Entry 6: Board Games… Restoring families.

     

        As I had discussed in the first entry of the blog, I believe that board games are a way for families to come together and be able to spend good quality time with one another. My dad, who is not a big gamer, while we were in Leavenworth had played one game of Play Nine. He stated that “one game a week is all I can handle.” Just the fact that he Is willing to play games with us is huge. 

        My mother will play games with us and she is willing to try our games at least once before deciding if she likes it or not. Over the past year or so we introduced to her dozens and dozens of games and a few of them she liked enough to ask for her own copy or for us to bring it over to play. She does this because she wants to be able to enjoy time with us doing things that we enjoy. Even though she says that she is not good at games, she often would win (don’t be fooled by her “I don’t know what I am doing” routine). 

        My other family member who enjoys playing games (but her husband does not) is my sister. A couple of weeks ago she reached out to me and requested a game day since she wanted a break from being at home and she enjoys playing games. We were able to introduce her to the new game Flourish from Starling Games (the maker of Everdell). One thing about my relationship with my sister is that during our school aged years we were fairly close (our dad was in the Army so our immediate family was our foundation); early adulthood we talked a few time times a year (mostly because we were often states apart); and now we are closer and speak/get together on a regular basis. Playing board games has brought us closer together and has restored our relationship to like it was growing up. 

        Now to talk about my lovely bride of five and a half years; before we were married, I had a decent amount of games of my personal favorites. We started to pick up board games slowly because of game nights with other couples and, at the time, we were able to get together with the missionaries from our church who were serving in the area during their “preparation day” free time and wanted to have more variety of games to play. From there let’s just say we discovered Kickstarter and a local quarterly game swap, and various publishers websites with a store attached to it. And so the “addiction” began. 

        My wife and I combined do own a handful of video game systems and would often just play video games for our togetherness time when we were newlyweds. That was fine and dandy but for me, it felt like we were disconnected even though we were sitting next to each other playing the same game. Board games, however, have brought us much closer together and one thing I have noticed is that our arguments and disagreements in the past 6 months or so (even with the Covid lock-down craziness) have decreased the more we play board games together. Our little spats now are mostly about deciding which game we are going to play that day. 

        This year we committed to play at least one game a day before we go to bed even if it is a short 10 minute one such as Nine Men’s Morris or Escape: The Curse of the Temple. For the months of January and February we played a total of 147 games. Even with a young child, we make sure that we find the time to enjoy playing a board game with one another. 

 

Other people’s relationships 

        With the global pandemic starting to slowly ease but at the same time public gatherings are limited to small numbers more people are still social distancing themselves by staying at home. During 2020 when the world had basically shut down and people did not go out unless it was to run to the grocery store for essentials You hear of stories in which people who have been married or co-habitating for a while getting on each other nerves and driving the household bonkers and then “cabin fever” kicks in which makes you want out of the house to go do something and be apart. I do know some people who got into this mind set.

        Just opposite of this, stories are emerging about couples who have been in a rut for a years and years are now “relearning” to live with each other are growing closer to one another. Being part of the Board Game Geek Facebook page stories of the are surfacing about how board games are bringing couples back together. The following is a story that was shared on FB that caught my eye that I was given permission to share in the blog: 

"The restorative gift of board games !! 

I first started dating my wife when I was in grade 4 (10 years). Fast forward 44 years, and we have been married for 29!! 

We were in a night rut. Come home tired from work, rustle up some dinner, binge watch TV series and fall asleep!! 

So with Covid came board games … and it’s been awesome.. We still come home tired. We still make dinner. We still watch a TV show .. but we stop at one and then play a game almost every night. So instead of being zombies we started talking again. And after 29 years we have actually learnt more about each other. How we think, what we prefer, what we are like when we win and lose. More than anything we are talking more and it’s been restorative." 

 

    This post has gotten some great responses from the public. Some of the best responses to this that I have seen are of others that want to do the same and reconnect with their loved ones thought playing board games. 

Going offline 

        I truly believe that board games (in the physical form) can and will help people rekindle relationships by helping people re-learn to communicate with on another. I have a rule that I try to adhere to when playing board games…. “phone free zone.” If we are playing a game, I do my best to keep my phone tucked away from the table. From time to time the phone is needed when looking up rule/game play clarifications. For me, the focus when playing a board game is to disconnect with the online world and reconnect with my loved ones.

