My Preferences

Boardgame preferences are an interesting topic. I want to say I love all types of boardgames, but thats not the case. It took me awhile to figure out the types of games I typically do and do not like. Not liking certain types of boardgames doesn’t mean I won’t play that game, but in general I don’t like the core mechanics that the game is offering. Due to all of this, you will notice slight preferences in my boardgame reviews, and this page hopes to shed light on some of the reasons those preferences exist!

The biggest offender for me are eurogames. To me eurogames at their core don’t scratch any of the main boardgame itches I enjoy. I like player interaction (though not always in a negative way), I enjoy having win conditions not tied to arbitrary “victory points”, I like having highly calculated turns. Where eurogames excel at are great at being introductory games people looking to get into boardgames. They provide turns that are independent from other players, so you are free to make any decision you want and it doesn’t harm the game state. Without any major sources of player interactions feelings of the game are generally neutral (or at least not spiteful) and are a great way to lightly socialized around a central topic.

Lets look at a game a bit closer and explain some of the mechanics I tend not to enjoy by looking at Ticket to Ride. Ticket to ride at its core is a very simple game where turns consist of drawing colored train cards and placing your trains on a geographical map when you have enough of the matching color type. Your objective of the game is to complete destination cards that link cities together (Vancouver to Los Angeles for example). There is nothing offensive about the game, no complicated turns that take a long time, or single unlucky turns, but at the same time I describe it as a game where “nothing happens”. Your turns are very isolated and there isn’t a ton of strategy involved as you attempt to get from Point A to Point B in the most efficient point way possible. When you finally draw enough cards you place your trains down and then it repeats. Without any player interaction it feels like I could be playing the game by myself or with a complete stranger, their is no “identity” the game provides the player. When you do finally decide to interact with a player by blocking their train route, you are often met with angry comments because, while yes you did block them, you’ve wasted your turn on a play that doesn’t help you in anyway other than blocking your opponent. There are other variations of Ticket to Ride that look to address these issues such as Ticket to Ride Europe but for me the game feels like a game that I’m playing by myself where I’m taking turns just to take turns with no real motivation for strategy.

While that was a little bit of a rant about eurogames, there are diamonds in the rough for me that have enough complex strategy where I feel like despite the lack of player interactions and arbitrary victory points, I can feel like I’ve won or lost if I got my individualized strategy to be the best it can be (even though it may not have been “optimal”). For game types that I enjoy I really love deck builders and cooperative games. For deck builders I like the planning phase where I’m trying to make my deck optimal and efficient while also coming up with interesting and unique synergies. Having cards is also just an efficient medium for both space and time when it comes to playing boardgames as cards are quick to shuffle and hand out to people. Cooperative games hold the special place in my heart for one main reason. Whether you win or lose, you all share the same “feeling”. You all get to rejoice in a close-call win or lament in a failure. I have found by not declaring specific winners or losers, no one feels that bad about the outcome of the game and rather focuses more on the experience playing it. As of right now my top game that combines both deck building aspects and cooperative play is Aeons End.