The Civilized Guide to Tabletop Gaming Read online

  American-Style Wargames

  These often include developed themes (and possibly fully fleshed-out fictional universes), confrontational gameplay, player elimination, and moderate to high levels of luck and militaristic themes. These games offer huge opportunities for player interaction. Often, the game only ends when a single victor is declared. A hallmark of these types of games is their long play times. The most recognizable games of this type are Risk, Twilight Imperium, and Axis & Allies.

  Hybrid Games or Designer Games

  These games often take the best of both American-style games and Eurogames to create truly modern board games, as well as new and innovative mechanics. Examples of this still-emerging genre include Small World and Blood Rage.

  Party Games

  These games are designed to support gaming for larger numbers of players. Game turns are played quickly, and typical games tend to rate well for entertainment, engagement, and accessibility (the rules tend to be simpler) but lower in terms of strategy.

  Werewolf, the Resistance, and Cards Against Humanity are the most widely played party games and are readily available at most FLGSs.

  Collectible Games

  Collectible games are those played using personal collections that are compiled into a constructed format. Collectible card games are often card games (the format began with a collectible card game back in 1993), though they may also include other collectibles such as miniatures or dice. Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon Trading Card Game, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game are the most common collectible card games on the market, while HeroClix and Dice Masters dominate the non-card-game aspect of this genre.

  Tabletop Role-Playing Games (RPGs)

  These are a unique type of tabletop game. The components are less important than the players’ imaginations and problem-solving skills. The game is facilitated for the players by a game master (GM) or dungeon master (DM)—titles that are used interchangeably. This person articulates the universe, situations, and outcomes for the players based on their reactions and dice rolls. The most popular tabletop RPGs are Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) and Pathfinder.

  Miniature Tabletop Gaming

  In the past this genre was concerned with recreating historical battles. Now it’s evolved to also include science-fiction and fantasy universes. The play and collecting style is similar to that of collectible card games, though game expansions are not blind boosters; rather, gamers can see what minis they’re buying.

  The Oldest Hobby Games

  Miniatures are some of the oldest games in the hobby game industry. In 1913, the science-fiction writer H.G. Wells published Little Wars, a book of rules for playing with military miniatures. In fact, the full title was Little Wars (A Game for Boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys’ games and books).

  The most popular miniature games are Games Workshop’s Warhammer games (Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Age of Sigmar), Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game, and Privateer Press’s Warmachine and Hordes. Hybrid board game/miniatures games include Zombicide, Blood Rage, and Star Wars: Imperial Assault.

  With a plethora of games out there, there’s something for everyone. Now that you know the types of games you’re likely to find in your FLGS, it only remains for you to figure out what kind you and your friends like to play.

  Most FLGSs will run demos of various games, have community gaming days where players can bring and run games from their collections, or stock a library of games that players can try themselves before they buy. Take advantage of these opportunities as much as you can. Hobby dollars are scarce, so take the time before you spend them, and curate your personal collection so it’s only full of things you truly love.

  Understand the Game Mechanics When You’re Playing

  Every game is built around a set of core mechanics. Knowing the mechanics of a game will give you a better sense of how much you and, often more importantly, your gaming group will enjoy the game. As well—and this is important—you won’t annoy your fellow players by endlessly asking someone to explain why you’re rolling a ten-sided die instead of a twenty-sided die or how many land cards you have to tap before summoning a goblin.

  The Confused Gamer

  Here’s an example of why it’s polite to understand game mechanics before you sit down at the gaming table:

  A group of friends have just started playing the classic Dungeons & Dragons module White Plume Mountain. As Charlotte, the dungeon master, sets up the first encounter, Kevin, a player new to the group, sits poking nervously through his dice.

  Charlotte: Okay. As you round the corner, you see a group of goblins ahead. What do you do?

  Players: We rush toward them, weapons drawn.

  Charlotte: Okay. Everyone roll for initiative.

  Kevin: What’s that mean?

  Charlotte: It means we have to decide who takes an action first.

  Kevin: Oh. How do we do that?

  Charlotte: Roll a d10.

  Kevin: What’s that?

  Charlotte: Uh . a ten-sided die.

  Kevin: I don’t think I have one of those.

  Rich (exasperated): Oh, for God’s sake! It’s right there! Don’t play the game if you don’t know anything about how to play it!

  Not a very good start to a fun evening of gaming, is it? Kevin ended up sulking the rest of the evening, and his group could probably brush up on the rules for teaching games (conveniently found within this book).

  One of the first things to do is decide what kinds of games all of you like to play. If your gaming group is a bunch of strategic players accustomed to action drafting, they may not have the same appreciation for a subjective player-judged game, and vice versa. Picking the right games for you and your group is good manners, and it’s the key to having good, enjoyable gaming nights.

