Ryan B.: The Industry

It seems as if boardgame related awards have proliferated throughout 2005 and 2006.  Everyone has an award for something.  For the most part, I have managed to stay out of this fray but I do have my own opinions… same as everyone else.  So after reviewing the industry in my own limited way, I have decided to offer what I simply like to say are my “opinions” for 2006… and I consider them my own personal opinions, more so than awards.  As such, they are pretty much worthless. So without further ado, here is my list of those “opinions” for 2006. 

(Please note:  Some of these opinions are not for the squeamish.  There are probably some controversial opinions related here and will probably cost me about half my “fan” base.  So for whoever that lone person is.... good night and good luck.)

Friendliest Person:  Keith Blume and Rick Thornquist

I had a chance to interview Keith Blume with Eagle Games in 2005 and he was easily the most accomodating, nicest and enthusiastic person I have come across in the industry.  Interviewing him was more like conversing with a long lost friend… and Keith can most certainly converse with the best of ‘em.  His openness and willingness to offer support in answering my many questions during my review of games was above and beyond the call and made those reviews very credible.  Keith is an outstanding representative for Eagle Games and his committment to Eagle Games customer base epitomizes an unusual but outstanding dedication to serve.  A true people person, it would hard to have a considered opinion in this category without mentioning Keith Blume.

Our own Rick Thornquist also gets a nod here.  It is always a pleasure to work with Rick and when you have a question about anything, he goes out of his way to provide an answer.  I have noticed he makes it a point to keep fans of Boardgame News informed and always treats everyone respectfully.  I had a chance to talk directly with Rick a couple of months ago and again, its like picking up the phone and talking to an old friend.  Not bad, considering I have never met him face to face yet!

Smartest Person:  Alan Moon and Eric Hautemont

Out of all of the game designers and people associated with games that I have come across, Alan Moon seems to have the most complete understanding of the business side of game design, which I think so many other designers (especially new designers) neglect.  Want further proof?  Just read Tom Vasel’s Advice to Aspiring Game Designers
http://www.thedicetower.com/misc/advice2.htm and page down to Alan’s comments.  I couldn’t agree with him more.  Alan is the one designer where I think that someone who is lucky enough to partner with him would tremendously benefit from his help in all facets of game design… simply because Alan understands all of the business realities that go behind making a boardgame so well.  Then you have to look at the game designs themselves.  They’re timeless and work on a number of levels.  In my book, it is Alan Moon and Sid Sackson tied as the best game designers of all time.

In an interview in The Game Journal, I interviewed Eric Hautemont.  One of the most intriuging things that I think was largely overlooked by most readers was Eric’s comments about how modern media such as DVD’s etc. would become more and more entwined with the future of boardgames.  It struck me as an odd comment at the time. But while I personally am not thrilled with this trend, you can’t argue forethought.  Even Clue! has a DVD format now… just out for 2006.  And there are plenty of other examples of technology slowly weaving its way into the fabric of many boardgames.  A great call from a person who has obviously made several terrific calls at the helm of Days of Wonder. 

Not including Eric Hautemont in this category would be just downright foolhardy.

Best Writer:  Greg Aleknevicus and Rick Thornquist

The key for both these writers?  They can get to the point with a minimum of words and make every word count.  At the same time, they consistently bring to the forefront engaging and fresh topics and can somehow bring an interest level to even the most mundane of topics.

Favorite Writers:  Greg Schloesser and Rick Thornquist

Greg Schloesser is willing to take on tough topics and unpopular views without shirking them.  His reviews are usually “spot on” and take into account the interactive factor of games… as opposed to just how the game plays.  When Greg is on a hot topic, his viewpoint is often the most interesting viewpoint out in cyberspace..... and some meat is usually served with those hot potatoes.  Greg is at his best when his topic has a wide margin of interest.  I also like the fact that Greg will write about games from a more social perspective… not just what the best new game out this week is and why.

Rick Thornquist.  Always it comes back to Rick Thornquist.  Rick is the Walter Cronkite/Edward R. Murrow of the boardgaming world.  When he comes in on the channel, you just have to tune in. 

Best Comments:  Larry Levy

This is a category that you, the reader, may not take so seriously.  But I think it is one of the most important of my “opinions” I offer here today. 

What I think like about Larry Levy’s comments the most is the consistency of them.  And I think that consistency generates discussion of and enhances many an article.  I think the greatest compliment that you can pay Larry is that whether or not you agree or disagree with his comments, he always advances the tone and tenor of any discussion and pushes any article in which he contributes in a forward, more interesting direction.  He does that with highly relevant insight and an innate ability to finish off an article with just the right comment… to which every author has at least at some point slapped their hand to their forehead and said “THAT is what I wanted to add to this article when I wrote it to make my point.”

