Board Games are a bit weirder. I bought Dominion when I was a little kid, tried to bully my parents and aunts/uncles into playing it with me, they treated it like Ludo or Snakes and Ladders where I could just explain it and they’d be able to play along. They were wrong. I was twelve. I did not explain Dominion well. Still, I found some people to play it with and every time I’d get money for Eid or for my birthday I’d spend some of it on weird board games. My collection has grown over the years, and there are plenty of games that I have played over Tabletop Simulator that I do not own.
I usually describe board games as one of two types. Games Of Moments and Games Of Increments. Games of Moments are things that have big swingy moments, singular events that stick with you long after the game is over. I’ve only ever played Twilight Imperium once but I have stories of big swings and big misses. It might make the game a little less of a test of skill, but these moments really make games special to me. Games of Increments are the ones where your victory is something builds up slowly over time because of strategic decisions made. Stuff like Arboretum or Pandemic. These two categories certainly have a lot of overlap, and I’m skipping nuance and other kinds of board games. But I think it’s a useful distinction when it comes to the way I enjoy them and how they’re important to me.
Even if there’s no canon plot, Games of Moments build up a narrative around them by their nature. These big climactic moments feel genuine, stories you have built, victories and failures you have wrought, and they become stories that stick with you. As much as I love Games of Increments, there is very little that sticks around. I’ve played Arboretum over thirty times, but I’d be hard-pressed to tell you a single story as much as I enjoyed it.
But there’s one other reason why I think board games in specific are so wonderful. It’s their physicality. It’s the reason why I purchase physical games when I could get them for free digitally. Arboretum may not have any individual stories, but the box contains a pad where everyone who has ever played the game has written down their scores. Friends who I’ve since lost touch with. Friends who were strangers when we played. Strangers who borrowed my copy, their names a mystery in a box on my shelf. The cards are slightly worn, with a handful of Magic cards kept in the box for no other reason than “They’ve always been here.” The worn-down cards evoke nights spent playing games. The scorecard remembers the people who played. And the box remains on my shelf until I open it again. There’s something really special about them, beyond interesting mechanics, mindbending puzzles, and interesting stories.
Despite all I’ve mentioned, the only game I want to discuss in detail is Magic The Gathering. Otherwise, I’m just going to recommend a handful that I think are worth your time if you’re into board games.
- Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion: Big, Bombastic and Wonderful
- Arboretum: Surprisingly Cutthroat Trees
- Railroad Ink: Very Soothing Until It Isn’t
- Watergate: Fuck Richard Nixon
