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är Max Herngren slår upp dörren till sin etta i Björkhagen i Stockholm gör han ett tappert försök att förekomma fördomarna.

- Vi funderade på om vi skulle dyka upp i pentagramtröjor, skämtar han medan han visar in till det dunkla vardagsrum där hans två medspelare Love Almquist och Albin Sundin samlats.

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är Max Herngren slår upp dörren till sin etta i Björkhagen i Stockholm gör han ett tappert försök att förekomma fördomarna. - Vi funderade på om vi skulle dyka upp i pentagramtröjor, skämtar han medan han visar in till det dunkla vardagsrum där hans två medspelare Love Almquist och Albin Sundin samlats.

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Rollspelet som skapade moralpanik fyller 30 år

Detta är en kulturartikel som är en del av Aftonbladets opinionsjournalistik.

Jag var nio år när jag fick mitt första Drakar och demoner i julklapp 1986. Varje dag efter skolan, på kvällar, helger och lov under mellan- och högstadiet, och genom hela gymnasiet spelade jag. Tillsammans med mina kompisar stred jag mot mörkrets makter, utforskade förlorade civilisationer, bekämpade bestar och vidunder, löste gåtor och mysterier. Vi räddade världen om och om igen.

Jag var del av en smärre folkrörelse. I pojkrum - ja, de flesta rollspelare var pojkar - samlades moppefjuniga kompisgäng för att slå 20-sidiga tärningar och prata i förkortningar. Mellan 1982 och 1992 såldes Drakar och demoner i 100 000 exemplar och spelarna räknades i hundratusental.

Om man gillade drakar och magiska ringar fanns det inte mycket konkurrens i 80-talets Sverige. Utgivningen av fantasylitteratur var obefintlig, tv-spelen fortfarande i sin linda, och alla coola videofilmer hade åldersgräns. Drakar och demoner erbjöd ett fantasyäventyr jag inte fick tag på någon annanstans. Jag kunde bli en del av äventyren.

Jag minns frihetskänslan när jag förstod vad Drakar och demoner var för sorts spel. Vad alla de där sidorna med regler egentligen innebar: Att jag kunde göra vad som helst! Jag och mina vänner skapade spelet varje gång vi spelade det.

En bunt småkillar som klämde in sig i närmsta skrubb och snackade fikonspråk. Begrepp som STY, PSY, Kroppspoäng och Färdighetsvärde blandades hejvilt med beskrivningar av påhittade städer och planer för att stjäla drakens guld. Det var en exkluderande hobby, svår att begripa för den som inte själv var delaktig - vilket gav vuxenvärlden moralpanik.

Sveriges frikyrkor fick för sig att Drakar och demoner var en inkörsport till djävulsdyrkan, svart magi och barnamord. Det började som utspel i religiösa tidskrifter, men frågan tog fart när SVT:s Rapport 1992 sände ett inslag om att skräckrollspelet Kult såldes i leksaksbutiker. Kult var ett vuxnare och betydligt mörkare spel än Drakar och demoner. Efter inslaget slutade butikskedjan Stor & Liten att sälja rollspel och allmänhetens syn på rollspelare ändrades snabbt. I medierna blev det vanligt att poängtera om en våldsman hade rollspel som hobby, och plötsligt var vi rollspelare inte längre bara ett gäng kufar - vi var nu potentiella mördare.

Kulmen kom 1994 när två bröder dödade en 15-årig kamrat i Bjuv.

Alla tre i det tragiska dramat hade rollspel som främsta hobby. Plötsligt skrevs det spaltmeter om hobbyns farlighet. Rubriker som "Rollspelet gick ut på att döda" (Expressen 12 nov 1994), "Rollspel ledde till mordet" (Aftonbladet 24 nov 1994) och "Psykiater granskar rollspel" (Svenska Dagbladet 17 okt 1996) blev vanliga. Budskapet var tydligt: Rollspelare blev känslomässigt avtrubbade, våldsamma och tappade förmågan att skilja på dikt och verklighet. Kritiken var i stort sett identisk med den som i dag riktas mot tv-spel, eller för den delen, den som videofilmerna fick utstå tio år tidigare.

Några år senare kom boken De övergivnas armé (Norstedts, 1997) där författarna Didi Örnstedt och Björn Sjöstedt utmålade oss rollspelare som nazister och anarkister.

Senare visade det sig att rollspelandet haft liten eller ingen roll i Bjuv-mordet, eller i något annat fall som kopplats till spelen, vilket bara förstärkte min och mina vänners uppfattning att kritiken var grundlös. Den gick inte att ta på allvar av någon med insyn i hobbyn.

Trots det fanns det legitima invändningar som försvann i olyckskorparnas skränande. Man kan till exempel peka på bristen av vettiga kvinnoporträtt; i hela Drakar och demoners trettioåriga produktlinje är knappt två av tio namngivna karaktärer kvinnor, och då oftast av typen prinsessa i nöd eller förförisk häxa. Eller varför pratade ingen om hur tidskrävande rollspel var på samma sätt som man i dag diskuterar World of warcraft-beroende?
Vi rollspelare reagerade som subkulturer ofta gör när den kritiseras: vi slöt oss inåt. Jag slutade läsa rollspelsböcker på pendeltåget och berättade inte längre för vem som helst om min hobby. När jag för tionde gången fått förklara för någon tant på bussen att, nej, jag dyrkade inte Belsebub, så orkade jag inte längre. Jag och många med mig gick under jorden.
Samtidigt tog den rollspelsfluga som rått under 80-talet slut och spelen försvann från butikshyllorna. Det var nya tider. Gillade man fantasy kunde man spela en uppsjö olika datorspel, kolla på kabel-tv eller läsa något i den lavin av fantasylitteratur som börjat översättas till svenska. För egen del hade jag gått vidare till utländska rollspel: Advanced dungeons & dragons, Vampire: The masquerade och många andra. Under 90-talet minskade utgivningen av svenska rollspel från 30 titlar om året till knappt en handfull. Target Games, som gav ut Drakar och demoner, försökte blåsa liv i marknaden 1994 med en ny version av spelet, nu med undertiteln Chronopia. Det gick så där. Fem år senare stängde Target Games dörrarna för gott, och det verkade som att sagan om Drakar och demoner hade nått sitt slut.

Drakar är dock svåra att döda. Bara något år senare återuppstod spelet i ny regi - det nybildade företaget Riotminds skapade sig snabbt ett namn med sina ambitiösa och överdådigt illustrerade böcker. Mycket yta men svagt innehåll, men under några år lyckades Riotminds få Drakar och demoner att flyga igen. När försäljningen återigen började dala försökte de 2010 lansera en onlineversion av spelet - utan större framgång.

När Riotminds la ner verksamheten i november i fjol kände jag genuin sorg. Även om det var länge sedan jag spelade Drakar och demoner så är en värld utan spelet inte komplett. I vilket annat sammanhang kan man stöta på elvaåringar som helt naturligt slänger sig med ord som ambidextriös, karisma och marinheraldik? Jag tror att Drakar och demoner och dess kusiner gjort mer för läskunnigheten och allmänbildningen bland 70-talets pojkar än någon annan fritidssysselsättning.

Trots att hobbyn i dag i stort sett är osynlig så hittar man spår av den överallt. I filmer, tv-serier, datorspel, böcker eller, för den delen, i riksdagen. Vi som växte upp med Drakar och demoner är i dag yrkesverksamma samhällsmedborgare, och ytterst få har visat sig vara känslokalla seriemördare. Tvärtom finns vi ofta i skapande yrken. Författaren John Ajvide Lindqvist kom i sin senaste bok ut som rollspelare. I rollspelstidningen Sinkadus från 1987 sökte en tolvårig Lars Winnerbäck medlemmar till brevklubben The Hunters. Journalisten Fredrik Strage har berättat om sitt rollspelande i radio, och skådespelaren Simon J Berger spelar än i dag.

Rollspel har visat sig vara en grogrund, inte för våldsverkare, utan för kreativa, tänkande människor.
Tyvärr har osynligheten inneburit att nyrekryteringen avstannat. Det är sällsynt att möta rollspelare under 25 - de flesta är en bra bit över 30 - och risken är stor att Drakar och demoner i framtiden blir en angelägenhet för en liten skara åldrande entusiaster.
Det gör ont att behöva erkänna det så här på spelets trettioårsjubileum, men draken kan vara död på riktigt den här gången.

Drakar och demoner-historia

1982: 1:a utgåvan av Drakar och demoner släpps av svenska Target Games. Spelet är en översättning av amerikanska Basic role-playing och Magic world.

1984: 2:a utgåvan, den svarta lådan släpps. Spelet är fortfarande baserat på Basic role-playing, men har fått en egen särart. 1985 kommer en 3:e utgåva där mindre regelbuggar och språkfel har korrigerats.

1987: Den 4:e utgåvan har fått nya illustrationer och nyskriven text.

1988: Fyra S-riksdagsledamöter vill förbjuda reklam för våldsleksaker, dit de även räknar rollspel.

