The Golden Age of Gaming: Games for Grownups
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Webinar presented for WebJunction with John Pappas about board games in libraries - we discussed social interaction, game types, game mechanics, game groups, and gave our top five picks. The archive can be found here: http://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/golden-age-of-gaming.html
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The Golden Age of Gaming: Games for Grownups
- 2. John Pappas Bucks County Library System Pennsylvania Marti Fuerst Librarian At Large Omaha, Nebraska GloomisbyAtlasGames.
- 4. Video Games - Detachment https://www.flickr.com/photos/wlodi/2253868335
- 5. Board Games - Interaction http://boardgamegeek.com/image/2071599/mascarade
- 7. Starlit Citadel Board Games with ScottWatch it Played Tabletop
- 10. Deeper Strategy and Tactical Decisions https://boardgamegeek.com/image/1216167/carcassonne
- 15. Every Player, Their Game https://boardgamegeek.com/image/2005952/king-tokyo
- 33. Area Control
- 36. How Many People?
- 37. Promotion
- 38. Meetup
- 39. Meetup
- 40. Game Menu
- 43. http://boardgamegeek.com/image/2075323/stone-age http://boardgamegeek.com/image/1999223/pandemic
- 45. http://boardgamegeek.com/image/1966440/alhambra http://boardgamegeek.com/image/846614/incan-gold
- 48. Day Off – Game On! Games for Grownups Game Designer’s Guild/Game Developers Group Game Jams The Golden Gamers The Board Gaymer https://www.flickr.com/photos/sbszine/8428032305
Notes de l'éditeur
- John intro Marti intro Gloom (quick description) – storytelling card game with a Edward Gorey vibe. These are “fan cards” created for Halloween.
- So why designer board games? Because, in my experience, designer board games promote creativity across all age groups, invoke multi-generational interaction, increase social engagement, and have the potential to be thought-provoking, challenging and, of course, fun. But even more than that, designer board games build a culture of positive interaction between sometimes disparate ages and social groups. Everyone can come together to play board games.
- In a world of apps, massive online games, connected mobile devices, and shiny new game consoles, the physicality and social aspect of gaming begins to wane. All of this despite most online gaming being touted as, well, social. Players become more detached from play and removed from the physical medium and other people. Board games provide a way out of this desocialization by providing a physical, manipulable medium for patrons to interact, grow and explore in a physical space (hopefully within a library). They connect with patrons who desire diverse experiences - experiences which engage their imagination, spur critical thought, and exist in a physical rather than digital realm – These experiences can be within a library during a weekly or monthly game night.
- Player interaction is a deep topic and for me the core of why I play games - to interact and enjoy time with other people. Different games encourage different types of interactions between players, create varying amounts of noise, and require different levels of attention. Games can be cooperative, where all players are working together in order to win, they can center around direct competition and conflict and they can involve teams or hidden betrayers! However, across the board (Ha!) all board games have some level of social interaction inherent in the gameplay. Finding what level of social interaction is appropriate for your group and your library is important. For example, the tempo of Escape: The Curse of the Temple - a fast, tense cooperative game - will generate plenty of loud, boisterous player interaction. Games such as Dominion, Sushi Go! or 7 Wonders (all card drafting games) will tend to be quiet and somber.
- Marti takes over Local Game Store – what you should do. Lurk, Observe, Ask, Play, Explore Lurk – Go there! See what’s going on. Observe – What kinds of games are people playing? Is it a welcoming space? Ask Questions – ask about games. Staff at your FLGS should be eager and willing to answer your questions, and may even be open to building a partnership with your library. Play – most FLGS have open gaming nights, where you can come and play a game from their open-box library. It’s a great way to get to know a game before you add it to your collection. Explore – play games you have never played before or that are maybe outside of your game-mechanic comfort zone.