Thank goodness for Larry and that he is around to include it in his comments!

Largest Contribution to Games:  Tom Vasel and BGG

Unlike most gamers, I don’t think I am ready to confer diety status on Aldie and Derk just yet.  But there is no denying the everyday contribution that the brainchild that is BGG brings to the general boardgaming world.  It is our own personal Wikipedia of boardgames.  So how could you NOT commend them for their contribution to the overall boardgaming society when they have practically laid out everything, that is EVERYTHING about boardgames, at your disposal and mine?

As for Tom Vasel, is there no end to what this man contributes?  I have already joked numerous times, that Tom will take an idea I was thinking about writing to and have it fully shook out in an article or series of his own a week before I am prepared to write about it.  And the sheer number of boardgames that Tom reviews?  Someone should give him a medal.  This is especially true when you see what he sometimes has to review!  I definitely think wannabe game publishers take advantage of his willingness to review just about anything… but somehow Tom always serves up a very professional, honest and well-written review.  Then you have to add in The Dice Tower, Interviews with an Optimist, Musings On.... the list just goes on and on.  Tom Vasel:  The Hardest Working Man in the Game Business.

Most Fun to Play Games with:  Justin Robbins and Patrick Dignam

Only a limited number of people know who these two gamers are.  Which is good for me, because that just affords me more time to play with them.  Patrick and Justin were two people I drafted to help me review Conquest of the Empire for Eagle Games.  Both have incredible humor and bring the light-hearted, easy-going, funny yet intense approach that make playing games with them both an absolutely jolly experience.  To me playing games is about the people experience and these two make any boardgame experience all the more merrier.

Most Passionate about the Industry:  Greg Schloesser and Frank DiLorenzo

One is a writer and the other is a game publisher.  Put either of these two on the right topic and it is fire and brimstone all of the way!  I had the good fortune to play Shadows over Camelot with Frank, because he lives in Tampa.  Heh, heh.... I snuck the traitor gig right by him.  Along the way, I got to hear Frank DiLorenzo’s many viewpoints on various game related things.  He is not short on opinions.... but they are good kind of opinions.  Greg Schlosser is the same way and when Greg is on point, his passion definitely shines through… if you don’t believe me ask Greg about the marketing efforts of game publishers some time. 

Now both these men are incredibly nice guys and Frank definitely has some great games out there, including the legendary Time’s Up.  Check out his website at http://www.rnrgames.com

Most Respected Reviewer by Game Community:  Chris Farrell

I have to admit, I don’t read too much of Chris Farrell’s game reviews but from what I have seen they are quite good.  And even if he disagrees with 90% of the game community about a game, he is able to point out the flaws of a game in such a way as to inspire credibility.  How many times have you seen on BGG… or even on an opinion written here, a message imploring you to check out Chris Farrell’s review on the game?  For this reason, I would be absolutely remiss not to mention him as such a respected reviewer.

You can find Chris’s body of work here @ http://homepage.mac.com/c_farrell/iblog/

My Most Respected Reviewer:  Rick Thornquist

If I am thinking about buying a game, then I am already thinking about what Rick thinks about it.  He just is in tight with so many aspects of the industry.  His reviews are short, level-headed, to the point and more often than not.... right.

Funniest Person:  Reiner Knizia

I heard Reiner Knizia on one of BoardGameSpeak’s “ambush” interviews with them trying to catch Reiner off guard for whatever crazy purpose.... and he swatted ‘em away with a wit that equated to a fly swatter whacking a ping-pong ball.  Yea, yea, I know Aldie and Derk say it was all staged.  But let’s face it, true statement or no… Reiner’s devestating and very funny wit carried the show and made it a “must listen” podcast in a chain of otherwise very ordinary “B” grade podcasts.  The conclusion:  Reiner is someone who would be very fun to hang with.  Admit it.

Most Enigmatic:  Bruno Faidutti

Wow.  Too many awards....err “opinions”.  Yea, I think this is the point where things start to get downright controversial.  But anyway, Bruno Faidutti puts togther a marvelous little boardgame called Mystery of the Abbey and a great website… but then I read his strong comments on his website:  http://www.faidutti.com/ (see “More about me")

You’ll get the jist of it.

Let’s just say that Bruno and I obviously don’t share the same religious beliefs.  Or political beliefs for that matter.  But I was very surprised to see the extent of Bruno’s commentary on his website and frankly I was a little offended as one of his fans by his language… especially as much he is a proponent of, and represents the family games interest, so well.  But he has the right to put his comments there....and I guess I have the right to be correspondingly offended as well. 

