Board games from the campaign are getting smaller, and that’s for the better
In May 2023, I wrote this editorial expressing my frustration with the board game trend of adopting extremely long, multi-session campaigns. With the advent of crowdfunding and the explosion of big narrative games, as well as the success of the old format, the exhausting twenty-plus hour campaign structure really took off. There are dozens and dozens of options now, and no one can hope to play them all. I begged the industry to adapt and move to shorter storylines with more superficial demands. The industry listened per chewing gum.
Sure, they were probably just responding to cultural trends and changing demand, but the point is that something has changed. There has been an increase in the number of titles presenting new and innovative variations on the campaign format in board games. These creative approaches have proven satisfying and inspiring. Most importantly, they have resulted in games that players can actually complete with a busy schedule and limited hobby time.
The simplest approach is to limit the number of sessions required. This has produced some meaningful success with two recent highlights. The first is Heat: Pedal to the metal. This hugely popular release is a simple racing game, powered by clever card play. Set in the golden age of the 1950s Formula 1 scene, it features intense one-off races lasting approximately 40 minutes. However, the best the game has to offer can be found in the Championship Circuit mode.
This is a tournament of three or four races that can be played in one evening. Up to six players can play, and you can even replace game-driven bots to fill in for a smaller player base. Between each race you can upgrade your vehicle by creating different cards that represent mechanical modifications or new high-performance parts. These cards are added to your deck and affect every future race.
The multi-race championship mode is such a fantastic addition to the game. It feels like quite an expansion and offers an exciting new way to play where your achievements continue and the series culminates in a high-stakes final match. You also don’t have to play the campaign in one session, because you can store all the different parts in the box itself to save your championship between races. With a total time commitment of just three hours, this is exactly the kind of modernized campaign game that makes actually completing the event possible.
2024 highlight Arcs: Conflict and collapse within reach is another recent attempt at a shortened campaign. This is a science fiction epic where players compete for various ambitions in a war-torn galaxy. Reminiscent of the 4X video game genre, it manages this broad scope with an unusually quirky card system reminiscent of classic trick-takers like Euchre and Hearts. This is a brilliant and inventive game that can last two or three hours for up to four participants to compete and come to grips with their coexistence. But with the addition of the enormous Destroyed range Campaign expansionyou can play three linked sessions as the factions and galaxy evolve, ultimately creating an epic story that emerges throughout the game.
Although this is not as short as Heat: Pedal to the metal‘s campaign format, it’s still a relatively condensed experience that captures something truly epic and exceptional. The magic is in the way each player’s faction unfolds. These are called fates and offer their own set of cards, tokens, and even overarching rule tweaks. At the end of each session you can choose to stay with your current fate or leave it for a new path. This leads to an ever-evolving game state where the wild finale of the third session differs significantly from where everyone started in their first game.
Arcs: Conflict and collapse within reach is among the best games of 2024. Best of all, the three-session campaign offers an unparalleled multi-game commitment that expertly combines brevity with compelling evolution. It’s unfathomable how this short venture can rival the breadth and execution of lengthy campaign games like Gloomhaven And Pandemic: legacy.
While the short, multi-session approach is an excellent solution for the long-term deployment of campaign games, a more interesting technique has recently emerged. The past year has seen an influx of board games that cleverly adapted the roguelite video game genre. This is usually used by unlocking permanent additions to the game that usually result in additional content or variety. This expansion of gameplay is achieved without requiring a consistent group or extensive commitment.
The recently released Dead Cells: The Rogue-Lite Board Game is the strongest example of this adaptation, bringing the core elements of the tabletop video game to life. This cooperative adventure game is built around a dual goal: collecting a resource called cells and defeating a boss. This is an unusual design where the party moves in unison across a board, often choosing between branching paths. As you land on encounters, tokens are flipped and rewards are earned or enemies encountered. After battling through two separate biomes, you’ll collide with a boss in a multi-round spectacle battle.
This is a relatively light game that only takes an hour to complete. A single game is called a ‘run’, and while your ultimate goal is to defeat the boss, hoarding cells is the more meaningful task. These cells are used at the end of the game (win or lose) to buy mystery cards from one of the different piles. These cards consist of a variety of rewards and consequences. Sometimes they add new enemies to biomes or new battle cards to players’ decks. Other times they provide tasks for future sessions or even tweak the general rules to provide new skills or bonuses. There is a wide range of content to discover, and it is often met with shock and joy.
A similar approach is taken Kill the Spire: The Board Gameanother cardboard adaptation of a digital property. Players create unique decks of cards as they play, which are then used to defeat fantastical creatures in an attempt to ultimately conquer the Spire. Unlike Dead Cells: The Rogue-Lite Board Gamethis game closely mimics the actual structure and gameplay of its video game predecessor. The result, while familiar, is a compelling tabletop game full of rich tactical decision-making.
The roguelite element found in Kill the Spire: The Board Game consists of unlocking new cards, which will be added to the larger pool in future sessions. It is more incremental progress and less varied than the Dead cells board game, but it’s still a fantastic method of rewarding dedication by presenting new content.
The beauty of adapting the roguelite format to board games is that it separates long-term incentives from the stranglehold of commitment. You don’t need a persistent group. You can take your copy with you Dead Cells: The Rogue-Lite Board Game to a friend’s house and play a run or two. Then you can take the game to a family gathering and play a few more times with a brother or sister. While anyone who comes into contact with the game may not have a deep appreciation for the evolution of the content and how the unlocked cards impact the future gameplay, that line will at least exist with the game’s owner, as well as those who can play it in the future. the future and witness the transition.
These roguelite elements also provide a meaningful incentive to keep coming back to the game, offering a similar mechanical reward to long-term campaign play. This is important because it keeps the game fresh and attractive. The spark that often comes with the shiny new product stays brighter longer and the feeling of excitement is retained.
The appeal of campaign games is the transition of game states over multiple sessions. Limiting that growth to a shorter time frame is a fantastic compromise to leverage some of that revenue without incurring the high costs. Likewise, this new wave of roguelite board games takes the reward cycle of campaign play and expertly inserts it into the flexibility of the standard single-session game. Both methods have achieved resounding success in just a short period of existence. It’s exciting to witness these changes in the tabletop hobby and imagine what they themselves will evolve into over time.