<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Aaron asked me in his last post if I viewed Morels more as
simulation or entertainment. The initial concept was actually both, which I
don’t intend as a cop-out answer since I don’t think most tabletop designers
aim for, or at least prioritize, simulation at all (unless specifically working
in that sub-genre, with games like Civilization). I believe many or perhaps
even most board games are designed “logic first”, basically working out the abstract
mechanics for what will drive a game, then pasting on a theme at some point
downstream, sometimes at the very end. Hall-of-Fame designer Reinier Knizia,
for instance, is universally panned for this (though he’s so good at what he
does that, by and large, folks don’t mind). When I design, I prefer to bring
theme in as early as possible, sometimes even as the initial spark, so that it
can suggest game mechanics as I go. The result is inevitably a more organic
feel to the finished product, with what would otherwise be abstract in-game
choices instead woven into the thematic experience such that it can feel like a
simulation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">We were also talking the other day about a board
game called <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31260/agricola">Agricola</a>, the big kahuna of 2008. He drove 2 hours to get a copy
and I lusted over one for months until the owner of the game shop where I was
working gifted me a copy as a going away present. It was hot! In that heady era
for tactical tabletop agriculture, I remember someone posting on Board Game
Geek that, after playing countless sessions of farming-themed Euro-games
(Agricola being only one entry in a surprisingly rich genre), it made him
literally want to farm (!). Several years later, with Morels nearing release, it occurred to me
that a similar result was possible. I’d
never formally tested the hypothesis, but began to warm to the affirmative
when emails began trickling in to the effect that, because of Morels, folks had
joined a local mushroom club, bought a mycology field guide to enhance walks in
the woods, picked up some Hen of the Woods from the local farmers market to try
for the first time, etc. As a former science teacher always on a mission to help foster positive relationships with nature, these were some rewarding moments.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Which brings me to my question: do theme-heavy tabletop
games have the power to change attitudes, behaviors, even lifestyles? I suspect
there is whole field of academic research centering on how digital games do
just that, so here once again is the analog jump (I imagine there may be analog
research on this too, but if so I’m just unaware of it…sorry folks, not an academic). To
address this question I selected three outdoor-hobby themed games and created a
poll for each on Board Game Geek to churn up some data on whether players
experienced what I called “hobby crossover”, basically the action of board
gaming instigating or furthering action in the hobby portrayed by that game. I wanted to look specifically at games with outdoorsy themes, so, with links to the polls, the games I selected were
<a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2385895/has-morels-encouraged-you-go-mushroom-foraging">Morels</a>, <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2385890/has-parks-inspired-you-visit-national-parks">PARKS</a>,<span style="font-size:11pt"> and </span><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2385893/has-wingspan-inspired-you-go-birdwatching" style="font-size:11pt">Wingspan</a><span style="font-size:11pt">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The results were downright fun! Both the data and the basket
of anecdotes that came with suggest that “hobby crossover” is taking place with
these games. Here’s a summary of the numbers with a couple of user quotes as
well, taken from comments sections of the polls:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Morels, themed around the relatively (extremely?)
high-barrier hobby of mushroom foraging, saw 40% of participants agree or
strongly agree that they were MORE interested in mushroom foraging having
played Morels, with 14% reporting they had actually gone mushroom foraging at least once
more than they may have otherwise. (n= 35)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">1. <i>My explorations have
mostly been academic, but certainly the game inspired me to read up on mushroom
foraging which led to an interest in foraging in general…while I've not used my
gained knowledge to pluck and cook, I have gone on my share of walks to do some
shroom-spotting.</i></span><i></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">2. <i>I'm not sure I would ever actually go mushroom foraging because I
wouldn't trust myself to not accidentally pick a fatally poisonous mushroom. But
Morels HAS changed my grocery store and cooking experience. I recognize exotic
mushrooms in the store from the game, that I wouldn't have otherwise known
about, and I'm more likely to take them home and cook them. I really get a kick
out of sauteeing up some mushrooms that I've seen in the game.</i></span><i></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">PARKS, themed around visiting National Parks, saw 43% of
participants agree or strongly agree that they were MORE interested in visiting
National Parks having played PARKS, with 3% reporting they had actually visited
a National Park that they may not have otherwise. (n= 31; PARKS was only
released last September, so these visitation numbers may go up over time,
especially with the passage of a summer).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Wingspan, themed around birdwatching, saw 46% of
participants agree or strongly agree that they were MORE interested in birdwatching
having played Wingspan, with 20% reporting they had actually gone birdwatching
at least once more than they may have otherwise. (n =101)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">1.<i> I wasn't consciously
'birdwatching' at all before Wingspan and had a very vague understanding of the
avi-fauna. I was deliberately pipe-organ-watching and a bit of train-watching
;-)</i></span><i><span style="color:black"> <span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">Months after some plays of Wingspan I got enough aware of this interest,
so that in a walk to a park that also has a large lake, I was able to recognize
Mallard ducks (males vs females) which are here in Romania too and the whole
Europe; a local gull species different from Franklin's and a wild goose species
different from the Canada Goose.</span></span> <span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">I
took several wide-angle and zoomed photos of environment and birds and specific
behaviors (picking food from under water, diving, gliding, taking off from
water-walking) - something I never did expressly before.</span></i><i></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All of which I thought was pretty cool for a little sideline
investigation. My apologies for the length in sharing and many thanks to the
generous folks at Board Game Geek for participating. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Anyone with more robust data or insight on any of this,
please do jump in!</p></div><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div><font face="garamond,serif" size="4"><strong>Brent Povis</strong></font></div><div><font face="garamond,serif">Game Designer</font></div><div><font face="garamond,serif">Two Lanterns Games</font></div><div> <img src="https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1jaeJjoqG-ttsw3lwnmM2_qY752o7z0cA&revid=0BwwlM4UsYFbNNEhDangyWCtja2NwTC94VnJNUkkzNDF2MW04PQ" width="96" height="64"></div><div> </div><div><em><font face="garamond,serif" size="4"><br></font></em></div><div> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div>