This was a topic that was brought up on the Dice Tower in one of their videos. Sam Healy made a statement that if a game looked better, he would enjoy it more and it was a better game. That got me thinking about games that I like, if the game looks better, does it make a better game?

Let’s hop away from board games for a second here, because there’s a saying that I think works with this, that comes from the culinary world, that we eat with our eyes first. So even if something might taste amazing, if it looks horrible, we’re less apt to like it. I think this is also true for board games, and probably a lot of other things as well. We’re more apt to enjoy a game if it looks good.

But does that make it better?

That’s harder to say, just because a game is great looking doesn’t mean that it’s a good game. But I don’t think that’s really what Sam was getting at. His statement didn’t mean if a game had 100 amazing minis, the best graphic design, and artwork that was amazing that the game was automatically amazing. In fact, there are games out there that look great that are complete duds.

So what does it mean that it makes the game better?

I think that games that are better looking are likely going to be given more of a chance than games that are bad looking though. But beyond that, I think, that even games that we like, if the game looks good, we’re more apt to pull it off the shelf. Therefore, there is a piece of a game looking good that makes it better.

It’s not just the mechanics, but getting the visual right is going to make a game more appealing. It could be that I like very abstract games and I really want to focus in on that mental aspect of a game, but even in that case, an abstract game that looks better on the table is better than one that is drab. There’s an aesthetic piece that we can’t get away from as humans as we always judge people somewhat by how they look, but also places, on both the outside and inside. And this is a natural thing as it gives us a frame of reference.

This isn’t something that we should get hung up on completely though. Yes, a game might hit the table because it looks good, but that doesn’t mean we should just reject a game because it looks aesthetically displeasing. There’s a game, Spirit Island, that is a very good and tough cooperative game, from what I know about it, but I haven’t played it, because aesthetically it isn’t pleasing to me. I also don’t know anyone who owns it. But, I’m less likely to go out and buy it myself because of the aesthetics of the game board. Now, if I do play the game at some point in time and like it, I might pick it up, but like food, I’m less apt to try it if it looks unappealing.

Let’s be clear, I don’t need a game to have a lot of minis to enjoy it, I don’t need a game to have perfect artwork to enjoy it, but having cohesive artwork, and well done graphic design, I’ll notice those things. I think of the game Kingdom, I don’t think that game has great graphic design for it, and for that reason, it was a bit underwhelming to me. It’s also not my normal type of game, not to say it was bad, just a bit underwhelming. Would something with a bit more design thought put into it than just generic fantasy made the game better? Possibly, or it might have at least gotten me into the theme of the game more, instead you did the same thing in three different rounds.

So, what do you think? Do you think that a board game that looks good is a better game? Is it an important part of your game buying decision, or is it something that doesn’t really matter to you?

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