Monday, March 6, 2023

Exemplars of Theme

I don't have a top ten thematic games. Instead, I have a list of ten games that showcase different traits that I've written about before. I think that playing these games or the honorable mentions with attention to the traits I discuss here will drive home the different ways a game can be thematic. I'm not diving deep into how each game works here, because if you are unfamiliar with any of these games I think you should give them a look with an eye to how the theme is implemented. 

King of Tokyo

Standout trait: Clear distinction between the agential mechanisms of rerolling and locking and VP set collection and the thematic mechanisms (all the other ones). 

Additional traits: Strong thematic/mechanic hook, which I describe as combat Yahtzee with kaiju. This combination of familiar and unexpected elements makes it easy to pitch to non-gamers. 

Evokes genre. Other games evoke genre better, but few do as much with as few mechanisms. 

Honorable Mention: Betrayal at Mystery Mansion exhibits all of the above traits but may be more group dependent. 

Tokaido

Standout trait: Evocative actions. There are no agential mechanisms (or icons) once the game starts. 

Additional trait: Pairs an abstracted time track with the theme of a road in a way that really works. This shows that games can have some abstraction and still have the net result be thematic. 

Super-Skill Pinball 

Standout trait: Mechanically simulates theme.  Does so across multiple boards showcasing the diversity of pinball tables. 

Additional traits: Proves theme can be mathy and R&Ws can be thematic. 

One of the best examples of player as avatar, in that the avatar is the person playing pinball and you are the person playing the simulation of pinball. 

Sheriff of Nottingham

Standout trait: Mechanics that require above the table thematic interactions that are also literal actions, i.e. bluffing and negotiation. 

Additional trait: Avatar embodiment married to above the table actions encourages role play without requiring it. 

Honorable Mentions: Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes does the above but isn't generally considered a board game. The Grizzled does the above without the literal actions. 

Everdell

Standout trait: Evocative tableau/engine building through cards that build, populate, and (in some cases) operate a town. 

Additional traits: Thematic quests/achievements that use certain card pairings to evoke narrative concepts. 

Evocative resources that are thematic to the setting but also thematic in the materials used to produce the bits. 

A Fistful of Meeples 

Standout trait: Workers/meeples that have goals that are in conflict with other meeples. Each type wants to be around certain other types and not others. These relationships make the setting feel more alive and lived in than most meeple-centric games. 

Additional traits: Evokes genre. 

Example of a thematic game with no player avatar. 

The Coldest Night

Standout trait: A strong and deeply evocative sense of setting that flows from a short description of the theme to the simple mechanisms that capitalize on the emotion of desperation and leave the players' imaginations to do the rest. The player as avatar helps drive that feeling of desperation by minimizing the distance between character and player. 

Honorable Mention: Sushi Roll creates a clear sense of setting with very simple and clever component and mechanic design. 

Root

Standout trait: An emergent sense of world history based on how the factions work and relate to each other. 

Additional trait: Naming conventions and art hint at and reinforce the power dynamics between the factions, such as the Woodland Alliance (mice) and the Cats which build sawmills. 

Ex Libris

Standout trait: Harnesses players' intrinsic motivation for order and gives game world logic to it. 

Additional trait: Applies that intrinsic motivation to the job of the player avatar to create character motivation. 

Honorable Mention: Deadly Dowagers pits the intrinsic desires for power and status against the desires for honor and family to create tension within the players as a part of the gameplay experience. 

Cosmic Frog

Standout trait: Excellent example of a fantastical setting (using the art world definition of fantasy) that also shows the extreme edges of how game world logic can be used to reinforce rules. 

ShippBoard Games is a board game design blog that updates most Mondays.


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