1989: Barnmiljörådet slår fast att rollspel som innehåller mer våld än vad motsvarande biograf- eller videocensur tillåter inte bör säljas. Vid tidpunkten hade det ännu inte existerat något sådant spel i Sverige.

1991: 5:e utgåvan innehåller kraftigt förändrade regler.

1992: Ett inslag om rollspels farlighet i SVT:s Rapport leder till att leksakskedjan Stor & Liten slutar sälja dem.

1993: Target Games lägger ner större delen av sin rollspelsproduktion.

1994: Drakar och demoner: Chronopia har en ny spelvärld och en radikalt annorlunda grafisk profil. Mottagandet blir ljumt.

1994: Åhléns slutar att sälja rollspel.

1997: Reportageboken De övergivnas armé (Norstedts) framställer rollspelare som nazister och anarkister. Författarna Diddi Örnstedt och Björn Sjöstedt får kritik för att vara konspirationsteoretiska, samt för sina många sakfel.

1999: Target games lägger ner verksamheten. Rättigheterna till Drakar och demoner överförs till Paradox Entertainment.

2000: Spelföretaget Riotminds ger ut en ny utgåva på licens från Paradox.

2003: Riotminds släpper en reviderad version av spelet.

2006: Drakar och demoners nionde utgåva bär undertiteln Trudvang.

2010: Riotminds slutar trycka fysiska böcker och startar ett digitalt bibliotek, Drakar och demoner online, där användare får tillgång till spelmaterial på prenumerationsbasis.

2011 oktober: Nyheten att Drakar och demoner ska bli film skapar små notiser i pressen.

2011 november: Riotminds lägger ner verksamheten.

2012: Drakar och demoner fyller 30 år.

Magnus Edlund

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aftonbladet: sveriges nyhetskälla och mötesplats

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Detta är en kulturartikel som är en del av Aftonbladets opinionsjournalistik. Jag var nio år när jag fick mitt första Drakar och demoner i julklapp 1986. Varje dag efter skolan, på kvällar, helger och lov under mellan- och högstadiet, och genom hela gymnasiet spelade jag.

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Genom att skapa brädspelet med olika frågor inom anatomi och fysiologi så kunde hon hjälpa sin vän att klara tentan. Spelet gör att det blir mer underhållande än att bara läsa böcker och olika memorera termer. Det blir tävling och kul.

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Emmas brädspel ökar chansen att klara tentan - Uppsala universitet

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När kompisen gång på gång misslyckades med omtentan i anatomi och fysiologi, så bestämde sig Emma att hjälpa sin kurskamrat och skapade ett brädspel som fick henne att klara tentan. Nu har fakulteten köpt in 15 spel till sjuksköterskeprogrammet.

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Olika spel kan användas för att lära sig inom olika områden. Spelet Fish Banks låter spelaren ta hand om en fiskeriföretag. Där spelaren måste fatta beslut för att maximera värdet för företaget. Spelet gör att måste tänka kritiskt och ta olika riskbedömningar.

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är ett pedagogiskt brädspel som utvecklats av Dennis Meadows (författare till Limits to Growth) och ger studenterna en demonstration av allmänningarnas tragedi. I spelet tar studenterna i grupp roller som fiskeriföretag, och genom att hantera sin fiskeflotta och relationen med de andra lagen i spelet på ett genomtänkt sätt är uppgiften att maximera det värde de kan skapa.

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I juletider är det många som passar på att utmana nära och kära i brädspel.

Trots att brädspel är en gammal julfavorit har Svenska Bokhandlareföreningen i år märkt en ökad efterfrågan på klassiska spel.

- Det är vanliga familjespel som Monopol, Tjuv och polis och Alfapet, säger vd Dag Klackenberg.

När klapparna är öppnade - eller kanske i väntan på tomten - passar många på att sätta sig ner och utmana nära och kära i klassiska brädspel. Även om brädspelen är en gammal julfavorit har Svenska Bokhandlareföreningen sett en ökad efterfrågan på brädspel i årets julhandel.

Försäljningen är inte statistiskt säkerställd, men enligt vd Dag Klackenberg är det spel medlemmarna pratar om när han frågar hur det går i julhandeln.

- Vi märker att efterfrågan på det vi kan kalla för gamla hederliga spel har ökat i år. Det har flera bokhandlarkolleger inrapporterat. Det är vanliga familjespel som Monopol, Tjuv och polis och Alfapet, säger Dag Klackenberg.

Utvecklade eget spel

Många av de klassiska spelen hänger med år efter år, men en av dem som utvecklat ett nytt spel för året är spelutvecklaren Christer Hägglund.

Intresset för att utveckla spel har funnits hos honom sedan han var tonårig och tidigare har han jobbat mot amerikanska spelskapare. Men nu har han utvecklat sitt första brädspel som är anpassat för barn från fem år och uppåt. Spelet heter Space Yoghurt och beskrivs som "fia med knuff i rymden".

- Min familj tyckte att jag ska göra ett spel som inte tar fyra timmar att spela och inte har en regelbok är tjock som The Shining. Så då började jag på det här för ungefär två år sen, säger Christer Hägglund.

För att ett spel ska bli populärt tror Christer Hägglund att det är viktigt med en stark profil som exempelvis tydliga karaktärer. Samtidigt tror han det är väldigt viktigt att hitta sin publik - och att testa spelet många gånger om innan det släpps.

- Jag tror att det faller tillbaka till det, att man har speltestat och hittat sin målgrupp. Det är de som ska spela och tycka att det är roligt.

Tidigare har Expressen gjort ett test på årets nya sällskapsspel. Hela testet kan du läsa här.

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I juletider är det många som passar på att utmana nära och kära i brädspel. Trots att brädspel är en gammal julfavorit har Svenska Bokhandlareföreningen i år märkt en ökad efterfrågan på klassiska spel. - Det är vanliga familjespel som Monopol, Tjuv och polis och Alfapet, säger vd Dag Klackenberg.

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https://www.facebook.com/groups/1524268671170911/about/

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https://www.facebook.com/groups/524715910886719/?ref=br_rs

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https://www.facebook.com/groups/288339451228941/about/

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https://www.facebook.com/dungeonsanddragons/

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Att använda sig av brädspel för att lära programmerare visar sig vara en bra metod att använda sig utav. Programmeraren använder sig utav ett befintligt brädspel där regler finns skrivna. Programmeraren behöver implementera dessa regler i spelet så att det inte går att fuska eller göra "olagliga" moves.

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En student har skapat ett brädspel som ska hjälpa elever att själva komponera sin egna musik med hjälp av brädspelet. De elever som testade brädspelet lärde sig nya begrepp och uttryck. Det jag fann intressant är att man kan använda brädspel mer än bara spel och nöje. Det kan användas som ett hjälpmedel eller för att lära sig inom ett nytt ämne. Det finns säkert flera områden här som kan utforskas och användas på nya sätt.

http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8918577

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Tillbringar mycket tid till att ta fram hur spelet fungerar. Listor på karaktärer, klasser, raser och mycket annat. Även tagit fram en en app för att underlätta för spelare.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dndbeyond.mobile&hl=sv

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Create Your First Character

The D&D Beyond character builder lets you create a D&D character in minutes and jump straight into the action. Roll dice from your digital character sheet and track your spells, inventory, hit points, and more.

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Dungeons & Dragons | The World's Greatest Roleplaying Game

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The official home and digital toolset for Dungeons & Dragons. Dive into D&D books, create a character, and more!

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Playoteket är ett företag som säljer brädspel och olika tillbehör. De finns både i Lund och i Malmö. Jag tycker det intressant att det fortfarande finns butiker som klarar hålla sig igång. Jag ser det lite som vinylskivor trenden. Vinylskivorna dog ut ett tag, men kom tillbaka efter en tid. Jag tror det samma gäller för brädspel. Jag har själv hört mer om folk som brukar samlas för att spela brädspel och umgås.

https://www.playoteket.com/

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På Alexander Kandiloros datorskärm slåss fyra program om uppmärksamheten. I hans webbläsare har han så många flikar uppe att jag inte ser mer än första bokstaven på varje hemsida.
- Mina kompisar brukar kalla mig för killen med 20 flikar, säger han och skrattar.

Det är en solig oktobermorgon och Alexanders företag Ninja Print ska snart börja sälja sitt senaste sällskapsspel, Bergnein. Ett kortspel, fullt av referenser till Berlins homosexuella technoscen och dess mest kända klubb, Berghain, som går ut på att försöka stoppa "fel" sorts gäster (exempelvis civilpoliser) från att ta sig in på nattklubben som är känd i undergroundkretsar för såväl sin drogliberalism som sina stenhårda dörrvakter. Om bara några veckor anländer en container från Hong Kong till Göteborgs hamn med 42 000 spel som företaget producerat. Sedan 2011 har Alexander tillverkat spel med moderna populärkulturella teman.
- Jag vill göra spel som är creddiga, förklarar han vid sitt överbelamrade skrivbord.
- Spel är inte bara Fia med knuff längre utan vi gör spel för en trendkänslig målgrupp, som själva känner till hur svårt det är att komma in på Berghain och är en del av den kulturen.

