Board game knowledge

Table games originated in Germany and have been popular in Europe and the United States for decades. Everyone uses games to make friends and make friends. Abroad, tabletop games involve many aspects such as war, trade, culture, art, city construction, history, etc. Most of them use paper materials and exquisite model assistance. It is a face-to-face game with a strong emphasis on communication. Therefore, table games are the best way to communicate in various occasions such as family leisure, friend gatherings, and even business leisure. At the beginning of this century, it also landed in China and became popular among white-collar workers.

The term board game comes from the English Board Game, which is also translated as tabletop game. BG, or "board game" for short.

In a narrow sense, "board game" was originally used to specifically refer to some games introduced from European and American countries: a game by placing some indicators or objects on a specific board (usually for a certain A game designed to be played by placing, removing or moving. The most well-known representative of this type of game is: Monopoly[1] (Monopoly).

However, in a broad sense, table games can also refer to a very broad type of games. There is also the term Tabletop Game in English. The broad meaning of tabletop games is similar to Tabletop Game: it refers to all games that can be played on the desktop or a platform, which is different from sports or electronic games. For example, the following common games belong to the category of table games: Mahjong, chess, poker, Werewolf / Lupus of Tabula, Magic: The Gathering [2] (Magic).

However, most of the time when we talk about tabletop games we are specifically referring to board games within tabletop games (see below).

Board games (called BoardGame in English) have been popular in Europe and the United States for decades, and have long been a popular social activity in society. Everyone uses games to make friends and make friends. Abroad, desktop games have become publications like books, covering many aspects such as war, trade, culture, art, urban construction, and history.

Through tabletop games, people can train their thinking, memory, association, and judgment. Tabletop games are games that people play face to face. Through games, you can learn how to get along with and communicate with others, focusing on challenging your intellectual level and analytical computing skills. Moreover, tabletop games do not require much age difference among players and are suitable for family members to play together to enhance the relationship between family members. Through games, participants' thinking and logical reasoning abilities are improved, allowing players to understand the application of various subject theories and the strategies and overall plans formulated to achieve goals.

Table games originated in Germany. This mental sport is loved by all the people. The annual World Game Competition (Spiel des Jahres-Germany Game of the Year Awards) will be held every year! And every time awards are given Players can participate in voting. Table games are still an unknown sport in China, but in Europe, the United States, even South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, the table game movement has already been in full swing! When we talk about table games, we can refer to it generally. Such as chess, card games, puzzle games, etc., as well as sand table deduction games, negotiation games, etc.

Features

Speaking of the essence of BG, I have to mention it There is a nice nickname - unplugged gaming.

In my opinion, unplugging is the biggest feature that distinguishes BG from other games. The reason why it is called unplugged is because most of these games use paper materials (or are assisted by exquisite models) and do not require the assistance of other electronic devices. It is unplugged, but has the characteristics of an online game - BG is a face-to-face game that places great emphasis on communication. The best state of playing games is direct contact and communication between people. For example, killing games cannot be played online. Without face-to-face expressions and changes in body language, this kind of "unplugged" game would be impossible to play online. The game also loses the fun of communication.

When we are tired of living in front of the computer for more than eight hours a day, tabletop games provide diverse happiness for people who interact offline. When computer games have become an indispensable part of people's lives, and people's eyes are numb and their backs are aching when facing the computer screen, they may not know that "games" were already popular in another form long before home computers became popular. In many European and American countries, it has become an important part of Western society and family activities. That's what we're talking about - Board Game. Some people once thought that the rise of digital products would put an end to tabletop games, but the latter's still strong development momentum proves that sitting face to face instead of facing the screen alone is still in line with human beings' need for communication and companionship.

Therefore, BG is a game that is very suitable for friends and family gatherings. It's unplugged, so it has a purer and more rustic gameplay. Many video game designers around the world look to BG for inspiration or to test their new ideas in BG.

More and more people spend 8 hours a day in front of the computer. More and more people choose to live in the online world, but ignore face-to-face communication. Unplugged gaming has its own charm.

Characteristics of table games

1. The game is usually designed as a multiplayer game, usually for 2-5 people, and the game time is generally 1-2 hours.

2. The game rules are simple and easy to understand, even children aged 8-12 can master it. On the other hand, the game has high requirements for the use of strategy, which makes the game also very attractive to adults.

