Become Your Own Board Game Expert!

When looking at what board games you might want to play next, or when looking for or making recommendations it helps to be able to classify game into categories based on how they are played and what you like about them.

The way I like to do this is by looking at the board game's mechanics. Board game mechanics are the actions and systems around which a board game is built. It may seem mundane, but it is super useful. I have found that looking at the mechanics is the most reliable way for me to predict how much I and others will enjoy the game.

Fortunately people have put a lot of time and effort into categorizing and cataloguing these mechanics. Here is a complete list of board game mechanics from the website, Board Game Geek:

https://boardgamegeek.com/browse/boardgamemechanic

Now this list is a bit overwhelming, its more useful as a reference than a starting point. Most gamers are already familiar with Board Game Geek as a place to get reviews, descriptions, and statistics for a game, but for me its list of mechanics is one of its most useful features. You can look up any game you've played, or want to play and see which mechanisms from this list are used in that game and then click on them to learn more about them. Here's an example:

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/270971/era-medieval-age

The mechanics can be found to the right of the game's description. As seen below!

I'll be talking a lot more about these mechanics in the future so stay tuned!