Ninja Prints första spel, Popkult, var som ett "Trivial Pursuit med enbart rosa frågor" berättar Alex. Sedan dess har det kommit tolv titlar med teman som spänner mellan allt ifrån biologisk mångfald i skogen till kultförklarade tv-serier. Från kontoret i Gårda sker allt ifrån första idéarbetet till ivägskickande av recensionsexemplar och Alexander är inblandad i varje steg av varje spel. Till sin hjälp har han bland andra designern Joakim Bergkvist, som formgett Bergnein, och praktikanten Frida Clerhage. Frida berättar att hon egentligen inte spelar särskilt mycket själv, utan mest dras till den designmässiga kvalitén hos spelen:
- Som att ändra nyansen i timglasets sand tills det blir exakt rätt. Det är väldigt svårt att få hela spelets design att hålla ihop med alla olika delar. Men det är också det roliga. Det vi gör här är ju tänkt att vara coffee table-spel. De ska kunna ligga framme som designobjekt, förklarar hon.
- Men man måste vara noga med reglerna också, fyller Alexander i.
- Spelupplevelsen måste engagera, så att man inte bara väntar på sin tur, som i Trivial Pursuit, eller att det aldrig tar slut, som Monopol.

Det är inte en tillfällighet att så många tycker att ett parti Monopol är ett ovanligt tråkigt sätt att tillbringa en halvdag. Det är nämligen skapat för att vara såväl orättvist som frustrerande. Spelet är ursprungligen en kritik av det fastighetsmonopol som växte fram i USA runt år 1900. Skaparen av spelets förlaga, Elizabeth Magie, ansträngde sig för att spelet skulle vara lika slumpartat och ojämlikt som det samhälle hon såg runt sig. Parker Brothers köpte Elizabeths idé för 500 dollar och renodlade det till Monopol, som än i dag har gjort att många tror att de inte tycker om brädspel. Ett annat vanligt exempel som tas upp på hur dagens spelkonstruktörer inte vill arbeta är klassikern Risk, på grund av dess otydliga regler. Under större delen av 1900-talet puttrade brädspelsindustrin på i sakta mak med familjespel som Jakten på den försvunna diamanten eller Fia med knuff.
I mitten av 70-talet kom rollspelen med exempelvis Drakar och demoner, som aldrig riktade sig till de breda folklagren utan snarare sågs som hemligt, suspekt, ja rent av skadligt. Med datorspelens intåg räknade nog de flesta ut det analoga spelandet för gott när vi gick in i 2000-talet. Då hade dock redan en annan rörelse börjat utvecklas, som skulle resultera i att brädspelsförsäljningen nådde oanade höjder 25 år senare.
- Jag skulle säga att allt började 1994 med Catan, säger Marcus Clifford som är ansvarig för den ständigt växande spelavdelningen på Science Fiction-bokhandeln. Han visar runt bland alla travar av spel som fyller en ansenlig del av butikens nedervåning.
Catan är, liksom Monopol, ett spel där du tävlar om resurser. Men där upphör likheterna, berättar Marcus.
- I Catan är alla spelare med till slutet, ganska självklart egentligen. Det är mindre orättvist och har färre turmoment än spelen haft tidigare. Det tar inte mer än en timme att bli klar med och behåller sin spänning spelet igenom. Det är ... trevligare och smartare helt enkelt. Dessutom är reglerna så tydliga att det inte blir bråk om dem.
Marcus har jobbat i butiken sedan den öppnade 2012 och han har sett brädspelsboomen på nära håll.
- Intresset växer för varje år, vi får in så mycket nytt hela tiden att mitt jobb påminner allt mer om att spela tetris. Dels har spelen verkligen blivit bättre, dels finns en särskild lockelse i dag i att träffas på en fysisk plats, för en gemensam verklighetsflykt, resonerar han.
För varje år som går upplever han att kunderna blir allt fler - men den stora skillnaden noterar han i vilka som spelar.
- Nu kan det komma in trendiga trettiofemåringar eller snabbkäftade klungor med kids. För bara några år sedan var det mer källarklubb över kunderna.
Marcus har själv varit en del av brädspelskulturen långt innan spel om tyska technoklubbar började produceras:
- Som trettonåring i Borås i början av nittiotalet kom jag i kontakt med en spelförening.
Vi var säkert 100 personer i olika åldrar som spelade. Även om det var en väldigt varm och inkluderande förening fanns det en enorm skepsis från samhället i stort. Detta var på tiden när tidningar som mest rapporterade om faran med rollspel. I dag oroar sig föräldragenerationen över internet i stället, säger han och skrattar.

Paradoxalt nog har den digitala utvecklingen faktiskt spelat en stor roll i de analoga spelens popularisering. Med hjälp av poddar och Youtube-kanaler når nya spel sin publik blixtsnabbt. En särskilt stor roll har sajten Kickstarter haft. Sajten där du som tror på ett projekt hjälper till med pengar för att se till att det verkställs, har gjort att moderna spelutvecklare kan ta rejäla risker när de gör spel - eftersom de redan kan ha fullt med förhandsbeställningar innan de börjar spendera för mycket pengar. Faktum är att brädspel är den kategori som samlar in störst andel av Kickstarters pengar i dag - mer än exempelvis digitala spel och filmprojekt.
- I dag kan du skapa ett spel om att spränga katter och få en global marknad via Kickstarter. Ingen idé är för nischad längre. Samtidigt har allt sådant som tidigare sågs som nördigt blivit mer allmänt accepterat.
En tv-serie som Game of Thrones har haft en enorm betydelse där, säger Marcus Clifford och får medhåll från Angelica Carlund som arbetar i bokhandelns nya kafé:
- Ordet 'nörd' har fått en annan innebörd i dag, säger hon.
- Jag har spelat kortspelet Magic mycket och det sågs ju som väldigt konstigt förr. Nu är det mer som att alla samtidigt bestämde sig för att sånt som kan ses som insnöat och udda, det behöver man inte vara rädd för.
På kaféet finns även brädspel för utlåning, bland annat Angelicas favoritspel Carcasonne som hon beskriver som "superlätt att lära sig men väldigt svårt att bli bra på".
- Vi började låna ut spel på prov för att se om det funkade. Och hittills går det över förväntan, alla är rädda om grejerna och det är bra stämning. Man blir ju inte lika arg av att spela Carcasonne som av exempelvis Monopol, säger hon och skrattar.

I samma stund som solen går ner blir höstkvällen iskall vid Röda Sten. Alexander Kandiloros arrangerar det första exemplaret av spelet Bergnein på en lastpall för fotografering. Spelets designer Joakim Bergkvist tittar ogillande på stillebenet.
- Jag gillar inte när det blir för mycket knark runt. Ta bort linan och spegeln, säger han till Alexander.
Spelet, som har tagit över två år att göra, finns nu i fysisk form. Den utdragna processen beror på att den undergroundstämplade technoklubben Berghain i Berlin har försökt stoppa spelet med hänvisning till varumärkesintrång. Jurister från tre olika länder har hört av sig till Alexander och nattklubben lyckades strypa Ninja Games kickstarter-kampanj. Joakim har med sig en egentillverkad björnmask som han vill ha på fotograferingen.
- Ja, jag vill ju kunna komma in på Berghain i framtiden också, förklarar han och studerar huruvida färgerna på korten är så fluorescerande i UV-ljus som han hade hoppats på.
Fotografen Mattias Diesel ropar på Joakim. Han har tagit med sig rökbomber till fotograferingen som han vill smälla av medan Alexander håller i spelet och behöver hjälp.
Innan de går för att ta produktbilderna frågar jag Joakim vilka som kommer köpa Bergnein.
- Det är ju två målgrupper, dels de som gillar spel. Men också de som stått där i kön till Berghain och frusit och kommer plocka alla referenser.

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En brädspelstrend drar fram över världen - långt bortom tand­gnisslande evighetsomgångar av Monopol och hemliga, nördiga rollspelskällare. Två Dagar har dykt ner i den analoga delen av Göteborgs spelindustri för att ta reda på varför den digitala samtidsmänniskan dras till tärningar, kort och spelpjäser som aldrig förr.

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En hemsida som är designad för att kunna spela online mot andra människor. Detta hjälper mot folk som inte har någon att spela med i sin omgivning.

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Board Game Arena: Spela brädspel online !

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Board Game Arena: Spela brädspel online !

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Guide på hur du designar ditt egna brädspel. Från idé till verklighet. Efter har skummat igenom denna så finns det väldigt många olika aspekter man måste ta hänsyn till när det kommer till att designa sitt eget spel. Det är däremot inte "svårt" i sig själv att skapa ett dugligt spel. Det kräver dock att du funderar kring visas frågor.

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Over the past decade, board games have gained increased prominence within the game industry. With the growing popularity of Euro-style board games, such as Settlers of Catan, and the constant influx of new games and game types such as Dominion, the popular deck-building game, board games have seen an unexpected resurgence among gamers of all kinds. While board games share many ideas with video games, they are played in a very different way, and often use very different game mechanics. Designing for board games brings about different challenges than designing for video games, but the skills can be applied universally to make all of your games better.

