I hadn't thought about it as much, but amidst the many social things the pandemic killed (ok..suspended), is games. I am talking board games mainly here, as video games are booming. Board games. Geeky, communal, interactive social fun. Tossing dice and pushing meeples around a board.

I do not have an enormous collection, not like some people I know. My games occupy 2 shelves of my bookshelf. A few strong favourites, and that's it. I know people with dozens of games. Hundreds. That's not me (yet), that's fine. I just want to USE them more.

I've been thinking lately about what I like in a board game, and why some resonate much more strongly with me than others.

Cooperative: I love coop games. The good ones bring you all the fun, without all the confrontation (which depending on who you play with and how seriously they take ... yeah). The stand out winner here is Pandemic, which may be a sore spot lately. A superb game with challenging mechanics, and a rewarding finish if you can collectively work together and make just the right moves to find a cure for the 4 pandemics plaguing the world.

Asymmetry: These are games that play differently for one player vs another. The most usual example is where one player has a unique ability that others players don't. The aforementioned Pandemic is an example of this as well. The great benefit here is that each player brings something unique to the table, and the game is very replayable. For me, the standout example of this is Roots, a game where not only does each player have a unique ability, they have completely distinct setup, rules, gameplay, and victory conditions. 4 players playing Root can feel like playing 4 totally different board games, all on the same board, and all challenging each other and getting in each other's way. This is a game which I regrettably do not own in physical form (I have the iPad version), but that is something which will be fixed soon.

Story: Lastly, and maybe most importantly, I want story. I want a narrative. I kind of hate games that are just abstract "Put your tokens in circle X, get Y points" kind of games. Game mechanics are needed, but I want them to play second fiddle to letting a narrative unfold. At the same time, it can't go too much the other way, and let the narrative strangle the gameplay (looking at you Battlestar Galactica).  One of my favourites here is Betrayal at the house on the hill. A game that starts out cooperative, until one player betrays the others, becoming a 'Defeat the monster' style haunted house story.

I can name several other good examples of these categories, but that's not what this is about. 

I really want to get together and play games again.