My Game Z

Some great points have been raised about games that lack the by-now-routine RPG backstory. One of the most immersive games I have ever played is FIELDS OF FIRE. I traded it away because I honestly had a lot of trouble playing it. The game is great, and man, I recommend it wholeheartedly, but I just couldn't send my chits into cards that had machine gunners on them. I don't know if it was the phone line management or the flare orders or what, but I felt more like a CO than I ever have playing TIDE OF IRON, CONFLICT OF HEROES, or whatever else. I felt like I was telling those men to go take that card, and probably die doing it and it just broke my heart.

I agree that a background in the game's setting really helps. ARKHAM HORROR is better if you've read Cthulhu mythos. BLACKBEARD is better if you're reading Stephenson's THE CONFUSION. I thought the effort Wizards of the Coast spent on The Brothers' War was great, and paid off in Antiquities and Urza's block. If Terrinoth is missing flesh on dem bones, folks should make some.

jeb wrote:

Some great points have been raised about games that lack the by-now-routine RPG backstory. One of the most immersive games I have ever played is FIELDS OF FIRE. I traded it away because I honestly had a lot of trouble playing it. The game is great, and man, I recommend it wholeheartedly, but I just couldn't send my chits into cards that had machine gunners on them. I don't know if it was the phone line management or the flare orders or what, but I felt more like a CO than I ever have playing TIDE OF IRON, CONFLICT OF HEROES, or whatever else. I felt like I was telling those men to go take that card, and probably die doing it and it just broke my heart.

I get some of this too when I play. I'd play it more often but it's definitely a lot of work to play... but the moments like the ones you're talking about make FOF worth it.

Great point, Metalface, about the campaign component of the GW games. This too is something I've always wondered about. Why is it that you only really see this feature in the minis games? Seldom does a boardgame come with any sort of campaign system. Sure, it's a lot more work to get the balance right, but like we can attest to here it really adds to the enjoyment of the game. I can't believe games like GRIND and Battleball came with no league play rules, when BB has been out for nearly 25 years!

(Also, I disregarded Earth Reborn when I read the summary on BGG that one side was undead. Metalface, if what you say is true about them really trying to put forth a world, I'll go investigate and give ER another chance.)

Having never played ASL, it appears that many of those gamers feel the same way. So perhaps it is a 'lifestyle game' thing. But again, I don't think that's what is required for more immersion.

Let's take LNoE. A game just about everyone here has played, or knows plenty about. I have no sense of the scale of the zombie epidemic, how it came about, where it's going, anything about the town, etc. Sometimes, I'm not even sure if it's set in the 1950's or more recent times. Now, to be fair I dropped off after Growing Hunger, so maybe this has been revealed in later expansions.

Here's something I think they should have done with the rulebook which would have added untold value to the game. Remember those little side captions in the BB rulebook, where the two announcers were talking about players, teams, and history. Fun stuff. Again gives you a sense that there are things going on in that world. Well, what if the LNoE rulebook had little sidebars with 'newsflashes' of some local events. In the first few pages, these bytes would be about local politics, sporting events, etc. As you progress through the rulebook, the reports start changing in tone. Snippets of old farmer Ned's cow having been mutilated and other odd goings ons appear. These reports intensify, and we have news 'tips' from rednecks telling everyone that head shots seem to work, etc. then near the end of the book the side-blurbs are govt warnings or numbers for safety zones, etc. This is just an example, but here you have a sense of some of the movers and shakers in town, key events, and a bit about where these characters live. Also, when later making home-brewed scenarios out of all the random bits FFP decided to never use, you can incorporate some of these background elements into them. Maybe you build a scenario set earlier in the epidemic where the zombies are tougher to kill, not for any other reason than the characters have yet to hear/discover that it's a head shot that's required. (Can you tell I was the game tinkerer in our group?)

Also, why not include a map of the US at the end of the book showing where Woodinvale is, and how far the epidemic has spread. Later expansions could be set around Woodinvale or in neighboring cities, and everything would have a place. As is, Woodinvale is just 'anytown' USA, with no history. Maybe that's the idea, and it still can be, but I'd like a little more.

Again, none of this stuff has anything to do with the game-play itself, so when gamers that could give a rat's ass about fluff play LNoE it can all be totally ignored. However, for those that prefer a bit more meat on the bone, we'd have that extra level of immersion available.

I feel like I've almost said all I can. Yes, Jeb is right. Knowing the background material adds enjoyment to any game. I just don't want to be handcuffed to licensed games for this to always be the case with boardgames. C'mon companies, take a few extra minutes and involve me in the game. Put me in your world.

PP eventually released league rules for Grind, although I don't think they approached the depth of Blood Bowl leagues. Come to think of it, at least half of the Blood Bowl rulebook was pure, nothing-to-do-with-the-gameplay fluff. And it was totally awesome. No reason that other rulebook writers couldn't be doing the same. It seems like we're paying through the nose for games nowadays, and designers willing to kick in a little extra effort to flesh out the worlds of their creations would add a ton of value to what comes in the box by enriching the experience of playing their games.

I'm with Jeb. We could take matters into our own hands.

Here's something I think they should have done with the rulebook which would have added untold value to the game. Remember those little side captions in the BB rulebook, where the two announcers were talking about players, teams, and history. Fun stuff. Again gives you a sense that there are things going on in that world.

Yes! 3rd edition Space Hulk nailed that perfectly throughout the rulebook and scenario book.

When Valley games re-released Titan I was sorely disappointed by the missed opportunity to flesh out this bizarre world. Their choice to use fully rendered characters on the chits instead of silhouetted characters made it difficult to see what these creatures looked like. How cool would it have been if they added a Bestiary at the back of the rulebook with the creatures at a larger scale and a description of each creature and it's terrain.
It could provide answers to who and what are the Titans? Warring Gods? Conquerers from other worlds.
All of the little things could have gone a long way in making the world complete and perhaps more importantly enveloping players into this strange and wonderful world.