Problems in the board game world?

From the beginnings of my first written reviews, I’ve been designated as someone who is too nice to games. An optimist of a high degree, folks called me. I gladly took the moniker, because who wants to be part of a hobby in which they don’t enjoy a good portion of it? As time has gone by, and I’ve played a couple thousand different games, I’m not nearly as enthused about each new gaming release. In fact, when I look at the past year – 2009 – I don’t really see many games that I think I’ll still be talking about and playing in five years, let alone twenty. I’ve seen some good game companies go out of business, and others simply start making games I don’t really care to play.

And yet I’ll say this – I think that we currently live in the greatest age of board gaming ever – EVER. Yes, 2010 is better than the fifty years preceding it, by a long shot. Call me an optimist, but I only see good things in the future of the hobby.

An article by columnist Michael Barnes made me think about this – you can find it here: http://tinyurl.com/boardgamedoom

Now in this article, Barnes does not say that the boardgaming world is about to come crashing down. But he does say he is “not part of the status quo that thinks everything is hunky dory in the hobby gaming world.” And, that “Quite frankly, a lot of what is going on or has been going on in the industry, design sector, and online community is just plain rotten.” Michael then lists ten problems with the industry. Go ahead – check it out, then come back here.

Back? Good. Now let’s examine a few of his points.

1.) Michael states that boardgames have a lack of ambition and innovation. On the surface, you might tend to agree with him, especially if you are a gamer who has been playing for many years. For every smash, innovative hit like Dominion, there are twenty games which are mimics of the same-old, same-old. There are few games that have wonky or strange mechanics. But I don’t see that this is a real problem. Yes, the established companies are starting to crank out “safe”, non-innovative games. But just like the last fifty years, the smaller, new companies are the ones pushing the envelope. THAT’S THE WAY IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN. The big companies always move from a “for the gamers!” mentality to the “for our coffers” mentality. This isn’t going to change, no matter how much yelling we do. And I think that honestly – most of the games the bigger companies are producing are the ones that people want. Most people want another variation of Carcassonne, or a new worker placement game, or another “attack the world until you conquer it all” game. Some people – usually die hard gamers – want something different. And the company that is printing out 320 copies of a brand new game is the one catering to your tastes.

Sometimes the small company making an innovative game hits it big (see Wizards of the Coast in 1993-1995). But then they become bloated, and simply start feeding off their success. No need to be innovative any longer! So I don’t worry about a lack of innovation, I just look to the smaller publishers.

I also believe that we look at years gone by through rose colored glasses. Introduce a young person to the gaming hobby, and they literally have 3000+ GREAT games to go through, just to catch up to the year 2010. For them, EVERYTHING is great. It’s only the older jaded gamers who are starting to be disillusioned.

2. With the advent of the iPad, we are starting to see a possible merging of the board game world with the electronic world. I’ve been asking companies about this on the side, and I’m not seeing that this is going to be a huge trend. And I don’t really want to see them combined too much. Michael would call me a Luddite here, and maybe I am. I’m not opposed to video games, or using electronic devices, but I prefer to keep a board game with physical components of cardboard, wood, and plastic; just like I prefer holding a comic book in my hands than reading one online. I honestly don’t understand what Michael wants here. How can we add electronics to a game to make it fun, without simply turning it into a video game. And really, how is a “resistance” to electronics mixed with board games stopping it? If this was a market that people wanted, someone would produce it, and it would sell like hotcakes. I think Michael is in a minority here. People who want the electric lights and doodads play video games. I like video games, but I want board games to be something different.

3. Games are getting more and more expensive. The average game is around $50. This isn’t pocket change, but it’s also simply a result of recession/inflation/rising costs. We were “lucky” for the last ten years to live in an era where components and labor were coming out of Asia for nothing. This allowed FANTASTIC games to be produced for quite low prices. Now, people expect the same level of fantastic games, but the factories in China have wised up and are adjusting their prices. Looking at an inflation calculator, a $20 game in 1980 would cost $51.20 today. A $40 game would cost $102.80. Can you imagine buying the original Axis and Allies for $40 back then? I can, and wouldn’t have complained. So why complain about the same style of game being sold for $100 now? The kids who are popping $100 on phones and $70 on video games that last 30 hours total aren’t complaining.

4. I don’t understand the next complaint of Michael either – bloating. Yes, some games are overproduced, but to me – that makes them that much better. He may not want the plastic figures and 3D terrain, but I want it, and love it! Besides, once again, there are dozens of companies who are printing out cheap-o games on a budget that don’t have all of this bloating. Besides, how are we to incorporate electronics into games without a bit of bloating, or price raising?

5. The next point of Michael, that of Fantasy Flight Games having a monopoly, is simply just a result of his focused gaming interests. There are tons of game companies producing games for people, and FFG has no monopoly. They may be putting out the largest games of the styles he likes, but AEG, Z-man Games, Wizards of the Coast, Asmodee, and others do likewise. Not to mention Days of Wonder, Rio Grande, Mayfair, Steve Jackson, and a host of other game companies.
6. Well, it’s no secret that www.boardgamegeek.com has become the largest English-speaking site for boardgames on the web, by a long shot. I don’t see this as a bad thing, however. Other sites have risen up, and there are still hundreds of thousands of gamers who don’t know the site exists. Michael also talks about the fact that the site has power over game companies and designers. I would disagree with that, at least in majority. Sure, a lot of smaller publishers make decisions on what the masses of people want there. And why not? Why not make the sure sales? But at the same time, the massive sales of Munchkin and Monopoly – both highly derided games at the site, show how little influence it still has. Is it growing? For certain. I just don’t care as much as Michael – but then again, I like the website.

7. Gaming is getting old? No way. If there is one thing that has detracted from more kids getting into gaming, it’s simply because of their short attention spans and the massive amount of electronic entertainment (from the X-box to Facebook) that they can play. I work in schools, and with young people all the time, and there are vast amounts of them involved in tabletop gaming. Most older folks don’t see this because – get this – kids don’t often want to play with adults. Some games appeal to the younger set more, and some younger kids like games that appeal to the older folk more. Either way, I wouldn’t mind growing up with the games these kids have these days – Heroscape, Star Wars Epic Duels, Rush ‘n Crush – great fun to be had, with fantastic components!

8. Tired themes and worn-out settings. YES, YES, YES. I agree with Michael here. But this is a problem with any entertainment venue. Things will change.

9. Michael’s ninth point is almost a repeat of his first point, as he talks about mechanical cannibalism. Sure it’s around, but it always has, and always will be! Do you think most of the old Avalon Hill games were innovative and fresh? We can look back and see some great innovation in the past 40 years – Cosmic Encounter, Settlers of Catan, El Grande, Magic the Gathering, Roborally. But these games are few and far between – just like they are today.

I’ve offered to debate these topics with Michael on my show several times, but I haven’t heard back from him. But either way, I just don’t see things like he does. There were twenty great games (in my opinion) released in 2009, and I’ve already seen a couple great ones in 2010. More will come, and more and more.

Are there problems in the industry? Sure. But I think most of them are self-correcting, and none of them are really new. If we have any problem – it’s probably that there are too MANY games coming out, so it’s difficult to find the best ones. (Unless, of course, you listen to the Dice Tower, then you KNOW. ;) )

Dune was a great game in its time, and we’ll talk about it for the next thirty years. I suspect we’ll do the same with Settlers, Magic, Dominion, Ticket to Ride, Battlestar, and a few others. Most games will become forgotten, as it has been, and as it has always been. But I’m having a great time in the meanwhile!