The Fun Zone: The Fun

There's nothing like sitting down at the table with friends or family for some face-to-face boardgaming. But what's a gamer to do when he gets a Power Grid craving and there's nobody else around? Well, if it's during the day, the answer is "ignore the craving and get back to work you lazy bum." But what if it's lunchtime? Well, that's a different story. That means it's time for some online boardgaming.

My production plate has been pretty full lately (that's a good thing), so I haven't be able to goof off for a while, but when I do have some time to kill, there are three places to which I will turn to get my gaming fix. They all offer real opponents, although they go about it in two different ways:

Play By Web, or PBW games, are an evolution of those chess matches that people used to play via snail mail:

Dear Frank,

Queen's Rook to C6. Check.

How're the kids?

Regards,
Emmett

This interaction is now handled digitally. You don't have to keep a copy of the board set up to track your moves. There's an online graphical interface for doing that. You play the game one turn at a time, getting an e-mail reminder when it's time for your move. There's usually a chat system, but it's a slow-motion conversation, as players only see the messages when they log in to take their turn. Games usually last anywhere from a couple days to a few months. This is a great option for those who want to play without devoting a big chunk of time to sitting in front of the computer.

There are several sites that specialize in a PBW interface, but I frequent two. BoardGameGeek has a lovely version of Knizia's Tigris and Euphrates that I've enjoyed (in fact, Jeff and I are still waiting for players for a game. Drop me a line if you want to join). SpielByWeb is another fantastic free site that features a pretty nice variety of games. I've played rounds of Bus, Amun-Re, and Reef Encounter there, and I'm currently learning to play Hacienda online (not doing very well, though). They also have Hoity Toity, Tikal, and Wallenstein. I'm nearly always willing to join in on one of these games.

The other, more immediate, method of online satisfaction is real-time gaming, where you play the game start to finish in one sitting. The granddaddy of real-time boardgame sites is BrettSpielWelt.de (BoardGameWorld), a game publisher-sponsored site that offers not only a crazy number of games for free (Attika, Settlers, Carcassonne, and Power Grid just to name a few), but also encompases a full-fledged community where you earn money, pay taxes, move from town to town, and eventually host a gaming room of your own.

BSW is a great way to play many designer games with people all over the world, but the complexities of its meta-game make it very confusing to navigate. Plus, it's in German. There's a lot of help out there for English-speaking players, and you can tweak the interface to display some English commands, but there's still a very steep learning curve in learning the commands and the structure of the site. Then, when you get to a game, the interface itself may have you scratching your head. Even if you're familiar with a game's real-world counterpart, I recommend reading the rules for the BSW version, and browsing with a friend for the first few outings.

Still, with so many of our gaming friends living outside the state, BSW would be a great way to get together for games, inbetween actually getting together for games. I hope to spend more time there in the future.

You can find links to BGG, SBW, and BSW on the sidebar. One word of caution: There's a reason why they're listed as Distractions. The risk of addiction is high.