on the role of components

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A recent tweet* from my pal Stephen Glenn gave me pause.

Pyramid die roller image by BGG user duchamp.

Sure, it’s a gimmick, but it’s a clever one and I like it.

It works like this; place the five color-coded dice into the Pyramid, shake it, invert it on the game board, press and release the slider, and it deposits a randomized die on the table.

That’s it.

As Stephen said, one could simply pull dice from a bag and roll them. It would be cheaper to manufacture and maybe even easier in play, and that’s the way most publishers would handle it. But the decision to include the Pyramid die roller was a smart one, and might even have been a factor in Camel Up’s Spiel de Jahres win.

Bear with me.

Something I noticed about two of the three SdJ nominees–Camel Up and Splendor–was that both have an unusually tactile component that encourages players to playfully interact with the game in ways that most Euro games don’t.

In Camel Up, when a player wants to advance the camels, she takes a Pyramid tile and then must, “take the Pyramid, shake it thoroughly, and reveal one Die from it.” It sounds silly, but that element of playful physicality bolsters the players’ engagement with the game.

Additionally, that simple act of shaking the Pyramid and plunking it down to reveal a die adds a dose of drama to the proceedings. In my experience, the shake-up and reveal is never quite a smooth operation, and the other players invariably lean in, eager to see the final results. And as we know: drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty.

 

Splendor jewel chip image by BGG user duchamp.

Splendor, on the other hand, doesn’t have that kind of mechanical gimmick.

What sets Splendor apart is its use of weighted, poker-style chips for the jewel tokens. Here is another game component that could have been made with cheaper materials to save money. It was a deliberate physical design choice by the publisher to use expensive, heavy poker chips rather than the usual punch board tokens.

Why use heavy poker chips?

Because they’re heavy poker chips. Splendor is a game about jewel trading, and these weighty jewel chips lend a sense of premium value with their substantial presence and through their association with gambling games. Here is a game component that, by its sumptuous nature, elevates a rather thin theme.

Poker chips encourage playfulness; they feel good in your hand, they stack nicely, and they make an enticing clink when you riffle and stack them. You feel prosperous as you sit at the table, counting and riffling and stacking your little hoard of clinking jewels. Punch board tokens just don’t inspire the same feelings in players. Without the weighted poker chips, Splendor would simply be a less fun experience.

 

v314-shaman

Bruno Faidutti recently blogged about how different component choices affected the resolution of a rock-paper-scissors mechanism in a game he’s designing with Eric Lang.

First they tried secret dials, but set them aside as too costly to produce. Then they replaced the dials with cards. The results were similar, but players preferred the dials.

When they played the game by physically throwing hand symbols, they were surprised at the results:

fists

Now comes the real experience. Get rid of cards and dial, and play this à la Rock / Paper / Scissors. A closed fist means War / Greed, an open Hand means Peace, a thumb up means 1. Theoretically, this system is equivalent to the two former ones. When playing, however, the feeling is very different, and it seems that the results are slightly more aggressive, with more wars and less peace. May be holding one’s arm makes one aggressive, maybe the requirement to play fast, without hesitation, makes us less careful? Anyway, it’s the same game, but it plays a bit differently.

 

I love Camel Up, but it just wouldn’t be the same drawing a die from a bag. And Splendor with cardboard jewels? Sure, ok.

I can’t say that the Pyramid die roller clinched the SdJ win for Camel Up or that those poker chips alone got Splendor nominated, but I do know that carefully considered components can greatly enhance the experience of games.

* Stephen’s tweet was in jest. I’m using it as a conversation starter.

kubb, lawn game of vikings.

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I recently learned how to play Kubb, a delightful lawn game which may or may not have been invented by Vikings.

Kubb is an outdoor skittle bowling game played by two teams. Players take turns in throwing their six wooden batons at five wooden blocks called “kubbs” attempting to knock them down.  The goal is to knock down all five of the opposing team’s kubbs, then knock down the “king” block before the opposing team does.

