Tom Vasel’s final thoughts on This War Of Mine (14:51-15:48) are important regarding games, replayability, and fun.
“I don’t want to play this game again. But the game is actually quite good. … It’s like a work of art, one of those movies you watch and … … This game teaches you what ordinary people go through in war. … I can admire it and say, ‘Wow. That’s interesting. Glad I played it.'”
As the industry grows—and if people keep playing games fewer times each—we’ll see more powerful experiences like this in board games.
This is a great article about games that touches on a lot of topics: meaning, immersion, escapism, underemployment, the modern economy, and much more. One quote really stood out to me: “It is not always clear when gaming is the refuge of the trapped and when it is the trap.”
EXIT: The Game winning the Kennerspiel des Jahres award feels like an important milestone. I’ve been hoping for years the market would support tabletop games with single playthrough experiences. I hope this win inspires more designers to continue exploring similar formats.
I found this fascinating passage written a few hundred years ago, with concerns about singular “you” (instead of “thou”). Language changed, and now “you” is formally accepted as both singular and plural.
(I use singular “they” in rulebooks: it’s how many people speak, it’s gender neutral, and I believe it will keep gaining formal acceptance.)
I haven’t read every work of English literature, but I believe The Lord of the Rings is one of the greatest. It’s been too many years since I last read it. So here we go: “There was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.”
