artistry, and strategy. Games can vary in player interaction, from isolated experiences to highly interactive ones like social deduction games. Artistry is described as a broad spectrum, from extravagant components to minimalist design, both of which have their own appeal. Strategy also ranges from luck-based games to skill-heavy games like chess, with Euro games often incorporating a balance between luck and skill. These elements all influence how a game feels and is experienced by different players.
📊 Using Elements of Game Design to Evaluate Games
The speaker outlines five key elements to describe games objectively: motivation (mechanics vs. theme), interaction, artistry, strategy, and complexity. They explain that while other factors like player count and duration are important, these five elements help provide a structured way to evaluate whether a game is enjoyable or suitable for a specific player. The speaker uses Wingspan as an example, noting that its level of isolation, strategy depth, and complexity make it less appealing to them personally, even though it’s a popular game. Finally, they invite viewers to explore a web app where users can rate games based on these elements.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Complexity
💡Mechanics
💡Theme
💡Interaction
💡Strategy
💡Artistry
💡Motivation
💡Objective evaluation
💡Eurogames
💡Personal preference
Highlights
Discusses the feeling of not enjoying a popular game, even when everyone else seems to love it.
Explores the challenges of determining whether a game is suitable for you, despite its widespread acclaim.
Mentions Board Game Geek's top 100 games, and how not all highly rated games resonate with everyone.
Highlights the importance of understanding personal preferences in game mechanics, such as the dice worker placement mechanic.
Critiques the use of subjective ratings in board game reviews and calls for a more objective way to describe games.
Complexity is described as the most widely accepted, intuitive metric for board games, used to describe how complex a game is.
Introduces the idea of using five objective elements to describe games: complexity, motivation, interaction, artistry, and strategy.
Uses 'Wingspan' as an example of a game that is more mechanically motivated than thematically motivated.
Contrasts mechanically motivated games like 'Wingspan' with thematically driven games like 'Redwood.'
Explains that the degree of interaction is another key element, ranging from isolated to highly involved gameplay.
Describes artistry in games, noting that it ranges from extravagant components to minimalist designs, both having their own appeal.
Discusses the importance of strategy in games, from pure luck-based games to skill-driven games like chess and Go.
Criticizes 'Wingspan' for its lack of balance between its level of strategy and its isolated nature.
Mentions a web app that allows users to rate games based on these five objective elements.
Encourages viewers to join the Patreon page to support further development of this objective review system.
Transcripts
yeah you know the feeling you've been
invited to your friend's house for a
game night to try a game that they've
been raving about for weeks the
kickstarter it exceeded its goal by 30
times over and you hated it and you can
tell by the smile on everybody else's
faces that it seemed to strike a cord
with everyone but you so you're
preparing your response for that
inevitable question what did you think
that was awesome I really
enjoyed being invited over and how much
more difficult is it when a game is
immensely popular and it seems like
everyone likes it except you or let's be
real what about when you're watching a
reviewer and the reviewer claims that
the game is spectacular well still how
do you know if a game is really for you
also I don't know about you but I look
at board game geek's top 100 games of
all time Board Game Geek the largest and
most popular board game rating site on
the internet the top 100 games and at
least half of them don't really land for
me they're not bad
but like I wouldn't consider buying them
how do I find a game that I would really
like there are some solutions for this
problem for example with time and
experience you'll eventually learn the
characteristics of games that you tend
to really enjoy for me I really like the
dice worker placement mechanic so when a
lot of hype came out about the White
Castle right before Essen I kind of
thought that this would be a game that I
would still really enjoy and I do enjoy
it not only that but we look to
reviewers and as we get to know
different reviewers and voices on the
internet we come to identify those whose
tastes we are very much in tune with for
me Tom vassel was that and when I got
into the Hobby in 2010 he was like my
guide to finding new games but this is
insufficient because even though I like
dice worker placement games doesn't mean
I like dice worker placement games just
because of the mechanic I mean I'm not a
huge fan of rajas of the genes and our
favorite reviewers sadly don't cover
every game that we're interested in what
I want what I have been looking for and
what I would love the community to agree
upon is a concrete and objective way of
