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Sometimes the control can come through denying access to areas rather than taking them yourself - it could be argued that Scrabble is an example of the genre!Įxamples: Small World, Risk, Nanty Narking, Blood Rage.Ĭampaign board games are defined by individual plays following a series of connected scenarios, where the actions and outcome of one scenario will usually affect the next.
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Draughts and Go are the purest examples of abstracts, while chess - with its set of named pieces and suggestion of historical warfare - is relatively thematic by the standards of the category.Įxamples: Draughts, chess, Go, Tak, Shobu, Hive, Santorini, Azul and its sequels.īoard games with some form of map or board defining a space that players compete to dominate, usually through adding their own pieces to regions or areas or removing opponents’ pieces. Board game types Abstractīoard games with no theme at all, or what theme is offered is so disconnected from the actual experience of playing that it might as well not be there. Shobu is an example of a modern abstract board game. However, the following board game terms represent the most common types of games on the tabletop, so they’re a good place to start next time you’re wondering if something really is a Eurogame, or just happens to have a farmer on the cover. What’s a deckbuilder compared to a deck construction game? What makes a living card game different to a trading card game, and is that the same as an expandable deck game? What do you actually do in a worker-placement board game?įear not to help those of you who haven’t yet had a proper chance to learn your roll-and-writes from your roll-and-moves, Dicebreaker has put together the following beginner’s guide to the different types of board game types and what they mean.īear in mind that many of these board game types aren’t exhaustive or exclusive, and many board games will fall into more than one of these categories - or might be something else entirely. You can start anywhere and with anyone - you can learn how to play D&D in a board games shop or café, crack out a party board game down the pub, learn how to play Magic: The Gathering with an established club, or simply enjoy playing around the kitchen table with your friends or even all by yourself thanks to the growing number of solo games.īut like everything that a lot of people spend a lot of time on, a whole specialist language has built up around board games, not least of which is the various genres that tabletop games get grouped into. From knowing the best board games, working out what to buy first and finding others interested in playing them with you, through to understanding the conversation when you meet these peers, there are all sorts of potential barriers to even the friendliest of pastimes.īoard gaming, as one of humanity’s oldest hobbies, can be one of the most welcoming activities around. Getting into tabletop gaming as a beginner can be a challenge.
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