  To that end, here’s a short list of common mechanics, as well as the vocabulary of popular games. You can use this to impress the staff at your FLGS, and it’ll help you best choose games that fit you and your group.

  Deck Building/Pool Construction

  Most exemplified by games like Dice Masters and Magic: The Gathering, as well as the majority of miniature war games, these terms refer to players collecting a pool and building a list unique to them from that collection. The fun is in both trying to build an optimized list from what’s available to you and seeing if the list performs as you anticipate it will.

  Luck

  The amount of luck varies from game to game. Knowing your tolerance as well as that of your group’s for the amount of luck in a game is very useful when deciding what you’re going to play. For the sake of ease, luck is defined as anything that isn’t directly in the control of at least one player. Here’s an easy scale: Chess has no luck, Scrabble has moderate amounts of luck, Yahtzee has substantial amounts of luck, and Snakes and Ladders is pure luck.

  Bluffing

  Deception is an extremely old gaming mechanic (think poker or other card games) whose use in modern games allows players themselves to become an element of the mechanics of the game. Players and groups that appreciate bluffing mechanics are those who enjoy outwitting each other as much as they like playing the game itself. Diplomacy, for example, is a game in which bluffing (and bargaining) plays a big role.

  Cooperation

  Games with cooperative elements are terrific options for team building and bonding. Games that are fully cooperative (meaning that everyone wins or loses together) tend to be very challenging. A subset of cooperative games are partly cooperative games, meaning there may be individual players with separate victory conditions that may be achieved either in tandem with the group’s goal or work contrary to it. Dungeons & Dragons is a fully cooperative game in which the players are working together to survive perils and accumulate treasure and experience points. Pandemic is a cooperative board game in which the players work together to stop the spread of diseases.

  Action Drafting and Worker Placement


  Worker placement games, also referred to as action drafting games, offer players a set of options for action but limit the number of choices a single player can make and how many times a single choice may be made in a round. These games tend to be strategic and sit on the lower end of the luck spectrum. Agricola, Settlers of Catan (and its variants), and Lords of Waterdeep exemplify this mechanic.

  Storytelling

  Games that have a storytelling mechanic provide game immersion more than strategy. Some storytelling games, such as RPGs, don’t provide a single clear winner. But they can be immersive and accessible to novice and nongamers as they are beloved by experienced gamers. In addition to D&D and Pathfinder, popular story-based games include the Firefly RPG from Margaret Weis Productions and Numenera from Monte Cook Games.

  Elimination

  There are a lot of older games whose elimination mechanics made the game boring and terrible (Monopoly and Risk come to mind). Contemporary use of the elimination is generally combined with light and fast gameplay—meaning players who are eliminated can watch entertaining gameplay, at which point the game is wrapped and can be replayed again. These contemporary elimination games also often feature unique themes and fantastic art. Games such as Exploding Kittens and Get Bit! are paragons of elimination-centered games.

  Player Judging

  Sometimes the best part of playing a game is the sound of players’ laughter, and some games are designed purely around that outcome. (Some gamers, on the other hand, are deadly serious and rarely crack a smile; decide which kind of gamer you are before sitting down to a gaming session.) Games that have a player-judging element for best responses, best answers, or simply best failures are designed to reward players for delighting their friends, sometimes through self-deprecation, like in Cards Against Humanity; sometimes through wit, like in Funemployed; and sometimes through both. These games aren’t satisfying to strategic and competitive gamers, but they often encompass the best of what games offer: fun for all. When laughs are had, everyone wins.

  At the end of the day, if you know the kinds of things you and your gaming pals appreciate (and revile), you’ll be better able to choose the kinds of games that make fun gaming nights rather than ones that fail to please. That’s what real victory feels like—everyone having fun.

  Balance the Needs of You and Your Friends

  Knowing yourself and those you play with are the last parts of the equation when picking games. The things that make games fun for some people may not be appealing (and may actually be off-putting) to other gamers. It’s basic gamer etiquette to be self-aware and know something about your fellow players. After all, that’s one of the things that makes gaming fun—you’re interacting with other people, and by doing so you’re gaining self-knowledge.

  If you know what kinds of things engage you and your gaming group, you’ll all be able to come together and play games in the same spirit and with the same mentality. I’ll say it plainly: Sometimes as gamers we turn into monsters. If everyone around the table turns into the same kind of monster when playing a game, the game is fun—everyone is playing with the same intent, expectation, and intensity.

  It’s when there’s a discrepancy in that intent, expectation, and intensity around the table that things go sour. That makes for a bad gaming night with sullen gamers, the possibility of hurt feelings, and social friction that can extend beyond the end of the game.

