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Jennifer Woolley
Professor Emilia Grant
UWRT 1102-003
April 8, 2015
Inquiry Paper Board Games

Germany is one of the leading producers of board games in the world; producing
over 300 board games per year. Board games have become an essential part of the
German culture, but why? To help explain this, we should look to understand the history
of board games in Germany, the different types of board games, the appeal of board
games, and the types of people that play board games.
Germany has always produced high quality toys and games and has been known
as the toy capital of the world. There are documents dating back to the 1400s with
descriptions of different wooden toys, dolls, and figures all originating from Germany.
One of the first more popular board games in Germany was developed in 1884 by Otto
Robert Maier (Woods 597). The board game became very popular because of the
quality of the pieces, which is essential to most German-style board games. Otto then
established the gaming company Ravensburger; most people are familiar with this
company because of the jigsaw puzzles it produces. Ravensburger began producing
games; however, since Ravensburger did not own the German rights to the popular
games like Monopoly, Scrabble and so on, it could not compete in a similar market. It
had to rely on innovation and creativity to promote its games (Woods 615).
There are distinct types of board games or table-top games. You have your
typical role-playing games (RPG) and then you have the Eurogames, also called
German-style board games. The difference between these two types of games and

other commonly played table-top games, is the emphasis on strategy instead of luck.
The Eurogames also tend to keep all the players in the game until it ends. Eurogames
do have a certain amount of interaction with other players; however, not as much as
RPG games. RPG games, as the name implies, have a special kind of interaction.
Players act out roles for characters in a game in an imaginary setting.
There are many reasons board games appeal to people. There is the social
interaction which requires people to gather together. People like being included in a
community. There are a number of board game clubs that encourage people to bring
games they enjoy playing and teach others how to play, which lends itself to another
appeal, the learning aspect. It is human nature to want to learn new things. The social
interaction of board games easily allow this transfer of knowledge and skill.
In the article Why We Play Games: Four Keys to Emotion Without Story, Nicole
Lazzaro explores why people play games and concludes that people play for the
experience. She states People play games to create moment-to-moment experiences,
whether they are overcoming a difficult game challenge, seeking relief from every-day
worries, or pursuing what Hal Barwood calls simply the joy of figuring it out (1). Part of
the experience she describes is having fun and the people factor (or the social
interaction). Playing games also allows people to escape the real world or the social
norms (Lazzaro 7).
Another reason people like board games is that it is a reasonably priced
entertainment option. A board game can be played with several people and can be
played over several years. The fun aspect and the durability of a board game allows
board games to last forever. It is also easy to transport and does not usually require

additional accessories or expenses. It can also be free; you do not have to pay to play,
you just need to know the right people or look for the right community.
Some people enjoy board games because of the competition aspect. There are
several gaming conventions around the world. In the United States, there is the World
Boardgamming Championships (WBC), once known as Avaloncon, which has gathered
every year since 1991. This is a tournament based convention that allows for 100
different board game tournaments at once. Those tournaments would be covered and
recorded in such a way as to build the traditions of a hobby in which one could strive to
better ones personal bests and provide a measuring stick of ones success.
Competition would be the furnace in which we would forge a new gaming camaraderie
(Greenwood). Germany also has a four day gaming event known to gamers as Essen
or the Essen Interrnationale Spieltage. Game designers and publishers also attend this
event to demonstrate their new games.
What is the incentive for game designers and publishers to continue developing
board games? The Spiel des Jahres. The Spiel des Jahres is the most influential board
game and table game award in the world (Woods 644). Research shows that winning
this award increases sales. This award tends to focus on the ability for families to play,
which is essential to the German culture. In Germany, not only do the awards and
gaming conventions get a lot of attention, but the media plays an important role in
advertising the sale of board games, which is different from the type of media attention
the United States receives. In the United States we do not see a lot of media attention;
however, there are a lot of pop culture references to board games. An older reference to
board games is in the television show Seinfeld, in the episode The Label Maker.

Kramer and Newman are playing Risk on the subway. Kramer is taunting Newman
about the weak Ukraine not knowing an offended Ukrainian man is near. Both
television shows Community and Parks and Recreation also make references to board
games. Community devoted two full episodes to their characters playing Dungeons
and Dragons, a popular RPG (Advanced Dungeons and Advanced Advanced
Dungeons). Parks and Recreation also has two episodes that reference the board
game The Cones of Dunshire, which was created by one of its main characters
(Cones and Moving Up).
Media, in a variety of forms, is the greatest influence on the gaming culture in
Germany. There are a number of specialty magazines focused on gaming. Games are
also reviewed on the radio and designers appear on television with their latest creation
(Woods 634). In the last decade; however, the United Kingdom and United States have
started to see a market for Eurogames and a number of entrepreneurs have started to
purchase Eurogames and published and sell English versions.
There are many reasons people play board games, including being essential to a
culture, but what type of people play board games? Some would same geeks or nerds
play board games, but what classifies someone as a geek? Is it someone that invests
endless hours doing one type of thing, talking about this thing and all the wonderful
things it has brought to their life? Doesnt that sounds like a hobby? Does this make
them a geek or is this just the nature of a hobby?
A lot of people play board games. Most people have grown up playing some
type of board game. Who hasnt played Monopoly? Woods conducted an online survey
of over 650 respondents that have a strong interest in board games to identify the

demographics of board gamers. He found that the level of female participation is

extremely low; 96 percent were male. An impressive 78 percent had at least an
undergraduate degree, with 10 percent having a doctoral degree. The average age was
approximately 36 years old; 28 percent were over 40 years old. Only 17 percent
identified themselves as single and 48 percent stated they had children. Woods also
sums up the demographic as highly educated males and refers to that community as
geeks.
According to Konzack, In a general sense, the term geek refers to an individual
who is fascinated, perhaps obsessively, by obscure areas of knowledge and
imagination (qtd. in Woods 1602). Maybe it is the obsession that tie geeks to board
games and this makes it somehow socially unacceptable. Woods also references a
quote by Scott Russel, an avid board gamer, who talks to the fact that board games just
arent as socially acceptable in the United States. Someone can have an enormous
DVD collection or spend thousands of dollars for season tickets for a sports game, all
the while not being considered socially awkward for putting on face paint and
screaming at referees (1811).
Board games appeal to different types of people in many different ways; there is
not a stereotypical board gamer. In reality, playing board games is a hobby and similar
to any other hobby. As apparent in Germanys culture, board gaming can be an
important part of a culture.

Works Cited

Advanced Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. Community. NBC. 20 Mar. 2014.

Television.
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. Community. NBC. 3 Feb. 2011. Television.
Greenwood, Don. From the Directors Chair Introducing WBC. Boardgame Players
Association, 2006. Web.
Lazzaro, Nicole. Why We Play Games: Four Keys to Emotion Without Story. Paper
presented at the Game Developers Conference, San Jose, CA, 2004.
Moving Up: Part 1. Parks and Recreation. NBC. 24 Apr. 2014. Television
The Label Maker. Seinfeld. NBC. 19 Jan. 1995. Television.
The Cones of Dunshire. Parks and Recreation. NBC. 21 Nov. 2013. Television.
Woods, Stewart. Eurogames: The Design, Culture and Play of Modern European
Board Games. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co, 2012. Print.