        Board games are just one avenue that can help bring families back together again. Spending time together and sharing in a common interest can result in a more united and stronger family life. It has worked for me and my family and I am sure that it can work for yours as well. 

Entry 5: Ancient Games (for two)…

        With the global pandemic still going on and the world is working on getting back to a new level of “normal.” During the past year interest in board games have increased due to cities and countries being in “lockdown” situations since people are looking for more things to do inside. A few weekends ago our family was in Leavenworth, WA (a Bavarian village in the Cascades) for our annual weekend away to volunteer with the Special Olympics Winter Games. Even though the games were virtual this year we still went because we didn’t want to break our tradition of heading up to the mountains. 

        Believe it or not in town is a FLGS called Krampus Kave that my wife and I would always go and support by picking up at least a few booster packs of Magic: the Gathering or a game or other items that catches our eye. Because our Governor has shut down nearly all small businesses that are deemed “non-essential” at various times throughout the pandemic I was worried that Krampus Kave would be one of those hit had and go out of business. To much joy they were still in business and I had the opportunity to talk to the owners about how business was going. The response I got was one that made me extremely happy. 

        They stated that business has never been better. Sales did slow down a bit during the closures but when they were able to stay open sales have been great. They also stated that people are wanting games to play while being stuck at home during the pandemic. 

        What I learned from them, helped solidify what I discuss in the first blog entry about the board game industry picking up steam. Needless to say, we walked out with a copy of Dune: Imperium which currently is hard to find except on the secondary markets (at a much higher price). 

What did they play in the ancient world? 

        My wife and I set a goal of playing at least one game a day everyday for 2021. I am proud to say that we have succeeded thus far. Some games that we have played have been two player only games. One of them I researched the background of it and it has been played “possibly” since 1400 BCE. So that got me wondering, what types of games did people play centuries ago? More specific, what two player games were there. The names, dates, and country of origin that I will share with you come from the Oldest.org article “8 Oldest Board Games in the world.” Seven of the eight games listed from the article are still played today in modern times. The last game in the article is a multi-player game that is no longer played so I will not talk about it. 

        • Senet, c. 3500 BCE, Ancient Egypt 

Not much is known about the actual game play from the ancient time. Modern rules have been created from various texts that talk about the game. 

        • Checkers (Draughts), c. 3000 BCE, Ancient Mesopotamia (Iraq) 

Checkers has been traced back to Ur. It is a game that young and old can play together. Who does not remember learning to play checkers as a child? 

        • Backgammon, c. 3000 BCE, Ancient Persia (Iran) 

My dad taught me how to play backgammon. From my experience it is not as popular with the younger generations of today but it is one I will teach my daughter to play when she is older. One thing I did not know was that “the oldest game with rules almost identical to modern Backgammon was called “tabula” from the Byzantine Empire in Greece dating back to around 480 AD.” (Oldest.org)

 

        • Royal Game of Ur, c. 2600- 2400 BCE, Ancient Mesopotamia (Iraq) 

A game board that consists of twenty squares. The rules were reconstructed from a cuneiform tablet and can be played online from the British Museum (Oldest.org ; see article for link to the game) 

        • Go, c. 2000 BCE, Ancient China 

Go, a stone placing game in which you are trying to capture your opponents rocks. A popular game in the physical and digital world.

 

        • Nine Men’s Morris, possibly c. 1400 BCE, Unknown (possibly Ancient Egypt) 

This is a game that (I think) I was first introduced to via an old computer game called Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood (by Sierra On-line). I loved playing it so much that I picked up a nice wooden board with marble pieces copy of the game. This is the game I mention at the start of this section of the blog. At first, my wife did not like it because I kept winning. Once she figured out some smart strategies with the game she was begging me to play more. 

        • Chess, c. 600 AD, India (possibly China) 

Wow, I bet you didn’t know that the game of chess would be the newest game on the list. Original pieces were different, game rules evolved over time and the modern rules came from Europe in the 15th Century (Oldest.org). 

Classics never die. 

        Out of the seven games listed, we own four of them (eventual we may get another on this list). With me being nearly a decade older than my wife and having over half of these games, I guess she has something else to use against me being older (and wiser) than her. 

        Thinking to more modern “classics”(not just two player); games such as Scrabble, Sorry, Connect Four, and Trivial Pursuit come to mind as games that have been around now for multiple generations that still have a strong presence even today. 

        I am just wondering what games from today will be around a thousand years from now that people will look back and say “now that is an ancient classic.”

