Not too long ago, we too were newbies in the board game world. Starting out can be intimidating with all the jargon and terminology board gamers use in their videos and blog posts. Don’t worry; we are here to help you understand all those mechanisms. In this guide (part 1), we’ll break down seven key mechanics.

In area control games, players are pitted against each other to gain dominance over a specific region of the board. Each turn you play; you will often also have to manage your resources to establish control over territories. In short, the goal of area control is to, in fact, control the most territories. Most of the time, area control, is the core mechanism of the game, meaning that it will be your end-game goal. A classic game you may have heard about or played that uses area control is “Risk” (1959). In Risk, you are at war, and you are trying to win the most regions and take control of the board. 

For a more modern take on this mechanic, you should try “3 Ring Circus” (2023). In this game, you are trying to become the most popular circus performer in the USA. As you gain experience, you will try to visit the most towns, thus gaining control over them. That game is a good example of one that includes area control but does not make it the focus of the game. We are not fans of area control, but we do enjoy this one a lot. This mechanism is the epitome of “head-to-head” games. If you like high interaction with other players, area control is for you.

Campaign and legacy games are somewhat different and somewhat like each other. In these games, you will embark on a series of interconnected adventures where each of your decisions will impact future game play. Often, campaign and legacy games will integrate other mechanisms into their game play, such as cooperative, grid movement, and many others. We will talk about all of those in this series. The big difference between campaigns and legacy games is that in a campaign game you will often have quests (exploring a dungeon, for example) that will follow a sort of "story," while in legacy games you will have individual plays of the same game, but with modifications to the rules made from the play before. Let’s take games as an example. If you ask any board gamers, the ultimate campaign game was, for many years, “Gloomhaven” (2017). In this game, your goal is to fulfill your quest by vanquishing monsters and exploring dungeons. This game is known to take hours and hours to complete; if this seems like too much of a challenge, investigate this legacy game instead. “Dorfromantik: The Board Game” (2022), based on the video game of the same name, is a relaxing cooperative (working together) campaign game. The goal of this game is to create a beautiful landscape while achieving objectives (ex., a road of five tiles). As the game progresses, you will open new boxes and discover new objectives to achieve. Campaign and legacy games are often games that need a bit more commitment to finish, as they are never done with only one play. If you want games that will be different each time but have the same core, these are the games for you. 

Contract fulfillment games challenges players to specific objectives (ie contracts) to earn the most point and win the game. Throughout the games, players must strategically mange their resources and actions to fulfill those contracts in the most efficient manner possible. You will often need to “pay” with resources to achieve your contract. A classic game that you may have played is “Ticket to ride” (2004). In this game, your goal is to build the most train route possible, or to build the ones that gives the most points. This classic game is so popular that it has many different variants situated in different part of the world, some of them even bring new rules. There is even a legacy game of Ticket to Ride that came out in 2023. To get a modern take on that mechanism, you should try “Flamecraft” (2022). In this magical game, you will take on the role of Flamekeepers who visits shops to gather ingredients, with the ultimate goal of making recipes (contracts). Contract fulfillment games are a really “satisfying” are they give you the impression of accomplishing something. If you want to have little wins all the way throughout a play, contract fulfillments are for you. 

What is a deck? Here, we talk about a deck of cards. Thus, deck-builder games will most of the time involve cards. In those games, you will start with a basic deck of cards. Often, it will be the same deck for every player. As the game progresses, you will have the opportunity to acquire or buy new cards. Gradually, your deck will become more and more "powerful". A classic game that uses that mechanism is “Dominion” (2008). In Dominion, you are a ruler over a small kingdom; your goal is to have a biggest kingdom with more rivers, more trees, and more of everything. For a more modern take on the deck builder game, you should try the lastest “Clank!” : “Clank!: Catacombs” (2022). In Clank! Catacombs, you will explore a dungeon to retrieve riches. Your deck of cards will allow you to buy more cards, explore the dungeon, and give you special powers. Every game will be different as you create a new board (dungeon) for each game. You may have heard “bag builder” as well. The bag builder is similar. You buy chips to put in a bag and draw randomly. A good example for bag builders is “Wonderland’s War” (2022). Set in the Alice and Wonderland world, with the bag of chips you build, you will fight over territories. Your goal is to become the new leader of Wonderland!  In short, deck builder is all about strategy and buying the best cards to improve your kingdom or run faster throughout a dungeon for example. Deck Builder brings a lot of variety making it one of the common mechanism you will encounter in your journey of discovring board game. 

