What games are you guys looking for in a board game site?

[Graham]

I am trying to get more board game news and reviews posted, but what would you guys like to see from us as far as board games go?  I am sure we aren't going to be BGG, but I don't want us to be BGG since I feel like some of those people there only live for board games.  What would you guys like to see from us?

I do have several game reviews down the pipeline, including several older games, but I have a few newer ones coming down the pipeline.

[wonderpug]

For me, I'm just starting to scratch the surface of what's out there for more complex board games.  I'm interested in seeing fewer, but more detailed board games reviews.  I'd also prefer them to be more like overviews and recommendations.  I have no interest in seeing a review for a bad board game; I want to read things that make me want to buy more.

As far as content, I want to know how the game works, how big the learning curve is, how easy it is to teach non-gamers and how appealing it is for them, the ideal number of players and the acceptable number of players, how well it evens out large skill level divides, replayability, interactivity, etc.

I haven't watched them in a while, but I really like the approach of Geek & Sundry's TableTop.  I would definitely be interested in a GT article in which multiple people play a board game together and share their thoughts on the playthrough from multiple perspectives. 

[TiLT]

How about doing a "best of the best" review article series for classics that you consider the best choices in their niche?

If you're looking for more up-to-date games, I'm not the best person to ask since I sort of dropped out of the hobby for a little while. If the board game site is going to be related to Gaming Trend, maybe do a review of Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game (the new one by FFG)? It's a great game and would appeal to both sides of the hobby, I'd think.

A tip: I'd recommend doing board game reviews with nice, big, original pictures of the game and its components as part of the review. BGG's reviews can typically feel a bit text-heavy and dry. By making the reviews more visually pleasing, with more eye candy, you could hit an audience that might not be satisfied with BGG's way of doing things. Imagine the same kind of review structure that a computer game would get.

[wonderpug]

A tip: I'd recommend doing board game reviews with nice, big, original pictures of the game and its components as part of the review.

This is a great recommendation.  When I look through the pictures on BGG trying to see what a game looks like I hate having to filter out all the pictures of people who hand-painted their models or built custom pieces or whatever.  Not that that stuff isn't neat to see, but it's not helpful when I just want to know what's in the box.

[Bullwinkle]

Yeah a full picture of the table with the game set up to start would be nice, too (maybe even with labels).

This leads me to something I think is missing on BGG (or at least isn't done in a way that I'm looking for): Quick rules refreshers.  I have a lot of boardgames.  I actually enjoy reading rules.  However, for many of them, reading through the rulebook is a twenty minute affair.  And that's when you're not trying to take someone else through the rules.  When I'm sitting down to play (or mid-game), I'd like a really quick list of rules boiled down to the simplest of facts.  These shouldn't be the kind of thing you can read instead of the rules.  You still have to read the rulebook first, but when you get ready to play, it gives you a quick overview of both the main rules and things that are easy to miss or forget about.

I've seen Headless Hollow, but even these are more detailed than I'm talking about.  This is something I wish I could do myself, as I think it would be invaluable for a lot of people, but it's just not my forte.

As for reviews, I'm actually in favor of quick hit reviews, where you don't do a whole rehash of the rules and just get to what worked and what didn't and final opinions.

I think the idea of doing reviews of boardgames that have been based on video games is a good one and a natural fit, but it's also pretty limiting.  There are a number of them that are really good, but they've been reviewed quite a bit already.  And it's a niche of a niche market.  A series of articles like that would be great, but it should be clear that it's a series and not the main drive of the site, I think.

[TiLT]

I think the idea of doing reviews of boardgames that have been based on video games is a good one and a natural fit, but it's also pretty limiting.  There are a number of them that are really good, but they've been reviewed quite a bit already.  And it's a niche of a niche market.  A series of articles like that would be great, but it should be clear that it's a series and not the main drive of the site, I think.

There's a lot that's more subtle though. Galactic Civilizations 2, for example, was heavily inspired by Twilight Imperium, which in turn was inspired by Master of Orion. Articles looking at these kinds of links could be very interesting for someone who plays both computer games and board games.

[Bullwinkle]

I think the idea of doing reviews of boardgames that have been based on video games is a good one and a natural fit, but it's also pretty limiting.  There are a number of them that are really good, but they've been reviewed quite a bit already.  And it's a niche of a niche market.  A series of articles like that would be great, but it should be clear that it's a series and not the main drive of the site, I think.

There's a lot that's more subtle though. Galactic Civilizations 2, for example, was heavily inspired by Twilight Imperium, which in turn was inspired by Master of Orion. Articles looking at these kinds of links could be very interesting for someone who plays both computer games and board games.

True.

I'm all for those articles, I'm just not all for only those articles. 

But doing articles that connect to the other stuff on this site would be wise.

[kadnod]

A tip: I'd recommend doing board game reviews with nice, big, original pictures of the game and its components as part of the review.

This is a great recommendation.  When I look through the pictures on BGG trying to see what a game looks like I hate having to filter out all the pictures of people who hand-painted their models or built custom pieces or whatever.  Not that that stuff isn't neat to see, but it's not helpful when I just want to know what's in the box.

Yeah, BGG can be a pain to navigate.  Here's another vote for a good inventory of what comes in the box with plenty of pics.

I also wouldn't mind seeing a "best new release of the month" column or something similar.

[Graham]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I am going to do what I can to incorporate board games in the system.  Hopefully you've noticed I am posting more board game news on the site, and I have a few companies that I have a pretty good relationship with.  I am working on getting more too.