The Effect of the Internet on Board Games
You’ve seen it before: you and your family set up a game of Monopoly, arguments break out, and it all boils down to the last man standing. Now, what if there were a way to combine that with the tech that allows people to play Videoslots? As it happens, there is! The internet has finally come up with a way to incorporate board games in its vast range of entertainment. In what ways has the experience been altered?
International Multiplayer
The glorious thing about online games is that you can play them with people all across the globe: Pakistan, Zimbabwe, France, Canada, you name it – we are all connected which makes it much easier to find people to play particular games with. Board games no longer have to be played with friends and family who are somewhat reluctant to do so sometimes. With the internet, you can play Monopoly, Clue, and a plethora of other games with perfect strangers. It also helps you evaluate your skill on a global level.
Features
When you set up a board game, there is the rulebook, the pieces, and, depending on the game, cards or dice. There is some banter across the table, but that’s it. Computers have made it possible to interact with the pieces and the rules are adhered to automatically. Some show videos of locations, while others make humorous remarks when they are moved, attacking, dying, or doing anything else.
Furthermore, the landscape and artwork change drastically. What was once an inanimate game is now a full video game experience at your fingertips. To keep things interesting, the games now give you special missions, achievements, and cosmetic prizes so that you could show off.
New Games
The introduction of a new medium into the mix inevitably gave way to new games. While these are still technically board games, they are envisioned as those that would be played exclusively online. There are many reasons for this: copyright issues, the level of interaction, and so on, but the biggest one is profitability. If people play your game online, there is no reason for you to invest in the complicated and pricy process of printing the rules, the board, and the pieces.
The Choice
The greatest asset of the internet in the service of playing board games is the sheer choice of games you can play. There are websites dedicated entirely to letting you play the game of your choice and the number goes to the hundreds per website. That means that you have thousands, if not more, games that you can choose from, which is certainly much more enticing than having half a dozen dusty games at your home, waiting for the right crowd.
The Market
Like with movies, comics, books, and music, the internet has made it possible for you to enjoy your favorite means of entertainment by discovering items you never knew existed. It is still possible to make your own board game and publish it, but the competition due to globalization is so fierce, that it is likely your game will be lost in the thousands of others. Still, with the right marketing strategy, you too could design your own game without having to jump through too many hoops regarding resources. That’s what the internet has done – it has made us step up our game.