CW: article contains swears
Each one of these items and tokens and sheets is important. Each one of these pieces have been carefully considered by brilliant designers. Their role is clear. If I looked right now, I’m sure every token is explained somewhere in a game manual that unfortunately reads like a VCR repair guide that’s been run through Google Translate eight times. ‘Remember to put the second deck over the initial deck so the last piece from the regular meeples pool does not cross into the irregular meeples pool before the dice rolls a zero’. That’s not an actual line in the manual; I’m too lazy to dig through a board game box that’s larger than the ones I use to move furniture. Someone will get mad at me about this and, honestly, they are right.
I completed Gloomhaven. It was a MONUMENTAL undertaking, required diligent organization and a dedicated table that was never used for anything else. You also need a bachelor’s degree in the rulebook (or just get comfortable with house rules that fill in)
I’m 15% of the way through the expansion (Frosthaven) and am utterly exhausted. There’s so much to do and so many opportunities to put something back wrong and now my draw pile somehow has the discards in it. Fuck.
But it was a glorious journey. Gloomhaven added a welcome interface layer that classic DnD was missing for me. And the combat system is so colorful! That said, the game basically demands a companion app for tracking health. Definitely not for the faint of heart, but immensely rewarding.
I am not into board games. What you describe sounds like Gamification, but in reverse. Do you people not have exhausting, tedious day jobs to fill that space? Why even attempt something like this? Honestly curious.
I have a theory that people seek what they’re missing in their lives through their hobbies.
Specifically, in my own life I’ve noticed that the times I’ve gone deep into rich, complicated, and demanding hobbies, are the times when I’ve felt understimulated at school or work.
Conversely, at times when I’ve felt overstimulated at school or work I only want to watch TV or play simple party games to unwind or destress.
I am curious if other people feel this way.
That’s a really interesting thought. Makes sense to me. I don’t feel understimulated at work, so maybe that’s just not something for me then.