NOVEMBER_UNIKUM_WEB

Step ???: Protect your Babies
I am a sinner in this category. A good investment for the longevity
of your board games is to sleeve the cards. This means stuffing
them into protective plastic that ensures your cards won’t get worn
out. Personally, I haven’t felt the need to do so yet, but I do think
it’s a great investment if you have one specific game you play a lot
and love.
Step 5: The Intoxication Starts
Step 3: Learning the Board Game
You might be used to the easy life of Monopoly that has an
instructional booklet with a maximum of 5 pages. Well, for some
of the more advanced board games, you might be looking at the
entire chronicles of Narnia, cause these booklets can be T H I C
C. One of the largest I’ve seen thus far is 30 pages. And we all got
enough studying to (not) do at university, so it might not be too
tempting sitting at home and reading for hours, almost taking notes.
I learned this the hard way, instead, look up YouTube tutorials. It’s
much easier to get the grasp of the basics when someone explains
and shows it, and then consult the booklet when you encounter
specific problems during your first play session.
And make sure you do this before you play it for the first time with
your friends. If you’ve already been able to lure a susceptible and
gullible group of friends to join you in this tantalizing activity,
make sure not to waste their time, or you guys try to learn the game
together. It’s quicker and more fun if one person already knows the
basics or at least, knows where to find the answer in the booklet.
Step 4: Luring in the Friends
You don’t have friends? Make some. On a more serious note, board
games aren’t for everyone. You might have friends who aren’t
too into it, then you might have to find some on Facebook groups,
Discord servers or maybe meet a group at Outland. But, if you’re
like me and have some nerds in close proximity, they can be an
easy target. Make sure to be upfront about what you want to play, if
your group isn’t prepared for a 3-hour board game session, then it
will drag on and some won’t feel too inclined to participate during
the session and definitely won’t be lured again.
Once you start loving board games you never go back. But take it
from a recovering addict, make sure that before you buy a new
board game, that you know it will make it to the table. If you have
a group that despises social deduction games, maybe not buy the
new one that just dropped to raving reviews that you think looks
cool. Or don’t buy 5 new board games in a month, and only play 2
while the rest gathers dust in the corner. It’s like you’re hit with a
little rush of dopamine when you receive a new one, but make sure
to combat the urge with rationale, otherwise you’ll end up with an
empty bank account and a crippled wallet.
Step 6: Have Fun!
There’s nothing more to this step, welcome to the wonderful world
of board games and I hope I haven’t (completely) ruined your life.
If you’re a bit unsure still on what to start with, here are a few of
the board games in my collection that I absolutely adore!
Everdell
Flamecraft
Smallworld
Stardew Vallet: The Board Game
Bloodborne: The Board Game
Betrayal at House on the Hill
Blood on the Clocktower
Try to make more out of the night as well! We usually start by
cooking and eating dinner together while talking about whatever.
Place the board game that you’ve planned for the evening on the
table so they can have a look, peek inside the box or flip through
its booklet. Board games are even better with some snacks and
soda, make this day your cheat day. Even alcohol can be quite fun,
just avoid getting hammered, it would be a travesty for one little
spillage to ruin an entire game worth about 1500kr.
SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER 2023 UNIKUM NR 97 39