4 ms·

He's probably a grognard.

JoeAltmaier 9y ago
I host a gaming club. We're in test for 5 games. They vary from simple card games to collectible sets to party games to complex deck-building board games. They all have one thing in common: they're social. You play with other people, rather than in the same room as other people. I've watched some family members play Catan every holiday for years. They sit in virtual silence for 2-4 hours, all looking grim, hardly speaking. When its over, they seem relieved and exhausted. Its depressing. Our club games have people talking constantly, laughing, chanting, enjoying themselves to the limit. They're fun. And that seems to me to be a critical threshold to deserve inclusion in the category 'game'.
- newen 9y ago
  It depends on the group that you're playing with. Catan with my family is fun because we chat the whole time, try to get each other in trouble, etc. Quiet time is pretty rare in Catan for us. Actually the one game that really tells you the character of a group is Codenames. In certain groups, the entire game is super serious and quiet with lots of time spent on thinking, while in other groups the game is fun and filled with discussion and jokes and so on.
- dagw 9y ago
  I get your point, but allow me to offer a counterpoint. A game I can play (and win) without concentration or any real mental effort is a dull game. Sure playing the games can be a lot of fun with the right people but then they're fun despite the game and not because of the game. The game itself is just a catalyst for social interaction (which I guess in itself is a perfectly valid scale to judge a game on). However I believe that if it's a great game I should also be able to enjoy playing it in virtual silence against complete strangers. Ironically I consider Catan a game that is mainly fun because of the social interaction the results from it. And that seems to me to be a critical threshold to deserve inclusion in the category 'game'. Is chess a game?
labster 9y ago
Thanks for making me look up the term "grognard". I knew it from gamer use, but didn't know that it means "grumbler" or its military history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Guard_(France) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Guard_(France)

I host a gaming club. We're in test for 5 games. They vary from simple card games to collectible sets to party games to complex deck-building board games. They all have one thing in common: they're social. You play with other people, rather than in the same room as other people. I've watched some family members play Catan every holiday for years. They sit in virtual silence for 2-4 hours, all looking grim, hardly speaking. When its over, they seem relieved and exhausted. Its depressing. Our club games have people talking constantly, laughing, chanting, enjoying themselves to the limit. They're fun. And that seems to me to be a critical threshold to deserve inclusion in the category 'game'.

newen 9y ago
It depends on the group that you're playing with. Catan with my family is fun because we chat the whole time, try to get each other in trouble, etc. Quiet time is pretty rare in Catan for us. Actually the one game that really tells you the character of a group is Codenames. In certain groups, the entire game is super serious and quiet with lots of time spent on thinking, while in other groups the game is fun and filled with discussion and jokes and so on.
dagw 9y ago
I get your point, but allow me to offer a counterpoint. A game I can play (and win) without concentration or any real mental effort is a dull game. Sure playing the games can be a lot of fun with the right people but then they're fun despite the game and not because of the game. The game itself is just a catalyst for social interaction (which I guess in itself is a perfectly valid scale to judge a game on). However I believe that if it's a great game I should also be able to enjoy playing it in virtual silence against complete strangers. Ironically I consider Catan a game that is mainly fun because of the social interaction the results from it. And that seems to me to be a critical threshold to deserve inclusion in the category 'game'. Is chess a game?

labster 9y ago

Thanks for making me look up the term "grognard". I knew it from gamer use, but didn't know that it means "grumbler" or its military history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Guard_(France) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Guard_(France)