Entry 4: Dominion, the original deck builder

“You are a monarch, like your parents before you, a ruler of a small pleasant kingdom of rivers and evergreens. Unlike your parents, however, you have hopes… dreams! You want a bigger kingdom, more pleasant, with more rivers, and a wider variety of trees. You want a Dominion! 

In all directions lie fiefs, freeholds, and feodums. All are small bits of land, controlled by petty lords and verging on anarchy. You will bring civilization to these people, uniting them under your banner. But wait! It must be something in the air; several other monarchs have had the exact same idea. You must race to get as much of the unclaimed land as possible, fending them off along the way. To do this you will hire minions, construct buildings, spruce up your castle, and fill the coffers of your treasury. Your parents wouldn’t be proud, but your grandparents, on your mother’s side, would be delighted.” (Rio Grande Games) 

        Dominion is a deck-builder in which everyone starts with the same basic cards and over time you are building up your deck by purchasing cards in order to gain the most victory points. It is one of the first deck-builders that my wife was introduced to. Those that know us might be saying “but you taught her Magic: the Gathering so she knows how to build decks.” But, alas, Magic: the Gathering is a deck-construction game. 

Deck Building vs. Deck Construction 

        So now you might be asking what the difference is between the two. Board Game Geek define deck building as “a game featuring a mechanism where players each play from their own deck of cards but, through the course of the game, additional cards are selected for inclusion in the players' decks which will be drawn and used in future reshuffles of the deck. Often these games require players to discard their hand each turn forcing a high rate of card turnover.” 

        Dominion is considered the first deck builder game. Many others have followed but Dominion is the deck builder that is most referenced in this genre. 

        Deck Construction is more associated with Collectible Card Games (CCG) in which a player, ahead of time, builds their own individual deck to use against other players based on a set or sets of cards available to them. Each deck is unique in its own right and the players typically know how each of the cards in the deck interacts with one another and/or against other players cards. Decks built this way can be taken apart and rebuilt to meet the needs of the user. The most notable deck construction games are Magic: the Gathering, Pokémon, and Legend of the Five Rings. 

So why Dominion? 

        I think part of the appeal of the game is that with all the different expansions you are free to mix and match the cards from any expansion which can give you the probability of “no game is ever the same.” Give heed that a lot of the cards from the various expansions are designed to work well with other cards from within the same expansion (based on theme or mechanics); but you are not limited to just picking cards from the base game and/or one expansion. Based on that let me share with you all of the Dominion series so you can see what I mean: 

                • Dominion (Base) 1st & 2nd Editions* 

                • Intrigue 1st & 2nd Editions 

                • Seaside 

                • Alchemy 

                • Prosperity 

                • Cornucopia 

                • Hinterlands 

                • Dark Ages 

                • Guilds 

                • Adventures 

                • Empires 

                • Nocturne 

                • Renaissance 

                • Menagerie 

 * Note: there are also extra base cards and 2nd edition update pack for the base game which we don’t need 

        Part of the “fun” for me was being able to acquire all the expansions. Since my wife and I were in no rush to get them all at once and have them right away, we were able to receive a lot of them as gifts from family members. Conversations went something like this: 

                “Patrick, I need to know what I can get you for Christmas (or Birthday)?” 

                 “I still need XYZ expansions for Dominion.” 

                “Okay. Got it.” 

        And low and behold guess what my presents were. As of Christmas 2020, we are only missing the Intrigue 2nd edition set but there is no rush to get that one (at least not yet). 

        With Dominion you can create various combinations using the cards to help you gain the most victory points. Like with a lot of deck builders (but not all), the beginning of the game tends to play out quickly since you have limited cards in your personal deck to play with. As the game progresses, each player’s turn can take a few minutes to complete due to the combination of card actions in the game. Does this take away from the enjoyment of the game? For us, not really because we can learn from what other players are doing and learn how to incorporate the combos into our decks. 

So what’s next? 

        Other deck builder games on the market do have to add their own personal “pizazz” as to not just be a clone of Dominion. If you look at the popular Clank! series it adds an adventuring spin to the game and an actual game board. The Dale of Merchants games focus on getting the right number combinations to build up your market stalls. The last one I want to mention is The Valley of the Kings which has you collect items to assist you in becoming the greatest Pharoah in the land. Now there are more deck builders out there that you can play not just the ones I mentioned. I suggest you find ones that capture your interest but of course, never forget the game that started it all, Dominion.

