Posts tagged ‘war games’
What Genre Gamer Are You?
You may like action movies, or romances, or documentaries, or comedies, but very few people would say that they don’t enjoy movies at all. Games are the same way; some people enjoy big Ameri-war games with lots of dice rolling like Risk, while others may prefer a party game like Apples to Apples, but most people will enjoy at least one or two genres of game, and often more.
So the question is: What do you like?
I Like Strategy!
Many players come to a board game looking to exercise their minds. If you want to out-plan, out-think, and outwit your opponents with a superior strategy, you’re not alone. While children’s board games tend to have a lot of luck, many of the world’s most popular adult board games minimize randomness and focus on strategic planning and decision-making. If you like strategy, you might be a(n):
Abstract Gamer
Perhaps the purest form of strategic board game, abstract games tend to have little or no theme. They also tend to have little or no luck, which means that they end up as a pure contest of mental powers between you and your opponents. Generally speaking, there are pieces, a board, and you move them around following the rules until you win. Classic games like Chess fall into this category, but newcomers may be hard-pressed to enjoy a game of Chess against someone who has played hundreds of times. There are many newer abstract strategy games such as Blokus which can accommodate 2-4 players, and allow for players to explore the game together.
Euro-Gamer
More complex and themed strategic board games have become more popular in the past few decades, with a huge influx in Euro-style games spawned by the success of Settlers of Catan. Although Settlers itself uses dice, most Euro-style games do not. They tend to have a very small amount of randomness, but like Settlers, offer a wide variety of choices every turn, often with a final goal of accumulating victory points in various ways. Most Euro-games also have multiple mechanics in play at once, such as resource management, worker placement, bidding, tech trees, or role selection. The combination of innovative rules often leads to a wide array of possible strategies and multiple paths to victory, allowing each player to follow her own approach and still have a decent shot at winning. The two top-ranked board games in the world on BoardGameGeek currently both fall into this category: Agricola and Puerto Rico. Both are shining examples of what make this genre great.
I Like Fighting!
Fighting in real life may not be so fun, but in the realm of fantasy, many people find it entertaining. For the same reason that action movies always have combat and young boys often pretend to be in a heroic fight, many players come to their games looking to have their characters go out and win some battles. If this describes you, you might be a(n):
War Gamer
War games are just what they sound like: Two or more players commanding opposing armies attempting to defeat each other, generally by killing enemy soldiers. If this sounds violent, remember that Chess could be described the same way. War games tend to feature a large map, large numbers of army units that move around on this map, and you roll dice to determine successful attacks. A few of the hardcore “war games” are incredibly detailed affairs, with lots of miniatures, 3-D terrain, and measuring lines of sight. But many war games (also known as “Ameri-games”) are much more accessible. Most people are familiar with Risk or Axis and Allies, but newer war games like BattleLore offer a deeper strategy.
Adventure Gamer
Adventure games often play like a fantasy epic. If you don’t mind spending a few hours on a single game, adventure games let you become the hero of your own little story. You’ll likely be exploring a large map, upgrading your character, acquiring items, completing quests, and participating in a grand adventure. Arkham Horror , World of Warcraft, or Descent are popular examples of the genre, with many rules and pieces, but many die-hard fans as well.
I Like Hanging Out!
Not everyone wants to spend a whole evening playing board games. You might view them as a fun way to kill time before the movie, or just an excuse to spend time with your friends. And that’s a fine use for board games! You might be a:
Light Gamer
Light games are great when you want a game to fill the time before your evening’s next big event. Light games should have simple rules, and be playable in less than a half-hour. Some old games like Yahtzee would qualify as a light game. But light games don’t have to mean no strategy; there are plenty of highly-strategic light games that are still simple and fast, such as Lost Cities. If you like light games, look for the estimated play-time.
Party Gamer
Who wins? Who cares! In party games, the point of the game is just to enjoy hanging out with your friends. Charades is probably the most classic party game, and requires no special equipment. If you’re looking for more entertaining games to get your guests laughing without overly heavy competition, you may want party games like Apples to Apples.
War Games – Using War Gaming as an Education Tool
Author: Piper Kilpatrick
Some might suggest that using board games for teaching is a waste of time. I would suggest that if you asked most of these people what they thought of high school history class they would say it was pretty boring. They would completely miss a wonderful teaching opportunity provided by all kinds of board games that are available. War games provide an easy way to interact with history and learn many powerful lessons about not only history, but themselves and their peers.
I would argue that introducing kids to the history of warfare through the use of war games can provide a successful way to provide not only an educational experience regarding a specific conflict in history, but also provide the children a way to learn about many aspects of why the conflict was resolved the way it was. While accomplishing both of these the game can actually stimulate the child to engage with the event itself by attempting to “manipulate” history by seeing what could have possibly occurred with a different strategy.
When a war game is used the event can be described historically with a visual aid in the form of the game itself. Teachers can show children exactly what occurred during the battle by using the board and its pieces to describe the battle. This provides the children a way to see exactly why things occurred the way they did.
But more importantly, if the children are allowed to get their hands dirty by taking the game and actually playing it they cease to be passive recipients of information and begin to be active in their learning. They must learn why artillery is used. They must take into account movement and range. They see why “flanking” was used and why cavalry is so important through much of history.
Once the children begin to grasp the basics of military strategy they will begin to see why decisions were made and why battles occurred and why victory was achieved or defeat could not be avoided. Thus later lessons in military actions will become that much clearer for the children since they already have the basic understanding of military workings in the field.
All of these benefits show how clearly board gaming can be beneficial in the classroom setting. Once basic war games are utilized, games involving markets can be used to show the basics of economy or diplomacy.
Many war games include aspects of all three to maximize the fields of learning that the child must utilize. By introducing more and more aspects to the games the children begin to learn about all kinds of different fields without even realizing they are doing so.
Lastly, not only can the children learn from the simple rules of the game, but also they can take lessons away from their own victories and defeats.
In victory they can not only glean how history could have been different, but also they learn simple life lessons about how to treat others who are close to them and suffer defeat.
In defeat, the students see how history was shaped by decisions that were avoided, but also they learn how to lose graciously.
The interactions of the students in the classroom can be monitored and manipulated to help students learn not only the lessons of the game itself and its lessons about history, but also many lessons regarding personal interactions between peers in a controlled environment that the instructor can manage successfully if prepared to do so.
Thus a “simple game” can become a very powerful teaching tool in the hands of someone who is willing to take the time to introduce his/her pupils to it and engage with them in history both learning from it and from each other.
Good war game for use in learning:
Talkin' About Board Games 