For as far back as we can remember, human beings have enjoyed socializing through playing. Board games have been a significant element of our global cultures, ranging from ancient games such as Chess or Go to modern titles such as Settlers of Catan.
There have been considerable changes in the types of board games we enjoy over the past decades, and many enthusiasts wonder whether board games have become better or gone down in quality. In this post, we’re going to try and settle the debate pitting “Modern Board Games vs. Traditional Board Games” by comparing the essential qualities, features, and mechanics that make board games so popular.
Let’s dive right in.
When trying to determine how good a particular board game is, there will be certain factors and characteristics to consider. These include:
Table of Contents
Gameplay
Many people find traditional board games monotonous and repetitive. When a player is eliminated early in the game, or one player takes a commanding lead over their opponents, the game can be quite tedious and unchallenging. Modern board games do a better job of keeping things interesting throughout the course of the game through additional random elements such as dice throws, card draws, and so on.
Strategic Depth
Traditional board games such as Monopoly rely on a player’s luck rather than their skill or strategic planning abilities. For many players, this diminishes their enjoyment of the game because it often doesn’t matter what you do – the game can be won by a person playing for the very first time if they’re lucky.
Accessibility
Few people will contend that Chess is an easy game to master, but traditional board games are, in general, quite simple to understand. The variety that exists in the modern and custom board game ecosystem means that you can find extremely simple as well as extremely complex board games.
It will depend on your personal preferences. Thanks to their simple, easy-to-follow rules, modern games such as Sushi Go!, Settlers of Catan, Azul, and so on do a great job of making it easy for new players to get into the board gaming hobby.
Replayability
One of the biggest complaints associated with traditional board games such as Monopoly is the fact that there aren’t any surprises once you understand what happens in the game. You can win at Monopoly for ten games in a row without changing your approach or strategy.
Modern board games and some traditional board games such as Chess and Go do better jobs of encouraging different strategies. You need to be constantly engaged and responding to your opponent’s actions if you want to emerge victorious, and this is what makes these games endlessly satisfying.
Value and Price
While a traditional board game such as Backgammon or Chess might be very cheap to procure, the values of modern board games will generally be much higher. The reason for this is that modern board games will provide you with thousands of hours of gameplay, high replayability, deeper themes, and an overall more exciting experience.
Mechanics and Themes
Modern board games such as Ticket to Ride and Dungeons and Dragons have a seemingly endless variety of mechanics and themes to explore. You need to manage your resources, choose your tools, pick your traveling routes, and make numerous other decisions to make your way through the game.
Such levels of immersion are scarcely found in traditional board games unless we reference classics such as Go and Chess. Still, modern games have done a much better job of creating rich atmospheres that allow for much greater immersion, exploration, and replayability.
Final Thoughts
There are countless board games for us to choose from today, but traditional games still have a special place in many people’s hearts. As board games have grown and evolved, so have the audiences that enjoy them. While the qualities we’ve reviewed in this post might suggest that modern board games or custom board games are better than traditional board games, the reality is that the final decision will depend on the individual.
Whatever you enjoy, be it traditional, modern, or custom board games, the goal should always be to have as much fun as possible with your friends, family, and loved ones. Go ahead and play whatever game appeals to you. That’s what life’s all about.
