Let's Talk: Game Trilogies (not those ones)

Or lack thereof. We're all familiar with movie trilogies where each film stands on its own while also being part of a greater story. In gaming we have labelled things as trilogies like Knizias' Tile-Laying Trilogy but that's not what I mean. However, Knizia did do two Hobbit games based on the first two movies and was originally supposed to make a trilogy of it to match the movies but they sucked so it didn't happen. I recall reading the game Sol is the first in an intended trilogy that would end with settling a new star system. I think there is three Pandmic Legacy games now but I don't know how connected they are beyond the pandemic gameplay. Have we had any game trilogies that had a through line?

A Game of Thrones, 2nd edition, if we are counting expansions.

The original Mechanoid Invasion, if we are counting rpgs.

Tikal, Mexica and . . . Java I think?

I would say expansions aren't different games unless they're stand-alone. Like Quest for El Dorado: The Golden Temple stand-alone expansion is a continuation of Quest for El Dorado. If he makes another it would be a trilogy.

Eric Lang's mythical series was intended to be a trilogy:
Blood Rage
Rising Sun
Ankh: Gods of Egypt

Cole Wehrle’s games of An Infamous Traffic, Pax Pamir and John Company are kind of a trilogy with the British East India Company (and Empire in general) being the through line. Historical games might be cheating.

It's just not like film. I don't know what point there would be to calling something a trilogy. It would certainly have to be thematic, but the length of time is so long in between...

Cyclades, Kemet and Inis were called a trilogy for a while. It always bothered me because they were part of a line starting with a game called Giants.

The Bios line of Genesis, Megafauna and Origins fit the bill.

Ryan Laukats games are all kinda sorta linked I believe.

What about Time Stories? I didn’t play it much but the ones I did try all seemed to be trying to build into each other in some way.

What about the cycle packs in Arkham LCG? You can technically play them alone but they only really make sense in order.

What makes a series of games a "trilogy"? Are they linked by theme, mechanics, or just the designer? For film there are usually plot elements linking a trilogy even if the actors/directors are all different.

I don't think that a nailed-on progression was intended in any of these examples. Lang might come closest, since he stated for a number of years that he had designs in mind that were oriented around different mythological settings. But I don't think the Matagot people were intent on creating the "trilogy" of Inis, Kemet, and Cyclades. It just worked out that way. Similarly, I think Cole Wehrle's designs are colored by his PhD in history with a focus on the East India Company. Pax Pamir doesn't really have anything to do with the EIC, but it's still about the British Empire mucking about in central Asia, so it kinda follows.

Maybe the West Kingdom series was planned to be that way?

I don't recall if it was ever named, but "Teuber's Trilogy" consists of Entdecker (the exploration of a new land), Settlers of Catan (the settling of said land), and Lowenherz, (the conflict that arises once the lands are settled). I believe that Mik Svellov claimed that all three derived from a larger "master game", but I don't believe that myself.

Greg Aleknevicus wrote: I believe that Mik Svellov claimed that all three derived from a larger "master game", but I don't believe that myself.

I remember reading a similar thing somewhere about Jim Krohn. Space Empires 4x and Talon are supposedly parts taken out of a really large game. Although this would be a trilogy only if completed with a game about scifi ground combat...

mezike wrote: The Bios line of Genesis, Megafauna and Origins fit the bill.

There are rules that let you play them back to back, taking your stuff forward into the next one, to a certain extent aren't there?

Forbidden Island
Forbidden Desert
Forbidden Stars (obviously "Planet" was taken)

I'm not sure if "trilogy" really works for board games, since there's rarely a continued story. Of course, Kieslowski's Red, White, and Blue trilogy doesn't have a continued story either.

Aren't there three Azul games now, too?
Power Grid, PG: Factory Manager, and PG: The First Sparks?
I don't remember them all, but didn't Rosenberg do a trilogy of Agricola games, too?