The #1 lie publishers tell me is PLAYER COUNT. Yes, it is physically possible to play this game with 2 players, but it's *awful* at 2 players, and yes, there are enough components for a max player count of 5, but 5 players is a hellish unending experience that will make all the players hate the game. Just be honest & say this game is only actually good for 3-4 players. I understand why they pad the player count at both ends of the range. It's marketing. But that doesn't help us when we're sitting down to actually play the game!🤷♀️
My frustration is with board game inserts. 1. When they have no explanation on how to use them! I have no idea which pieces go in which tray…. 2. When they just don’t work. I would say 90% of the time, I just pull then out and toss it so I can organize everything in the box better, because some card tray inserts takes up half the box for no reason and if you sleeve the cards you can just forget using inserts in most cases.
Sometimes the expansion is a reaction to seeing the game getting played by thousands of players. Even an extensively play tested game can't compete with contact with a full player base!
Must admit the Folded Space inserts are amazing, just use superglue gel instead of PVA as PVA doesn't hold well at all. I have just started board gaming and found the drug bags annoying as heel, but the Folded Space inserts are great. It's a bit like adding a fluffy steering wheel to your new car; you don't need it but it feels great when you get it.
Around 3:14 when you ask the question, “what is happening here”, that situation when you are pitching a game and all the people haven’t heard of it and the box doesn’t show off what is going on inside, that is a huge aspect board game publishers need to consider. Like you also said if someone bought the rights to a bunch of old great games that have buns for a cover, give them new art and potentially update them, like what happened to Skyrise, they could sell a lot of games. And I realized that Restoration Games basically does that, some smart folks there.
You’re “story” at 1:31 literally happened to me a week ago. I asked some coworkers if they wanted to play a game. They mentioned they like games, but have played mostly mass market games. For context we work in the green industry, landscaping, plant care, lawn maintenance etc. So we arrange a game night, at their place. I took Agricola (15 specifically), thought the outdoor theme/setting would be interesting enough. Well, I walk in and they remark at the size of the box haha. They have a tiny table so we busted out the extension for it and we still didn’t have room for the resource trays. I started explaining some ideas and then saw some confused looks, so I said let’s jump in and I’ll explain as we go. Probably through the first four rounds it was still coming into focus, but after the first harvest some things started rolling, and by the end they loved it! They mentioned to me this week how they’ve been talking about wanting to play again sometime haha Got em! Lol
My absolute favorite out of print game (which also happened to be one nobody wants to play) is Sanssouci. It’s a brilliant game, but I can see why people don’t immediately gravitate towards it. Theres no “WOW” factor up front, but the game itself is such a well executed strategy experience.
@ I just looked it up and I’m so happy that it got another edition! Although, there is still a certain charm to how the original version looked. From the cards to the boards and stuff. You could say that about games like Catan as well. It’s all up to preference.
OH! I'm a completionist. I love 1970's and '80's tabletop wargames. To find some things are a nightmare and then when you do..... The old Yorkshire battle cry is to be heard....'HOW MUCH!'. But on the publishers lies, Everything you need is in the box, hang on there's an expansion with the other characters. Then again, when I went all in on 'ReichBusters' the main box is too small for all the bits, from the main box.... Help!
I think the lie I'm most annoyed about is in terms of theme. Some board games attempt to portray a certain theme but end up being pretty abstract and not really capturing it. When I go to board game stores and see games from themes that I like, I always look over the back of the box to see what mechanisms are used. Often, a lot of the games look like games that I wouldn't enjoy because the theme and the mechanisms are really separated or it just feels like a "pasted-on" theme. For me, I'm often hoping that board games will deliver a fun thematic experience, so I get disappointed if it looks like the experience will not match or deliver on the promise of that theme.
Step 1- find a public quiet place with good lighting. 2- Create a local board games club. 3- Run a WhatsApp group to build consistency. 4- have a Facebook, insta, discord, meetup page if you want to grow. Step 5- have fun
People are quirky, picky, and often unreliable. If you find a single person who consistently plays games you enjoy, you win!