An Overview of Board Game Genres

Before we get started, let's briefly look at a few genres of board games. This should help acquaint you with a couple of different types of board games, and the concepts behind them, and give you an idea of where to start if you're new to board games. Remember, many board games now have digital counterparts that you can play on an iPad or PC, so even if it's hard for you to play these games on an actual tabletop, you should have no trouble trying the more popular ones out.

Classic Board Games or Family Games

These games require the players to race around the board or follow a designated path to reach their goal. Sometimes there will also be a points system involved. These games have a heavy reliance on luck, and have less strategy than more modern board games. Games like this work best with groups where the game itself is not as important as the experience of playing together. Most of the time, these games have very simple or absurd themes which have little or no impact on the game mechanics.

Examples: Sorry, Snakes and Ladders, and Candyland

Euro-Style Games

Euro-style games are often about gaining victory points, an arbitrary resource that allows you to win. They usually last a certain number of turns, or continue until one player has a certain number of victory points. These games have strong themes which inform much of the design. There is also usually a system of resource management, and some kind of "political" play between the players as they negotiate the sale and trade of resources. Finally, these games have fewer elements of luck or chance, and most issues the player experiences because of "bad luck" can be mitigated with strong strategic play.

Examples: Settlers of Catan, Power Grid, Carcassone, and Lancaster

Deck-Building Games

Deck-Building Games (DBGs) are similar to Trading Card Games (TCGs) where each player has a deck of cards they use during play. The difference is that in DBGs the players all work from the same card collection, and the deck-building occurs as part of the game. These games usually come with 15-20 different card types, but only ten are used in a single game. This gives the games a lot of replay value. In these games players build their deck over time by purchasing available cards from the pool of cards. Games like this usually end when a certain number of card types are depleted, or when a specific situation occurs.

Examples: Dominion, Thunderstone, Nightfall, and Quarriors

Abstract Strategy Games

Abstract strategy games include chess and checkers. The point of these games is for two players to have a complex strategic battle in which they try to out-match and out-think their opponent. These games are harder to describe without specific examples, and the game elements and goals are not quite as common across the genre. Instead of dice rolls or card combinations, the goal is often to position pieces in just the right location.

Examples: Chess, Checkers, Quoridor, and Push Fight

Strategy Games

Strategy games are much grander Euro-style games. These games usually have a very important board and a narrative which drives the game's progress. These games often involve a heavy amount of co-op and competitive play, forcing players to make and break alliances over the course of the game.

Players are usually participating as much in the game itself as they are in higher-level mind-games with each other: trying to get ahead, form alliances, and discern their opponent's motives. These games are generally marked by very long game sessions (six hours or more, for some), and are sometimes affectionately referred to as "friendship-ending games", because of how passionate players become. Risk is perhaps the most well-known game in this genre.

Examples: Risk, Twilight Imperium, Arkham Horror, and Battlestar Galactica

Card-Based Strategy Games

Card-based strategy games are strategy games where cards are the primary game element. Games like this vary heavily, but there is often a drafting mechanic, or an element of character or base building where players use cards to gain abilities or bonuses. These games usually have a heavy element of luck or randomness.

The goal in games like this can be based on victory points, trying to complete a specific set of cards, or eliminating certain target players, among others. Games like Poker, Spit, and Egyptian Rat Screw don't fit into this category because they lack a central theme, and don't require anything other than a standard deck of cards. Deck-Building Games could fit into this category, but have become so popular I consider them their own genre.

Examples: Munchkin, Bang, 7 Wonders, and Chrononauts

Before We Begin

Like video games, the creation of board games can't really be boiled down to a specific set of steps you need to follow. You could give a general overview, but without going into the specifics, it's hard to explain game development of any kind.

To help you understand the concepts, I am going to use this article to walk you through the process I took while developing one of my ideas. This is by no means a complete game, but it should still help me illustrate a lot of my points by having a concrete example for you to learn from.

The key here is that you will get to see both the theory and the actual thought process I'm using as I develop this idea further. Hopefully by the end of the article you'll understand how my idea went from concept to prototype, and how I could turn it into a finished project.

With all this in mind, let's get started.

Coming Up With an Idea

Image by Daniel Stockman from Wikimedia Commons.

The first step in any project is to figure out what your project will be. A great way to get inspired is to take a game you already play and enjoy, and to add or remove a major game element. Doing this forces you to look at the game from a new perspective.

When you try adding or removing something from the game, you start looking at the existing components much more critically. The moment you remove something, it becomes much easier to see why that element was so important or unimportant to begin with. This can give you a deeper understanding of the game you are playing around with, and a good insight into the purpose of many of the game mechanics.

Another great technique is to start with a real world theme or system you like, and to try building a game around that. If you start working with a specific theme or system in mind, it makes it much easier to determine what sort of gameplay you want. Starting this way can also help you nail down how the players will be interacting with each other.

For example, if you are making a game about zombies you could make some players humans and some zombies; you could make everyone humans and have them working to escape or kill all the zombies; or you could have the players competing to be the final survivor left standing.

Starting with a theme also gives you the ability to draw from that theme when trying to think of new game elements. If you are already making a game about characters in space, then you can always reference books, movies and other materials about space to find inspiration for new elements. This was the method I chose to use when working on my game.

My first idea was related to drug dealers because I was watching Breaking Bad and imagining what it would be like to be Walter White. As I thought about this idea more, I realized that the central conflict in drug-dealing and drug empires is in gaining and controlling territory, and I knew specifically that I didn't want to make a game that would require me to do a lot of work laying out territories on a game board.

With that in mind, I settled on doing a card-based strategy game, and ditched the drug empire theme since it would be too hard to convey territory in that game style. I then started thinking about other competitive industries, and specifically industries where control over, or positioning on, a map are not important. Eventually I settled on the movie industry as the system I wanted to base my game on.

Image by Jelson25 from Wikimedia Commons.

The movie industry is a good choice because it is already a competition-based industry where companies compete for sales and awards. On top of that, a movie can easily be boiled down to a collection of parts which you as the designer can quantify and use as game elements, a screenplay, a director, actors, genre, and release date, among others.

There's also the fact that most people already have some understanding of how the movie industry works, or can infer many of the details. This meant that the game concept would be easy to understand, and quickly accessible to most players. Finally, the movie industry is composed of many different elements and "moving parts", and would give me a lot of resources to draw inspiration from.

Fleshing Out Your Idea

Once you've settled on your theme, you need to determine what your game is about, and how it's played. Start by writing down everything you can think of relating to the game, and putting every idea you have onto paper.

Your initial idea is going to be very rough, and if you described it quickly to ten different people, they would walk away with ten different concepts of how it works. The goal right now is to put as much thought into the concept as you can, and to think through every aspect of it that interests you. You want to walk away from this with a solid understanding of what your game is supposed to be, and how it is played.

At this point, it's also helpful to write your intent for each idea alongside the idea itself. It's not uncommon for me to find my initial ideas don't work as well after I flesh things out. During these moments, it's helpful to know where the idea came from. This allows me to refine ideas I don't like, while preserving the original goals. It's also important to consider alternative ideas, or variations on your initial concepts. Having a lot of potential methods to achieve the same results will prevent you from hitting roadblocks when a key system needs to be reworked.

This is the initial design document I put together when working on the movie studio idea. The yellow parts on the side of each page are notes to myself or future designers I bring on, about certain important game aspects or about other ways I could make certain systems.

You should also try to detail exactly how the mechanics could work. Ask yourself questions about the game while you're working on it. This keeps you from ignoring the smaller details, and allows you to continually analyze your design and where it's going.

Ask yourself questions like:

How many players will there be?

How long should the game be?

What choices will the player make, and when will they make them?

How will the player make these choices?

How will one player's choice impact the other players?

How will the players interact with each other?

Are there any choices that can be made by one player, but not by the others?

How does the game progress? Is it strictly turn-based, or is it in rounds with phases?

What actions will the player be able to take?

How will the outcome of an action be determined?

What is the player's goal?

How can the player win?

Even if you don't know all the answers yet, you may find that keeping the questions in mind while working will lead you to the answers.

I try not to move forward with development until I can read through the document without questioning the details of any specific mechanics. I also know I'm not done with this stage if I haven't determined how a round or turn progresses, how long the game is supposed to last, how the player wins, and how many players I want in an average game.

You cannot run a successful playtest, or build a prototype, without answers to these questions. You will know you are ready to move forward when you can look at this document and understand what the game is, and how it works, even if it's not perfect.

For my Movie Studio concept I started by determining the goal of the player. The most logical concept was for the players to create and release movies to try and gain awards (victory points) and money (the primary resource).

From there I determined that the script, the director, and the actors are the most well known aspects of a film, so I thought those would make good game elements as well. Making a movie also seemed pretty straightforward: buy a script, hire a director, find the actors, and film the movie. This made sense with what I had so far, and seemed like logical things for the player to do during their turn, so I settled on this as the structure for how a round would progress.

