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Themes that make you want to play (or not)
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There are three main reasons why I like to play board games. One, there's the social aspect. Two, its fun to match wits with opponents. Three, boardgames are escapist. They allow me to immerse myself in a different experience. For me, the theme of a game is crucial to a good gaming experience. There are certain themes I like, and some I don't, and some I've never tried. Here's some of the theme's I like in no particular order and some musings on why I like them. I'm curious why others do or don't like these themes, and I'm especially curious about some of the themes I haven't dabbled in much, like horror or sci-fi. What is it about these themes that makes people play them in game form.
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Posted Thu Aug 7, 2008 5:09 pm
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Classic Fantasy. I like this theme for the maps of alternate worlds and for the different races. Most of my fantasy themed games - Battlelore, Warhammer, Battleground: Fantasy Battleground, War of the Ring, Wizard Kings - seem to be combat oriented. The different races present unique challenges and offer different playing styles. It is possible to really get into character when you are playing. I tend to favour those games whose themes are closest to the classic Tolkien model of dwarves, elves, men and orcs.
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Adventure. Some might consider this a variant of fantasy. It is true that most adventure games, like Talisman, Return of the Heroes, World of Warcraft: the Adventure Game, tend to be fantasy. But they don't have to be. There's no reason why there couldn't be some historical adventure games from the Medieval or Roman period, for example. In fact, I'd love to see something like this developed or learn of existing games if there are any. In any case, I like this theme for two reasons. First, for the fun of developing a character. Second, for the encounter of the unknown. Random encounters and events turn the adventure into a different journey every time.
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Civilization/Development. There are many variations on this theme, which overlaps a little with the previous adventure theme. If I like developing my character from its humble beginnings to the height of greatness, well of course I enjoy doing the same thing with a business, a civilization or a railroad. At the end, whether you win or lose, you built something and you have something to show for your efforts. These are the games I have the most success getting others into, although Through the Ages would be a rather heavy example. Settlers is not the deepest game, but it surely does have the flavour of starting small and building a little empire.
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Railways. This is a sub-genre from the previous Civilization/Development theme. But I'll list it seperately, since railway games have their own flavour. I have always liked trains. Besides just liking trains, it great fun to lay out your Ticket to Ride, Railroad Tycoon, or Eurorails board and start putting down track. The fun for me is in seeing the network develop across the board and in calculating what is the most effecient way of going about it. Plus, I just love the artwork of trains, stations and tracks.
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Pirates. Boardgaming is, for me, letting loose the little kid inside me (which is, by the way, why the toy factor of a game also rates highly for me). What little kid doesn't like pirates. Pirates are always out having adventures. They are adults who get to act like kids. They go where they want, take what they want, and drink lots of beer, and no one tells them what to do. Pirate's Cove is the only pirate themed game I own or have played, and it has been a huge success with the younger folk. I've heard that there are some other good ones out there: Winds of Plunder? Blackbeard? Rum and Pirates?
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6.
Board Game: Antike
[Average Rating:7.31 Overall Rank:138]
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Ancient history. I suppose I could just do one category called history. But there is a lot of history, and there are some periods of history that appeal to me more than others. Ancient history appeals to me just because I have always liked the Greeks and the Romans. They looked cool, and they passed down heroic stories and they conquered the world. Egyptians, Incas? They might be cool, too, but I'll stick more to my Greeks and Romans. My friend has Pax Romana, and would love for me to play it more. I've also eyed the Commands and Colours: Anciets for quite a long time. Who doesn't like to think they might have done history a little bit different.
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Modern history. 1960, Twilight Struggle, Cold War: Cia vs KGB. These are the few games I have with a modern historical flavour(besides WWI and WWII - see below). Being closer to home, the twentieth century appeals to me greatly. I especially like the whole era of the cold war, with its unique tensions, misunderstandings and world-wide scope. What if some nutcase had shot off a missile? What a different world we would have now. I also very much like the atmosphere of the sixties. I was born a decade or two too late.
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World War II. There are so many games in this category. Some are good, some less so. What appeals about WWII games is the opportunity to participate in a major historical event via the game. You can share the triumphs and feel the bitterness of defeat. You can put yourself in the shoes of some of twentieth century's greatest generals to see if you can replicate their success or improve upon their failure. Of course, most games in this category are combat oriented. I don't want all my games to be combat/wargames, but I relish a light/medium level conflict now and again.
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Weird and wacky. I haven't actually got any games from this category on my shelf. But the themes appeal to me greatly, and my fingers have been twitching in the direction of my wallet regularly. Here is where I put games like Illuminati (conspiracies popping out everywhere), Mwahahaha (mad scientists taking over the world), and Monster's Menace America (the title says it all). I'd love to hear about good games with wacky themes like this. I've had my eye on Galaxy Trucker as well. Games are meant to be entertainment, so why not just get silly once in a while. Of course this is the purpose of many party games, but I prefer my silliness to be in the theme of the game itself rather than in the weird things I have to say or do.
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Horror. Now we're getting into themes I don't play, or at least not too often. The horror theme seems quite popular. Zombie games especially abound. I'm curious what it is about the theme that appeals. Is it the chance to save the world from evil? Or just a fascination with strange stuff?
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Medieval History. I have a few games with a medieval theme. I don't mind the theme, but I won't pick a game just because it has this theme either. Strange in one way, since classic fantasy, which I like a lot, has lots of Medieval elements.
