Plus I unbox a new board gamer order with had four expansions in it. And I go off on some tangents, not about beer this time, but about a board game that stayed in my collection.

The Topic

I wanted to touch on getting rid of board games, because it is a popular topic. And well, I hope that I can add some insight to the conversation. When I see these videos, too often, it comes off as bragging that people have nice and trim collections. This is very much a pushback on a previous mindset of having a massive board game collection.

But, to me, neither of these are healthy. I think there are good reasons to get rid of board games. But showing off that you are better, that isn’t a good reason. That is a seemingly responsible thing that actually creates barriers to entry into our hobby. New gamers often buy a lot of games, I know I did, and I still do. So when they see people getting rid of games they feel like they are doing it wrong.

I go with a few different reasons to possibly get rid of a game.

1. Other Games in the Same Category/Genre I like Better
2. Space
3. Don’t Have the Right Group

You can find out more why in the video.

Unboxing

Expansions for three different games were unboxed last night. You can see the Point of Order that I did for these games and posted yesterday. I’m excited for all of these expansions. I think most so I’m excited to get Terraforming Mars to the table. It’s a bigger more complex game than Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition, and I’m interested to try that.

The Beer

Another can of Spray Tan from Outstate Brewing up in Fergus Falls, MN. This is really a go to summer beer. It is tart and has a good flavor that works really well on a hot day. During the summer in Minnesota, I tend to drink mainly sours and IPA’s with a few other random beers thrown in. Just because it helps cut the hot and humid. During the winter, on the other hand, it still can be IPA’s and Sours, but very often I will dive into the big porters and stouts that feel like more of a hearty drink during the cold.

Upcoming Videos

So only for sure one video coming up in the next week and a half. Two weeks from now I’ll be back with another Top 10 list, and I think I’m going to do my Top 10 either Family/Gateway games or Roll and Writes, haven’t decided what which yet.

And on Wednesday, 8 PM Central, I’m going to be streaming the second chapter of Aeon’s End Legacy. I’ll probably miss, though, next Wednesday’s stream because of having family in town.

Though, I do plan on putting out another 3 Reasons Buy/Not Buy video. You can find all the videos in that series on this playlist as they come out.

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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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