NOVEMBER_UNIKUM_WEB

OPINION
The Weird, Wonderful (and Expensive)
World of Board Games
Tobias Klausen
Editor in Chief
Photo: Unikum // Tobias Klausen
Step 1: What Games Do You Like?
When looking for board games it’s easier to filter out and decide
where to start based on what you like. Do you want a social
deduction game like Secret Hitler? Do you want a dice game, where
the gameplay mainly revolves around the combination of physics
and cursed white squares? Do you want to build the ultimate card
deck to crush your opponents’ hopes and dreams? Do you want to
experience the epic highs and lows of a story-driven adventure? A
good way to figure this out, and just in general, go to YouTube and
watch videoes of some of the most-talked about board games within
the community (Terraforming Mars, Wingspan, Root, Carcassonne,
Mansion of Madness, 7 Wonders etc.) Taking a gander in a store
and looking for board games that has an art style that appeals to
you is also a perfectly appropriate way to determine if this may be
something for you. But before you pull out your credit card and do
the final tap of doom, let’s head to step 2.
Just from reading the title, I bet you have conjured up the imagine
of a sweaty nerd, sitting at his desktop with a freshly popped
Mountain Dew and a bag of Doritos. Well, joke’s on you, I got a
chocolate milk and bag of Sørlandschips staring at me from behind
the screen so I’m at least 65% less sweaty. Regardless of my cardinal
sins of mixing chocolate milk and chips with my palette, I am here
to explore, showcase and perhaps even convince you that there is
a vast, wonderful world out there filled with board games that go
beyond the scope of Monopoly, Catan and Ludo. Especially now that
it’s too cold to be outside and it’s socially acceptable to be inside
95% of the time. Much like video games, board games have broken
out of their niche appeal of being predominantly for the grandest
of grand nerds, with board/card games like Card Against Humanity,
Exploding Kittens, Secret Hitler and more, they’ve proven that they
have a place in the mainstream.
However, with such a broad and vast catalogue, where do you
start? And more importantly, how sweaty do you want to be?
And even more importantly, how susceptible are your friends
to being lured into what could possibly be a 3-hour experience,
where everyone feels too exhausted to continue, but persists as to
not let the past 180 minutes go to waste? Hopefully by the end of
this article, you’ll have the answers to these questions, and maybe
we may have a new board game addict among us, ready to wreak
havoc on Outland or forcing your group of friends to play obscene
board games with you.
Step 2: Do Your Research!
Take it from a veteran who’s just bought whatever seems even
slightly appealing, do some form of research before deciding
on a purchase. Board games are a costly affair, they can range
from 400kr all the way up to 2500kr (yes, I have spent that on a
single board game, no I do not want to talk about it). Some board
games may seem obscenely good from their production value (art,
components, dices etc.), but as soon as you lift the lid, you realize
that the budget went to the marketing and the box and not towards
playtesting and the actual “fun” factor of the board game. So, before
you even consider violating your credit card, sleuth around on the
internet, watch reviews, see what kind of game it is and potentially
what it excels at and where it falls flat. A fantastic website for this
is BoardGameGeek, where you can read other people’s reviews
(people on the internet are usually bashfully honest) and it even
rates how complex a board game’s mechanics and gameplay is.
Also, do check the different pricing! It can vary greatly depending
on the website. I often use Prisjakt.no to gauge the prize on board
games. Outland may have most of the popular ones, but in my
experience, they’re also the most expensive. Gamezone on the
other hand is usually more reasonable, and their headquarters
are in Kristiansand meaning that when you order online, it doesn’t
take forever to get here. Proshop I’ve had a god experience with,
and if you want something more exclusive that they haven’t gotten
to Norway yet, Zatu Games works too (UK based)!
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