Boring Themes

Usually when we talk about boring themes, we are talking either about personal preference or about overdone themes. Certainly, themes just looking to cash in on the latest fad but with nothing new to say can be said to be boring. But today I want to look at what makes a theme boring within the context of playing a game.

Many themes seem like they should be boring, but players end up loving them. Many people point to Wingspan as the surprisingly enjoyable theme, but there are many other games with themes that are a great deal more surprising. Eurogames tend to have very boring sounding themes, although you can argue that their fans don't care about theme. However, some euros, like Pipeline or Barrage, are very theme forward in spite of the theme centering on a topic few people would claim casual interest in. These themes are not a draw in themselves, but they catch the imagination when learning to play. The water physics of Barrage especially keep the players engaged with the thematic level of gameplay. 

The point is that boring topics aren't necessarily boring game themes. This being the case, boring themes must have a different cause. A player might say, "The theme didn't add much for me," or "I didn't care about the theme." But player feedback like this does little to illuminate why the theme didn't positively add to the experience of play. In general, players are good at knowing how they feel during play, but not why they feel that way. It is up to the designer to diagnose the cause of a boring theme. 

What causes boring themes? I argue that themes that don't engage the player's imagination or impact the mechanics are boring because they are easily ignored during gameplay. However, let's get a bit more specific. 

Your theme might be boring because it doesn't provide purpose to the player's actions. If all of the actions are stated in a purely mechanical way and feel purely mechanical, your theme isn't adding much to the experience of play. (Where are the "letters" in Love Letter? I am going to die on this hill.) Themes should provide a sense of purpose to the actions that are taken in the game. And because I apparently can't go a month without saying it: the win condition of the game should align with the thematic objective. 

Your theme might be boring because it doesn't give an identity to the players. This one usually goes with purposeful actions, but a major way to add interest and decrease confusion is to make it clear to the players who they are and what they want. Lack of player identity isn't likely to be the sole reason a theme is boring, but it can be a contributory factor. 

Your theme might be boring because it is not dynamic within the game. This is the reverse of actions that are impacted by the presence of theme. In this case, the theme responds to the actions taken. What does this mean? It means that when actions are taken, there are thematic results not just mechanical results. Water flows downhill, unless a dam is put in place. Birds lay eggs that hatch into more birds. Letters get delivered to the intended recipient. 

Boring themes are themes that don't relate to what occurs during gameplay. These themes are boring largely because they are irrelevant. As designers, we can do better. 

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

The Abstraction of Space

I talk a lot about how human scale phenomena are more resonant and thematic-feeling because those events/things are more easily accessible to our imaginations. We can be transported by them because we have a clearer sense memory of them, or a clearer idea of what it could be like if it is something we have not experienced. Representations of gravity, temperature, speed, weather, smells, and more all evoke our own lived experiences. Themes that rely on human scale experiences tend to be more evocative. 

Even themes that are unrealistic, such as high fantasy, tend to be grounded in familiar settings, such as medieval Europe. Forests, farms, and walled cities are all very human scale and familiar. The same goes for eldritch horror: gas lit streets are not very far removed from the historic sections of those same cities that can be visited today. Magic is not as easy to make evocative, because the concept of magic is meant as a shortcut or alternative to natural processes. But as long as some part of the setting remains human scale, the theme can feel anchored in some sort of logic. 

It is the themes that eschew a familiar human experience that have a more difficult time, regardless of whether those themes represent real phenomena or not. The best example of this is games that are set in space. Space is, of course, real. And a small handful of humans have experienced what it is like to leave our home atmosphere. But the scale of space and the change in physics (gravity, air, speed, etc) give the setting of space a baseline that is beyond what the vast majority of us can imagine. Added to this, most space-themed games include "magic" in the form of fantastical technology: wormholes, faster than light travel, etc. There is nothing to anchor the theme's physics to a familiar experience. 

The result is that space games are more likely to suffer from feeling abstract. The most thematic space games likely feel thematic because they rely on thematic elements other than just vessels in space. Mars at least has gravity. The abstraction of space is exacerbated by game boards with black backgrounds only decorated by round objects in the form of stars and planets. Many true abstracts are also presented on a plain background with round tokens, which is a much more familiar sight to many of us than large scale stars and planets, and certainly more human scale. Thus we associate the form factor with abstraction more strongly that with real celestial bodies. 

Of course, space-themed games sell well. Many people enjoy techno-magic. Thanks to decades of science fiction, space is also associated with diplomacy and negotiation, which translates to game mechanics that feel appropriate to a space theme. Many people like certain aspects of the more abstract qualities of space as a theme, such as point-to-point travel. And the concept of space has always been aspirational, so there is an emotional component. While I don't care for space as a theme for the most part, I have no problem with the people who enjoy it. 

Rather, the point of this post is to illustrate that just because a theme is "realistic" does not mean it will feel thematic. Likewise, fantastical themes can feel grounded in reality. Understanding the relative abstraction of a setting can help designers calibrate how thematic the game is likely to feel. 

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

Thematic-feeling Mechanisms

There is a difference between the logic of the theme informing the design of the mechanics and those mechanics actually feeling thematic. Sushi Go!, for instance, does not feel particularly thematic despite the drafting loosely representing a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. The metaphor of the conveyor belt is entirely escapable; it does not add to the experience of play. 

When we attempt to design highly thematic games, we must implement one or more "inescapable metaphors" (or simulative actions). In general, the more representational the action the more the players can access the theme. In this regard, simulative and literal actions work better than mere metaphors for driving home the theme. Most players will not have degrees in media criticism that they put to use by teasing out how the setting impacts the available actions. They will know when a game feels like the theme and if it doesn't they will call it abstract. 

There are three primary ways to make a game feel more thematic. 

• Mechanisms that evoke sense memory. When I talk about theming the physics of your world that is because human scale physics are not just familiar but will produce a visceral response in players. The game will feel more "real" if even one element reminds players of how the real world works. Heat, gravity, etc. are powerful tools that when modeled in games will make the world of the game seem grounded in reality. Importantly, the mechanisms must remind players of the sense of feeling hot, cold, vertigo, thirsty, and so on. The goal is to evoke sympathetic sensations as opposed to scientific accuracy in the theme. This method gets used a moderate amount. I see it most often in smaller games modeling simpler ideas. 
• Gameplay decisions that evoke the theme. Most detective themed games involve players solving mysteries in some way or other mechanically. The closer aligned the decision space is to the theme, the more thematic the game will feel, even after multiple plays. There is a lot of rich territory to explore here around player agency, loss aversion, other player psychology topics, and how those topics can be integrated into various themes. This method is very underutilized (except in the detective genre), and I want to see much more attention paid to the theming of the decision space of a game. 
• Themes that evoke emotional reactions. This method is the most used in games. However, the emotions typically evoked tend to lean toward "I find this art/subject matter to be appealing." I think we can do better. Instead of asking players if they are interested in playing a generic nature game, find an aspect of that thematic genre that has a strong pull for your intended audience. For example, a game about baby giraffes trying to complete an obstacle course, which is difficult because they're still learning coordination. The goal of compelling themes is to take the reaction from "Yeah, ok, sure" to "Heck yes, I want to play that right now!" The major caveat here is that that response tends to only get you to the point of a first play. In order to maintain a sense of theme throughout play, you really need the other methods and/or simulative actions that fall outside of those methods. 

Sense memory, decisions, emotions. Thematically integrated games will feel thematic if they get inside the players heads. To feel thematic, theme need to exist not only on the table but also in the players minds. This is the power of a thematic-feeling game: to get under the player's skin and make them feel. To me, this is the pinnacle of design. 

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