3. Game design uses history, economy, war, culture, art, construction, etc. The theme and interesting rule design maximize the interaction between players. It is completely different from the traditional game of rolling dice to move the number of steps and randomly drawing the game.

4. No participant in the game will be eliminated in the middle of the game. The game usually ends after one or more players achieve a certain goal or a certain round.

5. The game design and drawings are artistically creative, well-made, and exquisite in materials. Making each game a collectible for gamers.

[Edit this paragraph] Types

There are many types of table games. These types are not necessarily strictly divided - some games may have characteristics of this type and characteristics of that type; and not all table games can be classified into this type.

Common types are:

German games: Originally a type of game designed in Germany. These games typically have relatively simple game rules, short play times, a degree of abstraction and player interactivity, and attractive objects. Now, even games that are not from Germany, but have the characteristics of German table games are also included in this category of games. Because this type of game is very suitable for family entertainment, it is also called family games. Typical German tabletop games include Settlers of Catan and Carcassonne[3].

American style boardgames: American style board games. It usually has a well-developed theme that emphasizes player-player conflict and involves a certain degree of luck. Typical American table games include Monopoly and Axis and Allies.

The above are all table games in a narrow sense. Hong Kong also calls these games "board games", which more appropriately describes the characteristics of this type of game (all have specially designed games) picture board).

In addition, table games also include:

Abstract strategy games: These games are usually played by two players and have little packaging (theme) , the random component is very small, and the rules are relatively simple. For example: chess, Go.

Wargame: Miniatures game

Card Games

Paper role-playing game (TRPG): is an original role-playing game. The advent of Dungeons and Dragons made it popular. Tabletop role-playing games generally require the participation of 3-5 people, one of whom is the game host, who is called the Dungeon Master (DM) in TRPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons, and is called the Dungeon Master (DM) in TRPGs such as The Dark World. It is the storyteller (Storyteller. ST). In TRPGs such as GURPS, it is called the game master (Game Master. GM). He is responsible for explaining the plot and playing the role of non-player characters (NPC), such as villagers, monsters, etc. , record time, make decisions on player behavior, etc. Others are players, playing characters in the game. The process of playing the game is called team running.

Taking Dungeons and Dragons as an example, players first choose the character's name, then use dice to determine the character's abilities, and finally choose the character's profession. Then, the game host begins to introduce the plot of the game, and the game begins. In the game, players need to buy equipment, kill monsters, and learn clues. It takes a long time to play a TRPG, ranging from a week to several months. Of course there are also very short plots that can be completed in one day.

When playing TRPG, participants are both story readers and story creators.

There are also DVD games and Parlor games, but domestic information is still relatively lacking.

[Edit this paragraph] Introduction to well-known domestic tabletop games

1. Wind (espionage, reasoning, role-playing)

"Wind" is the first domestically produced game A masterpiece of spy games, this spy tabletop game gives you the opportunity to experience a dangerous spy career!

In "The Wind", there are two opposing camps. Most players will play the role of spies loyal to a certain camp, while the remaining players will play the role of innocent passers-by.

At the beginning of the game, everyone will be given a certain number of cards. These cards are the information in your hand. Everyone will add two cards at the beginning of each round, and then you will If you want to find a way to pass information that is beneficial to your own camp to your companions, other players who play the role of spies from the opposite camp will try their best to hinder the transmission of your information.

Throughout the game, there will be a lot of false information interspersed. Whether the information is accepted or not, whether it can catch the "clues" revealed by other players inadvertently, rely on your own reasoning and judgment, step by step, Bearing the humiliation and finding hidden enemies and companions will be the most critical test for the player's judgment and logical reasoning abilities. As a spy, if you collect more than a certain amount of false information, you will be sentenced to death for receiving too much false information. On the other hand, if you collect a certain amount of intelligence belonging to your own camp, then you and your allies can win the game.

