Jim Felli - "I'm a Terrible Game Hobbyist"

Read more...

I salute your taste in scotch, my good sir, having consumed more than a glass or two while toasting Robert Burns on his Birthday at a Burns Supper held in his honor. And, no, I don't wear anything under my kilt other than my shoes.

Through most of your article, all I could think of is "Cosmic Encounter. He wants Cosmic Encounter."

Ditto.

Growing up in a rural area, video games were and still typically are my primary playground. Even D&D was played online through Roll20.

Having said that, I do have occasions to play board games. When old friends are back in for the holidays, or every few months when my current cohort of fellow parents are able to align our schedules for a game night.

I ask friends who are board game hobbyists for suggestions, and every so often I play them: Munchkin, Ticket to Ride, Citadels, Small World, 7 Wonders. And I gotta say: I find that most board games are ultimately unsatisfying. After playing each of those games a handful of times, the only one I look forward to playing anymore is Citadels. (I do have one friend who absolutely loves Ticket to Ride, so it still sees some play.)

I was recently lightly teased by a board game hobbyist for suggesting classic Risk as a good area control game.

What games do you enjoy? Are any of your designs available to play?

stoic wrote: I salute your taste in scotch, my good sir, having consumed more than a glass or two while toasting Robert Burns on his Birthday at a Burns Supper held in his honor. And, no, I don't wear anything under my kilt other than my shoes.

Thank you, kind sir. I’m Clan Kinkaid.

hotseatgames wrote: Through most of your article, all I could think of is "Cosmic Encounter. He wants Cosmic Encounter."

That, my friend, is one of my all time favorite games.

No, you’re a terrible consumer, but one hell of a good hobbyist. You found the market lacking, and created, funded, and published your own games.

Pretty fucking good hobbyist IMO

What games do you enjoy? Are any of your designs available to play?

My man Jim here has done three very innovative and unique titles- Shadows of Malice, Zimby Mojo, and Bemused. All of which are worth your time.

Good taste in Scotch generally follows with wisdom in other pursuits, in my experience. (I've been debating the majesty of the Islay style with my girlfriend, who thinks the peat overpowers everything. I did get her, the non-Scotch drinker prior to our meeting, hooked on Dalwhinnie, so we're making progress. But I digress.)

I agree with your general premise: I like exploring the nooks and crannies of my games and am more interested in playing the 15th session of one that I really enjoy than the 1st session of the latest hotness. That also makes me a poor audience for most publishers. I wonder if that still makes us suitable expansion consumers? Is it better to have more options and variants of something one really enjoys? I've found myself in that category fairly often. That would fit with hotseat's assertion that Cosmic Encounter and games like that (Arkham Horror?), with a central mechanic that can be carried in many different directions, might be how publishers could appeal to that type of gamer.

By the same token (ahem), there's something to be said for retaining the "purity" of the original design and simply exploring the facets. I'm a huge fan of Go, but I've found that I get too easily distracted to really engage and become proficient at it. Do I lack the patience to really savor basic designs? Dunno.

Great post.

Jackwraith wrote: I'm a huge fan of Go, but I've found that I get too easily distracted to really engage and become proficient at it.

I know just how you feel. I’m a great fan of Pente. That game, like Go, is deceptively simple yet devilishly engrossing.

I’m just putting this out here to hang for a bit...but Jim’s next essay is going to knock your socks off. Stay tuned!

What!? I have to write another one!?

Apparently one which involves the proper removal of footwear

Probably not terrible, but stupidly demanding. At least your pet peeves seem legit.

I often dissect games I don't even play, especially if it's a friend's favorite. I ask them to convince me to play it (since spare time is so fucking invaluable), trashing the game in the process. The latest victim was Battletech, for being slow and not unique among it peers. Jim Krohn's Band of Brothers & XCOM kill a lot of these games for me. Previously it was Zelda, while I admit is very good, a lot of praise about its "interesting encounters" struck me wrong.

If a dungeon crawler's map is smaller than the spread of sheets, cards and counters around it, I'll complain.
If a dungeon crawler's group of monster consists of only a single monster, I'll complain.
If a dungeon crawler becomes extremely analytical, I'll complain.
If a game makes me struggle more with its mechanisms than the actual game I'm after, I'll complain. For example, in dungeon crawler, taking a lot of time to look at character sheets and enemy stats instead of the map.

I can do this all day long.

I just got done unpacking my games after they spent two months making their way to Manila, and as I saw them all sitting on a single bookshelf, I reflected that if I never got another new game I think I would be satisfied with what I have. I mean, I'd probably like to get some new content for those games now and then, but my collection already looks like its frozen in amber from 2015 anyway. If it actually was I think I'd be fine with it.

That's not to say new stuff is bad, but more that it's overrated. I like digging into games for so long that their flaws are now integral parts of what I enjoy about the game. Some games that I've played for a decade plus (Power Grid, Agricola, Catan) have this bigtime. There are definitely elements of those games that could stand to be altered, but they have become perfect for me with age and experience. That's a really nice place to be in with a game, kind of like a good friend.