Playing with history
When I see this in front of me.....
I want to see this in my head.....
Now the questions I pose to my fellow gaming buds...particularly to the grognards or even the wannabes (like me).
1. Am I the only one compelled to do this?
2. If you do...do you do it for yourself...or do you also feel you have to have others "see" what your mind's eye is "seeing".... This is somewhat of a frustration to me because a part of me doesn't want to just limit myself to merely explaining the rules. I want to explain the history, so my opponent truly understands what's involved in the game. To make them understand that for the next couple of hours, you are my enemy and we are in medieval times. But the rational side of me knows that explaining rules and history may be a bit too much specially for the first time a game like HotS is played. So...
3. How do you reach a compromise where you are able to explain the rules, and explain the historical details to a level where it doesn't become overwhelming to the newbie, but it is good enough to make you feel like your opponent undestands what's at stake and really gets it. Is this even possible on a first game.... I wonder.
I guess this last point could lead me to a broader topic that I've thought about from time to time: we all have different tastes in games and gaming mechanics... and a big part of us would like for others to share the same passion for a particular game or mechanic.... but that is not always possible.... for example, I may be passionate about HotS and the history and see images like the second one above, while my brother may be happy with enjoying the raw game with no background seeing only territories and blocks he has to capture to win, when I would like for him to see it as I see it. That doesn't necessarily keep me from enjoying the game, but it would make for a better experience overall if he did.
I'm rambling. Haven't had a long one in a while. G night.
posted by Rob @ 9:24 PM
11 comments
11 Comments:
Which came first: the interest in history or gaming?
The whole reason I became interested in gaming in the first place was my strong interest in history. Games in turn taught me further details about periods of history and conflicts I never would have known otherwise. Both history and gaming have worked together to enrich my life in many ways.
For instance, thanks to Squad Leader and its progeny, I could name almost every major crewed weapon and armored fighting vehicle used by the major powers in WW II, as well as their relative strengths and weaknesses.
Thanks to the games Luftwaffe, Air Force, and Dauntless, I could do the same with all the major aircraft of the war. The Russian Campaign, France 1940, the Battle of the Bulge, D-Day, Afrika Korps, Wooden Ships/Iron Men…. all great games, each with important lessons to teach.
Recently when visiting Paris, my wife and I happened along Rue de Vercengetorix. I told her about how Vercengetorix was a chieftan of the Averni tribe of Gauls (i.e., ancient France). Caesar defeated him in the epic battle of Alesia by trapping him in the city, then constructing an elaborate ring of fortifications around it to starve him out. Too much information for her, I’m sure, but I wouldn’t have understood any of the historical significance of the memorial street if it hadn’t been for Avalon Hill’s Caesar: Alesia game.
So, okay, yes, this all may make me a bit of a specimen, but personally I find knowing a lot about history helps me enjoy and experience the world as I travel it at on a much deeper level.
I guess I really don’t worry too much about whether the person I’m playing cares about the history or not… I’m just happy their playing with me! Still, my enjoyment is always much higher when I’m discussing the historical period of the game as its being played.
Enough rambling…
PS: I have a pretty huge library of Osprey books if you’d like to take a look at any of them sometime… the writing in Osprey isn’t the best, but the details, art, and maps are fantastic.
History or gaming.... Gaming was first for me (I could care less about history back when it was being taught to me in High school...now I regret that). In recent years I've had a growing interest in history particularly WWII. I'm currently reading A World Lit only by Fire; good narrative medieval and renaissance history book. When both history and gaming are combined, voila!
This thing about me giving importance to whether my partner sees things as I do applies to many other things like movies. If I enjoyed a complex movie a lot and was dumbstruck by the shocking ending or plot twist or whatever, when I recommend it to a friend, I make sure they are paying attention to the details, the plot, etc well enough so they experience what I did.
Case and point: Twelve Monkeys. I watched it back in high school with a group of friends. I had already seen it. After the movie, we spent about 1 hr arguing over the plot, the messed up timeline, etc. It was cool to see they got into it as much as I did.
As opposed to you Ben, I rather not play a game if I know my partner is only playing to try to make me happy (my wife). I need to see some degree of interest. And when it comes to wargames, more so for some reason.
You are making me add ASL to my Christmas wishlist.
