I was thinking about when I was in high school, people would get together and play video games. Things like LAN parties and hooking up several systems and TVs in one room and how, for the most part, as far as I am aware board gaming has taken that over. People still play MMOs (Massive Multiplayer Online) but when they get together, it is a little less electric.
What was before that?
Poker and card games: bridge, whist, euchre, rummy and rook. Also some classic board games: scrabble, parchessi, and monopoly. Games have been a tradition for a long long time.
Why do I like some games and not others?
I enjoy far more games than my wife, who is more particular in games. But why is that?
The other day one of our group suggested a game called “Love Letter,” I immediately thought “ughh” (you have to understand my typical gaming group is three gals and myself) but I am always, like them, willing to try a new game.
We read the backstory, the rules and dealt the cards. It was a quick learn, the deck is 16 cards with 8 different variations. You keep one card in your hand and draw a second, you must then chose which of the two to discard and perform the action on the discarded card- like peek at another players hand. The goal is to have the highest number in your hand of the people playing at the end.
It turned out to be a very fun game.
But, “why?” still haunted me. I can’t say it was the story or theme, although “Fleet” is one of my favorites partly because it is boat themed.
The story or theme can play a part in why we might pick up a game and play it. The game mechanics are why we will play it again and again.
I plan to write about different game mechanics in detail more later but it is important to understand that each player has different mechanics that they like better than others and learning which ones you prefer can help to find games you would enjoy as well as recommending games to friends and family, especially groups that may not often play games and are afraid that your favorite game requires more setup and explaination than play time.