The board game podcast format will be simple with an introduction, two game reviews, and an ending.  I think that it will be about 15 – 20 minutes to start with, so it will fit it nicely when you have a shorter commute or only have a little bit of time to listen.

I have name for it, but that will have to wait until it is released.  No promise on the date yet or how many shows we’ll commit to.  Five sounds like a good first run, maybe more.  I’d like to finalize membership in the Georgia Boardgames Association first and that also takes time to do.  Any suggestions are welcome.

Recent rules reading:

Civilization, which claims you can finish the game in one setting with the standard rules.

Hammer of the Scots a game I’m desperately trying to work in, but I’ve heard it takes a few hours to play.

Bohnanza, I just learned this and reading the rules made me think of the fun I had.

What about you?

Oh, I’ve also found them lite reading when you’re sick, which I am.

So, of course we are going to watch it.  I’m going to do it up right with all kinds of goodies. But, and this is where you come in, I’m not sure which board games lend themselves best to playing while the television is on.  Obviously, less intense board games come to mind.  I’m thinking Carcassonne, Yahtzee (yes, I said the dice game), and something like, Hammer of the Scots.  Okay, that last one was a joke.  Maybe more like Wyatt Earp, my latest favorite.

What do you think?

Over the past ten years, an explosion in the board games industry, which has largely been European in origin, has slowly caught fire in America during this decade, and if only the marketing resources were present, we might see a revolution of “analog” games that would cause concern for its digital industry counterpart. Video games were once seen as “geeky,” but now are the centerpiece of the home. But besides a console’s technological abilities, what is the point of the “media center” as the central hub of the home? What are the manufacturers of electronics trying to capitalize on? In a word – togetherness. This last element that video games attempt to hurdle, every board game has inherently, and, “together time,” cliché as the phrase may be, is still true. Friends and family are naturally together. It is what makes them what they are, and board games, not unsurprisingly, take advantage of this. In fact, there are no social exchanges like over the board face to face interactions, and though live video game services and split screen multiplayer games attempt to mimic being together, something is still missing. Much like talking on the phone, instead of in person, engaging someone personally over an internet connection, as opposed to a tactile experience in person, the electronic cannot capture the essence of what it means to be human and relational. There is something socially natural to board games missing from electronic games. The ironic effect of video games is the world it creates causes a world of isolation, and it causes us to wonder what we can do to get back those relationships we lost in the playing of the game. We are incomplete in isolation and desire to share our experiences.

To create that memorable experience lost to video games, board game makers are creating higher quality productions than anything in the past fifty years. And if you think merely throwing dice and moving characters around a square board is all that’s out there, you’re mistaken. Not only are many games “diceless,” but many are “luckless.” There are also ingenious game makers creating board games based upon cards, auctions, patterns, tile placement, secret deployments, farming, trading, and even negotiation. Economic development, for example, is a common theme in modern board gaming. Games like Rio Grande’s Puerto Rico base their entire gaming system around building an economy, complete with producing, selling, and shipping resources to the New World. Another publisher, Queen Games, created the board game Shogun, which uses economy and military might to decide the victor in over the board conquest. Even video game makers are seeing the board game market as a new and viable income source. Ensemble Studio’s computer game Age of Empires III, a fascinating real-time strategy game, has allowed board game maker Tropical Studios to create a board game by the same name. And while even the best video game attempts to create re-playability, they often fail. Beating a first person shooter on the sixteenth level is often unable to bring someone back to the game once it’s over, and the time in isolation to meet that goal is difficult to share. But re-playability and social interaction are standard components of board games. And the secret is that people like that interaction and want to come back to it. In my own experience over the board, being together is the most attractive part of the experience. Fun games are still required, of course, but instead of “I beat that level,” I hear, “I’ll trade you wool for ore; We both get to collect wood and wheat; String beans for stink beans!” These are the new mantras from my kids now, and I am with them when they say it, understanding all they mean by it because I taught it to them and learned it with them.

Now, if you think that I am someone who simply hates computers or video games, then you are mistaken. By trade, I am a computer programmer and server administrator and have literally carved my way into jobs by my fervor for that machine. And I do like technology. But there comes a time when stepping back and looking and reflecting reveals what is missing by staying on the digital side of our culture. I encourage you to step back away from your computer, yes, even the one you may be reading this article on, and take the time to buy a board game, learn the rules on old fashioned paper, physically (yes, labor) set up the game and play a game. Play a game with someone. Play with your friends and children and spouse. Play Mom and Dad. But remember that you’re doing more than moving pieces on a board – you’re together. Spending time with one another is the goal – together time all the time.

John Marchant

Georgia Boardgames Association
“Together time all the time”™

This was originally from another website of mine, but I can’t keep them both up, so I’m reprinting some of the articles here.

http://www.archiversonline.com/

Aside from the selection, it had a large back room with tables for scrapbooking. They had cutouts or whatever, machines that did “stuff” and fellow scrapbookers to help you. There was a “scrap to you drop” Friday’s for $15.

They also had classes, some free, some not, but most free. You could have substituted everything boardgame there and you’d have a great store. They even gave you dinner for the $15. Read demos, playing, etc.

And I’m sure there’s differences in the business as far as products and prices, but stil….

Of course, there’s that money thing and all that, but uh, besides that, stores could learn a thing or two about niche business from them (no I don’t work there.)

But I still don’t want to scrapbook. I bet my wife will be back, though.

But with some things in this world, you can write about and enjoy it even if it is “older.”  Books lend themselves to this easily, but I’ve found that another item, boardgames, do quite well with discussion.  Boardgames do not tend to be old news as quickly as video games, for example.  No one is discussing Pac Man for the Atari 2600 (okay someone probably is somewhere on earth), but I be you can find active board game discussions for Monopoly and Scrabble.  You’ll also find many discussions on games such as Settlers of Catan, Shogun, Twilight Emperium, and ton of other board games.  So, while I want to review the newest games, I also want to talk about some games that are not so new anymore, but still very good.  That’s what you’ll see here in the future – reviews young and old.  And, if you have a request, just drop me a email and I’ll be happy to try an review it. 

Remember, boardgames don’t depend on the latest hardware or technology.  They only depend on you.

The game is simple and it just made me wonder how much theme had to do with things.  Maybe it’s the artwork and theme together.  I guess that’s kind of what makes a game a game.  It’s more than mechanics.  And while I’m answering my own question I’ll comment that I don’t mean pre-existing themes like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings.  Obviously, those games require a strong theme, even if some of these games have lousy play.

I guess I’m saying that a game is more than moves and mechanics.  It is a totally unique product such that the whole is greater than the parts.