Respect Your Time
So there was this one guy in the wargaming group who wrote a post that he’d already played Nevsky three times, and each play was boring, tedious, and he really didn’t like this game. Nevsky is one of my favorite board wargames, so I just smiled and repeated to myself: “De gustibus non est disputandum. To each their own. There’s beauty in variety.” I was surprised that this guy actually spent three sessions, each four hours long, on a game he didn’t even like. On the other hand, Nevsky isn’t the cheapest, so he probably wanted to be absolutely sure it wasn’t for him. I respect that.
But not even a month later, that same gamer, in the same group, was roasting the game called Almoravid. For all of you who don’t know what Almoravid is, I will explain—it’s Nevsky, but in Spain. The same genre, the same series, just a few changes in the rules. That’s when I started to wonder.
Again, he wrote a very long post in which he massacred Almoravid, saying that it was just as boring and tedious as Nevsky and that he didn’t enjoy it either. And I didn’t know if I should go to the comment section and kindly make him aware that they were the same games, and if you’re not a fan of hamburgers, switching from McDonalds to Burger King won’t make you suddenly like hamburgers. Ultimately, I decided not to engage in the discussion. I won’t save the whole world. I won’t be GMT’s spokesperson.
And then again, a few days passed, and you won’t believe what happened. That guy played Almoravid again. And yes, you guessed correctly, he still didn’t like it and thought it was boring, tedious, and stupid. He ended his report with a warning—if Inferno was going to be just as boring, it would be the last game in this series he would buy.
Yes, you guessed correctly again—Inferno is Nevsky, but in Italy. The same line, the same family of games, just a few changes in rules. I’m trying to think about a punchline for this post, but I’m afraid I don’t have any. Words failed me, and I suppose the only thing left to say is this: respect your time, people! Don’t waste your life playing games designed for someone else.
I strongly believe that good board game is the one that tells a good story. You play it and suddenly you are sucked into it, you feel chills on the skin. Emotions grow. In a moment you defend castle. You hear roar of warriors. You smell boiling oil. You are into it.
That's how I design my games. I always want to tell a good story. I want players to be into it. As deep as possible.
This is hilarious, but still, to each his/her own. As for me, I am definitely the „more of the things I love” kind of person. I am more prone to missing out on experiences that I might like but didn’t try, but rare on repeating bad experiences. So, I guess there’s always a sort of tradeoff somewhere.