Besides, I guess my point is:  do we really care what any of our political and religious beliefs are?  I know I am now just a little less inclined to want to know what Bruno’s beliefs are.  So it is easier when we merely speak of games.  (Just watch me break this rule in some article sometime very soon and come off as quite the hypocrite!)

I also think Bruno is too sensitive to criticism.  I saw one article this year where he was not on the list of someone’s top designers and he commented on it.  Again, he has the right to inquire about why he was not included but if anything, it had to be just an oversight on the person who put togther the list.  Bruno is definitely one of the top designers of family games around.  But when I thought of who one of the most enigmatic people in the indusry right now was for me… Bruno Faidutti’s name immediately sprang to mind.

Strongest Team of Writers:  Gone Gaming

Due to obvious bias, I leave the team at Boardgame News out of this.  But no group puts as much quality dedication into their writing, is as diversified in their writing and puts as much passion into their writing week after week, like this group does.  Always entertaining and informative, this is an easy pick for this category.

Best Female Contribution to Writing:  Valerie Putman and Ava Jarvis

Both Valerie and Ava are two very nice people with much to say and offer to the boardgame world at large.  Ava always leaves tremendous comments and Valerie’s articles are a consistent delight to read and are also simply a very nice way spend a Sunday morning.  Melissa and Sodaklady at Gone Gaming are very interesting reads as well.  This increased presence in female writers is very much valued in my book.  Boardgames are for everyone and often times, I see too much of a male predominated slant in the writing about games.  I look forward to increased contributions from all of these fine female writers because this category will be abolished next year… in favor of simply being replaced with “Best Contribution to Writing”.

The “Who Should get more Involved Award”:  Christian Petersen and Eric Hautemont

I know. I know.  These guys are game publishers, not writers.  But right now these are the two most influential game publishers in the industry and as such, with their Alan Greenspan-like aura… they both have the ability to shape the boardgame market on their words alone.  I get the idea both like to avoid the limelight and just focus on making great games.  But I think it would be very valuable to hear from both of them in 2006 and to get their insights on the industry’s future.  Perhaps we could learn a thing or too.  Or just be entertained.

So that’s it for this week.  Let’s let the comments fly.

Ryan B.
“Hoping to just survive the week.  I’ve got my eye on you, BGG.” ; )

© 2006 Ryan B.

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Comments:

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Ryan - Very good column!  I personally don’t find your opinions controversial at all - I actually agree with almost all of them (the ones about me aside - thank you for those). There are tons of frendly people in the game business but I agree with you - Keith Blume of Eagle is indeed one of the friendliest.  Dealing with him has been a pleasure for me - he’s always goes out of his way to be helpful. Your slate of writers I agree with as well.  Greg A, Greg S, Larry Levy, Chris Farrell and the Gone Gaming writers are all very good, and there are many other great writers in the gaming world. Tom Vasel’s contribution to the hobby is unsurpassed.  We are very lucky to have him! I do have to disagree with you on one, though, and that is the Funniest Person.  While Knizia was great on Geekspeak (oops, BoardgameSpeak), I find Ward Batty hysterical - he always makes me laugh whenver I’m around him.  His shirts are pretty funny too! - Rick Posted by Rick Thornquist on May 3, 2006 at 10:30 AM | #

I thought Bruno was making a joke when he commented about being missing from that list, personally.  I never thought he was making a serious complaint at all.  Considering how many people like to whine about how Bruno’s games are too chaotic/luckbased, and how I don’t recall ever seeing him react poorly to that, I don’t think he is too sensitive to criticism at all. One observation I have made over the past few years of being involved in online discussions about games is that humor is very different in different countries, both in what is considered funny and what is considered a comic delivery.  There is one person in particular from another country (who shall remain nameless) who I think often is trying to be funny, but my American mind doesn’t want to interpret his comments as humorous.  Meeting him in person though made it clearer that he just had a very different sense of humor than I, and now I find it easier to take his comments with a grain of salt. I second Rick’s nomination of Ward Batty as one of the funniest people in gaming.  He is absolutely hilarious and he makes it seem so effortless. As far as the whole religion/politics thing - there are all types of people in gaming.  Some of them I agree with, and some I don’t.  There are some absolutely wonderful people in the hobby who I would *never* want to get into a religious or political discussion with because I know their views are so diametrically opposed to mine, and I don’t want it to devolve into a shouting match.  But, I know that despite the differences they are good people.  There is a time and a place for having these types of discussions, this is somewhat dictated by how well you know the people involved.  Having a political debate with a good friend who disagrees with you privately is different than starting a discussion on a newsgroup and is different than starting the discussion with a bunch of other gamers over a gaming table, some of whom you might not know that well.  While I would welcome the opportunity to convince others of my political opinions (not religious - IMO that is personal) I do try not to inflict them on the unwilling.  I remember one dinner at the Hausbrauerei in Essen where Greg Schloesser kept repeating “This is great ice cream” when the conversation turned toward politics, even though no one was actually saying anything immflammatory - but he made his point clearly that it was a subject he didn’t want to discuss.  A person does though have the right to post their opinions on their own website if they choose to.  I think that Bruno posting the opinions that he does shows that he stands for his convictions - because whether you agree with him or not, you can tell that many people won’t.  He’s not afraid of any backlash though and I respect that. Sorry for being long-winded, there were just a number of points I wanted to make and I haven’t studied under Larry enough to be as efficient yet at making them ;) Posted by Anye Mercy on May 3, 2006 at 03:25 PM | #

