This document provides a history of board games from the 1890s to 1950s and discusses some lessons that can be learned from that history. It summarizes that the collector collected games from 8 countries spanning 1895-1955, both war-themed and strategy games. It also notes that some of the earliest and most popular mass-market games like Monopoly and Risk were based on earlier games. The document advocates that board game designers should study history for inspiration and to understand how different elements like theme, mechanics, and components impact audiences. Designers should figure out their target audience and focus on the triangle of theme, mechanics, and components.

1. Behind the Dice
A bit of board game history
(1890s-1950)

2. Background
• Collection
– My preferences
– Collecting process
– Antiques
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Games from 8 countries
Spanning 1895-1955
War themed and Strategy
Some believe they were for Propaganda
– Reflections of country’s current interest

3. History is Often Ignored
• Most board gamers don’t know the history of the hobby
– Milton Bradley 1833
– Parker Brothers 1860
– My Experience
• Charles Roberts: father of the Wargame Hobby (Tactics 1954)

4. The Best Selling Board Game in History??
Monopoly (1933) – 275M units
First published in its final form by Parker Brothers in 1933.
Note the date: Popular IPs can last a long time

5. The LandLord’s Game (1903)
From a patent first entered in 1903.

6. Recognize this game??

7. Stratego
(20M in Sales)
Created in 1947
• Jumbo
• Netherlands
Its not the source of the original IP.

8. L’Attaque (1909)

9. Cloned Games
• No surprise, success gets cloned:
– L’Attaque was cloned 3 times and the IPs lasted until the 70s.
• Dover Patrol (1911)
• Aviation (1925)
• Tri-Tactics (1936)
– Axis & Allies
• 10+ variants
– Risk 1959 based on La Conquete Du Monde (1957)
• 20 variants
– Monopoly: any guesses on the number of variants?

10. 2400+

11. What’s the Point?
• Why should the history of games matter to a board game designer.

12. The Board Game Industry
• Some background about the Board Game Industry
– When a game hits the mass market they can do well
• More than $1B in sales
– Settlers of Catan (15M) 1995
– Othello (40M) modern version 1968
– Risk (~40M) 1957
– Game of Life (50M) modern version 1960
– Trivial Pursuits (90M) 1979
– Scrabble (150M) 1948

13. The Core Board gamer
• Boardgamegeek.com – core board gamers
– ~300K members
– What I found out about core board gamers
• I thought I was one, nope
– Grognard: from the French for grumpy old Veteran
• Very vocal minority online
– The active folks drive the perception of the games
» Via data (ratings) and feedback (sessions/reviews)
» Assume it influences sales

14. Hardcore Gamers are not Mass Market
– None of the top 10 on BGG are mass market
» Twilight Struggle: 8K
» Agricola: 1st Edition 5K, world wide 60K
» Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization: Unknown
» Android: Net Runner: Unknown
» Puerto Rico: 150K
» Eclipse: Unknown
» Power Grid: 50K
» Terra Mystica: Unknown
» Mage Knight: Unknown
» La Havre: Unknown

15. It Comes Down to:
• Audience awareness:
– Designers can become disconnected from the audience
– Impact of the game mechanics on the player
• Giving the player lots of choice
– Common to most of the top 10 BGG games
– Too much player choice can have its limits
» Some people never get past the “complexity of choice”
» Limits the broader appeal
• A focus on 3 elements

16. Triangle of Board Game Design
(Reiner Knizia ---K knee see jah)
• Theme (Majority of designs)
– “American based” often leads to the bad games
• Mechanics
– “Euro-style” can be seen as dry
• Components
– “too gimmicky or exhausting”

17. Lessons From History
• Designers can use the old games for reference
– Ideas/inspiration
• Some say we don’t design anything new anymore
(we just steal stuff from other games)
• Figure out your target audience and build to that expectation
• History shows that simplicity sells
Play games for fun but also as an observer….
Watch for the impact of theme, mechanics and components.