- YouTube channels where you can see games played/reviewed. Tabletop is a show hosted by Wil Wheaton and produced by Geek and Sundry – they play through lots of different titles, and it’s a great way to get a sense of the social interaction aspect of the game. It can be a bit salty – so wear headphones. There are three seasons so far. Starlit Citadel is an online board game store that gives quick reviews of popular games. They have a good backlog and update about once a month. They are a store, so they don’t get very critical of the games. Watch it Played is done by Rodney Smith, who by now is professional “game explainer.” He does full playthroughs of board and card games. This is great for understanding mehcanics, since Rodney is teaching you how to play the game. Great for brushing up and learning a new game fast. Board Games with Scott: Scott Nicholson is the grandmaster of games in libraries. He has over 70 videos produced over five years, and he is THE go-to source for games in libraries. He doesn’t update Board Games With Scott anymore, but most of the games he’s featured are still popular and in print. He’s also created other resources for gaming in libraries like the book Everyone Plays at the Library and and a Gaming in Libraries video course.
- BoardGameGeek is the Internet Movie Database of board games. Look up games to get a list of mechanics and reviews from players, participate on forums, but most of all, look at The Hotness List for what’s got the most fans right now. It’s a good way to see what games are new and “trending.” Problem: This is really only used by enthusiasts and hobbyists, so the “Hotness” is what is trending with that population. Some of the games listed on the Hotness may not be released/released in the US/etc. Good: the advanced search – search by mechanic, theme, age-range, length of time, number of players, etc. Then sort by rank to see what’s out there.
- John takes over again Put the last board game you played in chat
- Strategy is long-term. Tactics are short-term For example, in the popular tile-laying game Carcassonne, the strategic element is to decide which potential paths to victory is a player going to take - is she going to build large cities, focus on farms and/or roads? Even more broadly, does she plan on playing a defensive game, attempting to build her own large cities/road/farms or play an offensive game and attempt to block other players from building? The tactical elements come from the random tiles drawn each round. As the game board changes, the players will have to make quick decisions in order to solve smaller, more pressing problems. This game can have strategy for the entire game as well as tactical thinking every turn. Try these games for strategy: Power Grid; Dominion; Agricola; Try these games for tactics: Dixit; Small World; King of Tokyo.
- Another attribute of designer board games is a wide decision space. Simply put, these board games provide players with many options during their turn. A wide decision space makes the game a rich, engaging, and mentally chewy experience. However, a wide variety of options can easily overwhelm and intimidate new players causing stress and frustration. As the decision space grows in a game, the options for the player will increase as well as the amount of information to process. This will also make teaching the game more challenging for the moderator as all possible combinations may need to be explained. Try these games for a small decision space: Incan Gold; Forbidden Island; Ticket to Ride. Try these for a larger, but still manageable, decision space: The Manhattan Project; Stone Age; Takenoko.
- Know your space and how much noise is appropriate to the culture of your library. Don't be afraid to make a little bit of noise though. The best way to attract a crowd and encourage new gamers is to have fun and to look like you are having fun! Try to avoid any game that includes player elimination. The best way to encourage a new group is to introduce cooperative play. A few games which create a sense of cooperation and help draw a crowd are: Flash Point: Fire Rescue; Pandemic, and; Forbidden Island.
- (Still John)
- Marti takes over Not all players are going to like every game – just like not all readers are going to like every book offered at book club. That’s okay! Find out what kinds of games your patrons expect and like to play, and then try to chose games that go with that. Some games are loud and boisterous, while others are more quiet and studious, which is something to keep in mind when deciding what games will be on your menu.
- STOP FOR QUESTIONS As we’ve already said, social interaction is one of the biggest appeals of board games. The game their playing in this picture is One Night Ultimate Werewolf – it’s a game of hidden roles, where the werewolves are trying to survive until the next day and the villagers are trying to kill off the werewolves. The core of the game is talking with the people you’re playing with to puzzle out who is who, and there is no small amount of manipulation and lying involved in order to get your team to win.
- Solitary games still have player interaction, but it is minimal. Players are instead focused on building their own deck or cards, collecting a set, or some other mechanic. This creates an “alone together” situation. You’re competing for resources, goals, or time. These games can be rich, engrossing, and a lot of fun. They may not take the main stage at your game night, but the can be an excellent side act.
- Some games involve a shared board with every player having their own objectives. Because players are sharing limited resources, competing for control of an area, or striving to reach a goal first, they have a sense of friendly competition. You’re not “out to get” anyone, but your actions can get in the way of someone else, like claiming a route that would have helped someone complete a larger strategy in Ticket to Ride.
