Previously, I have defined theme as "noun plus verb plus win condition" with an optional question mark at the end. I still stand by that definition. Today I want to briefly discuss why we use the word theme at all.
Many times, when people hear the word theme they think of high school English class and writing essays about what a work of literature means. In this case, theme means the idea that pervades a work. That use of theme is still important to games, notably game criticism. However, it is the less common usage of the word across the English language.
Board game themes use the more common definition of theme, a subject or topic. We see this usage in theme parks and themed parties. If you were invited to a costume party, you might ask, "What's the theme?" This definition and general usage meshes well with how themes were most commonly presented in board games until relatively recently: as window dressing. By this definition theme is a costume a game wears depending on what the publisher thinks will sell. We are now somewhat saddled with the term even as board games move on to more integrated themes.
I'm not bothered by the evolution of our expectations for what theme should be. Art changes as our expectations change, but the terms don't always change with it. (For example, deus ex machina typically refers to a plot device in storytelling, whereas originally it referred to actual machines that made representations of the gods show up in Roman theatre.) Designers now distinguish between setting and theme. Setting is the window dressing, the background art. Theme is what is actually happening, the emergent narrative. We might also list a game's thematic genre, such as horror or western. This is different from setting in that setting is more specific to a particular game and thematic genre is a more broad generalization of a topic that usually includes other media such as movies. Thematic genre is also different from mechanic genre because a game can be both a worker placement game and a horror game at the same time.
The way we use the term theme does, however, run afoul of any attempt at criticism. For one thing, we can't use theme in reference to ideas or meaning in the game. I usually default to 'subtext' or just 'meaning', but neither term is really a great substitute. On the whole though, games critics seem to be coping without being able to use a word that makes you sound like a literature teacher. Where I do think we start to see problems is with designers/gamers who still see theme as window dressing. Because if theme is only window dressing, what right does a game critic have to criticize it? From this perspective, window dressing does not have meaning; it is just an art style. (I suppose the idea that all art has inherent meaning does not enter into the equation because we are talking about art and not Art.) Fundamentally, the argument over whether you even should discuss a game's subtext is an argument over the definition of theme as it relates to board games. Is theme merely window dressing that can be changed out for any other style of window dressing? Or is theme important both to the narrative of gameplay and the value systems presented by the narrative? Does theme have meaning to game design and the game designer?
In all likelihood, your design style is affected by which definition you use. For me, theme is an entire topic of study, an undiscovered country, that will elevate board game design in the decades to come to an indisputable genre of art, with its own museums and college 101 classes and high school interscholastic tournament competitions. Window dressing, even with excellent mechanics, doesn't have the emotional resonance necessary to move us into that future. Besides which, integrated theme sells. And the more it sells, the less patience gamers have for poorly integrated theme.
Theme is important. How we use the term affects how we understand game design and game criticism. If you want to read more posts about designing theme click here for a curated list.
ShippBoard Games is a board game design blog that updates most Mondays.
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