The #1 lie publishers tell me is PLAYER COUNT. Yes, it is physically possible to play this game with 2 players, but it's *awful* at 2 players, and yes, there are enough components for a max player count of 5, but 5 players is a hellish unending experience that will make all the players hate the game. Just be honest & say this game is only actually good for 3-4 players. I understand why they pad the player count at both ends of the range. It's marketing. But that doesn't help us when we're sitting down to actually play the game!🤷♀️
That's why you check the BGG page and see what the player count poll says.
My frustration is with board game inserts. 1. When they have no explanation on how to use them! I have no idea which pieces go in which tray…. 2. When they just don’t work. I would say 90% of the time, I just pull then out and toss it so I can organize everything in the box better, because some card tray inserts takes up half the box for no reason and if you sleeve the cards you can just forget using inserts in most cases.
The base game that needs an expansion to make it play well. Why couldn’t you include the expansion in the original game.
Sometimes the expansion is a reaction to seeing the game getting played by thousands of players. Even an extensively play tested game can't compete with contact with a full player base!
@ great point. Even extensive play testing can’t rival the full market of players.
Must admit the Folded Space inserts are amazing, just use superglue gel instead of PVA as PVA doesn't hold well at all. I have just started board gaming and found the drug bags annoying as heel, but the Folded Space inserts are great. It's a bit like adding a fluffy steering wheel to your new car; you don't need it but it feels great when you get it.
Around 3:14 when you ask the question, “what is happening here”, that situation when you are pitching a game and all the people haven’t heard of it and the box doesn’t show off what is going on inside, that is a huge aspect board game publishers need to consider. Like you also said if someone bought the rights to a bunch of old great games that have buns for a cover, give them new art and potentially update them, like what happened to Skyrise, they could sell a lot of games. And I realized that Restoration Games basically does that, some smart folks there.
You’re “story” at 1:31 literally happened to me a week ago. I asked some coworkers if they wanted to play a game. They mentioned they like games, but have played mostly mass market games. For context we work in the green industry, landscaping, plant care, lawn maintenance etc. So we arrange a game night, at their place. I took Agricola (15 specifically), thought the outdoor theme/setting would be interesting enough. Well, I walk in and they remark at the size of the box haha. They have a tiny table so we busted out the extension for it and we still didn’t have room for the resource trays. I started explaining some ideas and then saw some confused looks, so I said let’s jump in and I’ll explain as we go. Probably through the first four rounds it was still coming into focus, but after the first harvest some things started rolling, and by the end they loved it! They mentioned to me this week how they’ve been talking about wanting to play again sometime haha Got em! Lol
I'll play all those games with you, Matthew. Bring em over!
This is one of the best segments. I love watching I weighed every month for this show to come out
My absolute favorite out of print game (which also happened to be one nobody wants to play) is Sanssouci. It’s a brilliant game, but I can see why people don’t immediately gravitate towards it. Theres no “WOW” factor up front, but the game itself is such a well executed strategy experience.
There was a new edition which started to come out in 2022. English version came out in 2023.
@ I just looked it up and I’m so happy that it got another edition! Although, there is still a certain charm to how the original version looked. From the cards to the boards and stuff. You could say that about games like Catan as well. It’s all up to preference.
OH! I'm a completionist. I love 1970's and '80's tabletop wargames. To find some things are a nightmare and then when you do..... The old Yorkshire battle cry is to be heard....'HOW MUCH!'. But on the publishers lies, Everything you need is in the box, hang on there's an expansion with the other characters. Then again, when I went all in on 'ReichBusters' the main box is too small for all the bits, from the main box.... Help!
I think the lie I'm most annoyed about is in terms of theme. Some board games attempt to portray a certain theme but end up being pretty abstract and not really capturing it. When I go to board game stores and see games from themes that I like, I always look over the back of the box to see what mechanisms are used. Often, a lot of the games look like games that I wouldn't enjoy because the theme and the mechanisms are really separated or it just feels like a "pasted-on" theme. For me, I'm often hoping that board games will deliver a fun thematic experience, so I get disappointed if it looks like the experience will not match or deliver on the promise of that theme.
Can’t get people to play the pipe puzzle games like Factory Funner and Curious Cargo.
Step 1- find a public quiet place with good lighting. 2- Create a local board games club. 3- Run a WhatsApp group to build consistency. 4- have a Facebook, insta, discord, meetup page if you want to grow.
Step 5- have fun