describing games that doesn't depend on
one's opinions but on the feature and
qualities of a game at this point I'd
like to interject something for those of
you who are familiar with the channel
you're probably thinking this is the
part where I introduced the perfect
board game formula except I'm not
because even though it was a system that
I devised to describe board games I made
two mistakes with it one it wasn't very
intuitive people didn't understand what
I was talking about when I rated theme
in mechanics and two I used a 10-point
system to rate these attributes and a
system like that lends itself to this
expectation that these are going to be
opinions or my preference about these
games when that wasn't the goal I still
want something like that but something
objective and something that makes more
sense so with that context in mind let's
continue the video oh and while I have
your attention if this is a project
you're interested in may be considered
becoming a patron thanks now let's
resume now there already exists an
objective and widely accepted metric for
measuring one quality of board games
this is something that is so
conventional we almost take it for
granted some board game manufacturers
actually print it on their board game
boxes and it's a measure of a game's
complexity you can actually say
something like Rhino hero was a lot of
fun um thank you for showing it to me I
I think I probably wouldn't buy it I
generally like games that are a little
bit more complex or you could say uh it
was a lot of rules I got to admit I felt
lost most of the time I think this level
of complexity really isn't for me and
this is perfect when it comes to
complexity it's an objective way that
you can describe how you feel about a
game that is agreeable to everyone it's
because it doesn't say something about
the game it says something about you now
complexity is the most widely accepted
intuitive and familiar met for measuring
games but it's not the only one in fact
some board game Publishers have their
own metrics and they actually print them
on their board games however for the
hobby at large they're still lacking a
vocabulary to describe games objectively
but in my opinion there are five
elements complexity is one of those
elements and probably the most
conventional so I'll start my focus on
the one that is probably the most loaded
but also the most needed and that is the
motivation behind a game's design this
is probably best understood by looking
at two extremes on one end we have games
that are motivated by their mechanics or
what you're doing when you play the game
and at the other end are games that have
thematic interests or a narrative that
needs to be told and all of the
mechanics are designed to support this
theme now to provide an example I think
we should best look at wingspan the game
that I have provoked more people than
any other because I dared to say that it
has a low theme score now don't get me
wrong wingspan has an undeniable theme
the various birds have different
habitats diets and behaviors the theme
is there however the driving mechanic of
wingspan is action selection compounded
by card effects the objective of course
is to use resources from cards to to
collect other cards to satisfy other
objectives but none of this is inspired
by bird watching this is a really really
fun mechanic and bird watching and birds
complement this game and this is
evidenced by how easy it is to extract
just that core mechanic and rethe it in
games like Earth or gizmos or raising
robots so that is all I am saying about
wingspan it is a game that is more
mechanically motived ated then
thematically motivated and you can see
it because of what it is that drives the
game playay but let's look at an example
on the Other Extreme consider Redwood
which by the way is a game that I don't
own so we'll look at some of the
kickstarter promo trailer footage for it
but this is a game about Wildlife
Photography in this game you move your
photographer by using something like
calipers and you frame your shot by
placing angles of various sizes on the
environment decorated by plants and
animals this mechanic is clearly
inspired by its theme it is in fact so
thematic that is the reason why I don't
own this game because it is so
technically involved that I would rather
go outside and actually take photographs
of animals than than go through the
mechanics of the calipers and the
framing of the shot and all of that
stuff I do think it's I oh my gosh I
think it's brilliant I think it's
amazing but you can't rethe this game
you could rethe it into some other
photography theme but you can't make it
about trains for example this is a
thematically motivated game that is the
difference but here's what I'm really
saying notice that when I tell you that
I don't own the game because it's
essentially too
thematic I'm not actually saying
anything bad about the game I'm rather
I'm telling you something about me but
it's not either or it could be both for
for example consider the game barrage
barrage is a game that's about dams and
the driving mechanic of the game is
blocking other players by preventing
water flow getting to their dams now the
thing about this game is I I honestly
