KING QUEEN OF THE WORLD!

 

Or how without me realising board games have made their way into video gaming.

When it comes to the media I often consume, let’s talk about video games. I have always been more of a stranger to gaming than most, but I don’t know a single person of my generation that haven’t owned the vintage Nintendo console with those abysmal graphics or that have never played ‘Dungeons and Dragons” (I am quite sure that I have somewhere around the house an ancient CD with early version of the game, that has been changing flats, houses and countries with me). To this day every once in a while, I can spend hours playing ‘Heroes of Might and Magic’ III which with HoMM II is considered classic already and was never topped by the later editions of the game. But this post is not about that. It is about board games and how they made their way into video games and I somehow missed it. I have always loved board games. I still buy those, and I still associate them with good family fun and endless nights spent with friends playing Monopoly, Scrabble, Dixit, Carcassonne and Risk. It is basic human interaction, of the best kind - where emotions run high and you share the experience of being equally involved in a moment, of actually being present. I am absolutely sure board games making it into video ones is not a new thing and I have seen various apps and games for different consoles before. But apparently it is becoming more and more popular, especially with the implementation of options to play those games online against real opponents or have your friends in a list and engage with them. While it cannot replace the real thing, at least not for me, for the last more than a year I came to actually enjoy it a lot. It is one of the pandemic effects for me.

Particularly I have been playing ‘Risk' a lot, and I mean A LOT! It is a game I have enjoyed since I was in my 20s and to this day it is one of my first choices when deciding on what to play at home. When I saw there is a ‘Hasbro Game Night’ for Nintendo Switch I got it right away and to this day I have spent the impressive almost 3 000 hours of play with people from all over the world. It is mostly a night activity though, as this is when I usually play every time my insomnia kicks in. As for the game - the main difference, apart from the obvious, is that attacking can be an auto function and the randomness of it doesn’t feel fair. While in reality you throw your dice and it feels like whatever comes out of it happened with your direct involvement, in the video game a software is somehow doing this for you and at times it is quite frustrating! Yet, it is still a tactical game and I have become pretty good at it. I am so often Queen of the World that any less feels quite disappointing at this stage. I have been through all the possible settings - Capitals, World Domination and Secret Missions and all the possible number of players and after so many hours dedicated to this game, I am victorious in around 90% of all the games I have been part of. I am perfectly capable of understanding it is a waste of time, yet the feeling of satisfaction is quite pleasant. Especially when most of the time I am the only female playing, so yeah, Girl Power! Thus being said - I cannot wait to see the end of this pandemic, of this lockdown and of this surreal reality when I can have people over and once again take the boxes with board games out!

Photo Credit: All photos used are taken by the author