Actually, Ryan, it was one of my columns that Bruno made the comment to and yes, he was definitely joking.  I mean, there was a smiley and everything! As for his religious comment, I think you’ll find there are quite a few personal web pages of prominent gamers that have extensive views about religion.  The difference is, Bruno’s position is a less popular one (at least in the U.S.; it might be much less inflammatory in Europe).  But I don’t see why that should matter.  All the people involved are honestly stating their views and a web page is certainly a reasonable forum for doing so if you choose to.  ANY position on religion can and does offend some percentage of the population (cf, the Middle East), so I can’t see defending one group of comments and criticizing another.  If you accept one, you have to accept them all, no matter how crass some may seem. Posted by Larry Levy on May 3, 2006 at 04:46 PM | #

Oh, by the way, thanks for the mention in your column!  I’m glad my comments are appreciated, because I love making them, so they’re going to continue whether they’re liked or not!  :-) Posted by Larry Levy on May 3, 2006 at 04:48 PM | #

LOL! Darn it! This means that I am being too nice of a guy! I got to get *MEAN*. ;p Posted by Patrick Dignam on May 3, 2006 at 04:54 PM | #

All, Let me be perfectly clear about the religion thing.  I certainly respect that people are going to have other viewpoints on religion that are different than mine.  I have absolutely no problem with that… nor do I take issue with someone espousing their viewpoint. My offense comes exactly when we don’t respect other’s viewpoints… or mock those viewpoints so publicly.  For instance, if I had the audacity to say (expletive) Budda, I think it would be fair for me to say that I would be just “slightly” insensitive to another’s potential experience with Budda.  So to that point:  My personal offense was around the lanquange used in conveying the disagreement of belief.  That’s all.  However, I always respect the right for others to have differing viewpoints from my own and for those viewpoints to be expressed.  Meanwhile, I admit, the game columnist in me agrees so much with the point Ayne Sellers made regarding Greg Schloesser’s take of politics.  It is always safer (if there is a risk of someone taking offense), to simply stay on the topic of games. And as we all know when it comes to games...then we can argue away! Posted by Ryan Bretsch on May 3, 2006 at 05:56 PM | #

Ward Batty:  P.S.  Notice to Ward:  I guess I will just have to meet you so I can expand my limited horizons for next year’s list and you and Reiner can battle it our for my worthless award.... err “opinion”!  :  ) * * Hey Patrick, BTW, Are you still going to go on that Verizon is better than my company?  I might have to nominate you for Funniest Person.  (LOL) Now THAT is an argument worth having! * * And finally, to Ayne:  Now that is what I call a comment!  Watch out, Larry.  Ayne just might be gainin on ya.  ; ) And to speak to that comment:  Bruno may very well just be employing a sense of humor.  International Business was my major, and I also have served in the World Affairs Council.... so I try to maintain and have an understanding of cultural differences.  I just didn’t percieve it as a cultural difference as far as my interpretation.  But again, I only offer opinion and commentary and I do not represent my position as “fact”.  So more power to Bruno for having that egnimatic sense of humor.  He is definitely one of my favorite designers. GREAT COMMENTS! Posted by Ryan Bretsch on May 3, 2006 at 06:01 PM | #

Ryan --- I think you would be safer talking about politics than about how great your company is to me.  Man! This is grrreeeaaaaatttt ice-cream! Signed, Patrick “Tiger - No More Mr Nice Guy” Dignam Posted by Patrick Dignam on May 3, 2006 at 06:18 PM | #

Thanks for your props to Gone Gaming, Ryan. I like reading your posts, too :) Now I have to go read Bruno’s site. Nothing like a little controversy to go with the great icecream! Posted by Melissa Rogerson on May 4, 2006 at 12:36 AM | #

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