After settling on the basic game elements, and how they interacted, I determined how awards and money would be distributed. For this I created a genre attribute for scripts, and decided that actors and directors could specialize in certain genres. This gave me a solid way to link actors, directors, and scripts, and allowed me to quantify a finished movie based on the ratings the associated characters had in the given genres.

The rest of my development at this stage focused on filling in the details of how a round progressed, how actors, directors, and scripts are bought, and how the players actually complete a movie. Once I'd worked through all the interaction the players would have with the system, I settled on a progression of play for each round, and for the game as a whole. Finally, with all the major pieces in place, and a solid understanding of my game, I moved onto the next stage of development.

Content Development

Now that you understand what your game is about and how it is played, you need to make all the content.

If you are developing an abstract strategy game like chess or checkers, this stage will be much simpler because it will likely come down to balancing and finalization of rules and pieces. On the other hand, if you are developing a content-heavy game like the movie game I'm working on, this stage will require a lot of time and effort settling on what types of content you need, how much content you need, and what to base your content on.

No matter what type of game you are working on, it's always best to start by determining what types of content you need, and how much of it you need.

In the movie studio game I need at least three content types: scripts or movies, actors, and directors. On top of that I need to settle on awards for the player, and create all the cards that dictate how much money the players get from their movies.

My game is divided into rounds. If I assume that the maximum number of movies a player can develop at any time is two, and the maximum number of players is four, that means the players need to be able to have up to eight unique scripts for each round. If I then assume there are six rounds in the game, I now know I need 48 unique script cards in the game, since script cards are never reused. This number tells me the bare minimum number of scripts my game needs for a single game session.

(Once the mechanics are finalized, I may add more scripts to increase the replay value or to allow more rounds in a single game, but it's still important to know what the bare minimum is.)

Next, I need to figure out how many actors and directors can be purchased among all players in a given round. Unlike scripts, actors and directors are eventually shuffled back into their respective decks. This means I need to know the minimum number of actors and directors that can be used before any are reshuffled into the deck if I want to prevent players from running out.

Currently, actors and directors are not removed from a film until the film is released. This isn't entirely realistic, but it makes gameplay much easier. With this in mind, I need to know how long a film can go unreleased to determine the maximum number of actors and directors that can be occupied at once. Since a round represents a year, I decided that two rounds was the longest a film could go without being released by the player. So, with a maximum of eight films being developed each round, and each film requiring one director and up to three actors, I knew that, each round, up to eight directors and 24 actors could be bought by players. If we multiply those values by three to account for two rounds of unreleased films, and the films being made in the current round, we get 24 directors and 72 actors as our bare minimums.

Continue to Simplify

I think it's worth noting here that at one point these numbers were actually much higher. After doing the math, I realized that I would have too much content to make before I could test my game. Keep in mind that, even if it's unlikely, your game could end up failing, so it's good to try and minimize the amount of time you spend making content, until you are sure the game is worth committing the time to.

At this point I also settled on having six awards each round, one for each genre of film. Since the awards would remain the same the whole game this was not a big deal. On top of that, I decided to make 18 scenario cards which would be used to dictate how money was distributed in a given round. This gave me the ability to test the game three times and be guaranteed different outcomes, since in each round you only use one scenario card. Both of these things were easy to develop compared to the other content, so I thought the time investment was worth it.

Once you know how much content you need, you have to actually make all of that content. Until I've started play-testing and know my game is fun, I try to think about my game in terms of the mechanics I'm working with, and the strategies I want the players to be implementing, and not so much the flavor text or art aspects. This saves time, and prevents me from having as much work go to waste when I need to redesign things later.

Thinking about the game mechanics, I know I want some scripts to be more likely to give the player money, and some to be more likely to get them awards. To make this work, I will look at the stats that matter for both, and see how I can distribute them in different ways to affect the odds.

I also know that I want there to be interesting ways for actors to interact with directors, scripts, and each other. To do this I can create special buffs that actors get when they work with certain other actors, or give some scripts buffs when they have specific directors attached to them. I can also add more unique features, like scripts that automatically come with certain actors or directors attached if those actors or directors aren't already being used by other players.

If I used real actors and directors in my game, I could have a Director card for Tim Burton, and Actor cards for Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. Since these three are all known to work together on almost all of their projects, it would make sense to give them bonuses when you use them on the same movie. The same thing could apply to James Franco and Seth Rogen, or Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. While it's unlikely I'd use any real actors in the game, this still gives me a good model for how different characters could interact.

Organizing Your Game's Interactions

It helps to make a list of all the potential interactions you come up with while working, and to use that list as a reference when creating game elements. This ensures you don't forget any potential interactions, and gives you a reference to ensure there is a good variety for each type if you keep track of how often you use each one.

You should also try writing rules for how character stats should be generated, or how certain card types should work. In my game, I know there should be an even breakdown of genre specialties among actors, directors, and movie scripts to keep the game balanced. On top of that, I might consider making rules like "A character cannot have a buff greater than X unless a certain condition is met", or "A character should never have more than Y stat points, or fewer than Z". Defining rules like this helps you keep a your design consistent and makes it easier to bring new designers in later on.

Iterating the Ruleset

This stage of development may take a while, but it's also very important, so don't rush it. You should also know that there's a strong possibility some of the work you do here will become useless or unusable when you realize certain mechanics don't work or need to be retooled. This is okay, though.

Just because an idea doesn't work now, doesn't mean you can't re-integrate it down the line. Once you nail down all the game mechanics, the only game design step left is this one, the rest is about understanding your game, making it look pretty, perfecting it, and marketing it. Spend a lot of time on this step, because the more consideration you give these elements now, the less likely it is that you will have to redo them all later.

Designing and Building Your Prototype

With your content developed, the next step is to actually make a prototype. The first thing to remember is that your prototype doesn't have to look pretty. While well-designed cards with beautiful artwork will improve some players' opinions, it takes a long time to get those things right. Remember, your game may need major revisions, or get scrapped entirely, and if this happens, it stinks to know you spent an entire day or week working on beautiful images and designs that will never get used. Believe me, I've made this mistake, and it's not fun.

This is the prototype for a game called The Infinity Formula, which was made by one of our editors for the Global Game Jam.

With that said, you shouldn't just throw together your game board or cards without considering layout or readability. Although these designs are not final, take some time to determine what information is most important to have, and how to effectively show that information. I start by listing all of the information needed on a card or game piece, and then prioritize that information so I know how important each aspect is.

If your game has multiple decks of cards, you also need to differentiate these decks so that players can tell which deck a card is from. For the prototype, this can be as easy as using different paper colors for each deck, but when working on the final product you should create clear distinctions and designs for each card or piece type.

You should also consider what the piece is being used for, or what it represents. For the movie game, I tried coming up with a way to make actor cards look like the head-shots an actor gives to casting directors. This ended up not working because it didn't leave me with the room to effectively list the actor's stats, or the price for the actor. Despite this, I still used elements of head-shots in the design, and decided that the image of the actor used on the card still be a head shot, even if it wasn't exactly what I had intended.

This was the format I originally envisioned for the cards. The problem with this was that I had too little room to include more information without making these images very small. This would make it a waste to have four images since it would make it hard for the player to appreciate the time and effort any artists put into the images.

While this format wasn't quite as compelling, it made each individual piece of art easier to appreciate, and gave me more room on the card.

While some aspects of the design, such as my actor and director cards, can be left incomplete or simplified in the prototype, things like game boards may need to be much farther along before you can really test the game. If you were making a custom Risk board, you'd need to draw an actual map, since the balancing in Risk relies on positioning, division of country borders, and the number of total countries.

In these cases, there are a few techniques you could use to make preparing a prototype easier. You could draw the map on a whiteboard or chalkboard surface so it can be modified easily, or make the map on the computer so you can print it, and wait to draw territory lines until the map is printed. You could also put each country on separate pieces of paper or cardboard which can be moved around and re-positioned until you find the ideal configuration.

Digital vs Physical Editions

Also, keep in mind how easily you can send your prototype to others. Many of my friends are game developers that live hundreds of miles away from me. Since they can give me a different perspective than the average player, I like sending them early copies of my games.

This makes it important to consider their limitations when I design items like cards which need to be printed, or pieces that need to be built. It also prevents me from using too many colors, since that makes printing more expensive. I have to try and keep everything on 8.5 x 11 pages, so that it can be printed more easily. I could neglect these limitations and build the prototypes myself and mail them, but this is obviously more expensive. You may not know any game designers to send your game to, but you may want to do a print-and-play release on your website, and the same limitations need to be considered for that as well.

Finally, no prototype is complete without a full copy of the game rules. Your players will need to refer to these, and you probably will too in the first few tests. Having the rules written out allows the playtest to continue with as little interference from you as possible, and allows the players to read through any rules they don't understand as many times as they need.

Writing out the rules also lets you make sure there's nothing you're forgetting to build for your prototype. At the very least, make a reference sheet for the players so that they can look up the cost of common purchases, or a list of basic actions, whenever they need to.

One of the most useful game pieces in Settlers of Catan is the reference card which tells you how much each game element costs. Without the reference card, Catan would be a much slower game, especially if one or more people had never played before.

