At Least Make It a Challenge for Me

My wife and I went on a much-needed date night after a 5-hour birthing class (seriously, those videos... also my wife is a gestational surrogate, for those who didn't know). Class mercifully ended sooner than we thought it would, so we had about an hour to kill before we'd be ready to eat. Mature adult that I am, I decided we'd go play some miniature golf.

We went to a place I'd never been before, which is always fun because courses are rarely the same. When we got to the second hole, I was greeted by the most uninspired hole I'd ever seen. Between me and the hole there was a flat, unobstructed shot. There was a rock far off to the side, but you had to really try to hit that thing. I got a hole in one because I had to show off to the wife, but there wasn't much thrill to it.

There were a few more holes laid out with a similar lack of imagination, including one that was basically a P, and you could either hit it completely straight or try really hard to get it around the bend of the P. When I saw that hole, the above clip is what went through my head.

I mean I get why they did it. After taking my kids golfing last month, I know that just getting it down the lane can be a challenge for kids. Sometimes you just need to keep it simple and accessible to everyone. But since my blogging challenge makes me try to apply gaming theory to every day situations, I found myself comparing the golf course to tabletop games.

I love casual gaming with friends. I would love nothing more than to have a board game night every week with a few friends, because the variety and fun to be had it immense. I've dabbled in games like Super Dungeon Explore (think of a board-game version of the old Zelda games) and Fluxx where everything you need fits conveniently in to a single box. It's a great way to unwind or even get non-gamers to enjoy themselves.

Still, there's something to be said for the limited experience they can offer. The games are meant to be taken lightly, and as such are limited in their tactical offerings and the rules aren't usually too balanced. In short, you'll never see a Super Dungeon Explore national tournament. Sad but true.

However, that's not always a bad thing. When games are limited in their strategic offerings, it forces me to have fun. I still bring as much strategy as I can - if you've ever played Fluxx, you know how good it feels to play a 4 card combo that leaves the rest of the table a bit baffled, even if it doesn't compare to playing a Darksteel Colossus or pulling off pSorcha's dreaded 17" assassination.

I also like the atmosphere created by these games. Even in my competitive group, nights of Super Dungeon Explore were always good times. Sometimes people would play powerful character combos, other times it was a play-what-you-want evening. Although everyone tried to win, it wasn't done with nearly as much bloodthirstiness as deeper games demand.

However, SDE never became a staple of our nights. It's great to pull out every once-in-awhile, but that lack of depth and balance is felt by all. Even though I feel like I could play the game forever, I have a hard time devoting my time to shallow gaming experiences with people who are as strategic and competitive as I am.

But that's the great thing about being a gamer - there's something to fit any mood and play style. Want a simplified version of D&D? Go play Descent. Need to scratch your Magic itch but you only have family around? Zombie Fluxx, baby! Like miniature golf, casual games are accessible to almost any skill level. But for those with a mind for it, we can still bring some skill to the table while still letting everyone else have fun, and maybe even win!


See you tomorrow!

Remember to follow me on Facebook. I'm doing a blog post every single day for 2013, and Facebook is a great way to stay up-to-date as well as take part in my monthly giveaways! This month's giveawayis for a hand-made dice bag from Greyed Out Productions!