{"id":8583,"date":"2020-10-19T10:13:39","date_gmt":"2020-10-19T14:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/?p=8583"},"modified":"2021-03-30T10:43:25","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T14:43:25","slug":"great-board-game-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/originals\/great-board-game-design\/","title":{"rendered":"What Board Games Teach Us About Great Design"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 6<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

Even as technology transforms the world around us, board games are more popular than ever. According to Fast Company<\/a>, the tabletop game industry has grown by 40% in the past five years, with something like 1,500 new board and card game releases in the last year. And that growth was occuring before<\/em> COVID-19<\/a> sheltering-in-place put a premium on good board games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good design can make or break a game experience. Whether a game is coded or cardboard, it can grip players in a tactile and experiential way that has a real emotional impact\u2014and a good design can sometimes be the thing that helps players stay invested. Here are a few modern, beautifully designed games that show us how good design can influence a game experience and make games more fun to play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pandemic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Source: Amazon<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Game designer is something of a second career for Matt Leacock, the creator behind Pandemic\u2014he actually started his career in the tech world. \u201cI\u2019m still a user experience designer,\u201d he said at a conference<\/a> in 2016, \u201cbut I deal in cardboard now.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if you didn\u2019t know it, Leacock\u2019s early experience in UX shows in his board game work. Designed in response to the SARS epidemic<\/a> in 2004, players work together to fight the threat of deadly diseases by balancing the short-term goal of mitigating outbreaks and with the long-term solution of finding a cure. The original board (pictured above) was a busy map, crowded with flight paths and rubrics for outbreaks and infection rates and decks of cards\u2014but the various elements of the game were simple, and the variables few, which allowed for most of the game play to happen in the tactical thinking. The board has been updated since: The redesign makes it look more like<\/a> a flight console, or the wireframe for a science fiction film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fafnir<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Source: Oink Games<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A chicken named Fafnir<\/a> lays two valuable gems a day\u2014sometimes more. Players basically compete in auctions to acquire the most valuable gems, and the one who ends the game with the most of them wins. That\u2019s the simple premise behind this high-paced abstract strategy game designed by Jun Sasaki for Oink Games. As with other popular microgames from Oink Games, like Deep Sea Adventure<\/a> (which comes highly recommended by New York<\/em> Magazine<\/a>) and Troika<\/a>, Fafnir is tidily packaged with each piece in accordance with an overarching design. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every piece\u2014from the wooden hexagonal-shaped gems to the cloth bag that they\u2019re stored in\u2014adheres to the same six-color palette. The bright blue chicken on the Fafnir \u201cboard\u201d is composed of circle quadrants, establishing a pattern which is then reiterated on the \u201cdividing screens\u201d that players hide their precious gem collections behind. All these pleasing, tactile enhancements help to make the mental strategy of duping your fellow players of their loot all the more sophisticated and entertaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IDEO Method Cards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Source: IDEO<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is not so much an example of good game design as it is an example of gamifying design. IDEO Method Cards<\/a> are a great way to introduce an element of play when you\u2019re stuck in the creative process. There are 51 cards in the deck, separated into four categories\u2014Learn, Look, Ask, Try\u2014each featuring a different method or aspect of IDEO\u2019s design process, as well as an example of how to use it. For example, one \u201cTry\u201d card encourages players to take a shot at scale modeling<\/a>, which IDEO uses to allow people to explore usage scenarios. While there aren\u2019t any \u201crules\u201d for how the game is played, these cards can help you gain a new perspective or suggest a new design approach when you\u2019ve hit a wall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wingspan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Source: Stonemaier Games<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What sets Wingspan<\/a> apart from other engine-building games\u2014Catan<\/a>, for example\u2014is the narrative it\u2019s built upon. Players are bird enthusiasts who try to attract the best birds to their respective wildlife habitats. Designed by Elizabeth Hardgrave<\/a> for Stonemaier Games<\/a>, the game\u2019s standout feature is its 170 unique bird cards\u2014illustrated by Natalia Rojas, Ana Maria Martinez Jaramillo, and Beth Sobel\u2014which give players scientifically accurate information about each creature. Hardgrave used data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon society to create a system so that she could rank these 170 birds\u2014calculating everything from their genus and habitat to their wingspan and nest type. The cards are matched by the other high quality game components<\/a>\u2014like the 75 miniature wooden eggs painted in Easter pastels, and the wooden dice that are kept in a \u201cmoss\u201d-covered bird feeder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PARKS: The Board Game<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Source: Keymaster Games<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Designed by Henry Audubon for Keymaster Games, this game<\/a> is built around the illustrations of the Fifty-Nine Print Parks Series<\/a>. The cards look like miniature versions of the popular posters and have been designed with a flexible layout<\/a>, so that information doesn\u2019t compete with the illustration for attention. In some ways, the very idea behind the print series\u2014the impulse to collect mementos\u2014is integral to the experience of the game itself. Players hit the trails of their favorite parks throughout the seasons, gathering memories and sightseeing along the way. Whoever collects the most memories by the end of their hike wins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pipeline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Source: More Games Please<\/a> \/ Ian O\u2019Toole<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In this tile-laying board game<\/a> by Ryan Courtney, players compete to break into the oil industry, laying down intricate networks of pipes at the same time that they manage the logistics of their budding company. The artwork for this complicated web of pipes and barrels comes from Ian O\u2019Toole, a graphic designer who actually got his start doing exhibit booths for petroleum companies<\/a>, and has done art and graphic design for several acclaimed<\/a> board games<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of the complexity of the game, O\u2019Toole sought uniformity and clarity. He cut down on text whenever possible, with every element following the same visually regimented style\u2014except at the top of the Pipeline board, where O\u2019Toole added a splash of color<\/a>. The illustration, a wild departure from the look and feel of the rest of the board, adds a bit of intrigue, and seems to hazily wash away all possible negative connotations one might have of the oil industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pyramid Arcade<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Source: Other Studio<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As its name would suggest, Pyramid Arcade from Looney Labs<\/a> isn\u2019t just one tabletop game\u2014it\u2019s a library of them in one box. Designer Eileen Tjan, who runs Other Studio<\/a> based in Chicago, explained<\/a> that the art for the game box had to be flexible and conceptual enough to encompass all 22 games included in the Arcade. \u201cWe had to concept an entire art style and brand around two pieces of information,\u201d she said, \u201cthere are many games you can play with pyramids, and the pieces themselves.\u201d For that reason, the illustration style is flat, graphic, and highly colorful\u2014like a vintage video game. Each game is represented by its own geometric logo, many of which appear in the main artwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Typeface Memory Game<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Source: ps.2<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Continuing with the trend of gamifying design, these cards<\/a> give the classic game of memory a typographic twist\u2014in a way that\u2019s fun for both designers and those who know nothing about type at all. Designed by ps.2<\/a>, the game comes with 25 pairs of cards, each representing a different font. The deck also comes with a glossary of typographic terms, some background information on the fonts used in the game, and some info on type design in general. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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