Deduction games challenge players to use logic, deduction, and a lot of reasoning to be the first to solve the mystery or hidden information. During the game, players will receive clues. You will then have to try and come up with the anwser your are looking for. With deduction game, you will never be sure of your answer until you verify your anwser. You will still want to be the first who comes up with it, so you may have to follow your instinct. The first game that comes to mind with deduction games will always be “Clue” (1949). This is one of the games that got me into board games as a young child. In Clue, your goal is to discover who is the killer, in what room, and what their weapon is. You will walk around the manor, exploring and talking with other characters to gather information. Another modern classic of deduction games is “Codenames” (2015). In this game, you will play as spymasters and their teammates to identify agents by their codenames. In short, deduction games are all about logic and making connections with little to no information at the beginning.

As the name of this mechanism says, it involves dice, so it is based on chance and luck. You roll dice, and it will give you action, determine the outcome of the fight, or maybe even give you money. Dice are so common in board games. Sometimes they are the main mechanism like "Yahtzee", sometimes they will be used as secondary mechanism to resolve fight, or determine how much resource you gain. The possibilities are endless with dice. Let’s talk about the classic “Yahtzee” (1956). I am sure many of you have played that game in the past. The goal is to make the most points by making one of the 13 categories of numbers. It's a classic, cause it's so satisfying to get those combinations. If you like casual games like Yahtzee, you should try “Rolling Realms” (2021). In Rolling Realms, your goal is to earn the most stars in a series of minigames. You will play 3 rounds with 3 simultaneous minigames, the games will be different each round. Those minigames are inspired by other boardgames and oversimplify their mechanics. It's a fun and easy game. Lastly, If you want a trilling race with dice, I recommend you try “Cubitos” (2021). Each round, you will roll your dice (with special powers) to get to the finish line the fastest. But be careful; if you roll too much, you could “bust” and lose the chance to move and acquire new and more powerful dice. In short, dice-resolution games can be a multitude of different kinds of games. You can use it as the classic “roll and move” or even in combat to determine who has the most power. Such a fun and versatile mechanism.

In this mechanism, you will select components (cards, dice, and tokens) from a shared pool. Your goal will be to strategically choose the most advantageous options while denying them to your opponents. A classic game example is “7 Wonders." In 7 Wonders, you are the leader of one of the 7 great cities of the ancient world. You will draft cards, giving you the ability to collect resources to build an architectural wonder and leave your trace in time. For a more modern take on drafting, you should try the small box—we love those—game “Bommerang, USA” (2020) or any version of the “Boomerang” family. In Boomerang USA, you will start by drafting location cards from all around the US. Your goal is to be the first to visit the cost-to-cost of the USA or the first to visit all the cities in a region. Many ways to make points are available. In short, drafting games are mechanisms where you can decide to choose a component simply to block your adversary, or you can decide to always choose the best option for you. But always keep in mind that most of the time everybody will choose from the same pool 

References: 

BGG. (n.d.) Boomerang: USA. Board Games Geek. Retrieved June 2024, from: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/300369/boomerang-usa

BGG. (n.d.) Clank!: Catacombs. Board Games Geek. Retrieved June 2024, from: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36218/dominion

BGG. (n.d.) Clue. Board Games Geek. Retrieved June 2024, from: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1294/clue

BGG. (n.d.) Codenames. Board Games Geek. Retrieved June 2024, from: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/178900/codenames

BGG. (n.d.) Cubitos. Board Games Geek. Retrieved June 2024, from: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/298069/cubitos

BGG. (n.d.) Dominion. Board Games Geek. Retrieved June 2024, from: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36218/dominion

BGG. (n.d.) Dorfromantik: The board game. Board Games Geek. Retrieved May 2024, from: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/370591/dorfromantik-the-board-game/credits

BGG. (n.d.) Flamecraft. Board Games Geek. Retrieved May 2024, from: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/336986/flamecraft

BGG. (n.d.) Gloomhaven. Board Games Geek. Retrieved May 2024, from: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/174430/gloomhaven/credits

BGG. (n.d.) Ticket to ride. Board Games Geek. Retrieved May 2024, from: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9209/ticket-to-ride

BGG. (n.d.) Risk. Board Games Geek. Retrieved May 2024, from: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/181/risk 

BGG. (n.d.) Rolling Realms. Board Games Geek. Retrieved June 2024, from: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/305682/rolling-realms

BGG. (n.d.) Wonderland’s War. Board Games Geek. Retrieved June 2024, from: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/227935/wonderlands-war

BGG. (n.d.) 3 ring circus. Board Games Geek. Retrieved May 2024, from: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/371947/3-ring-circus/credits

BGG. (n.d.) 7 Wonders. Board Games Geek. Retrieved June 2024, from: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/68448/7-wonders