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If you’re reading this, I assume you LOVE board gaming. As do I. Gathering around a table with friends, working through crazy campaigns together, sharing laughs and snacks and making memories (or destroying any hope of being invited to that one friend’s wedding). Board games are a unique medium that sparks a feeling that simply cannot be matched by anything else.
However, that doesn’t mean they don’t carry…issues. The issues I’m going to highlight here are not serious, world-ending or ethically wrong in any way. If you’re looking for a dive into deep-rooted complications of the board game industry, this isn’t that. These are just, for lack of a better term, really dang irritating.
I’M SKINT
Let’s start with the big one: board games are SO EXPENSIVE. And it makes sense! You’re paying for a game in a niche market where they’re mass-producing components, paying brilliant artists, paying incredible game designers etc. I’m not saying that these games shouldn’t be the prices that they are, and I’m sure there are costs that I’m not even aware of as a casual player, but this doesn’t make it an accessible hobby…
I come from a lower class background. Money has always been and always will be a problem for me. I’ve been lucky enough to build up a collection of 36 games (as of writing this) which has taken me 8 YEARS to accomplish. Games like Fury of Dracula and Gloomhaven are titles that interest me, but also titles I will likely never own as they sit in the triple digits. It’s hard to justify spending that kind of money.
An easy comparison to make is to video games. If you were to spend £40 on a video game that was 90 minutes long and had shoddy replayability value, you’d probably be pretty upset, right? If you’re spending £70 on a game, that game better be huge, with 20+ hours of content AT LEAST and a New Game+ option. Some board games can’t match that. This makes keeping up with the hobby a difficult task, and taking a chance on a lesser known game near impossible.
Zatu is a phenomenal distributor (I’m not getting paid to say this, it’s simply true). I’ve seen some prices on this website that aren’t matched anywhere else, and they’ve been a great tool in increasing my collection - sometimes securing me 2-3 board games for the price of one.
To be fair, I suffer from burnout exceptionally fast, so I can recognise needing new games to play isn’t a problem for some of you. Also, board game cafes are a fantastic option to spend a day trialling a new game. Unfortunately for me, almost every board game café near me that opens is shut within a year, and there’s currently none available near me! I JUST NEED MY FIX, OKAY?!
THE PLAYER-COUNT-EXPERIENCE VARIABLE
I play most of my games with my wonderful partner, meaning that it’s very rare we make a purchase for a game that can’t be played with just the two of us. When we’re in the mood for a board game, having options that we can just chuck out on the table when we have the time to fit it in is great. It takes a lot of the planning out of scheduling time with friends (which is a separate issue not covered here, but definitely on the list of pet peeves). Even so, some games are just a better experience with more players.
Pandemic and Dead of Winter are 2 of my favourite games of all time. I’ve picked them here because they still play very well despite your player count.
Pandemic has a charm to it that brings you back for more, and remains the only game in my collection that I got an expansion for. But, the experience is immensely different the more players you add. You take less turns, the game moves that little bit quicker and it becomes far harder to win in my opinion. I still play it with a bigger group. It’s a brilliant introductory game, and a harder challenge doesn’t make it a bad game. But the emphasis here is that the experience is clearly different depending on the player count.
Dead of Winter is another brilliant game no matter the player count…and for those who know this game, they may know where I’m heading with this. I love playing this game with my partner. Surviving together against the frozen hordes, and encountering crossroads cards that still throw a cog into the works to create that atmosphere that Dead of Winter is so loved for… it’s enough to keep us coming back again and again. However, it’s just infuriating that there is a whole mechanic of the game that can only be played with 3 or more players! With 3+ players, there is a chance that there is a traitor in your colony, working towards their own special goal for their own nefarious needs. That tension, “is there? Isn’t there? Is it you?”, doesn’t exist in the 2 player version. Again, it makes sense, and it’s a nitpick that almost feels silly to point out, because how could that mechanic work in a 2 player game? Maybe there’s another game, or a variant online, that has a mechanic like this that works for 2 players, but it’s understandable that it doesn’t exist in the main version. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t ruin the 2 player experience… something just feels like it’s missing.
There are also games out there that are fantastic, but the player counts start at 5 (The Resistance, Secret Hitler, Infected). There are games out there that also peak at 4-5. Meaning there are games you have to plan specifically around how big the group can be. And if there’s anything I hate doing, it’s planning….I’m very lazy
THEMING
This one is an interesting pet peeve, because it entirely sprouts from my own prejudice of a game at a glance. Though, cutting myself some slack here, isn’t the theming a huge influence in picking a game? Have you ever thought to yourself, “This game is really quite interesting, but wouldn’t it be better with a different theme?”
There are a handful of games out there where the theming sounds boring - like Ticket to Ride or Qawale - and the game itself is surprisingly super fun. There’s also a few games out there where the theming immediately catches your eye - like Boss Monster or Monarch - but the gameplay itself just doesn’t do the theme justice. How many times have you played a game that seems like a chill experience, but can end up becoming tense, like Patchwork? Or thought you’d be in for a crazy ride, but the experience was upsettingly bland, like Dragon Farkle? (Sorry Dragon Farkle, but I really wanted more from you. I’ll play you again at some point and maybe you’ll surprise me).
I spend a lot of my time watching No Rolls Barred over on Youtube, and honestly, I wouldn’t have bat an eye at some games that I now want in my collection AFTER watching someone play through it. That’s simply, most of the time, down to one little glance at a box.
What’s the fix? There isn’t one, to be honest. People have different interests and different tastes. If there’s a game that’s brilliant despite the theme not being my cup of tea, that’s okay! It just irks me that something so brilliant can so easily fly under the radar until someone shines a spotlight on it.
BONUS PEEVE
I love board games to bits...but I lose…so often. WHY DO I SUCK AT BOARD GAMES?