More for Boardgames 101

Below is a potential article for use at the upcoming Game Day on October 22nd, here in Arlington. It is intended for use at the Boardgames 101 table. Of course, if any of these classes of games interest you, I've provided game names and links to help you get started.
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Welcome to the world of modern boardgames! Games have come a long way since we played childhood favorites such as Monopoly, Sorry, Risk, or Clue (just to name a few well-known games). Much like Japanese animation has made its way into mainstream culture, so are European boardgames.

Many of the boardgames you will see here today may seem unusual at first, but you will see several things in common:

1. They often are finished in 2 hours or less.
   
2. They usually involve some light strategic thinking.
   
3. The components are of very high quality.
   
4. There is very little elimination.
   

The Boardgames 101 table is intended to give you a taste of what is available here today by allowing you to play some much shorter games (many playable in under half an hour) and learn some of the concepts that are common to many of the other games we will be playing throughout the day.

To begin with, the following list are some of the broad categories of games that are out there. It is hardly a comprehensive list (okay, so I couldn't come up with enough examples of everything :), but it does have the most common. We may not have all of them represented today, and there are some items that are not strictly boardgames, but it helps to know what the other tables are playing as well, right? Okay, here we go:

• Area Control Games - In this type of game, you score by having your marker placed on a particular area of the board. Some areas are often worth more than others, and sometimes several players can claim control of the same area. Some examples of this type of game include Through the Desert, Viking's Fury, Oasis, Samurai, and Carcassone.
  
  
• Bidding or Auction Games - If you are mainly familiar with card games, this term is sometimes confused with trick-taking games in which you bid how many hands you expect to win. This is not the case here. In a Bidding or Auction game, players will offer the game's money, resources, cards, or whatever is allowed for the privilege of gaining a resource, die roll, action, or property within the game. Sometimes the bidding is the focus of the game, and sometimes it is merely one component in a series of events within one's turn. Some examples of this type of play include Basari, Traders of Genoa, For Sale, Power Grid, and Modern Art.
  
  
• Connection Games - Most train games fall into this category, but there are other games that fit as well. In this type of game, you are often starting from a point on the board and expanding a network. This might get you game money, resources, or points. Similar to Area Control Games, some points are often more valuable than others. Some examples include Trans Europa, Ticket to Ride, Clippers, Kahuna, and Power Grid.
  
  
• Resource / Development Games - In this type of game, you will usually be collecting resources by either control of certain points on the board, playing cards from your hand, or gathering them through movement. You will then be "spending" these resources in order to "build" the items that increase your victory points (your score). There is often a trading aspect to these games that allow you to trade resources with other players. Some games in this category include The Settlers of Catan series, Puerto Rico, Civilization, and Candamir.
  
  
• Adventure Games - In this type of game, you begin to get a taste of the Role-Playing Games I will describe in a moment. Typically, you and the other players will have a character that represents you in the game, and you will complete quests in order to move ahead. Unlike a role-playing game, your choices will be very limited, and the players will likely have the same choice of actions, but have special abilities for each character. These games also may or may not be cooperative. Some examples are Runebound, Shadows Over Camelot, Drakon, Ninja Burger, Candamir, and War of the Ring.
  
  
• Conquest Games - These games pit the players more directly against each other. Much like Adventure Games are a prelude to Role-Playing Games, so Conquest Games are a prelude to Wargames. Typically, you will command some kind of unit, squadron, or army, and you will be attempting to take control of another player's territory, or achieve a particular victory condition, such as capturing a key piece or area. Some good examples are Chess, Memoir '44, Cosmic Encounter, Risk, Axis & Allies, Monsters Menace America, and Stratego.
  
  
• Word Games - Simply, any game involving words. This may include spelling words, rearranging another player's word to form your own, matching one word to another, or guessing a word. Many party games fit into this category. Some good examples include Scrabble, Palabra, Play on Words, BuyWord, Apples to Apples, Taboo, Pass the Bomb, Scattergories, and Boggle.
  
  
• Role-Playing Games - Pick up almost any role-playing game rulebook and look at the introduction, and almost all of them give a speech similar to the description I'm about to write here. Boiled down to its essentials, a role-playing game is a game of Pretend, with the goal being to tell a story, and rules to govern the outcome of a character's stated action. The setting of a role-playing game is usually agreed upon, and one player is chosen to be the "Game Master." This person determines the overall plot, the actions of background characters, and the opponents
  to the main characters. The other players will each play a main character, defining their skills and abilities within the game's restrictions. They then decide and state how that character interacts with the game world, other main characters, background characters, and opponents. To add an element of uncertainty, many games use dice and probability to decide if a player succeeds at a chosen action. Otherwise, you are only limited by your imagination and the game-world's reality as to what your character can accomplish. Some examples of game systems include Dungeons & Dragons, Vampire: The Masquerade, Trinity, Risus, GURPS, and Shadowrun.
  
  
• War Games - These are tactical simulations of a battle, some small-scale, some larger. Sometimes the goal is to play out the battle as it really happened, sometimes it is to explore alternate possibilities. Such games may be historical and based in reality, while others may be pure fantasy. Sometimes you can see the entire map to determine your strategy, while other games may simulate the "fog of war," blinding you to your opponent's actions. Some game examples include -- (actually, wargames generally are not my forte. Commenters? Can you give me a few game titles?)
  

As you can see, there are many different kinds of games, and the types listed above are but a small selection of what is out there. We encourage you to get your feet wet here at the Boardgames 101 table, and then to explore Game Day! If a game has already started, you are welcome to watch and learn how it is played. While the expense of modern boardgames may seem daunting, the price tag is often well worth it, but Game Day and local boardgaming clubs give you an opportunity to try games before you buy them. Take this opportunity to discover what your tastes are in games.

Good luck, and happy gaming!