If we talk about board games that accompany an afternoon plan with friends, for many people a Brass: Birmingham or a Root does not fit; Rather, the vast majority would choose something like ludo, those who use the Spanish deck, ludo and dominoes. And if you have to be with the older ones, a bingo is adequate enough since there is some social tension in case someone has come up with the winning ballot and her number comes out before.
With the new generations, these games have fallen out of use, as they require a lot of trouble. One of them is the need to meet in person, along with someone having to own the game and physically buy it. And that is if you already have a group willing to do so. For them, websites like play space that allow you to play games with friends and without any commitment monetary, they have become the new bar where you can play the game, or the social center where you can play bingo for free.
Digitization has brought with it an interesting resurgence of these games. If we have already talked about how online role-playing has been reborn thanks to the pandemic, we cannot forget about board games for all audiences.
Classic board games on the Internet, bringing people together
Board game websites where you can play online with friends have become a recurring plan. They were very important during the pandemic, since it allowed you to do more than face each other in long Zoom sessions for company. Having fun as well as conversation is what has made websites like Playspace stand out.
The concept of «La partida» It is very well established in Spanish society. But the current pace, the difficulty in making contacts through traditional means who have free time on a regular basis to play, is complicated. These board game websites help to minimize one of the problems, which is having a neutral space or having to go to the house of someone who is indicated and who will have to have the house prepared. And most likely the game will be played on a table that is not prepared for board games because there is little space.
Then there is that the websites act as lobbies to meet people. You can enter alone, without knowing anyone and regularly, you end up meeting people through these games.
Taking classic games to a new level
Hearthstone, the Blizzard card game takes advantage of being a video game to increase the chances of a card game that a game like Magic: The Gathering couldn't otherwise make. You can have some card effects use the cards played throughout the game, like the Jabberwock and its effect that replicates all the effects that have been used during the game.
Now, how about we apply it to traditional games like ludo, cinquillo, and the broom? There we have that the web itself can give us directly the options that we can play, so that the insiders can clearly know what movements are available, and with this try to reduce the so-called paralysis analysis.
It doesn't even have to be a complicated game. Something as simple as Bingo is completely automated, so that you can have a meeting with your friends through the virtual game with Bingo in the background. This is ideal for older people, who are afraid of technology because they are unable to understand the possibilities offered by using the mobile or the internet. If we tell them that they can play Bingo and cinquillo with the mobile and we teach them, they will very surely play it.
Board games and online games, the perfect union
And it is that board games and online games are feeding each other. Today, there are board games like Lands of Galzyr or Gloomhaven that use electronic game mechanics such as saving games, or a long campaign in which decisions affect the game in a physical way.
On the other hand, online games are learning a lot from board games. They are generally resources from which to draw game ideas and mechanics, and concepts. Many games have survived over time due to their simple mechanics and social nature.. And it's important that your rules can be easily understood and passed between users simply and clearly, without confusion.
Take Monopoly or UNO. They are not bad games, but many players misunderstand some rules or make up others and pass them on to users who don't know that they are not the official rules. But other games, due to their firm and clear rules, have remained: but above all it is the social component. Knowing that you are playing against a human face to face so that you both have the same chances game after game, and that the only difference is knowing how to play better or worse and understanding the possibilities and strategies. This is why games are maintained over time, and how during the pandemic, gaming websites were one of the best help to unite and keep people together during, as well as after. Simple games in which they are more of an axis to meet your friends over the Internet, without ties, and from anywhere in the world.