Welcome to the Dark Side (insert evil laugh here).
Whenever I play with my girlfriend, I'm constantly asking her if she likes the game and whether or not she's just playing to make me happy, etc. She always says she enjoys them but I can never be sure. I have a strange motivation to make sure people I play with have geniune intrigue in what I present to them. So your post rings 100% true for me Rob. It's kind of like some vague insecurity gaming phenomena.
I like this thread, it's all philosophical in a way. Anyone up for absolute values of gaming? Are games actually better than others? Pirsig or Plato? Relativity or Constants? Particles or Strings?
Ok, maybe not...
Personally, I want to play Hammer of the Scots *because* of its history, especially since all I know about the game is the history behind it. History, specifically British history, is an interest of mine.
Simon, I'd suggest not asking your girlfriend constantly whether or not she's enjoying herself. If she's not, she'll start turning down games, suggesting something else to do instead.
For me, any time the theme of a game is well-incorporated, my mind's eye tends to replace the blocks/minis/counters/meeples with images of the real McCoy.
I love the idea of the Columbia block wargames, but while Amy wants to play HotS, I'm desiring Wizard Kings.
But I like fantasy games, too!!
I'm all about fantasy and sci-fi games as well, and find them just as fun, if not more so, than the historical games because they usually have such a strong theme. Case in point: Twilight Imperium 3.
The only category of game I just can't stand is abstract strategy... I need lots of theme!
Hey, I think catching your Sims on fire is fun! Perhaps Knizia will develop a scapbooking game...
SImon: everynow and then my mind wanders with things like this...when I should be caring for a patient, or finishing a progress note. That's the problem with hobbies: they can interfere with work. In my case, I found that the only things I can play with my wife are Lost Cities, Carcassonne, and now Battle Line. I won't push it beyond that because it's like pulling teeth.
K: Ahhh....some healthy antagonism. I don't think they are mutually exclusive (the game vs the history), but I do feel that in general people will prefer one thing over the other even if it varies from one game to another. In my case, I prefer to focus on the history (like Amy with HotS) with wargames, and would like for my opponent to do so too. And again, have the dilema of how much should I really explain regarding this...am I killing the little interest they may have if I push for this too much...etc.
I guess for every other "regular" game out there (non-wargames), the actual game is the key. But then again, you can argue that you don't need to have any historical background to these games because most are fantasy based, so it's sorta excluding it. At the very least, on games like T+E, EVo, BAng, Catan, etc I still feel the need to give the premise behind the game before even starting to explain how it works (we are all settling in this island and we are trying to be the first to build the largest settlement by earning 10VP).
Jeff: I have wizard kings with all the armies and maps...when are we playing? Of course, it appealed to me having been an MTG'er. Plus it was my gateway block game (Ted made me a junkie).
I had a discussion a long time ago on BGG on what spell variants we could create that are more true to their mtg colors. I mean, how can a "black" army that even has vampires not have a "drain Life" spell?! It was cool. Haven't tried any though.
Ben:You know Ben, I felt the same way at first. I would push aside history games, but soon realized that they really can be fun. Knowing that a game is based on something that really happened gives it an extra umph to me. Now don't get me wrong, I love meaty fantasy games like TI3 and War of the RIng just as much .... mainly because they come with a strong well-developed theme (history?).
BTW Ben, thanks to you I can get my daily fix here in PR -the land of no boardgames- through this site.
The more I read this thread, the more I'm realizing why I never liked Settlers of Catan: non-historical and almost non-existent theme. The mechanics are tight, but who cares if its as dry as toast.
Block games, card-based games, plastic figures, counters... blasting through outer space, delving deep in the dungeon depths, or trudging through the fair fields of France... if its about causing mayhem and destruction, count me in!
I haven't ever really thought about this question too much, but I think that for me the theme is secondary to the game.
I played a lot of chess in high school, undergrad, and grad school, and one of my other favorite games is "go," the king of all abstract strategy games IMO.
Of course there are exceptions to this rule, notably Wizard Kings. Part of the fun of that game is intricacy of lots of units, but part of the fun is definitely the fantasy theme. Another excpetion is War of 1812. The map depicts several cities where my family and I have lived, and I couldn't pass that up.
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