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Anthony Boydell
United Kingdom
Unspecified
Unspecified
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As the balm of Summer precipitates into the chill mists and leafy detritus of Autumn and the brightness of the Sun, low in a September sky, heralds the approaching dark like a Sodium street lamp fizzing into life at dusk, my thoughts turn inward: what’s it all about (Alfie)?
My N.D.E* on Monday has raised the question foremost in my mind and, as I sit reclining on the train, large filter coffee comfortably within reach, I find myself pensive, aching of shoulder (delayed whiplash?) and butterfly-of-stomach.
Games and gaming play a number of significant roles in my life – it’s not just about having a hobby:
Games as a Hobby
Everyone’s gotta have a hobby – I’m sure ‘the man’ once said that and it’s certainly in a few songs I’ve heard. Hobbies are an essential area of social and mental development and, unless they involve crime and/or criminals, they help you avoid crime and/or criminals. Whether you’re a face-to-face fan or an online junkie, gaming has become an essential part of our lives – don’t try to deny it! You’re reading a blog on a gamer site instead of browsing the financial markets or topping up your awareness of International news! Take gaming away from me and what would be left? A bored, tubby bloke, probably. With a lot of empty shelves.
Games as a Creative Outlet
It’s not just about playing games, but also about designing and building them. For myself, the constant near-Tourettic mis-firings in my noggin are channelled, ‘earthed’ if you like, into the varied and colourful products that you can read about elsewhere on this site. I also get heavily involved in the artwork (I draw most of it), the design and layout, production, collation, marketing and selling (you won’t see Donald X stooped over a trestle table at Essen Spiel explaining Kingdom Builder in loud, basic English to a group of Italian tourists – oh bloody no).
Games as Therapy
There is the widely-held belief that no-one learns anything after the age of 8 or thereabouts. The brain has locked itself in to a set configuration and that’s that. Piffle! Like pumping iron, or long hours of teenage onanism, practice can indeed make perfect**! Repeatedly building rail links across continental USA and cube-shipping will improve your spatial awareness and economic skills. Regular Combat Commander sessions will develop an efficiency for strategic planning, innovative solutioneering and, of course, a pathological desire to send thousands to their doom in a futile gesture of heroism and sadism. And a weekly dose of deck-building, Dominion-style, gives the other players a chance to catch up on some sleep.
Games as a Distraction
Not the same as being a hobby, games as a distractive technique to (albeit temporarily) forget the worries of the day unless (of course) you’re:
- a Farmer struggling to earn a crust in the light of declining Governmental subsidies, the rising cost of borrowing, seemingly endless waves of floral and faunal blight;
- an electricity engineer deeply-entrenched in a Nationwide infrastructure upgrade;
- a sugar plantation owner profiting from the exploitation and abuse of a dislocated, unpaid workforce; or,
- someone who grows beans for a living.
The grateful respite one receives from cold sweats and palpitations when giving it a few rounds of 7 Wonders cannot be over-stated.
Games as a Business
Well, you’d think with all the whining on BGG about how game companies keep stiffing the consumer (how much? Poor quality? Wrong font! Etc) that we must be rolling in paper currency and flicking the bird at a punter every time s/he walks away from the Stand! As businesses go, games is not one renowned for profitability – only a select few can sustain a living from it. Even the ‘big’ companies are little more than two or three (wo-)man operations with timely-contracting of resources as demand dictates. No – the best one can hope for is that the sales of game A give you enough dosh to produce game B and so on. In fact, in 2011, Sebastian Bleasdale will be making more money from Surprised Stare Games Ltd (with On The Cards) than any of us who have been running it for the last 10 (ten!) years…
Games as Status
I’m quite good at some games and sphincter-clenchingly poor at others (I’m calling you out, Brass!). So, I revel in my Agricolean triumphs and my Rome-glorifying victories. Some take this kind of thing a step further and enter real tournaments! A word of warning, however: telling a prospective partner that you’re the Pickomino World Champion is unlikely to grant unrestricted access to the contents of their undergarments…but the $25,000 prize money just might!
Ah, the train is now arriving at it’s destination (exit via doors to the left of the carriage in the direction of travel), so adieu – dear reader – anon, a demain etc. I leave you with one final thought…
Games as...Love?
*Near Debt Experience – the slewing, uncontrolled slide of my little car that could’ve lead to a hefty repair bill but, thank Heavens!, didn’t.
**Self-abusers, according to recent studies, are - statistically – better, more sensitive and more adventurous lovers. See that Colin Farell? He’s a reknowned cockmaster and a colossal wanker – I rest my case.
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