Board Game: The Meeting:

Today we had a group meeting to go over the research that we had all done so far, this then allowed us to find a new direction for the group to go in and from this we could then give out specific bits of research to different members of the team. I think the meeting had a really positive outcome with a lot of in-depth research being put forward and some good creative ideas coming to the surface. The two new areas that I have been given to research are the different genres of board games that are available, and the different materials that are used to produce board games, and compare that through the ages.

Source:

• http://www.boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Game_Genres
• 
  

Secondary Research: Game Genres:


Board games can be split into two very easily identifiable groups, mainstream and Hobby. Within both of these groups games can then be split even further into more specific genres. Hobby games are those that are targeted at players who see gaming as their dedicated hobby, and because of this these games are often much more complex and difficult than their mainstream counterparts. Hobby games can then be split down into four main genres:

• Thematic games
• Eurogames
• Wargames
• Abstracts

Mainstream games are focused more at the general public, and due to this have a much simpler game play system and focus on mass accessibility. Mainstream games can also be split down into four main genres:

• Family Games
• Dexterity Games
• Party Games
• Abstracts

Results:

By having a better understanding of the genres of board games, and how they all work together will really help us when it comes to designing our own board game, as it will allow us to pin point our target market and therefore design the game accordingly. 

Source:

• http://www.bgdf.com/node/1475
• http://www.tradgames.org.uk/features/board-games.htm

Secondary Research: Materials:

The materials games are made from has changed drastically throughout time. To start with many games were played using the materials people had around them for example early versions of Mancala were simply dug into the ground with beads consisting of pebbles and seeds found around them. After this games became a lot more detailed and intricate, moving into actual worked products. Often made from woods and stone. This along with the change in social hierarchy meant that a range of versions of the same game could be produced ranging from simple hand crafted from the lower ends of society to jewel incrusted versions for the higher end of society.

Nowadays hand crafted versions of games are often kept for very expensive versions of old games such as chess and checkers. Most games of today are made from plastics which are often either vacuum or blow moulded. In some ways this is better for the consumer as it means that prices can be kept low, but it also means that many more interesting games can be produced for the mass market.

This is something we need to think about for our project although many of our prototypes will be hand made for speed, our final piece would look a lot more realistic if we're able to get some of the pieces vacuum formed.