Playtesting

With your prototype built, you are ready to move on to the most crucial stage of development for any game: playtesting. Like with video games, playtesting is where you get to see all of your ideas in action, and when you get to see how well the game actually works. Most importantly, though, you get to see if your game is fun.

If you are working on the game with other people and it's possible to play through some rounds without bringing in anyone new, I highly suggest you do. Doing this allows you to work out any small kinks or bugs that are easy to solve, and gives you a better handle on how the game actually flows.

While it's good to use the opinions and insights you gain from the game at this point, you should always remember that your opinion will be skewed by all the time you spent developing the game. Because of this, you may subconsciously try and justify feelings you already have. Keep this in mind, and take note of anything you see or feel while playing. It's possible you're right, but it's good to get the opinions of actual players anyway.

Once you've done a few playtests on your own, you can bring in new people and see how they react. Playtesting board games is very similar to playtesting video games. First, always try to have the game set up and ready to go, before anyone shows up. Second, make sure you have a thorough and easy to understand explanation of how the game is played.

Really, though, the best way to run the playtest is to give the players the rule book and see how much trouble they have figuring everything out. Doing this tells you how easy the rules are to understand, and how well written they are. If you don't want to do it this way for the first few tests, that's fine, but you need to run a few playtests like this before you say the game is done, to make sure the rule book is thorough and easy to understand.

Record Your Playtest Sessions

If you can, it's also a good idea to videotape the entire playtest and write down the time signature on the recording when important events occur. Recording the session gives you a concrete record of everything that happened, and writing down the time signature at crucial points ensures you don't have to re-watch the entire video to reference just five minutes of play. If you can't record an video you should still have a notebook or computer that you can take notes on. If you don't, you will inevitably lose some important information or feedback from your players.

Try to be as detailed as possible with your notes. If you're not, you will end up with important notes that you cannot remember the context or meaning of. This is even worse then having no notes at all, since it means you took the time to write it down, but can't remember why. Finally, take note of how long each game phase is taking, and how long the game as a whole takes. If your game is supposed to last one hour, and it lasts two, you need to know what the hold-ups were if you want to fix it.

The Playtest Journal is a notebook that's specifically designed to help you keep track of information while testing a game. Even if you don't want something like this, you should still keep a journal by your side to take notes.

It's also important how you behave during the playtest. The most important thing is not getting in the players' way. At the beginning of the playtest, make sure to tell the players to voice any opinions they have of the game out loud when they have them. This prevents you from constantly having to interrupt the playtest to ask them whether they like different mechanics, or if they are having trouble understanding things.

Ideally, you want to simulate an actual game session as much as possible. This means that you want to see not only which rules the players don't understand, but also why they don't understand them and how they try to reconcile them. This helps you to rewrite the rules more effectively, and helps you determine how the rules are flawed. So, with that in mind, try not to interfere with the game unless you absolutely have to.

Ask for Feedback

The final thing you need to do is an end-of-game questionnaire or discussion with the players. After the game is over you should be prepared to spend 15-20 minutes sitting with your players and asking them what they think about it. Your goal is to gain a greater understanding of everything that happened during the playtest.

Some questions to ask include:

What was your favorite part?

What was your least favorite part?

What did you have the most trouble understanding? Why?

What one mechanic would you change, and how would you change it?

Do you think the game was too long?

Are there any game elements you felt imbalanced the game or weren't needed?

Would you play the game again?

Did any of the mechanics feel too complex? Too simple?

Are there any game phases you wish were longer? Shorter?

Was it fun?

You may not need any or all of these questions, but always end a playtest by talking to the players and getting their opinions on the game; don't just assume you understand everything they felt about it.

Finishing and Releasing Your Game

Playtesting takes a long time and a lot of sessions, but eventually your rules will be finalized, and your game will be complete.

At this point, you should finalize designs and layouts for things like cards, game boards, pieces, rule books or sheets, and so on. On top of that, if you plan on selling physical copies, you should figure out what kind of box your game will come in, and what the box will look like.

While it's important to consider things like readability and effectiveness during gameplay when making these designs, a lot of this work is related to graphic design concepts. Keep this in mind while working, and don't be afraid to use "unconventional" resources for help when working on your game pieces.

Finally, try to test your game a few times with the finalized designs in place. Sometimes a design will seem like it works, but because of how people play the game it is actually flawed in an unexpected way. Play through your game a couple times with the finished designs, and you should be able to quickly resolve any issues you encounter.

Once you've finished designing all of the game pieces, you need to determine how your game will be released. There are a lot of options to consider, so I've put together this list of the biggest ones:

Print-and-Play

The original version of Cards Against Humanity was a Print-and-Play release. This helped them get the funding to do a Kickstarter, work on the game full-time, and eventually make an official print release.

A print-and-play game is one that people can buy online and then print at home. This option is good for small games like abstract strategy games, card-based strategy games, and games that don't have many pieces.

Before going this route, you should consider a few things. First, most people don't have access to high quality printers, or printers that can print larger than a standard sheet of paper, so try to keep everything on 8.5 x 11 inch paper (or A4 paper, in some parts of the world). Colors can also be problematic: if your game is too big and too colorful, your game may deplete someone's ink cartridge and indirectly increase how much they are spending on your game.

This option can be good, but keep these limitations in mind, because potential buyers definitely will. When preparing for a release like this take the time to optimize the way your game is being printed and how it's laid out on the sheet so that it's not only inexpensive to print, but also easy to cut out and "build". Always try doing a test-print before releasing to ensure that it's not too hard to do.

Personal Print Runs

Personal print runs are when you get the game printed on your own and sell it through a personal website or business. Print runs like this vary heavily in terms of quality, but they usually don't work as well for very large-scale games, and work best when the total number of pieces is somewhat limited.

In cases like this you would want to look into services like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo to try and gain funding. There are not too many services that will print your entire game for you, but websites like The Game Crafter, which I talk about in more detail below, specialize in that, and if you look you can find many services to buy generic and custom game pieces all over the internet.

Turning a profit can be hard with things like this, but if your only goal is to make a game for personal use or you know there are already people interested in buying the game, this can be a great option to consider.

Getting a Publisher

Another option is to take your game to a publisher and try to get them to release it. Most publishers have pages on their sites where you can submit game ideas. The specifics of how this works is different for each company, but you will need to send them a copy of your game either digitally or through the mail, and you will then need to wait some amount of time while they review it and make a decision.

If this is your goal, take some time to determine which company (or companies) would be most receptive to your game. Don't pitch a complex strategy game that takes three hours to play to a company like Steve Jackson Games who are known for making short, humorous card games.

The theme of your game may also be important. If you send your sci-fi space opera game to a company known primarily for games about medieval combat, they are unlikely to accept it, simply because it doesn't fit the theme of their products. On the other hand, if you send it to a company which has a wide variety of game types or themes, try to keep in mind what they already offer or are working on, since they may not want too many games in the same genre or category.

Just like when designing your game, you need to consider the audience you are pitching it to.

Video Game or App

This is a screenshot from the popular Settlers of Catan Online, a version of the game which can be played online in your browser for free.

The final way you could release your game would be as a video game or app. This allows you to reach a much larger audience, but it may also makes it harder to succeed if your game isn't well known. While there are many board games which have created successful apps and video games, most of those games already had an established fanbase. This helped them a lot because it meant they already had a guaranteed install base of people who like playing board games virtually, and who enjoy their game.

The fact is, the market for people who want to play board games in a virtual setting is fairly limited since the idea of a virtual board game somewhat undermines what makes a board game compelling to begin with. Keep that in mind when turning it into a video game, and you may be able to re-orient some aspects so they fit the medium better and draw in more players. If you don't have the money to do a print run, but have the experience to do something like this, it's definitely worth considering.

Where to Go From Here

While there are still other things we could cover, at this point you really need to just get out there and see what happens when you try to make a game. I hope this guide helped you get one step closer to your goal by showing you where to start with your project, and how to come up with an idea. If you want more advice, or just need to purchase some supplies for your game, here are a few good resources I use:

Board Game Geek

Board Game Geek is the premiere website for information on board games and board game related topics. You can find information and reviews on just about any board game on the market, and it's a great place to meet and talk with other people who are interested in the same things.

It also has a great community of developers and has a number of tools and resources on its forum and all around the site in general. If you are looking for a new game to play, or for advice on your current project, this is where to start.

/r/boardgames on reddit

Reddit has a number of great subreddits related to board gaming, and /r/boardgames is just one of them. This subreddit is very active and can be a great place to find out about new games, see what people think of popular games, or even to plug games you are working on. It always has a lot going on and is a great place to connect with other gamers.

/r/tabletopgamedesign on reddit

/r/tabletopgamedesign is another great and relatively active subreddit. I haven't been a member of this subreddit too long, but from what I've seen the members are often posting great articles and resources related to board game design.

Board Game Designer's Forum

As you can probably tell from the name, BGDF is devoted to the art of designing board games. The website itself hasn't been updated too much over the last few years, but they have a very active forum.