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Business. Puerto Rico is a great game. As a whole, though, I don't go for the whole business theme. There two aspects to this theme, usually. Development (which I like, but more for railroads, civilizations, and characters). And making money. Making money isn't really a very fun theme in my books. I spend too much time working on that in real life, and games are supposed to be an escape from that. I suppose the one attraction is that for 3 hours on a Saturday evening you can really be rich! Puerto Rico focuses on victory points rather than money, but it still has the theme of being a successful businessman. I prefer something else.
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Sci-fi. I can see the appeal. Development. New technologies. Epic scope. I have Starcraft, but haven't played it that much. What other games are out there in this category that are really great?
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Exploration.
I think this theme has a ton of potential. I love the feeling of exploring someplace, no matter what it is; any game with an exploration element is much more likely to catch my eye. It's why I bought Thebes, even though I rightly suspected I'd hate it. It's also one of the big reasons I love the Ameritrash titles I do - Nexus Ops, Arkham Horror, and even Last Night on Earth all have an element of exploration to them
Sadly, none of the current crop of games seem to be what I'm looking for. But I'll be playing every game with this theme until I find that perfect game - and even if that happens, I suspect I'll keep searching for more exploration games.
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Weird stuff! I mean, this is a war on the surface of a molten planet! The 'ground' is liquid lava! I'll happily play another Battle of the Bulge wargame, or a classic fantasy, but what I really like is games with weird settings, but that still manage to make sense (for a certain definition of 'sense' - call it the games Internal Logic).
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Politics. Politics in and of itself isn't a theme that grabs me, but if you throw in negotiation, then count me in! For some reason, negotiation is often a key element in games with a political theme. But I guess negotiation is mechanic, rather than a theme?
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17.
Board Game: Amun-Re
[Average Rating:7.55 Overall Rank:54]
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Eygptian 
Any game where you get to build pyramids is awsome.
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Purely original, perfectly matching theme ...
Some "funny" thematic twist with hard & heavy game mechanisms. Like Terrain Vague, where you have a wargame-like setup, an atomic waste in themiddle, wheelbarrows and slingshots, and a "big brother / sister" who is "cleaning house". So you never forget the fun while kicking your opponents` ass - which is for me the essence of a great game!
The names of the gangs, the "rumble" for turf, turning the hexes into on of your colour, and sentences like the following making it a great fun experience:
"Note that when a slingshot beams a clubhouse, it uses the famous, explosive, anti-clubhouse bullets."
"Never forget: in Terrain Vague everything can be negotiated!"
The same with Hotel Life: vandalizing hotel guests bothering each other and creating chain reactions, sometimes through all four hotels. Guests include a stone age family, a sheik with harem and "The Rolling Bones" (needing 11 beds, of course ..)
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Post-Apocalyptic
Mad Max, Children of Men, Zombies, Mutants, Terminator, and on and on.
I love when the world goes to hell.
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I know classic fantasy was listed at the top, but this is different.
Sword & Sorcery to me is fast paced gritty barbaric worlds. Pulp stories with dangerous wilds and even more dangerous women.
R. E. Howard is one of my favorite authors. Conan is one of my favorite characters.
There need to be more games in this theme.
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Mythology. Ancient History cranked up to 11.
Gods that meddle in the lives of men. Fantastical creatures. The world works in magical ways, and much of it is controlled by fickle powermongers.
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Dungeon Crawl. Many other examples in this category could be mentioned. But the whole notion of crawling around a dungeon, developing your character, collecting items, improving your weapons, and beating up on monsters, results in a theme that I personally enjoy a great deal. Or is this perhaps a subset of the Adventure theme (#2 above)?
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Party Game - Usually, I hate party games. But, we all need one in our collection and I am glad that Wits & Wagers exists to save me from playing Mad Gab, Outburst, Scattergories...
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24.
Board Game: Senji
[Average Rating:6.89 Overall Rank:624]
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Asian Themes. Asian art is simply facinating. In particular, Asian armour is just so sweet looking. And of course you can't beat Ninjas.
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Posted Thu Aug 7, 2008 4:15 pm
and even the dullest game is more enticing to me.
While I do enjoy games with a solid theme (Pandemic anyone?), often the mechanics are just as important to me as the theme. Mediterranean shipping is hardly the stuff of thriller novels. But throw in negotiation and trading, i.e. Oltre Mare, and I'm hooked. Watering potatoes and bananas is about as mundane a theme as it can come. But when it's part of a cocktail spiced with vicious negotiation, i.e. Santiago, then I'm an eager customer!
On the other hand, there are themes that will turn me off a game, even if they have good mechanics and gameplay. I love San Juan, but I just know that the sci-fi theme of Race for the Galaxy will prevent me from ever enjoying that.
In the end, for a game to make my purchase list, it has to have both good gameplay and good theme. Probably the themes I enjoy most relate to classic fantasy, adventure, civilization, history (especially medieval), or business/trading.
I'm a wargamer - I don't believe in this 'theme' business. A game has to be ABOUT something before I'm interested. Games with a veneer of 'theme' spread on top just don't make any sense to me. The mechanics are simply a method of presenting the game.
Well, tis the post essen season, where everyone is devouring rule sets, and investigating new possibilities. I would say that it totally depends on the gamer, this gamer is going to have to say mechanics. Theme can get me to play a game, but its the mechanics and gameplay that make me want to come back, why else would I have multiple castle building games? Because I love each one for different reasons. Also I've noticed that several of my long standing favorites have very little theme to them, China? Alhambra? Sorry, just not alot of theme there. Then there are games like Thebes and Shadows Over Camelot, where the themes the thing, but that theme is, in fact, backed up with solid gameplay.
Its funny though, when I am asked to describe a game, the mechanics are usually outlined in my very first sentence: "China is an area control game..."