- Games that involve Direct Competition have confrontation and can be viciously cut-throat. They can be intense and fun, but when playing in a library setting it’s a good idea to keep an eye on them to make sure everyone is having fun. Players take actions that cause other players to lose, and that’s what makes these games so engaging. But this isn’t everyone’s style, so it’s a good idea to balance Direct Competition games with their direct opposite – Cooperative Interaction. This incredibly focused gentlemen is playing Small World, where you battle other players with fantasy races for control of a small island in order to accumulate points and win the game. It’s like Risk, only on a much smaller scale, and with Orcs and Dwarves.
- Unlike other board games, Cooperative games require players to work together to achieve a common goal. Instead of playing the game against one another, the antagonist is the game itself – when there is an antagonist at all (we’ll go into cooperative games a little later when we talk about game mechanics. In regard to social interaction, cooperative games are a great way to ease people into modern board games. There isn’t any pressure from other players, since you’re all working together to the same ends. It encourages conversation and collaborative strategy. Because you’re working together, not everyone has to know all the rules – it is great for “learn as you play.” Cooperative games come in a variety of types – from casual fun to intense strategy. For new gamers, I’d suggest games like Forbidden Island, Hanabi, or Flash Point: Fire Rescue. More advanced players may enjoy Arkham Horror, the game pictured here, or Pandemic. Arkham Horror is a great example of What Not To Do when introducing this kind of game to new people: It’s big. It’s Pricey. It’s got a steep learning curve. It’s expansive. It’s the wrong game to start with when learning cooperative games.
- John takes over QUESTION TIME! Tokaido
- Chess, Go, Mastermind, etc.
- Skull
- Kingdom Builder
- First Step games – scaffolding skills. This teaches pass-and-play, card drafting, and set collection. Game with few mechanics that’s easy to learn and fun to play – used to build confidence and skill to step up to more complex games. Sushi Go – plastic sushi not required
- Also talk about Dexterity Games
- Marti takes over QUESTION TIME Game mechanics are how the game works – what the gameplay looks like, what kinds of actions the players take – they’re the “platform” that the theme, strategy, and social interaction ride on.
- Games that involve cooperative interaction are one of the things about modern board games that are so different from their predecessors. In these games, everyone is working together to win, and the game itself is the antagonist. Players in these games often have different special abilities based on a role, so much of the interaction is developing a strategy together based on these strengths and weaknesses. Types of cooperative games – all against one (Letters from Whitechapel), pure cooperative (Pandemic, Freedom: The Underground Railroad, Flash Point), possible betrayer/secret objective (Shadows Over Camelot). Flash Point – more things happening than Forbidden Island or Pandemic, so it’s a good game to moderate, not play.
- Board games are generally turn-based, but real-time games have every player doing things simultaneously. It’s exciting, it’s dynamic, its chaotic, and it’s sure to turn heads and get people to wonder what exactly is going on over there where all those people are clearing having a great time. John: Escape; Space Cadets Dice Duel
- The worker placement mechanic is essentially putting a piece on the board to do a thing. Players have a limited number of “workers”, and the points in the board where they can collect resources, perform actions, etc. are also limited. Players jockey for position based on their own strategy, trying to achieve their goals while perhaps hindering their opponents. Worker placement games are generally in the “friendly competition” category of social interaction. Lords of Waterdeep (deep theme), Stone Age (shallow theme)
- Did you like Risk? Then Area Control games are for you! Risk is a classic area control game – when you’re the one with the majority control of an area, you’re the one who receives the benefit – like 7 extra men every turn if you control Asia. A lot of area control games have political, military, or intrigue themes, since they’re based on maps. Las Vegas, the game pictured here, has players trying to gain influence with one of six casinos in order to increase their payout. This is a great example of a First Step Game – it has one mechanic, it plays fast, it has an accessible theme, and simple rules. It’s a great way to learn how area control works, see if you like it, and then maybe play other, more complex games that include that mechanic.
- John’s turn to drive QUESTION TIME
- Marti had anywhere from 7-12 people each month
- INSERT MEETUP SLIDE
- John still driving
- BONUS PICKS – when you want to go out on a limb and play something crazy. Our favorite games (not library related) Lifeboat: MEAN! Totally fun. Kittens: Twisted but hilarious – easy to teach and play.
- Question time!