This is a great site for getting feedback on, and for finding beta testers for, your game. If you are trying to find a good community to bounce ideas off and chat with about the intricacies of board game design, then that's exactly what you'll get here.

The Game Crafter

The final site I want to mention is The Game Crafter. Not only does this site have some interesting articles and videos to check out, it also has a number of great resources for producing the cards and pieces you need for your game.

If you have a game and want to take it a step further by self-publishing it, this is a great site to order your custom cards and game tokens. On top of that, they also have many classic pre-made game tokens you can order in bulk, if your game doesn't need as much specialization.

Conclusion

Like with any project you work on, building a board game will take time and effort. You probably won't make a perfect game the first time you try, but you can definitely learn something from every attempt you make.

Try getting started with something simple-anything, really-and seeing what sort of unique or random ideas you can create around it. You may end up with a boring game that you throw out, or you may end up with something you love that you want to work on for a while.

Either way, your success will always come down to whether you actually take the plunge and do it, so get out there and go make something.

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How to Learn Board Game Design and Development

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Over the past decade, board games have gained increased prominence within the game industry. With the growing popularity of Euro-style board games, such as Settlers of Catan, and the constant influx of new games and game types such as Dominion, the popular deck-building game, board games have seen an unexpected resurgence among gamers of all kinds.

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Att skapa ett datorspel kräver mycket tid och kunskap. Det är också väldigt svårt att bygga ett spel som har djup om man är ensam. Däremot med brädspel kan du betydligt snabbare skapa olika element i spel som skapar dynamik och djup.

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Även om du inte har tärningar, papper eller penna. Så kan du fortfarande spela lite Yatzy. Om vi tar bort olika tillbehör från ett spel så tror jag det är viktigt att vi applicerar dom i spelet på ett realistiskt sätt. Att trycka på en knapp "Roll" och få en siffra är inte lika underhållande som att själva kasta dom från handen. Vi kan minimera skillnaden från knapp och verklighet. Genom att vi själva får hålla tärningen med pekfingret på touchskärmen och se tärningarna rulla så skapar vi en mer realistisk version.

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Yatzy by SNG is now ready for android mobile phones and tablets with its high quality. You can now download the best Yatzy dice game for free. YATZY is a board game with its original rules. Five dices with six sides and 15 sections to be filled in 15 rounds. It is a Scandinavian public domain dice game very similar to Poker Dice, Yacht, Generala and Cheerio, Five Dice. Yatzy is also known as Yahtzee, Five Dice, Yachty and Farkle in different countries.

This is a game of strategy and luck. Try to get the highest points possible by completing fifteen different dice combinations. Those combinations are one pair, two pairs, three of a kind, four of a kind, small, straight, large straight, full house, and chance for the lower section and ones, twos, threes, fours, fives, and sixes for the upper section. And we have Yatzy, the mother of them all.

You can play Yatzy solitaire or against an opponent. In single player, you choose your target points and try to score higher than that. Against an opponent, you just have to score higher than your rival.

Features:
- Real dice probabilities.
- Smooth graphics and game play.
- Play solitaire or against an opponent.
- No need for an internet connection.
- Totally free, even no in-app purchases.
- No banner ads.

Yatzy offline is intended for adult audiences and does not offer "real money gambling" or an opportunity to win real money or prizes. Practice or success at our game does not imply future success at "real money gambling".

Enjoy this new game from SNG.
Best of luck.

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Yatzy - Offline - Android Apps on Google Play

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Yatzy by SNG is now ready for android mobile phones and tablets with its high quality. You can now download the best Yatzy dice game for free. YATZY is a board game with its original rules. Five dices with six sides and 15 sections to be filled in 15 rounds.

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Snack om olika brädspel och dess historia. Något jag inte visste var att det fanns en Con om just brädspel.

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Mo Rocca visits Gen-Con, the Mecca of board games, to play contemporary board games that are anything but boring.

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Ett gammalt och populärt brädspel som har gjorts om och skapat mer liv i spelet. Det är animeringar och ljud som används för att skapa en mer interaktiv spelmiljö.

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The Game of Life - Android Apps on Google Play

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Hit the road for a life of adventure in this version of the classic boardgame!

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Jag tittade på några anledningar varför brädspel kan vara problematiskt. Jag kan tänka mig att rikta in mig något mot nr 4 och 5.

"You can’t just veg out and play board games, you have to organize an event"

"You never have the right number of players."

Detta är något jag som vill försöka lösa. Att ha möjligheten att vara rätt antal spelare. Samt att enkelt kunna hitta andra som spelar, utan att det måste bli en stor grej utav det.

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Today is valentines day, but there's enough out there about all the gross lovey-dovey stuff. Instead lets talk about the elephant-shaped meeple in the room; that is, the thing we all love, hate to love, and honestly, just hate. I'm talking of course about our very own hobby, playing board games.

Let's face it: in between the pathetically minute moments of exhilaration and victory, large chunks of our hobby are consumed by terrible, terrible things. Yes, that's right, playing board games is like trying to swim 20 laps in a swimming pool with a brick tied to your ankles, and calling the brief gasps of air you desperately inhale whenever you can "fun". This hobby is just bad, and I'm about to prove it to you with generally infallible logic in 9 simple steps.

9. Everyone thinks you play kids games

You know it, I know it. Whenever you tell a non-hobbyist you play boardgames, there are only 2 responses; blank stares accompanied by awkard silence, and blank stares followed by the phrase "you mean, like Monopoly?"

While I'm sure there are plenty of you out there that could argue the merits of monopoly and politely inform me that we've all been playing it wrong for years which is why it's not fun, the fact is that when most people think of board games, they think of those things kids play with their brothers and sisters because mom shoved them down in the basement. Candy Land can only serve as a distraction for so long before tears and pain - the pain of losing to your dumb brother yet again, the pain of the board hitting you in the face because your sister got mad halfway through. Most of these games lacked any real substance, consisting mostly of bright colors and some sort of randomization mechanism that told you exactly where to move and exactly what to do when you got there. That's the memory most people have associated with board games.

But seriously, people, have you not heard of Ticket to Ride yet? That game has sold like 2 million copies. Catan? Over 15 million. You'd think by now people would start to have the idea that games can be for adults too, and can be fun without being overwhelmingly complex. But no, they don't, and so we are cursed with trying to explain our hobby to people with a grand total of 0% reference to whatever you're saying. Speaking of which...

8. Everyone thinks your games are too complicated

Do you know how long it took me to get my family to try their first adult-level board game? Well, you probably do because it probably took you about the same amount of forever. To non-gamers, EVERY game looks Axis & Allies, even if there are only like 2 rules. What they really mean is "I don't have any familiarity with this game and I'm afraid I'll look stupid trying it" which seems to make people very resistant to, you know, actually giving it a shot. It's an uphill battle all the way, because as soon as you convince people your games are more advanced than Sorry! their minds immediately shift to the other end of the spectrum.

But it doesn't really matter, does it, because...

7. Rulebooks are terrible

You know what? Sometimes you don't even know if your game is too complicated or not because the rulebook doesn't make that too clear. In my years as a game reviewer I have perused dozens and dozens of game rulebooks. Hundreds, even. You know how many rulebooks I consider "great"? Maybe 4 of those. Maybe 20% are decent enough to learn the game without much confusion. The rest of them? Awful.

You probably have that one guy in your group that explains every game, right? That's because almost 0 rulebooks are well written enough that you can read through them and understand even the basics of a game. Rulebooks require study, and often require looking up FAQs and rules clarifications on forums and stuff. That one guy is your dedicated learner, who has read enough rulebooks to be able to decipher the thickest, ugliest blocks of diagram-free text, and there's just no reason for more than one person to do that because the Learner can explain a game much more concisely and clearly than the rulebook can.

Rulebooks need a lot of help that they aren't getting; I've read rulebooks that leave key rules completely out; I've trudged through rulebooks that for some reason dedicate 3 paragraphs to a single rule that could be clearly stated without confusion in a single sentence. I've read rules clarifications that raise more questions than they answer. And misspellings... ooooh the misspellings. The point is, designers and publishers really need to work on their rulebook writing skills, to make clear and consistent rules that clarify when needed, keep it simple when possible, and don't bury important rules in thematic description.

But, even if you manage to get through the rules and gather some semblance of an idea how to play...

6. You never have time to play the games you want

Tell me I'm not the only one who gets a brand new game, runs home, rips it open, punches all the pieces, reads the rulebook, gets super excited to play and then realizes my calendar is booked for the next 3 weeks? I am? Shoot. It's terrible, because you have what you want, and even if you DID have time to play it, you need a few friends who have the time as well. And despite the fact that every other game night you're all sitting around trying to decide what game to play next from the 2600 choices on the shelf, the night you have a game you REALLY want to play, someone else brings their choice game and overrules you.

All of this relates to my next point...

5. You can't just veg out and play board games, you have to organize an event

Ahh, the terrible bane of the board game player. You come home from a long stressful day at work and you'd love to unwind by engrossing yourself in a good game. You'll just need to call up a few friends. Yes, i realize there are solitaire games, but I have yet to play a solitaire game that really "does it" as far as engrossing gameplay. Anyways, I hope your home, or at least your game room, is straightened up, but inevitably it's not so you better get on that right away. Don't worry, it'll be a mess again by the end of the night. And make sure there are snacks, because your pantry is empty and now you have to go pick up something or ask someone to bring something. Screw it, I'm just going to play that Batman video game again.