  The key is to find games that will engage everyone relatively well. Games that have broad appeal work well, but even if one or two gamers are particularly engaged by a single game and the rest are moderately engaged, that’s fine. The thing you don’t want is a game that completely puts off one or more of the people around the table; if that happens, you may ultimately lose them.

  These elements of engagement will help pick a game (or several games) that can be played and will appeal to everyone at the table, so everyone has an enjoyable time. Find out how much your fellow players enjoy (or hate) these elements.

  Crunchiness and Weightiness

  Some games are really complex to master and are just plain hard to win. The term “crunchiness” is used to describe how challenging a game is to learn, win, and master and how much strategy is required to play. Some people refer to a game in terms of “weight” to describe how involved gamers need to be to play. A heavy game is one that is deeply involving, requiring heavy strategy and considered hard. A light game is one that is much less so.

  Games high in crunch are appealing to those willing to put in the time to develop the mastery. They can be less so for players who are new, particularly when up against those who have had a chance to climb the (typically steep) learning curve. Some novice players may enjoy the challenge, but those who don’t like losing won’t have a good time.

  Games that are lighter (sometimes referred to as “fluffy”) are easily played, quickly learned, and often don’t take as much time. Gamers who prefer heavy gaming experiences may not feel satisfied playing lighter games.

  Action and Adventure

  Adventure games unfold a story for all the players to experience. Such games not only provide players a narrative to follow but also give them a sense of achievement, rewarding players with unique items, abilities, and other game-specific perks.

  Adventure games can be rich and immersive, but on the flip side sometimes they require a heavy time investment. You can’t really have a great adventure game in a fifteen-minute window. Casual gamers may lose interest or fall off.

  Stress

  Some games are intentionally built to put pressure on players. These are games that elicit stress in the gamers, making them feel urgency and tension. Zombicide is a case where the stress of the game escalates as you watch your paths to your objectives and exit point fill with zombies too numerous to kill, shambling toward you in a slow, creeping wall of death. This kind of intensive action can be immersive to players who like that kind of edge-of-your-seat play, but players who don’t like feeling constantly stressed and exhausted at the end of a game may not enjoy such games.

  On the other hand, to gamers who enjoy a rush of adrenaline, games that do not have a stress element can sometimes feel somewhat pedantic in play. Players who enjoy the fury of stress-inducing games can get bored if a game doesn’t have the right amount of tension.

  Creativity

  Every game needs some degree of creativity, but the kind of creativity required varies greatly from game to game. From problem-solving to strategy execution to wit and humor, how games engage the creative part of the players’ brains is important. A strategy-loving player may find a game based purely on wit and humor vapid, whereas a group that loves puns might thoroughly enjoy a player-judged pun battle game.

  Think about tailoring your game choices to your group’s preferences using these categories to vet the kinds of games that will have the most appeal across all the gamers in your group so everyone can have a great time.

  Curate Your Collection—Think Before You Buy

  There’s one simple rule to follow before you buy a game: Try it before you buy it. Great art, a well-known game designer, enticing descriptions on the back of the box, and fancy components may entice you to buy a game, but if it sits on your shelf, it does you more harm than good, since it’s taking up valuable shelf real estate and eating into your limited hobby budget.

  There’s a rule in my house: A game must reach the Galaxy Trucker metric of fun to be purchased. This completely arbitrary metric uses a single game, Galaxy Trucker, as the measure for whether or not a game meets our tastes for fun, play time, and replayability.

  Here are things you will want to consider before you spend your cash on that new game you’ve got your eyes on.

  The Fun Factor

  Consider whether or not the game is fun to you and whether it would be fun for people you regularly game with. It may be a great game for you, but if it won’t appeal to the people you hope to play with, the chances are pretty high that it will sit on your shelf.


  Having a good idea about what kinds of games you like and what mechanics most appeal to you will help you more easily weigh a game’s fun factor.

  The Setup and Takedown Factor

  When trying a game to figure out if you want to buy it, look at the time spent in setting it up and taking it down. Examine the number of components required and how easy or involved the setup is. Generally speaking, the more involved the game’s setup is, the more complex and involved the gameplay. That isn’t always the case, but games that have a very involved setup but very short gameplay are generally ones you won’t play—the upfront investment is too high, particularly if a game takes half as long to set up as it does to play.

  Also consider that a game that takes a decent amount of time to set up will also take a decent chunk of time to put away (sometimes if you’re doing it right, it takes more time to put away than set up). So evaluate that aspect of the game as well.

  My rule for most board games is that I’m cool with one minute of setup for ten minutes of gameplay, to a maximum of fifteen minutes of setup. If a game takes more than fifteen minutes from the time the box is opened to the start of gameplay, in my opinion it takes too long. That rule varies with other types of games, particularly miniature war games, but knowing my general tolerances has helped me curate my own collection. Your own tolerance obviously will vary.