Matt Carlson: Concentrated Gaming

Looking back over the past few weeks of gaming I’ve come to realize that I don’t have a lot of spare time for playing longer games during the regular school year.  As a result, a large proportion of my games played fall in to that one hour or less mark.  Thankfully, I’ve found a few titles that are fairly quick to play but can still satisfy a deeper gaming itch.

It doesn’t help that I’m not a big fan of abstract strategy, as many abstract titles would nicely qualify for deep gameplay and a moderately short time frame.  I do benefit, however, from a love of a good theme.  If I can roleplay my game a little bit, the enjoyment is all the sweeter.  For example, In the Shadow of the Emperor is a solid strategy title, but is also a hilarious game to me.  Any game where the doctors can be used to miraculously make a piece younger OR older is quite amusing.  Having to choose between marrying off a daughter or sending her to a nunnery is also quite amusing (not in an anti-feminist way, simply amusing due to its thematic correctness and its immensely Politically Incorrectness.) Since a shorter game will tend to lack the deep interaction of long-term economic development games, I can replace that missing strategy-enjoyment with more theme-enjoyment. 

Another tack is to replace deep, long-term strategic decisions with opportunities for complex tactical decisions.  A longer game will have complex interactions as the game will develop over time.  A shorter game can make up for its shorter length by providing for more complex interactions.  While I no longer collect Magic: the Gathering cards, the highly respect the game system (not its marketing) due to its short playing length that still maintains many opportunities for players to make important (and creative) tactical decisions throughout the game.  This is done primarily through the complexity of the interactions of all the cards in play rather than through an ongoing resource production engine.  There is, of course, a fine line between giving players a wide breadth of tactical choices, and overwhelming players with too many options due to a poorly designed game.

So, when all is said and done, I find myself playing more games of Race for the Galaxy and Caylus Magna Carta than I do Goa or Puerto Rico.  While they don’t quite satisfy as well as the longer games, they remain fun and I am often training up the next generation of gamers at the same time.

While I have everyone’s ear, I’d welcome suggestions from the group for meatier games that clock in at under an hour.  Other examples I like include Space Dealer (hey, it’s only 30 minutes every time!), Saint Petersburg and Yspahan (although I’m spoiled at the speed of the solitaire computer versions), and San Juan.  I realize that many gamers can power through a 90-120 minute game like Puerto Rico or Caylus in less than an hour, but my gaming groups are primarily less experienced gamers, and we often play near the maximum number of players.

Feel free to suggest away!

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