My involvement in this website started as an invitation to join a podcast discussing a possible dichotomy between video games and board games and the people who play them. The common belief between the editors of this website is that video games are becoming increasingly perceived by the general public as widely acceptable, and along with it, the people that play them are being perceived less as Dweebs, Geeks, and Weirdos. In contrast, the pervading perspective is that “board games” must involve a six sided die for rolling and moving, that they’re things almost exclusively played by children or families with children, that the only board game publishers in existence are named Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers, and that everyone’s favorite board game is “Monopoly“.
Everyone HATES Monopoly.
Naturally, if people have such a narrow idea of what board games are, they’re bound to be put off when you tell them that board gaming is one of your favorite hobbies. It’s probably the same reaction I used to have when someone told me they like to knit or crochet. I assumed that person must be kind of a loser, because only elderly women do that. Board gaming is in a state not unlike video gaming two or three decades ago. At the time, video games were new, few people had them in their homes, and if you were heavily involved in them you were likely a “nerd.”
As a product, board games have been around for a very long time. However, it’s only been within the last decade that we’ve seen an explosion of designer board games being created on American soil or imported from Europe. These designer games led to greater structuring of board game communities, the opening of board game retail and web stores, and the idea that board gaming could be as much a hobby as tabletop RPGs or video games. Despite this surge in popularity among board game hobbyists, the volume of board game sales is still a minor fraction of today’s video game sales. Though we’re comparing two methods of “gaming,” and though they undoubtedly share a common pool of fans and followers, we’re in no way making a comparison of Apples to Apples when discussing the two.
BUT…
We can certainly take lessons learned from the growth of video games and apply it to the growth of board games. If one of our primary concerns is the stigma attached to board games, we must ask what has helped mitigate the stigma attached to video games over the years. I would argue that one of the most important elements in reducing the “nerd” stigma is creating and utilizing accessibility. Video games have become a household staple not because of Final Fantasy Tactics and Ninja Gaiden, but because of Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt. As time went on genres other than the platformers and the “gimmicky accessory games” became more acceptable by the mainstream because accessibility was improved to the non-gamer or casual gamer. FPS games previously played as a niche of computer gaming were popularized by Halo. Madden continued to rope in millions of non-gaming sports fans over the last 20 years. Even World of Warcraft (WoW) has introduced non-gamers to MMORPGs. Only a couple years ago I would have argued that there’s still stigma to be had in video games, and I would have cited MMORPGs as the proof. But today, as I think about all the people I’ve met and known who had never touched any RPG in their lives, but who have tried, and often loved WoW, it’s hard to feel like the stigma attached to MMORPG gamers is anywhere near as strong as it was before November of 2004.
Many board gamers understand this and act as ambassadors by patiently introducing others to it using accessible staples such as Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride, and some newer hits such as Pandemic. These games share the benefit of being easily explainable (or “light”), even to someone who’s never played a designer board game before. Each is also different enough to represent several board game mechanics and elements found in many “heavier” board games. A drawback to these games (with the exception of Pandemic, in my opinion), for some, is that they lack a strong theme.
YOU, the reader, are undoubtedly already well versed in geek-hobbies and interests. I, as a board game ambassador, would be mistaken to start you off with a simple “gateway” game such as Catan or Carcassone. What I should do is select a game that’s fun, well constructed, and heavily doused in a theme you are already interested in. If you happen to be a fan of World War II games and films, I would introduce you to Memoir ’44, a light miniature war game, but if you get your jollies watching Braveheart or the Battle of the Pelennor Fields I would show you Memoir’s sister game, Battlelore. If you’re a role-player or a fan of H.P. Lovecraft (or any of the works he’s inspired), I would not hesitate to throw you into the deep end with a game of Arkham Horror. Gamers have already committed themselves to learning strategies and complex rule-sets for the sake of their video games, MMORPGs, and their table-top RPGs. The board games mentioned embrace these complexities and you will love them for it.
However, these are not traditional gateway games. Your mom, your dad, and your girlfriend—they’re non-gamers. Non-gamers need more convincing. And they need to start with a game that won’t overwhelm them or scare them away with graphics of orcs or space-truckers. Catan, Carcassone, and Ticket to Ride are gateway games for non-gamers. Ultimately, the theme and the mechanics for what we consider traditional “gateway” games are fairly shallow. But they are fun, in a rudimentary sense. They’re fun in the way that Tetris is fun, or Wii Sports is fun. You’ll have some fun with them, and you’ll know that they’re something you can pull non-gamers in with, but it’s not the reason you want to stick around. You want the demon killing. You’re already eager to work for the demon killing.
As non-gamers are eased into the idea of playing board games that don’t involve simple roll and move mechanics, and as they realize how much fun they’re having we continue to expose them to games with slightly greater complexity. There have already been many converts in my personal life, and the joy of introducing someone to the hobby and seeing their excitement to try even more is well worth the patience and time needed to ease them into it.
Board games will likely never achieve the level of success that video games have. But as a fan of both I believe that we can certainly improve the awareness of the hobby and move towards greater validation of it in a very similar way achieved for video games. One day we’ll be able to explain to someone what we play for fun without having them ask, “Is it like Risk?”
Thanks to Luis Escobar for the illustration.
