44: Medieval Themes in Modern Board Games

44: Medieval Themes in Modern Board Games

Micael Sousa, @MicaelSS, University of Coimbra In the last 20 years, modern board games have risen. These hobby games spread all over the world without being restrained by national borders or languages. Now it is easy to get information about the new games and find other enthusiasts and places to play regularly. Modern board games were not historical and mass-market games. The influence of these hobby games, wargames, role-playing games, the thematic Americangames, and the mechanical elegance of Eurogames delivers new experiences to players. The face-to-face play was reborn. Despite the design innovations in modern board games, players value face-to-face social interactions above all. The game components fascinate players, but people desire to share a playable experience. This rediscovery can be an effect of the post-digital movement. The Middle Ages are one of the most used thematics in modern board games. We can find examples of this in the different genders of modern and hobby board games. I propose to explore the top 100 games of Board Game Geek related to the Medieval Ages, directly/indirectly. Board Game Geek top 100 games show several Medieval games. Most of them are fantasy games, where a medieval-like type of context helps to build role-playing board game adventures and combat games. We see the influence of the dungeon crawlers and some adapted economic games. Phantasy games: Gloomheaven, Gloomheaven: Jaws of the Lion, War of the Ring, Mage Knight, Root, Caverna, Blood Rage, Kingdom Death Monster, Too Many Bones, Aeon’s End, Clank!, Five Tribes, Tainted Grail, Rising Sun, The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth. Contrasting with the previous 15 examples of phantasy games, we found 11 other games appearing in the Board Game Geek Top100 that explore medieval historical reality. They are not simulations for sure, but they deliberately try exploring History to deliver a playable experience. Examples of some games with medieval historical background: A Feast for Odin, Orleans, The Voyages of Marco Polo, The Quacks of Quedlinburg, Paladins of the West Kingdom, Caylus, Architects of the West Kingdom, El Grande, Troyes, Dominion, Raiders of the North Sea. We can conclude that 26 games in the Board Game Geek Top100 are related to Medieval aesthetics and influences: 15 games (Americangames related, with two exceptions) use the Middle Age context to explore phantasy; 11 games (Eurogames related) try to connect to factual History.

Americangames, described as more “thematic” games, have been using Medieval contexts, myths, legends, and aesthetics to build engaging adventures where conflict, combat, and narrative plays dominate. Detailed components and exuberant art define these games. Eurogames try to explore the economic Medieval systems and relations. They transform conflicts into an accumulation race. Some use cities' names or historical events. Eurogames mechanical elegance sometimes simplifies historical drama to focus on the game system. Medieval-related themes are 26% of the top 100 Board Game Geek games, which is relevant. This historical period has been a rich influence over games of many genders. It influenced the development of conflict and narrative games, but also strategic economic and building games.

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