The Fascinating Map of Board Games

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Credits
Writer, art, animation and edited by Dominic Walliman
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Special Thanks to Richard Garfield and George Elias for their expertice and help.

Image attributions
Ludo Micha L. Rieser, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:30 Abstract Games
03:29 Game Categorisation
05:23 Optimisation Mechanics
08:37 Interaction Mechanics
09:26 Board Game Adjacent Games
11:27 Stabbin’ in the Cabin
13:08 Casual Games
14:30 Settings and Themes
15:38 Eurogame vs. Ameritrash
17:36 Styles of Gameplay
19:33 Brilliant Ad

[Aides]

I'd argue the area of Casual games could use an entry for party games (often mixed with drinking games).
Also trick taking games are probably a relevant category (be it traditional games like Skat or more modern games like Wizard)

[chaosordeal]

It makes me a little crazy that, when you tell someone that you are in a boardgaming group, they still think that you get together with other adults to play Monopoly and Risk. At least most people are clued in that, when I say I play video games, they no longer think Pac Man and Asteroids.

[GeorgeJaros]

Great video and I love the map. Just a few tweaks I'd suggest for it:
- Drafting and Deck-building are really two separate mechanics. Drafting has a lot of subset styles (pass and pick, markets, rivers, etc.) and Deck-building (or bag-building or hand-building) usually uses the components purchased (cards, tokens, etc.) as a currency to buy more or to do other actions. Also, Drafting is often about using the drafted item right away, where as Deck-building is about building up a collection of cards or something else that you cycle through that gets stronger as you add to the collection.
- You could add "Activity Games" to the Casual realm for games that have players involved in activities like acting things out (charades, Happy Salmon), drawing (Bunny Bunny Moose Moose, Pictionary), etc.
- Trick-taking games could be in the Abstract area, near Interaction.
- Puzzle Games should be on there somewhere, like Ubongo or escape style games (Unlock! Exit, etc.)
- Tiles & Tokens could be their own component group.
- Set Collection and Pickup & Deliver are two more groups that could be in the Optimization realm (though P&D could be called a blend of Route Building, Set Collection, and Resource Management)
- Action Selection is another big enough mechanical category that I think it should be mentioned (e.g. Puerto Rico, Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition, etc.)
- It might also be worthwhile showing hybrid tabletop/digital games that use apps, etc. to help (Unlock!, Chronicles of Crime, Beasts of Balance, etc.). Maybe as a bridge over to Video Game World...

[ezmoore]

"Chance & Counters" is a PERFECT name for a board game cafe! Props to whoever came up with that one.

[Utuberjsh]

I’ve always thought of the genre as “table top games” seems to encompass more types of games than board games.

[scb]

Eurogames are also called "German-style" because board gaming was super popular in Germany in late 20th C. The lack of direct conflict, as well as the lack of war themes, is for... historical reasons. Can't imagine why Germany wouldn't want to make war look cool and fun...

[jeffdingle]

I heard the Eurogames were designed in Germany in the 1960/70/80/90's to keep away from Wargames, elimination and dictatorial games, particularly as the end of WW2 was too close and softer competitive, more cooperative strategies became the norm.

[ErikHuizinga]

I love your acknowledgement early in the video that the boundaries are fuzzy because board games are creative designs. This is very important. Many players (especially the board game geeks (like yourself) that lack certain (internet) social skills (I presume unlike yourself)) will point out various 'mistakes' or alternatives that your map could or even should show.

Nobody truly has the right answers here.

Take e.g. Catan:
It's a race (first to 10 points). It's area control. It's resource management. Hand management. Trading. For 1–6 players. It's about economy/colony building. It features action cards and hidden information. Dice rolling (oh how we all have hated Catan's dice). It has bonuses. And the various expansions and versions change it even more. In a way it fits in nearly every corner of your map. Based solely on this single example game, one might even argue that your entire map is wrong because the map cannot show where that game belongs. But that argument's wrong. Your map is useful. It doesn't communicate that it is telling the truth. It communicates that this is a creative corner of humankind.

Any map reader with a brain will understand that any game could be a combination of things from the map. And that's the beauty of board games (and your map): they're such creative works of art (often!). I mean: you wouldn't lie to close ones in real life. Or murder them. Steal from them. Fight them. But games allow that, and it's fun too. Now that's something.

[eitantal]

Snakes and Ladders is what I call "zero player game". If you play a game in which you make no choices, you're not a player

[TorebeCP]

One of the things I love the most, and sometimes expect to happen even though it is not a good thing, is power losses. The perfect excuse to take out the candles and a board game to play with the family.

[spazticdrummer]

Happy to see solo / cooperative games mentioned! It's definitely a growing area that is gaining more legitimacy among board gamers!

[setharar]

That interplay between setting and rules is one of my favorite terms! Ludonarrative consonance describes a piece of media where the two mesh, and ludonarrative dissonance (much more commonly used) is the opposite.

Thank you for the video and for the game, whose new home will welcome it!

[GrowOClock-fw]

Mate, I love your videos! It amazes me how clearly you can break down and explain each topic. I'm more of a bioengineering guy, so I can't wait to see a follow-up video to 'The Map of Plants, ' That is focusing on mushrooms, which are way more fun. Hope you're having a great day, dude! <3

[vanessaaves]

I love your map videos! Really breaks things down nicely.

[jacobmason]

I wouldn't say Carcassonne is a Worker Placement game (it's not categorised as such on BGG). I don't know if you are meaning Area Control/Influence when you're talking about this or if another example such as Agricola, Lords of Waterdeep or Stone Age should have been used instead?

Other than that, great video and I think this is a great way to show gaming "muggles" what is out there and a bit of why us gamers love board games so much.

I think you could easily make many maps within this map. A map of Co-op games, worker placement/movement games, game themes or game weights could all be interesting

[Nightscape_]

I really love co-op board games, such as Gloomhaven (and Marvel Champions, which is a card game), where the players get to work together rather than against each other.

[sommmeguy]

In the 80s, in North America, there were a number of wargames put out by a company called Avalon Hill. I believe they were responsible for Diplomacy. However, they weren't all wargames as in miniature battles. They also made use of resource management, cards, trade, etc. Really, they were the only games available besides games such as monopoly, risk, etc. And RPGs. It is sad to me to see how utterly they have been forgotten.

[eduardovieira]

Board games that survive for enough time began to become more abstract. Chess was an thematic wargame, nos chess is chess, its an theme in itself.

[NXaiUL]

I would love this to be a series! Would love to know about more categories in this way!

[mikhailkharlamov]

Grear classification! Thank you, sir.