Kubb has an engaging back-and-forth in the game play and strategic field positioning that reminds me of medieval warfare.

Set ’em Up and Knock ’em Down

The two teams begin the game with their kubbs lined up in opposing battle lines, with the king standing in the center of the field.

The first team begins play by throwing  their batons at the opposing line of kubbs. Any line kubbs knocked down are tossed back to the throwing team’s side and stood up in the field where they lay.

The second team then throws their batons, but must knock down these field kubbs before knocking down opposing line kubbs.

And once the opposing side’s kubbs are all downed, the king is an easy target.

Your throwing line is always marked at the field kubb on your side nearest the center. All your throws are made from this line.

If a team manages to knock down all field kubbs and all line kubbs on the opposing side, they may attempt to knock down the king–if they have a baton left!

A Backyard Battlefield

The initial throws bring to mind volleys of arrows between opposing lines on a battlefield. The knocked-down kubbs thrown back across to the opponent’s side are like riders, perhaps, sallying to skirmish on the field. The action changes focus sharply to the swirling skirmishes in mid-field, before resuming the fight in the battle lines. The ebb and flow of the throwing line mimics the gain and loss of ground in a battle.

And once the opposing side’s kubbs are all downed, the king is an easy target.

Viking Chess?

I love to play kubb. I love socializing over a casual game with friends in a park and answering questions from strangers about this strange-looking game of blocks and sticks. I love the sheer physicality of throwing the batons and trying to knock stuff down. It taps directly into my own childhood, bringing back memories of play, of make-believe battles and pretend wars in my back yard.

I suppose, really, kubb has about as much of a warfare theme as chess, but playing kubb gives me a thrill that tabletop games like chess simply can’t.

For More Information… 

If you’d like to learn more about kubb, check out this video.

You can download official rules and more at the U.S. National Kubb Championship page.

Check your Friendly Local Game Store for Kubb sets. I got the beautiful set pictured above at I’m Board Games and Family Fun in Madison, WI.

board games are “making a comeback”

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Since 1990, we’ve been told that board games are “making a comeback.”

Every few weeks we see another article in a local newspaper or hear another story on the radio about how board games are “making a comeback” or “gaining in popularity” compared to video games.

I’ll see your board game cafe and raise you a bar

The relatively new phenomenon of the board game cafe has fueled a lot of the recent wave of articles.

Inevitably, when these mainstream stories are reported in the tabletop gaming press, the eye-rolling is nearly as loud as the audible sighs from dedicated board game enthusiasts.

“Board games never went anywhere,” we exasperate.

“Catan has been around for nearly twenty years,” we peeve.

We’ve got it wrong.

“Welcome,” we should be saying.

“Sit down and play!”

“Is it any surprise the media doesn’t know we exist?”

The media’s clockwork astonishment in finding board games being played might be traced to the fact that, until the recent boom in board game cafes, board gamers have largely been invisible. Our weekly game nights are in someone’s basement or living room. If we go out at all, we’re tucked into the back rooms of our friendly local game stores.

Is it any surprise the media doesn’t know we exist?

We can change this. We can play games in public spaces. We can invite strangers to sit down and learn a new game. We can no longer wait for them to come to us.

Go play in public!

Be visible! Take advantage of public spaces at your local library. Many already support gaming in the library. Check with your neighborhood branch or main library for available programs or volunteer to start your own.

Be proactive! Organize a game night at a local pub or coffee house. Most establishments will welcome the extra business on a slow night. Be courteous to the staff and other patrons. Establish a rapport, and people will seek you out.

Madison Board Games and Beer at Next Door Brewing Company.
Madison Board Games and Beer at Next Door Brewing Company.

I started a bi-weekly game night at Next Door Brewing Company, a neighborhood brew pub. I created a Facebook group to organize it, called Madison Board Games and Beer. It’s an open group; anyone can join and members are encouraged to host their own game nights. We’re up to 129 group members and growing quickly.

Word is spreading.

Board gaming is main stream. We are main stream. It’s time to let everyone else know.

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