But no matter how hard you try to plan...

4. You never have the right number of players.

Okay, so you manage to plan a board game night, get people invited, pick a game or two you want to play, and you breathe a sigh of relief. As soon as everyone shows up you can kick this game into gear. You have 4 people coming, so you pull out that nice 4p-only game you've been waiting to try.

Oh wait, an hour before gametime Zach cancels on you. Of course he does, that Zach is so unreliable. Thinking quickly, you remember someone else you can call because this game just isn't the same with 3. Of course they're busy, and after 2 more candidates fall through, you find a replacement! (unless you're me and you don't have that many gaming friends). At last, you're getting a chance to play! Until, of course, everyone shows up and Kerry brought a friend she didn't mention before. So much for that.

Not that it makes a big different in the long run because...

3. Other Players Ruin Everything

You know whats messed up with this planet? People. People are terrible and they do terrible things. Guess what? The only way to play board games is to include those terrible people. Terrible people who seem to go out of their way to make the experience not fun. You've got players who study the rules for loopholes, players who make terrible decisions that reward someone else besides you, players who exclusively target you, players who don't really understand the game, players who take FOREVER to make a move in Carcassonne, and so on and so forth. How did we ever think this hobby was a good idea?

You know what's even worse? You let these people into your home so you could try to capture that face-to-face experience. You see where I'm going with this? THEY KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE.

Plus, you're the one who owns all the games, and people have a terrible habit of mistreating material things that don't belong to them...

2. Components are a rip away from "bricking" your game

Many games depend on some level of secrecy. You don't know what cards your opponent has, and they don't know what cards you have, thereby creating tension; your perfect play might be stopped in its tracks, or vice versa, and you won't know until you play. Other games rely heavily on secrecy, such as hidden-role games like the Resistance or specialty cards games like Hanabi.

Marked cards hinder a normal game, and outright decimate games like these. And those friends you have over to eat your snacks and play [ruin]your games seem prone to spilling, greasing, bending, ripping, and losing your valuable cards. Oh, and don't forget about games with limited components. You lose a piece, okay maybe you can replace it with a spare token, but then your game is ugly and no one ever wants to play the ugly game. It's just how it is.

Speaking of Ugly...

1. You just got your Kickstarter game and the next day they announce the 2nd edition that fixes all the problems with yours

Kickstarter is great in a lot of ways. It allows people with no money and many friends to ask everyone in the world to give them money, fund a project they've always dreamed of creating but never had the resources to do so, and create publishing companies immediately skipping all of those steps like learning from your mistakes on a smaller scale before trying to deliver to the whole world with no experience. I digress. Anyways, so you've found a kickstarter project you can believe in, you've shared your hard-earned dollars with the creators and you can't wait to get your game that YOU helped make a reality. A year later you finally receive your game (assuming the project hasn't flopped outright) that you forgot about, and 14 seconds after that a second printing/edition is announced (and probably a brand new kickstarter is launched). See, all that time you spent waiting, the designer/publisher spent tweaking, refining, playing, and marketing their game so it would hopefully sell more copies once the production copies arrived. The production copies... already at the printer. So all the tweaks to rules that are discovered, all the art and design updates, and all of the errors discovered in the first round of the game actually being available to a large group of people, this all gets applied as soon as possible. But not to the copy you eagerly purchased so very long ago.

So, lets face it. Our hobby is stupid; it may actually be actively out to destroy us. We should all just give it up, go our separate ways, and find something better to do with our time.

On the other hand, Quantum is supposed to arrive today, and I can't wait to punch out all the bits, smell the fresh cardboard, and dig into the rules...

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9 Undeniable Reasons Board Games Are Awful

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Today is valentines day, but there's enough out there about all the gross lovey-dovey stuff. Instead lets talk about the elephant-shaped meeple in the room; that is, the thing we all love, hate to love, and honestly, just hate. I'm talking of course about our very own hobby, playing board games.

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Syfte: Att i mobil kontext kunna ha hjälpa en person/grupp att få möjlighet att spela brädspel. Vare sig om de är 1 till 5 personer som vill spela något. Någon form av kontroll kunna kontrollera spelares kunskaper i de olika spelen.

Mål: Man ska kunna vara var som helst i världen och njuta av brädspel. Främst att träffa nya människor och ha en bra tid tillsammans.

-

Jag väljer att inte göra briefen för begränsad. Jag väljer istället att fokusera på "veg out and play boad games" och "right number of players"

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De artiklar jag använder för min designbrief har jag valt att göra blåa.

"9 Undeniable Reasons Board Games Are Awful"

Utifrån denna artikeln hittade jag två punkter som jag finner mest intressanta och största problemet med brädspel.

"You can’t just veg out and play board games, you have to organize an event"

"You never have the right number of players."

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https://www.wiltgren.com/search/#search/text=board+games

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Att hitta sig en grupp människor att spela sig med är bra. De refererar bland annat till meetup.com som används av alla som har speciellt intresse för något.

Kanske ska man se den som en motståndare med tanke på min designbrief? Eller är det redan en lösning på min designbrief.

Jag kanske kan ta lärdom av hemsidan och skapa ännu bättre lösning på att hitta event eller rätt antal spelare.

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Practically everyone who's witnessed the gaming fun on and Super Fun Awesome Party Game Time has thought, I want to go to there. But if you don't have friends who are interested in regularly rolling dice with you, finding a new group to play games with can be daunting. Don't give up hope! It's not impossible.

Here are a few suggestions for finding fellow board game enthusiasts to get your Catan on in a welcoming environment.

Head to the game store

This is an obvious suggestion, but your local game store often hosts events to bring interested board game players together. Many stores host events for beginners looking to learn how to play games like Magic the Gathering, , and a variety of other tabletop games. If you're not sure what you want to play or are feeling shy and just want to hang back and watch, may we humbly suggest a Geek & Sundry Game Night as the ideal starting point?

If you do connect with players at a game night event, don't forget to exchange email addresses! This could be the start of a beautiful gaming group.

Find a group looking for more players at Meetup.com

Meetup.com is a fast and simple way to search for a gaming group near your zip code. Search for "board games" or click the Games category and any gathering of players nearby who are looking for more will be listed.

Most Meetup groups will have "what we're about" details, past events, and even group reviews so you can get an idea of what you might getting into. If you don't live in a major city with a game store, you might have more luck on Meetup.com.

Browse the regional forums on your favorite gaming site

If nothing at Meetup.com catches your eye, gaming web sites often have regional forums for fans looking for kindred spirits. Both Geek & Sundry and BoardGameGeek include forums with community members looking for others to play with.

While these group listings might not be as frequently updated as the ones you'll find on Meetup, if you do find a group through a specific web site, you'll know that you already have something in common that can be used as a conversation starting point. (I'm talking about your mutual love of TableTop, of course.)

Check your local library for game night events

If your library is awesome (all of them are, honestly, but I mean extra-awesome), your local branch may host free game nights for patrons in the area. The library conference room is easily turned into a gaming hangout, usually on a regular basis.

Make sure you're in the correct age range of the event before you attend. Many branches specifically reach out to high schoolers and families with their game nights, so double-check before you roll in with your copy of Telestrations: After Dark tucked under your arm.

Host your own

This is the option that requires the most time and commitment, but if you're truly interested in a regular game night, why not organize one yourself? Contact the public library if they aren't already hosting an event and offer to host one there.

You can also start small by putting up flyers at school or work or by inviting acquaintances to your house. Be prepared to teach newcomers about your favorite games and make sure you're very familiar with the rules if you'd like to introduce players to board games beyond and .

If hosting your first game night doesn't go as you hoped, don't give up! Give it another shot or two so that different players have a chance to add their own energy and enthusiasm. You just might find the right mix.

Make plans now for International TableTop Day.

If you're looking for an excuse to show your friends just how fun tabletop games are, use International TableTop Day as the perfect reason to host game night. Throw the Geek & Sundry Twitch channel on the screen and set out your favorite games to play (or encourage your friends to bring theirs).

You can also use International TableTop Day to head to the game store, where there's sure to be a large crowd. You can browse to find yourself a new game to entice friends over on a future game night, participate in special events, or hop into a game.
Do you have advice for finding a gaming group? Share your wisdom in the comments below! Top image courtesy Dragon's Lair Austin (Photo by Sarah Keller) Other photos: Kelly Knox and Geek & Sundry

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Looking For More: How to Find a Gaming Group | Geek and Sundry

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Practically everyone who's witnessed the gaming fun on TableTop and Super Fun Awesome Party Game Time has thought, I want to go to there. But if you don't have friends who are interested in regularly rolling dice with you, finding a new group to play games with can be daunting.

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En extra vän i telefonen!

Hitta brädspels event nära dig
Brädspel AI, (Möta en avancerad dator i olika brädspel)