Sorry! Your Monopoly is in Trouble

WHY NOW IS THE BEST TIME EVERTO PLAY BOARD GAMES

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IS AT

Hi!@jamiestrachan

Only my second Nerd NiteReally loved the vibe and the topicsThanks Virve and Lauren for having me2

What was the lastboard game you played?

Enough about me, lets talk about you3

Did you last playRiskMonopolySorry!TroubleClueCandylandGame of LifeSnakes and Ladders

These games arent greatRiskMonopolySorry!TroubleClueCandylandGame of LifeSnakes and Ladders

little or no controlminimal decision makinglongplayer eliminationrunaway leader

Use the Monopoly auction rule5

Things have changed

Board gamesTabletop games

Released in 199522 million copies in 30 languages

Released in 199522 million copies in 30 languages(Minecraft has sold 20 million on PC)(If it were a video game, it would be in the top 25 best sellers all time)Its actually goodPaved the way for Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catan

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Easier to find others that share a niche interestBlogs, review sites, YouTube channelsEasier to buy and sell niche products9

Easier to find others that share a niche interestBlogs, review sites, YouTube channelsEasier to buy and sell niche products10

Launched in 20093870 tabletop games funded$196 million with 93% completion

Launched in 20093870 tabletop games fundedTabletop games have received $196 million with 93% completion rateVideo games have received $179 million with 85% completion rate

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/crowdfunding-is-driving-a-196-million-board-game-renaissance/

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http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/crowdfunding-is-driving-a-196-million-board-game-renaissance/

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More games, better gameshttp://fivethirtyeight.com/features/designing-the-best-board-game-on-the-planet/

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But why playBoard games?

Board games can be competitive

sure games can have winners and losersbut even games like Catan and Ticket to Ride sometimes just feel like races to win first, not that youre winning by getting other people to losesometimes you want a game that really makes you feel like you won15

Avalon

all seemingly on the same team going off on missions for the kingsecretly some are traitorsenough in the gameplay to allow for logical reasoningwinning as a good guy means deducing whos goodwinning as a bad guy means convincing everyone else of a logical explanation you know to be falseespecially fun when its your Mom16

Board games can be cooperative

games can be cooperative in that youre working together toward a common goalPandemic, Forbidden IslandI like cooperative games that emphasize communicationHanabi17

all detectives trying to solve a caseeach have a cluegameplay is basically broken telephonethere is a look that people get when they are desperately trying to wring information from their brainsand then the crushing moment when they know its not going to happen18

Board games can tell great stories

there are story telling gamesborderline RPGsFiascoDog Eat Doggames where story telling is a mechanicGloomvery thematic gamesDead of Winter19

homage to B horror movie tropesexplore a haunted house with other adventuresfind items, trigger eventsat some point, The Haunt occursyou learn whats really going onnow one of your number is the head of a cannibal household and has brought you there to serve you for dinnernot only are they trying to serve you for dinner, you realize you gave that character a shotgun two turns ago because they didnt have a weaponnot only are they trying to kill you with the shotgun you gave them, you gave them the shotgun because they had the best aim20

Board games invoke imagination

even when games dont have stories, they can suck us in21

abstract about flying dragonsfirst time we played, someone started making whooshing noises when they moved their dragonso we all didobjectively this game is coloured plastic blobs and cardboard tiles with lines on thembut we were a room full of adults making whooshing noises as our dragons flew around22

Board games are malleable

games can have difficulty levelsPandemic, Forbidden Islandgames can have expansionsCarcassonnebut this is like video gameswhere board games differ is that you control the rules23

Jungle Speed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS6a6a4RJM425

Now what?

Where to Learn

Shut Up & Sit Down is so good, even the comments are good!27

Where to play

F2F at Woodbine + DanforthFor The Win at Yonge + LawrenceCastle at College + SpadinaS&L at Bloor + Bathurst, College + Bathurst28

Where to buy

Internet (Amazon)Any of the board game cafes I mentioned29

One more game

(Crazy) Coconuts

beer pong for kidsuse monkeys with spring loaded arms to lob coconuts into cups

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photo of us playing Coconuts

three generations of my family playing CoconutsI havent been talking about games, Ive been talking about momentsWhy is now the best time ever to play board games?I dont know what the game is but there is a game that will give you one of these moments and its never been easier to find32

Thanks!@jamiestrachan