Mikko Saari: A new book on board games

Books on board games are fairly rare, especially those that focus on the new games we love. This is unfortunate, but it is also about to change in Finland. BTJ, a smallish but energetic publisher is publishing a book on new boardgames. The book describes over 150 new board games, with the focus on games that are available now, either in Finnish or in the Finnish game stores. In addition of the games, the book will introduce readers to the world of board games: designers, publishers, awards, web sites - a complete newbie can grab the book, read it and become a gamer.

As those who read my blog already know, I’m the author. The book is my second baby. It was fun to write: after all, I could spend two months writing about games and get paid. As I’m writing this, I’ve left the manuscript weeks ago to the publisher, I’ve seen a PDF draft of the finished book and the beautiful hardcover book should land on my hands in just week or two. I guess you can believe how anxious I am to see it!

I’m hoping the book will be a success. And why not? Popularity of board games is definitely on the rise, as new classics like Carcassonne and Ticket to Ride are taking over the top spots of the bestseller charts from the old favourites. Once again, we’re looking forward to a good year of games. Lautapelit.fi is being particularly active: a Finnish edition of Portobello Market was announced before any English edition, for example. We’ll also get Finnish editions of Zooloretto and Caylus Magna Carta. Finnish Leonardo da Vinci is already out. So, I’d say this is a very good time to publish a book on board games.

The book is targeted at the people with some interest in board games. Hardcore gamers won’t need it, of course, but people who’ve played Carcassonne and maybe something else could probably use a book that exposes them more to the world of board games. The 170 or so game descriptions should provide plenty of new ideas!

To make things easier, the games are sorted in two ways. First they are divided in games recommended for families, adults or gamers. Then there’s a slightly humorous test, which classifies gamers into four groups: eurogamers, abstract lovers, theme gamers (or Fantasy Flight fanboys) and casual gamers. These are used to identify games people might be most interested in.

In addition of the games, there’s more. First part of the book sets the scene: it outlines why new board games are so cool, explains all the stuff about Germany, describes important publishers, designers and awards and so on. After the games, comes the part about gamers: it introduces the reader to world of Finnish Board Game Society, BoardGameGeek, cons, Essen fair, all sorts of detail.

There are some instructions as well: how to join a game club, how to start a game club, how to teach rules, how to play nice, how to store games and so on - short, simple stuff that should make the transition from a casual gamer to a less casual gamer easier.

As I said, writing the book was great fun. I’m hoping people will have as much fun reading the book and hopefully they will convert to gamers in the end!

© 2007 Mikko Saari

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Comments:

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May I assume that there will be a Swedish edition as well of the book? Especially as most of the game Lautapelit publishes are always(?) a dual language editions between Swedish and Finnish. Myself I’m looking forward to get a copy of the Finnish/Swedish edition of Caylus Magna Carta soon. Many of the other titles are nearly always published in English long time before I know about the F/S edition will be available and I’d love to promote the local editions if possible. Bookwise there are no Swedish book about modern boardgames at all and I’d love to have one. /Carl Posted by Carl Samuelsson on Apr 13, 2007 at 04:08 AM | #

Nope, no plans for now at least. It’s not impossible, though, as my publisher (BTJ) is of Swedish origin. So, maybe you should start lobbying them? I’m all for extra editions, whether Finnish, Swedish or any other language! It would take some editing besides the translation; the game selection needs some adjustment (Lautapelit.fi does Swedish editions, as does Tactic, but Marektoy doesn’t, for example, and there are plenty of Marektoy games in the book) and you’d have to replace all stuff about Finnish Board Game Society and Finnish scene with Sverok and what you got. But it’s not a big deal for someone motivated enough… Posted by Mikko Saari on Apr 13, 2007 at 04:24 AM | #

Congrats on the publication, Mikko! I’d love to see a title like this on U.S. bookshelves someday, mostly so that it would then be reviewed in magazines everywhere. The reviews often seem more important for spreading information than the book itself. Posted by W. Eric Martin on Apr 13, 2007 at 06:15 AM | #

Congratulations on finishing this wonderful project, Mikko!  Here in the English speaking world, we’re very envious of the gift you’re about to give to your home country.  I hope it turns out to be a big success! Posted by Larry Levy on Apr 13, 2007 at 09:43 AM | #

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