2. Three Kingdoms (role-playing, reasoning, hand management board game)

As a tabletop game with the theme of the Three Kingdoms, Three Kingdoms has the aura of the Three Kingdoms-themed games. , a culmination of history, literature, and art. While focusing on player experience, it also integrates entertainment, competition and health. It is a game that pays attention to cultural connotation and is suitable for all ages. In the Three Kingdoms Killing game, players will play the role of a general from the Three Kingdoms period. Combining the identity of the game, they will join forces vertically and horizontally to attack, kill, and defend. Through rounds of strategies and actions, they will achieve the final victory.

Three Kingdoms Kill combines the characteristics of Western killing games, combined with the background of China's Three Kingdoms period, using identity as a clue and game cards as a form. It is a Chinese original board game that combines history, literature, art and other elements. It is the most popular board game in China today.

3. Catan (trading and construction tabletop game)

In the game, players try to expand their sphere of influence on Catan by building houses, cities, and roads. . Each round, dice are rolled to determine what resources are produced on the island. Players gather these resources to build their own urban civilization. When the victory points reach 10, the game is won. Catan is one of the most popular and award-winning games of recent years, appealing to both new and experienced players alike.

Catan should be the game with the largest number of foreign reviews, which is enough to prove its popularity and popularity, and it has launched many expansion packs.

4. Ticket Journey (hand card management area planning table game)

Ticket Journey is a game series that is relatively popular among players. Its family includes many versions, and EuroTicket Tours brings you a brand new European adventure. From Edinburgh to Constantinople, from Lisbon to Moscow, you will visit the great European cities of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The game remains bright and simple and can be learned within 5 minutes. It is suitable for both family users and experienced players, and is more popular among girls.

5. Manila (dice table game)

Berthing, loading and profit are all the game of Manila, which can be played by 3-5 players simultaneously . Players must risk the ship being wrecked in a storm, or have the ship slowly scrape in a warehouse. While players can speculate on the success or failure of each action, ultimately fate rests with the dice. Manila does not have a relatively in-depth trading strategy. Instead, it gamifies the business market. Each person plays a different division of labor in a trading round to maximize profits.

6. City of Fertility (role-playing construction tabletop game)

City of Fertility is a card city construction game. Players need to gradually decrease from Choose your own character among the characters, and you must guess the opponent's thoughts and the opponent's character to make the choice. Each character has special effects, allowing players to obtain more gold coins or enjoy privileges. The object of the game is to build eight buildings and get the highest score, and once a player builds their eighth building, the game is over. The player with the highest score at this time wins.

7. Carcassonne (area control table game)

Carcassonne (Carcassonne), also known as Carcassonne and Carcassonne, is a game suitable for two people. A German table game for five people. It is also the game with the widest range of players at present. It has the most derivative and expanded games. It is a dual card with Catan. The number of game players is very flexible. This game was designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede and once won the 2001 The Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) Award. The name Carcassonne comes from a town of the same name located in southwest France and famous for its city walls: Carcassonne. During the game, cards are used to construct a medieval landscape, and players play the role of princes and use 7 followers to occupy the land to gain points.

8. Dwarf Mine (Card Skills Role Playing Table Game)

Dwarf Mine is a game where bad guys and good guys battle wits. Participants secretly draw identity cards at the beginning and become good dwarves who mine or bad dwarves who destroy. The goal of the good people is to extend the road to gold (only one of the three covered destination cards is gold), and the bad people The mission is to destroy. How to complete tasks quickly, how to guess the identity of others, simple rules, and a strategic process make it one of the most accepted games by newcomers after Werewolf and Uno.

9. Werewolf (role-playing reasoning and voting table game)

It is actually a killing game, but there are many characters, and it is equipped with the Crescent Expansion to play together, which reduces the need to express simply through language to advance the game.

The game alternates between day and night. At night, the werewolf secretly killed a villager. During the day, killed villagers are informed and exited from the game. The remaining villagers (normal and special) then confer and vote on the player they suspect is a werewolf, during which special characters can join the general discussion to provide some clues or hints. Werewolf is a social game that can be played without props and is suitable for N-multiplayer play.

10. Battle Line (hand management table game)

The background of the game is on the ancient battlefield, where the opposing sides are fighting in formations on the open plains. Whoever can open a gap in the enemy's front and destroy the enemy's formation will dominate the battlefield and leave a glorious record in history. In fact, the gameplay is very similar to folk games such as Jinhua, so it is extremely easy to get started, but it is also full of strategy.

