MrCyra t1_j1gudgd wrote on December 24, 2022 at 6:04 AM

Reply to comment by b_lett in Future of Games by stoneman217

After pandemic tabletop hit golden age. Hobby got way more popular and there are tons of new games released we honestly already had hit a point where it's no longer possible to play every good board game out there. It actually slowed down currently as it became harder and more expensive to release new stuff.

But doubt it will be replaced any time soon. Often the charm of board games is getting together with some friends, probably nerds and having an activity with limited social interaction. We already can simulate board games in pc or vr, but none of these feel close to real thing.

b_lett t1_j1hxcao wrote on December 24, 2022 at 2:24 PM

I'm not even the biggest tabletop gamer, but am playing more strategy tabletop games and D&D with friends than the pre-Covid years. Nice to just be able to sit at a table with friends, have a drink or two and order a pizza or something and play a game.

The biggest problem is the learning curve is typically much higher with board games than most video games because it takes about 30 minutes to explain the rules to a first time player of a lot of these games. Once a game is in more common rotation, it goes much smoother, but can't tell you how many game nights we start so late because it takes us forever to decide on what to play and then cover the rules on top of that.

Something like Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros, you just turn the TV on, hand the controllers out and you're rolling almost instantly

MrCyra t1_j1i0bl9 wrote on December 24, 2022 at 2:51 PM

It's a wonderful medium but has it's downsides. Learning curve is there because people are not that familiar with board game mechanics, personally I have bunch of experience in video games and board games and whenever I play some new board game it's just familiar mechanics but arranged differently and thus it's easy to pick it up.

But every person is different and often learning a new board game is like learning entirely new medium. Also 30 minutes to explain rules is on the light side, some games require an hour and some playthrough. Also people often lack the patience to learn. Last board game I got had bunch of different elements, like deck building, area control, worker placement, set collection, and probably something else I forgot. Essentially you have loads of options and need to find most optimal way to get points. Mid rule explanation others decided they want to learn it on the go, did not fully grasp game mechanics and complained that they do not get it.

Getting a group together can also be quite difficult, specific groups need specific games and as someone who likes heavy games face more difficulties there. Oh and set up can be a torture. But once in a while it's possible to overcome every hurdle and have an amazing experience that overshadows everything else.