The Power of the Board Game Format

I have begun the work of transferring Anna's writing into an actual game manual, and updating the art assets to match the new fiction. My goal for this month is to print several new prototypes of the game for play testing. If you haven't already contacted me about it and want a copy to play test with friends, let me know. I will ask you play a certain number of games (8?) and fill out a brief survey for each game you play. At that point, you'll return the prototype to me or send it to the next play group.

This isn't strictly related to my game, but I've been thinking more about the power of the board game format, in light of how virtual and subscription-based much of our entertainment has become. One thing that I think about regularly is how when you subscribe to something, pieces of it can be taken away or changed, and in many cases it's impossible to share or loan. I've seen this with everything from music recordings, audio books, movies, TV, video games and sheet music.

The beauty of a physical board game is that once you have it, it's yours. You can share it, sell it, give it away, make house rules, mark up the materials or anything else you want. A board game can can be played without many additional requirements other than things you might already have like a table and chairs. If you have other sources of light, you can even play without electricity.

The delightful “221B Baker Street: THe Master Detective Game”

I know the art seems primitive (my version was only yellow and blue!), but it was enough for me to feel like I was in another place.

The other interesting thing to me about a board game in relationship to a computer game is that the platform/controls/format don't change for a board game. Video games are very much products not only of the culture of a particular time and place, but the hardware they are played on and the software that runs them. When video games are moved to new systems or "remastered", many decisions need to be made to consider the differences in controls, hardware and player expectations. I think there's a timelessness to the physical board game format, and I'm feeling good about making something that I hope will have lasting appeal and access.