This is a card game that is very suitable for two players to play against each other.

12. UNO/Uno (hand planning table game)

UNO (Uno, meaning "one" in Spanish and Italian) is a card game , invented by Merle Robbins in 1971 and now produced by gaming company Mattel. When a player has only one card left in his hand, he must shout "uno", hence the name of the game.

It has the gameplay of poker chameleon, but adds various props and can be played in teams. Although the rules of the game are simple, it is not easy to master. Uno was the first to be promoted in the name of board games. foreign games.

Of course, there are many games that are being familiar and accepted by more and more players. In the strategy category, strong strategy games such as Puerto Rico, Power Network, Big Lord, Two Rivers, and Farmer are also popular among veterans. Players respect it.

12. Modern Art (auction bidding table game)

Modern Art is one of the auction game series of the famous game designer Reiner Knizia (the other two are "Sun God" /Ra" and "Medici/Medici"), many domestic games refer to and imitate modern art, such as Battle of Sotheby's, Real Estate, etc.

Buying and selling paintings is a very profitable business, which is also the premise of the modern art game. Players are both buyers and sellers, making profits by buying and selling paintings, testing everyone's use of cash flow.

13. Yu-Gi-Oh (hand management and planning board game)

Use monsters, magic, and traps to fight. is one of the best-selling card games in the world. These playing cards are slightly larger than ordinary playing cards. The patterns on the cards are based on various myths, legends and future fantasies, including Japan, ancient India, ancient Egypt, ancient Babylon, etc. The attack, defense value and effect of the monster are also marked. (There are also normal monsters with no effect). There are more than 40 cards and less than 60 cards in the constructed deck and 15 sideboard cards, as well as 15 additional decks and synchro decks. The game ends when either party's PL (basic points, initially 8,000) is reduced to zero. The construction of the deck and the combo between cards require good logical thinking skills to achieve maximum effect. It is a brain-building table game suitable for all ages.

14. Bang! (Strategy board game)

The world-popular card killing game, the showdown between cops and robbers, and the freedom of traitors, hurry up and join this world of intrigue and deception! ! ! Bang! BANG! is a card game based on the cowboy shootout in the American West. Each player has their own character and identity, fighting for different goals. Sheriff Sheriff must defeat all gangsters and traitors. The Outlaws must get rid of the Sheriff, but they may as well get rid of others if it's profitable. Deputy SheriffDeputies assist and protect the Sheriff at all costs and challenge evil.

The traitor Renegade wants to silence everyone in order to assume the position of Sheriff and hide his crimes. Depending on how many people are playing the game, the number of gangsters and deputy sheriffs will vary. Everyone needs to draw their own identity. With the exception of the Sheriff, everyone's identities are being kept secret. The character's identity will only be revealed when the character dies and is eliminated. Therefore, the Sheriff must test each person's identity, and others will also pretend to be deputy Sheriffs. The greatest fun of this game is to constantly guess who is loyal and who is traitorous. The lucky element in the card game will also bring many surprises to the players.

15. German Heart Disease (Puzzle Board Game)

Although it is a relatively traditional card game, it is named "German Heart Disease" mainly because this table The game tests the player's reaction ability. Simple cards, simple fruits, and simple number addition allow players to enjoy the fun of board games with the stimulation of quick reactions. There are 5 fruits and 56 cards in the playing cards. Each piece of paper has 1 to 5 fruits. In addition, this game also needs a bell, which is the kind of bell we use to call the waiter in the restaurant. At the beginning of the game, cards are distributed to the players, and each card is turned over one by one. As long as the total number of a kind of fruit among all the turned-over cards is 5, the player must quickly slap the center of the table. Ring the bell. If the total number of certain fruits is 5, then the player wins this game and wins all the cards. Many times, in order to be faster, players may not be able to tell the number of fruits and often make mistakes. Perhaps this is the excitement of this game. If a player loses all their cards, he or she is eliminated. After each player is eliminated one by one, the final winner wins the game.

