Fantasy board games are everywhere these days. There’s so much variety, mechanically speaking, from the resource management of Lords of Waterdeep, to the semi-cooperative Castle Panic. We certainly can’t forget about the ever popular party favourite Red Dragon Inn. What I want to talk about though is the EPIC fantasy game! The grindiest, dungeon crawliest, friendship ruining games that span Monopolean amounts of time. You may have asked yourself “Why wouldn’t I just spend that same time playing an RPG like D&D or Pathfinder?”
Well that’s the question I’m going to address in this article. Now I’m not really going to be reviewing any games, think of this as more of a pros and cons list. When I talk about an Epic Fantasy I mean games like Talisman, and the older WOTC board games like Castle Ravenloft.
Prep Time vs Setup Time
So this is probably the most obvious one. RPGs need a GM to run the game and GMs typically need/want prep time. Now a lot of GMs I know, including myself, have adopted a zero to minimal prep style. I think it’s safe to say, though, that on average most GMs spend a decent amount of time prepping for an RPG session. A board game doesn’t require that work. Of course it needs to be mentioned that these fantasy board games do have a bit of setup time. It might take something like 20 minutes to get setup. I imaging that’s still less then what most GMs spend prepping on average.
Player Prep
This is kind of an extension of the first point so it’ll be brief. Depending on which system you’re running and what level you’re starting at, an RPG will require at least some player prep. Low level games take less time to create characters of course, but it is still time that has to be set aside. It’s also an additional step for you because you’ll need to discuss concepts and approve characters. If you have new players, you’ll also need to spend time helping them with their character, reviewing rules, and answering questions.
New Players
The great thing about board games is the (usually) low learning curve. You can crack one open and by the end of the first go around the table, everyone’s got the hang of it. A fantasy board game can be a great way to give someone new to the hobby a bit of an idea of what it’s kind of like. Especially old WOTC board games, which are really just stripped down D&D. This also circles back to the whole time discussion. When there are new players you as the GM need to take time to educate them a bit. Now the responsibility is not solely on you to educate new players. The experienced players should be helping out when needed. Based on personal experience though there’s nothing worse than trying to learn a new system and the GM pawning off all the work to educate the new player on one of the more experienced ones.
Everyone Plays
This one is for the GMs. Now it can be a lot of fun running players through a story, but if you’re the only one in the group running games it’s nice to have a change every once in a while. It won’t be quite the same but it can be nice to do something different every once in a while, and actually get to play.
These are just some of my thoughts on the matter. Ultimately you’ve just got to ask yourself one question, “Am I having fun?” That’s what really counts. If your group is having a good time then there’s no debate needed. If any of you come up with some other good comparisons, message me or put it up on the Facebook page.
Justin
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