Episode 421 – What to Look for in a Game?

What should you look for in a board game? Let’s look at five elements of games to help you choose.

0:00:00 Fact for 421

The game that is ID 421 on Board Game Geek happens to be pretty well-known among boardgamers.

Sponsor Message

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0:04:55 What We’ve Been Playing

Aspens (w/ Majestic Marvels expansion)
A Place for All My Books
Mission to Planet Hexx!
Got Five!
Santorini
Tag Team – we think it needs a “cookbook” with suggestions for complementary pairs
Adventurous

0:23:00 April Monthly Report

Andrew: 9 games played 14 times. No H-index, only played Got Five! more than once.

Anitra: 16 games played 25 times. H-index: 3 (Got Five!, A Place for All My Books, Adventurous)

0:23:45 The Family Gamers Community

Welcome to our newest community members! We’re glad you’re here.

#Backtalk

Gamification? You express mixed feelings on the #backtalk channel of the Discord.

And we found out Book-It is still around, and you can still get a Pizza Hut personal pan pizza!

0:33:00 What to look for in a game?

This is a topic that’s subjective and intensely personal. When you’re looking for your own family, looking for a gift, or simply browsing the shelves at a boardgame store, there are a few aspects you should consider. Keep in mind: who is going to play this game?

1. Duration

How long is this game supposed to last? How long is it going to take the first time you play? (Are you prepared to learn the game and teach it before presenting it to your family?)

We think that for gamer families, aim for 90 minutes or less. 60 minutes is probably better. (One shot games are an exception.)

For non-gamers, shorter is better! Aim for 45 minutes or less. Maybe an hour if no kids in the mix.

2. Theme

Heavily thematic games can be a great choice! They’re not the only thing to consider, but it’s still important.

3. Game Type / Mechanics

There are certain mechanics that are simpler for non-gamers to understand. Things like worker placement and action selection are generally more challenging, and can get very complicated when they’re done in innovative ways. (This is a big part of why we do the Room to Grow series!)

This also includes whether a game is co-operative or competitive. (Some can work both ways.)

4. Chance?!

A lot of people don’t like much luck in their games, and others hate games that have no luck.

We recommend going for luck-heavy games when you have a wide age range playing together. Having more chance evens out the gap in skills that usually exists between children and adults.

5. Player Count

Seems obvious. But it’s related to season of life, too. Our family of five used to play lots of games together with the whole group (see episode 120 and episode 220), but with multiple teenagers doing all kinds of activities, we rarely play with more than two players anymore.

Appendix: How Does This Game Fit?

Does this game fit in your collection? Does it fill a gap of something you don’t already have? Or maybe you have too many of this type of game already…

0:52:20 New Backtalk Question

We lean into the point made about considering the collection. What is the game type you are most tempted to buy?

Andrew – 2 player sub 45 minute game
Anitra – small box solo-able game

Tell us on the #backtalk channel on our Discord, or in our Facebook community.

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or join the Family Tabletop Community on Discord! thefamilygamers.com/discord

Or, for the most direct method, email us! andrew@thefamilygamers.com and anitra@thefamilygamers.com.

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Music for The Family Gamers Podcast is provided with permission from You Bred Raptors?

The Family Gamers is sponsored by First Move Financial. Go to FirstMoveFinancial.com/familygamers to learn how the team at First Move Financial can help you pile up the victory points.

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