can't tell whether this game was
motivated by its mechanic or its theme
because it it still rings with all of
the characteristics of a true Euro game
which Euro games are usually heavily
driven by mechanics and yet the theme is
is perfectly integrated I would say that
this game is balanced the next element
of game design is something that I think
we all recognize we just don't often use
this to describe games but it would be
the degree of a game's interaction a
game could either be very involved or it
could be isolated isolated games these
are games like rolling rights flipping
rights uh next stop London kuuba draft
and right records they all fall way down
over here sometimes there may be just a
little bit of involvement because you're
competing for first place to achieve an
objective or something but other than
that it's people playing alongside each
other at the Other Extreme are games
where interaction is the mechanic of the
game games that involve negotiation or
social deduction like Avalon or even
Katan and then I think a lot of Euros
fall somewhere in the middle with
varying degrees of interaction on either
side the next element is artistry now
previously I used to call this
components and I tried to say that this
was an objective quality of the game but
wouldn't good components be a good thing
and a low score for components always be
a bad game somebody pointed that out and
I realized yeah rating components
doesn't really work but Artistry I think
ranges from two extremes there are
extravagant games games that go above
and beyond with their components and
then there is another extreme in this
art form which is games that are rest
strained games that have minimized and I
think there's actually a beauty to that
but point being there is an entire
gradient and all of it is beautiful in
its own sense more importantly it
appeals to a person in a very personal
way finally there is the element of
strategy which varies from games that
are pure skill to games that are pure
luck so at the very far end you have
games that are entirely luck like Bingo
or Candyland and then just one notch up
from that are games that are all about
luck but have a strategy that can be
played predictably so games like
cribbage or blackjack or yatsi these are
games that you will certainly lose if
you don't play a strategy at all but the
strategy could be calculated and then
the other end are games that are pure
strategy games like go or chess and
games like this can sometimes be
inaccessible to people or unappealing to
people just because it's a competition
of who is the more skilled whereas the
nice thing about Euro games one notch
back is that just by adding some degree
of luck maybe a little roll of dice or
some cards you can get a game where the
outcome is unknown and even a less
experienced player has a chance these
are games where everybody can have some
fun because it's not just about winning
or losing but rather the game in getting
to the end playing to be efficient
playing the best game that you can
despite possibly not having the best
skill so those are the five elements the
motivation behind a game's design degree
of interaction Artistry strategy and of
course complexity while I may have five
elements that's still still not enough I
mean A Game's mechanics its player count
its duration these are all relevant when
determining whether or not you like a
game however I don't think the value of
a reviewer comes from describing those
things you can identify those
characteristics just by looking at the
back of the box however with these five
elements it does allow us to use them in
combination with each other to
accomplish the thing that we set out to
do at the beginning of this video to
tell an angry mob that we don't like a
game
so for an example and for my angry mob
here's what I think is the real issue
with wingspan this is a more isolated
game which is fine I don't mind isolated
games every now and then however for its
depth of strategy it doesn't have enough
skill involved in order to really engage
me and justify the game's duration and I
actually think that if it had more luck
it would help things move along a little
quicker additionally the game is complet
Lex enough that it takes additional time
to get the game on the table that Al
together is a combination that isn't so
effective for
me
so if hearing games described like that
is something that you're interested in
that is what this channel is all about
and I have many more videos to come but
that's not all I also have an
accompanying web app that has all of
this data recorded with user ratings so
you can get on there find your favorite
game and rate them according to how you
think they would fairly be
evaluated and then lastly if you really
want to support this project go ahead
and check out my patreon page I alluded
to that earlier but if you go there
you'll find that there are benefits with
the Discord Channel where we're talking
together about how Games should be
described and sharing our game
experiences as well as more exclusive
content thank you again for watching in
I hope you found this video useful and
I'll see you next time bye-bye
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