Game Boards
A surface designed to support gameplay.
Many games require that game elements are moved between places or that their spatial relation to each other are part of the game state. Yet others have many game components that need to be organized to make gameplay feasible. Designed boards, Game Boards, can help with all these issues.
Contents
Examples
Game Boards are the defining characteristic of Board Games. Besides classical examples such as Chess, Diplomacy, Go, Monopoly, and Pachisi, there are many examples including 7 Wonders, Advanced Squad Leader, Agricola, Car Wars, Concordia, Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game Egizia, Forbidden Island, King of Tokyo, Memoir '44, and Twilight Struggle.
For a detailed discussion of Board Games, see Parlett[1].
Using the pattern
The design of Game Boards consists of the actual design of the board and what game elements, e.g. Cards, Dice, and Tokens, should be used in conjunction with them.
If a Game Board isn't a Score Track in itself it can be augmented with one.
Interface Aspects
Game Boards is an Interface Pattern.
Consequences
Game Boards are often Maps and in that sense can depict Game Worlds. When they are used to keep track of how players move Tokens from one place to another to win, they also work as Score Tracks. When they are used with Dice or Tokens, the latter becomes Non-Diegetic Features in the Game Worlds.
When they are physical game components (as opposed to representations on a computer screen), Game Boards work against Ubiquitous Gameplay since players need to be near them to use them.
Relations
Can Instantiate
Game Worlds, Maps, Score Tracks
with Dice or Tokens
Can Modulate
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Can Be Instantiated By
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Can Be Modulated By
Possible Closure Effects
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Potentially Conflicting With
History
New pattern created in this wiki.
References
- ↑ Parlett, D. 1999. The Oxford History of Board Games. Oxford University Press.
Acknowledgements
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