[Edit this paragraph] The development status of tabletop games in China

"Unplugged" games like tabletop games actually "pull" games from the Internet back to the desktop , several people gather around a table, not only can they play various roles, fight wits and courage, but they can also enhance mutual communication and understanding, and deepen friendship. This unique "catalyst" is not available in online games that are now popular. . Moreover, civilized "board games" can keep some people away from violent online games. In addition to bars, karaoke and other places, it also provides young people with a healthy and relatively relaxed leisure space. In Western countries such as Europe and the United States, this kind of tabletop game has emerged in the 1970s. In foreign countries, it belongs to the category of publications. Therefore, "board games" will not only be popular for a while, but will become a necessity for the leisure class at a certain stage of social development and are favored. At the beginning of this century, board games also entered the country and quickly became popular among white-collar workers. With its own unique "catalyst", board games gradually emerged in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou and became popular in just a few years. With nearly 10,000 loyal players, a large number of small groups such as various clubs have emerged. Currently, there are regular gatherings of players mainly in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi'an and other places.

I believe that the road of board games will continue to grow in our country.

[Edit this paragraph] Classification of popular domestic board games

Most of the current board games are invented by designers from Germany and the United States. Of course, the development capabilities of Japan and Taiwan in recent years have also It should not be underestimated. Domestic board games started relatively late, and were really introduced in 2007. However, some players in Beijing and Wenzhou were exposed to board games at the earliest, and the first ones were relatively high-end Zhanqi games. So we need to Let me give an introduction to the types of board games in a broad sense. Board games are roughly divided into three categories: fun, strategy and battle flag. According to the difficulty level of getting started, they are just middle school and high school.

Although there are only three types category, but among the tens of thousands of known board game products, there are many game mechanisms and systems. The following are the more common mechanisms:

l Auction

l Trading

l Area Control

l Dice Class

l Role Playing

l Construction

l Negotiation

l Voting

l Abstract

These mechanisms are integrated into the game, and the carriers and forms are also diverse, such as playing cards and board games, which use playing cards respectively. and props to make the game work. Of course, there are also many games that contain multiple mechanisms. Generally speaking, fun games are easy to learn, and the whole game atmosphere is more lively. Even if strategy games are easy to learn, it is difficult to master them. There is a saying that easy to learn, hard to master.

[Edit this paragraph] Benefits of board games

Board games can not only provide you with leisure and entertainment, but also allow you to:

*Compensate for childhood regrets: now Most of the adults rarely got toys during their childhood due to financial reasons. Such childhoods inevitably leave regrets, but today's adult toys can provide them with "psychological compensation."

* Get rid of negative emotions: Modern people are under great pressure from study and work, and their life is boring and monotonous. Adult intellectual toys, with their simple or complex designs, make it easy for people to put them down. They can release stress, relieve fatigue, and regulate emotions while laughing and joking. They can be said to be the psychologists around them. Nearly 20 young people in modern cities suffer from depression of varying degrees. The main triggering factors of this disease are that the mind is entangled in the difficulties and dissatisfaction in work and life. These interesting intellectual toys just allow people to enjoy the game. Gaining a sense of success and diverting people's attention is equivalent to a self-psychotherapy session.

*Exercise the mind: World Health Organization experts surveyed 1,000 young people and 1,000 old people and found that young people generally have 14 billion brain cells and the weight of the brain is about 1,400 grams; while those over 70 years old In the elderly, the number of brain cells is only 60% of that in youth, and the weight of the brain is also reduced by about 200 grams. Just as people who commute by car are prone to obesity, those who live a monotonous and boring life and are addicted to TV and VCD are more likely to suffer from "Alzheimer's disease" than other people who often use their brains. Therefore, educational toys are also our brain fitness equipment. Regular use of hands and brain can activate more brain cells and make people smarter. Adult toys contain knowledge from various subjects such as mathematics, chemistry, and physics. People can make their brain and body move together through the cooperation of hands and brain.

* Prevent premature aging: American medical expert Lawrence. Danfo's research found that people who started playing adult educational toys before the age of 50 had an incidence of Alzheimer's disease that was only 32% of the general population; people who started playing adult educational toys before the age of 40 had an incidence of Alzheimer's disease that was only 32% of the general population. 12%: The incidence rate of people who have played educational toys since childhood is less than 1% of the incidence rate of the general population. Some medical experts have found that some patients with mild Alzheimer's disease can slow down or even prevent the progression of the disease by playing with adult educational toys, and a few patients have recovered their intelligence to a certain extent.