Entry 3 : To Kickstart or not to Kickstart… That is the Question!

        As you read in the previous entry, Tang Garden was actually our third game that we backed on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. We backed a handful of other non-board game projects in between the games such as custom-made token cards and page size prints for Magic: the Gathering from one of our favorite artists (Johannes Voss). 

            For those who maybe wondering what Kickstarter is here is what they are coming directly from them: 

“Kickstarter PBC is a funding platform for creative projects. Everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. Kickstarter is full of ambitious, innovative, and imaginative ideas that are brought to life through the direct support of others. 

Everything on Kickstarter must be a project with a clear goal, like making an album, a book, or a work of art. A project will eventually be completed, and something will be produced by it. 

Kickstarter is not a store, backers pledge to projects to help them come to life and support a creative process. To thank their backers for their support, project creators offer unique rewards that speak to the spirit of what they're hoping to create.” 

        As mentioned in the last paragraph, unique rewards are often provided to backers of projects. This is true with most of the games we have backed but not all of them. Some creators have games that are solid in design and use Kickstarter to help with funding the actual production costs of the game. We are fine with this if it is from a producer who has solid successes in their product line. That being said, we do LOVE backing projects that offer stretch goals to add improvements to the production of the game or to add additional content. 

Funding & Stretch Goals 

        Projects have funding goals which typically are the minimum amount needed to produce a game with the “basic” level of quality in components. Once that goal is met, stretch goals often are set, giving things like the next level of quality upgrade in cardstock, size of parts, thickness and quality of cardboard-cores (strength), and more. Other stretch goals can include exclusive content for the game that will not be available in the retail edition. Let me go back to my favorite game to demonstrate these concepts…. Tang Garden. 

        Tang Garden has the base game, the Golden Age “expansion,” and Ghost Stories expansion. Ghost Stories is the exclusive expansion that came with the Deluxe level pledge and Golden Age box was a special stretch goal created to house all of the additional content (for the base game) that was unlocked during the campaign and will be available as an expansion post-Kickstarter fulfillment. During the Kickstarter the funding amount needed to produce the base game and Ghost Stories expansion was €30,000. 

        Once this goal was meet the additional funds raised went to upgrades to the game. There was a total of 45 stretch goals which was met. Goals included additional tiles, characters, decorations, and panoramas; upgraded quality of carboard, cardstock, designs and finishes; and as previously mentioned a new box to store all the additional items. Oh, and one last stretch goal (one of my favorites) was an original soundtrack for the game that was created by someone who I consider a dear friend (Hi, Veronica). The result of all of this was a total funding of €863,562 raised for the production of the game. 

Kickstarter Dates vs. Retail Releases 

        “Kickstarter says my game will be delivered by X date. So that is the guarantee, right?” 

        Bottom line the dates from Kickstarter are estimates. I stress that strongly because there are backers to projects think that this is a guaranteed date to have the project you backed in your hands. Because with Kickstarter you are backing and supporting the process of making a game, delays can and most often will happen throughout the whole process of making the game. 

        Using Tang Garden as an example again, it had many delays in production because ThunderGryph Games wanted to ensure that the best possible product got released. Another reason was that this project was their biggest and boldest undertaking to date. The original estimate was that the backers would have the game around January of 2019; the actual date that most backers got their games were around February/March of 2020. 

        Because games are shipped to different regions around the globe, backers in Asia & Australia usually get their games before Europe, the United States, and the rest of the world. A reason for this is because most games are manufactured in China and have to be shipped via ocean liners. Usually, after the backers receive their games is when the retail release is authorized for the FLGS (Friendly Local Gaming Store) network. This means backing a Kickstarter project provides some satisfaction of getting a copy of the game before the general public and being able to hype it up for others to preview. 

        Companies that have products fully developed and production already in progress that do not seek crowd funding help will send new games straight to retail. These companies will often announce early enough the release so people know approximately when to look for the game on store shelves. 

So why do we Kickstart? 

        Does delays and shipping times take away from the lure of backing a project? For most people the answer is no. My wife and I enjoy being part of the whole creation process of a game. We enjoy supporting our favorite publishers in bringing forth new projects. Getting regular updates, seeing the progress, and learning about the various steps that goes in the production of a game is satisfying. Some people do not like the waiting period from the end of the Kickstarter campaign until they have the actual product but as Oscar Wilde said, “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well. If it is worth having, it is worth waiting for.”