What are INNOVATIONS you would like to see in the board game industry?

What are some changes you would like to see in the board game industry?

Here are my top two:

1) I'd like to see some good, complex, interesting $10 games that come in tyvek envelopes, like a better version of Chea-Pass games, stuff so good that you don't need to slap $200 of plastic on top of it.

1b) Games designed specifically to fit within a small , USPS priority box for easy trading

1c) Game kits designed for color printers and 3D printers. Pay $10 and then make your own custom version.

2) Some sort of universal nomenclature for remote play. You know how chess has a notational system for moving pieces and playing online? I wish there was something in place like that so I could play a game like GMT's Command and Colors series over email, without needing some crappy, overpriced app or the real-time requirements of Vassal. Like, a universal language or XML-specification. I have no idea how this would work.

3) Tinder for gamers: You put in the games you want to play, the location, and filter out people with low social ratings (given for poor behavior, hygiene, etc.) and then you get matched up to play some great games. AND THERE'S NO SEX AFTERWARDS, SO SHUT UP IN ADVANCE BARNEY It could even have an algorithm that would predict how much fun you'll have. There are some euros that would be fun with the right people, for example, but would be a slog with others.

4) Every set of rules released in plain text on an editable wiki, for quick fixes and exporting as an epub.

More discerning consumers.

I would like to see the commercial side of games expand from just sales to the consumer. For example, I'd love for there to be games available for check out from the library. Or a rental program at a local store. Or even a game exchange system through the interwebs. I know a lot of these things have been implemented at small scale in many places; I'd like to see it become commonplace.

Gregarius wrote: I would like to see the commercial side of games expand from just sales to the consumer. For example, I'd love for there to be games available for check out from the library. Or a rental program at a local store. Or even a game exchange system through the interwebs. I know a lot of these things have been implemented at small scale in many places; I'd like to see it become commonplace.

I agree that games should be more like books. I've started collecting books rather than games, because they are 1) solo, 2) can still be discussed, 3) more intellectually satisfying and 3) dirt cheap at our local library surplus book sale. So, easy dopamine burst.

A programmable miniature painter, as a computer accessory. Place the unpainted mini in it and the device does a 3D scan and then primes it in a color of your selection. Then you open up the software and give detailed directions to the device on what colors to paint where, and if there is any need for layering. The software constantly displays a rotating preview of what your color selections would look like on the figure. Hit the paint button and wait while the device does its work.

To follow up on what ChristopherMD said: Better games. That is, people who understand games better, who play better, who don't get upset, who are more willing to become involved, etc. No game is good if played with an asshole and it's gamers, not game design, which are the biggest hurdle towards great game experiences today.

I would like for game authors to make a living wage out of their games. Sadly, the industry is already becoming one of those creative industries where the creatives won't reap the benefits of growth.

I would also like more games from any country that is not the United States. I would love for every single weird Japanese game to be translated, they have a very different design principles and work very differently, for example. I don't want boardgames to look as uniform as video games do and I don't want them to just be translated into English. The medium is much better with games like Tragedy Looper.

I would like Spanish boardgame companies companies to not be hot garbage. And I would like for gamers to stop excusing awful, game-ruining errata and games with the wrong card backs because "it supports the national market"

Games with non-standard win conditions or several degrees of victory. For example, you might win, win as a vassal (a lesser win) or lose because you were beaten by the aforementioned team.

Electric game components that light up. This would be useful, for example, to trace routes on the board.

I would like gambling in gaming to be regulated. MTG boosters are no different from a lotto ticket and should be regulated as such. Kids ought not to be able to buy them, for example. And yes, I'm aware of the incredibly far-reaching consequences this would have at the hobby and I know it would massively impact brick and mortar stores. I don't care, just don't push gambling onto kids or the medium as a whole, thank you.

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But, really, the biggest issue I see in the medium right now are the gamers themselves. It's an interactive medium, after all, and if the people playing a game are not great, the game won't be, no matter how much effort was put into the design.

In the classic vein of "be careful what you wish for," I can't help but think about how many of my old gaming wants have already come true.

Ten or so years ago, my desires were probably:
--More games. -- Which is obviously a blessing and a curse, as we have tons coming out through Kickstarter and other start-up companies. These days, I long for the vetting and filtering process that stemmed the tide in days of yore.
--More modern-type games at Target. -- This has happened and is great, but of course most of their titles are things that we tired of about ten years ago. I'm glad more people are being exposed to Catan and Carcassonne, but that doesn't really make my purchasing any more convenient.
--More gamers. -- Game clubs and Meet-ups are popping up all over the place, but when you open the club to the masses, well, you get the masses. I'd still say this is a net positive, though, as you have more options to choose from.

I would like to see the industry not so eager to prey on Kickstarter addicts. Companies use it solely as a marketing tool and overload their games with junk just to appeal to the crowd. It's gross.

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi

VASSAL does not need to be real time. You can play by email with the log file.

Yucata.de is not real time either. And it is free.

I'd like to see more app integration. I am very much on the opposite side of "keep digital out of my games". I think interactive rulebooks, GMs, tracking, and many other things in games could be implemented (and have been to varying extents/success). I know it all costs money, but I don't care. Technology is useful, so use it.

hotseatgames wrote: I would like to see the industry not so eager to prey on Kickstarter addicts. Companies use it solely as a marketing tool and overload their games with junk just to appeal to the crowd. It's gross.

Imagine if those project stopped getting funded. They'd have to rethink not only their strategies but their prices and what's actually needed for the game versus what's superfluous. Maybe even tighten up the design in the process. Because contrary to what KS publishers imply they can absolutely re-list a game that failed to fund and try again with a revised campaign.

Gregarius wrote: I would like to see the commercial side of games expand from just sales to the consumer. For example, I'd love for there to be games available for check out from the library. Or a rental program at a local store..

There’s a store here that has exactly this model. 15$ a month. The library also has the same thing locally - you can borrow a lot of Euros.

At least as many POC and women involved in the business and process of creating games as there are white males. So tired of white males running this show with their white maleness. Yuck. More non-white people making games about their culture, ideas, and concerns. Not non-white people making games about white people stuff. More games from the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, South America, Aboriginal Australia, and other non-white cultures.

No more games about European colonization.

A five year moratorium on zombies and Lovecraft. A ten year moratorium on anything to do with World War II. Enough is fucking enough. There have been many great games about WWII. We never need another.

The end of Kickstarter.

I would like Spanish boardgame companies companies to not be hot garbage. And I would like for gamers to stop excusing awful, game-ruining errata and games with the wrong card backs because "it supports the national market"

HA! What is up with that? Spanish games are almost always terrible, or at least they are badly published. I see that a company is from Spain and I'm like "I don't know..." based on past experience.

Tinder for gamers (game finder) that is widely accepted by users, is a brilliant idea long past due.