10 Reasons Board Games Are Better Now

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I give ten reasons why modern board games are so much better than the classic board games most of us played growing up.
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[erlantoktomambetov]

Player elimination is used in modern games that are really quick like Exploding Kittens. Games are 15 minutes long so don't need to wait too much and game can be played several times in a row.

[kylestillwell]

I actually don't mind player elimination, but if you want to make it work, you should put it in games made of multiple short rounds (like Love Letter or Wizard's Duel) so that, if you DO get eliminated, it's only for a couple of minutes until the start of the next round.

[tamadesthi]

One of the reasons why Catan/Settler of Catan took was so well received by the public is that it was the first of the more complicated games that had a quick start instructions in it. It was a sheet of paper with all the rules you need to set up and play your first game. In this way they lowered the time you needed to invest to start with it and that helped a lot convincing many families in germany to buy and play it

[SkylightCiel]

No worse feeling than getting your family or friend group together to play a game and then losing first and having to wait there in pure boredom for an hour or two as they finish the game.

[chasebrecht]

This man 100% lost a game of monopoly recently

[EmporerDragon]

Thinking of Player Elimination, the worst example my group experienced was The Oregon Trail card game. Very first round, one guy drew a card that was straight up "You lose". No condition or challenge or anything, just out of the game in less than a minute.

[xystem]

"and you told me you love gaslighting, remember?" 10/10 underrated comedy

[XRaym]

00:00 - Intro
00:59 - 10. End time predictability
02:41 - 9. Every turns fun
05:12 - 8. No player elimination
07:25 - 7. Scores less widely far apart inbetween player levels
09:52 - 6. Variable setup
11:30 - 5. Agency
13:43 - 4. Non frustrating luck
16:28 - 3. No direct conflict
18:54 - 2. No humiliating winning / collaborative games
21:40 - 1. Diversity of games

Very fascinating video!
I would add few extra things:
- good artworks (old games were sometimes quite crude)
- non-boring rules manual (not all games but some have very good instructions, like mini game tutorial - Unlock -, or increasing complexity over time - Clank Legacy!)
- Extensions to add replayability and surprise (Carcassone). This is related to part 6 but the difference is more drastic than randomization at set up.
- More story telling (even Codename has a story, it is not just abstract)
I'm sure we can find and discuss some others, though they may be more specific to a subgenre of game in particular :P

[porters.]

"I don't want character, I want a 5-bedroom house!"

Ouch. I think we all felt that one a bit.

[jugibur]

Great summary! And R.I.P. Klaus Teuber, who passed away this week. He managed to bring so much new and varied to the gaming world that many modern games have built upon.

[jadevandeluitgaarden]

You've put into words so well what makes board games different nowadays. Catan was definitely a gateway game for me, playing it around 2002 for the first time, and liking it so much. We used to play Monopoly maybe two times a year, but after being introduced to Catan we played it hundreds of times with friends and family, it was so addictive. My mom, who never used to play any games, even competed in the Dutch Catan championship one year. It really sparked my love of board games. I'm fortunate to live only 2 hours by car from Essen, so I've been to Spiel many times. Some of my best memories are playing games at Spiel all day, and eating out at restaurant Ponistra after the fair closes.

[poordick]

I think it's important to remember that a lot of ("old") games that use many of these techniques weren't designed to be, or derived from the sorts of games that weren't designed to be, or were designed in an environment/from design lineages that weren't primarily about fun. A lot of these games were originally supposed to teach moral or ethical lessons (this includes games like Monopoly - derived from The Landlord's Game - or Snakes and Ladders). (Even Mafia/Werewolf is decended from a social experiment - not an attempt at fun.) Some people not having fun or being treated unfair or being punished or not having agency was the point. It's not necessarily fun - but it was integral for the original/prior works messages. I'm not saying contemporary games aren't better designed for fun - but I do think it's important to understand why "old" games worked the way they did. They arose due to, or in relation to, a different design ethos.

[henningKO]

I always appreciated how Catan gives you something to do even when it's not your turn. When someone else rolls the dice, you are still engaged because you collect resources, and you can still participate in trading. You are still engaged. I guess that goes under 9. Every turn is fun (even your opponents' turns). Anyway, great list, and I took notes! That was just an opportunity to shout out Catan that I felt would have fit!

[ArthurKhazbs]

Games in general have evolved, not just board games: video games, for example, have this trend too. The fun of early games was mostly based on rewarding success, and when you didn't progress towards the game's goals, you were likely having a stressful time. Modern games are designed with a completely different idea in mind: the process of playing them should be fun and rewarding itself, and whether you you're lagging behind the others or being on top of the mountain, the games should always offer you something. Some people like this process-oriented approach, but other people think games like this are too casual and the process doesn't feel very rewarding for them even when they're doing great, so they seek for a more contrastive and challenging experience, so while some may enjoy the modern type of games, others may prefer the early type of games.

[rohitchaoji]

Back in the 2000s, I really believed that multiplayed video games will easily replace board games. But seeing how the gaming industry is less about fun social experiences and more about deceiving kids into entering their parents credit card details into their system, I think board games are a much better social gaming experience again.

[ratmforthewin]

I am slightly surprised Dominion wasn't mentioned as a good modern game in either of the categories, but man was this list still amazing. Thank you for the hard work you put into this and for the great points you bring up. This is definitely going to my favorites list <3

[Nick-zlxf]

It all comes down to player agency. People want to feel like their choices are impactful. That’s why I think the best-aged “old game” is Diplomacy since it’s all about player choices and interaction unlike Monopoly and life, which are deterministic to a large degree.

Edit: as a wargamer, I don’t think the friendliness and non-combative nature of modern games is necessarily better or worse, but rather a matter of taste. Many of the best wargames have also come out in the past 10 years (see COIN series, Warroom, Root, etc)

[Tornroot]

I love the innovation with modern board games. Nowadays it's not just every theme you can choose from, but even game mechanics. Want a game that feels like a classic card game yet still modern? Look at the trick taking genre! Want a game where the whole mechanic is talking to each other? Negotiation games, social deduction games! So many options in this modern age.

[simplethingsasmr]

I love the jokes having a bit more bite than you'd expect from a board-game video. And these spicy bits are thrown in sparsely so they catch me off-guard with a chuckle every time. It's a clever and charismatic way of keeping the viewer engaged. I might be starting to drift away mentally when all of a sudden I have to go: "Wait a minute? Did the man just blatantly gaslight me?" "Was that a same-sex marriage joke I just heard?" etc. This is great script-writing plane and simple. Thx for the amazing video!

[trevinbeattie]

I generally don’t like hidden teams games, but there’s one exception I love to play: Battlestar Galactica. It solves the player elimination problem in two ways: if a player is revealed to be a cylon they keep playing openly against the humans, and if a human is killed they simply choose a new character to replace their previous one. It also helps if the group you’re playing with are fans of the show.