Family Games: The 100 Best
I'm just finishing up my contribution to Family Games: The 100 Best edited by my buddy Jim Lowder and published by Green Ronin Publishing. 2007 saw the publication of the first volume, Hobby Games: The 100 Best. I was fortunate enough to have been invited to contribute to that one as well, writing the appendix on finding the occasionally elusive hobby game titles.
If you aren't familiar with the series, Jim invites 100 game experts - designers, publishers and other notables - to write short essays on one of their favorite games in the given category. The likes of Matt Forbeck, Richard Garfield, John Kovalic and many, many more contributed to Hobby Games, and the line-up for Family Games 100 is no less stellar, including White Wolf mainstay Jess Hartley and Monica Valentinelli of Flamesrising.com fame.
I can't talk about which game I've covering, so you'll have to wait until Gen Con to find out for sure. Suffice to say, I'm very excited about this opportunity to contribute to such an interesting and influential book, and can't wait to see the finished result!
If you aren't familiar with the series, Jim invites 100 game experts - designers, publishers and other notables - to write short essays on one of their favorite games in the given category. The likes of Matt Forbeck, Richard Garfield, John Kovalic and many, many more contributed to Hobby Games, and the line-up for Family Games 100 is no less stellar, including White Wolf mainstay Jess Hartley and Monica Valentinelli of Flamesrising.com fame.
I can't talk about which game I've covering, so you'll have to wait until Gen Con to find out for sure. Suffice to say, I'm very excited about this opportunity to contribute to such an interesting and influential book, and can't wait to see the finished result!
posted by Bill Bodden | 9:33 PM
2 Comments:
I have a failure of imagination when it comes to "Family Games." If a family finds two or three that are suitable for them then the thought of 97 more becomes a challenge or task to them that applies needless pressure.
As a family moves on from "Chutes and Ladders" or "Candyland" through the various flavors of "Monopoly" they will finally settle on two or three that work for them as a mature group.
It is the rare family in the 21st Century that is willing to go beyond a readily-defined comfort zone to try new games. Our choices of new games have tended to be toward shorter attention span and more word-oriented games. We've tried "Apples to Apples," Boxers or Briefs" (The teens and pre-teens love it) and "Mad Gab." Other than that it's tough to break a new game into the mix.
"Would You Rather" needs a bigger crowd than we usually assemble ( Either that or it's a bad game. And I'm not willing to give it up for dead yet.) "Balderdash" just didn't make the cut. By the time you've expanded a book to cover 100 you've got a lot of filler.
This is all and only about "Family" games, of course. Hobby gamers will play the most obscure titles just to say they've played them and then will alter the rules to make them more playable. I don't see that happening with casual game players, families or groups of adult friends looking for a good game for an evening's entertainment. For that, they're looking for familiarity and comfort.
Hey Grumps, thanks for checking in!
The point of this book is not that everyone should try to cover all 100 titles; rather that the book is an excellent starting point to find quality games that the family will enjoy for years. The idea is to make informed choices instead of picking a game just because it has the right age range.
By the way, I highly recommend Cineplexity and Tsuro as two games that are fun and easy to play.
Bill
Post a Comment
<< Home