Board Gaming Reception

• Archaeogaming is (mostly) reception in games
• So why are so many types of games often excluded?
• All games are interactive art
• Board game analysis
• When board games are analyzed, it’s usually for mechanics, not content
• But games have a narrative that is enacted both by the content and the mechanics together
• From a gameplay standpoint, we talk about ludonarrative dissonance, but what about ludonarrative assonance?
• Antiquity of all kinds is popular for board game designers
• Board Game Geek lists over 400 titles just with the word “ancient” in the name
• That’s not even counting ones like Dice Forge, where the theme is a fantasy version of Greek mythology
• So how do we go about asking the right questions to analyze a board game?

The Mythic Setting of Dice Forge

Greetings, mortal!�The stories of your heroic feats have reached our divine realm. In our infinite generosity, we offer you the chance to become a demigod and take a seat among us. Yet you are not the only hero who could attain this honor. We have created a great tournament to see who is most worthy - and to entertain us. For we Gods are sometimes bored to death…

Prepare to leave the mortal world, as the tournament will unfold across celestial Islands. Each was created by one of us, and you will note that we have different… tastes.

A crucible of molten metal

A giant hammer

A golden chest

‘Hephaestos’

Bags of herbs

Nature spirits

A cut tree stump

‘Demeter’

Wild forest

Game animal with a moon shape

‘Artemis’

Temple columns

An owl

An icon of war

‘Athena’

Skull and rivers

Helm of invisibility

Ghost

‘Hades’

Ocean

Gorgon

Water mirror with shells

‘Poseidon’

‘Hera’ and ‘Zeus’?

Great monsters, unaffiliated

Merging duality

Lion belt

Brawn

‘Herakles’

Amazonian/’foreign’ armor design with fur

Magic

Scrolls as knowledge

Wiry physique

Spear

Soldier-like

‘Achilles’

‘Medea’

‘Odysseus’

Dice and Forging

Questions of Theme

• How historically or mythologically accurate is the game trying to be?
• Is there explicit or implied reference to the subject matter?
• How closely does it follow the subject matter?
• Do gameplay and narrative choices affect historicity?
• Do the deviations from historicity add to the narrative?
• Are the deviations from historicity common or unique?
• How abstract or specific is the theming?
• Are the characters generic or specific?
• Is the setting replaceable or tied to the gameplay?

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Questions of Mechanics

• What are the game pieces- cards, dice, tokens?
• Do the game pieces relate to the theming?
• Do the game pieces relate to antiquity?
• What is the playing field?
• Does the playing field relate to the theming?
• Do the gameplay mechanics interact with the narrative and setting?
• Setup
• Turns and actions
• Victory conditions
• Tie breaking

Questions of Narrative

• What or whom do you play as?
• How important is your in-game identity to your gameplay?
• What does the gameplay encourage you to do?
• Do the actions you can take on your turn work into the context of antiquity?
• How do those actions position your experience?
• How does the theme and victory condition affect the narrative of the game?
• What ‘happens’ when you win?

Some comparanda: Attika

Images from BoardGameGeek.com

In ancient Greece - the cradle of European culture - Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Thebes compete for dominance of the Greek peninsula and influence on Mount Olympus.

Some comparanda: 7 Wonders

Lead one of the seven great cities of the Ancient world. Exploit the natural resources of your lands, take part in the eternal march of progress, develop your commercial relationships, and assert your military might.

Leave your mark in the history of civilization by building an architectural marvel that will transcend the ages to come.

Some comparanda: Hera and Zeus

Zeus, the father of Gods, and his wife Hera often disagreed on matters both earthly and olympic. Eventually, the disagreement became a full-fledged feud with both Zeus and Hera calling upon the other Gods from Olympus and mortals from earth to support him or her against the other.

The questions we ask in analyzing board games which receive antiquity can be tailored to both the board game format and to the antiquity being received. Our research should be driven by the physical as well as the narrative!

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Contact:

jlevy@saveancientstudies.org

@zyllable on Bluesky and Mastodon

Find my most recent writing on archaeogaming and language on Paizomen

And my board game media criticism on my YouTube channel, Zylla’s Athenaeum

Come to SASA’s free virtual conference, Opening the Ancient World: Representations of the Past, Ancient and Modern, and join our Special Session on Archaeogaming, July 21-22