Atari Board Games

[MrTrust]

Out Christmas shopping yesterday, I found a copy of the Centipede board game (2017 IDW; we had the 1983 MB one when I was a kid, but I remember nothing about it).  Haven't played it yet, but it appears to map onto the original game nicely.  Somehow, I don't think it's going to be a very good game, though.

 

We have the most recent Pac-Man board game, and the board game of the Popeye arcade game.  They're both really good translations of the games they're based on, but they just don't quite work.  I was working on a prototype of a Battlezone v board game, and I thought I had the basic concept nailed.  I had a deck of cards for the tank player, who would have to play one on each tread to determine his move before the enemy took his turn.  The board would be on a swivel, so the tank player would move the whole board to bring enemies into his fire arc.  You would use dice to plot out shots by range so combatants had the opportunity to dodge projectiles.  Things like that.  I think it modeled the original pretty well, but I just don't think it quite works.

 

I wonder why this is.  I mean, all old video games essentially use the same kinds of mechanisms that board games do, even if you don't see it.  There's a "die roll" being made every few seconds in Donkey Kong, or you have Pac-Man, which is all deterministic.  Once you get good at an old arcade game, it becomes more a matter of strategy than it does reflexes.  Either way, it's still based on anticipating the opponent and committing to a course of action, and the excitement comes from seeing whether or both that works out.

 

But somehow, when you slow it down, the fun doesn't really translate over, even though it feels like it should.  Anyone have any ideas why this is, from a design standpoint?  Are there any fans of of old-school video game-based board games?  What do or don't you like about them?  What makes them work or not?

 

[+Stephen Moss]

I had the Donky Kong board game years ago and the Space Hulk and as recall they went bad to play, but they are never going to feel like the video game as there is not the intensity there.

 

In the video game everything happens much faster and all at one, in a board game things happen much slower and sequentially, you have longer to take everything in and make more thought out decisions rather than instant reactionary ones that are more likely to result in your downfall.

[MrTrust]

2 hours ago, Stephen Moss said:

I had the Donky Kong board game years ago and the Space Hulk and as recall they went bad to play, but they are never going to feel like the video game as there is not the intensity there.

 

Space Hulk is an odd one.  I guess it depends on what version you play of the board or video games.  Originally, it was a board game.  The first edition was fairly intense; there was a timer for the marine player to make his moves, and there's a lot of die rolls that are really consequential.  I think they've made it less so over the years.  The video games were pretty slow to me except that Deathwing one that was pretty crazy.  Weird to think that's been around so long and gone back and forth so much that there are people who identify it as a video game first.

[+jgkspsx]

The Joust board game is relatively well reviewed, but I haven’t gotten to try it yet.

[roots.genoa]

I love the Space Hulk board game.

[Mockduck]

I have played a lot of these games, and picked up Centipede when it launched at Gen Con that year. It is ok, not great, but the layout and pieces and overall presentation are nice. So far the one that works the best as a tabletop game is Missile Command, but that is because it doesn't really map to the game very accurately and is instead a "plan and then reveal" turn-based PvP game. 

 

The "new crop" of the 2010's are much better than the old 80's games for sure, but they are still pretty mediocre. They look good though and have nicely made pieces and such. 

[+cvga]

On 12/6/2021 at 8:36 PM, jgkspsx said:

The Joust board game is relatively well reviewed, but I haven’t gotten to try it yet.

There's a Joust board game? Is it from the 80s or one of the more recent games?

[+jgkspsx]

6 hours ago, cvga said:

There's a Joust board game? Is it from the 80s or one of the more recent games?

Recent. Here’s an overview: http://www.sahmreviews.com/2019/10/idw-games-joust.html

 

Reviews on Board Game Geek have taken a turn for the worse since I last checked: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/251328/joust/ratings?comment=1

[MrTrust]

On 12/7/2021 at 3:15 AM, roots.genoa said:

I love the Space Hulk board game.

 

Played many, maaaaaaany a game of that in my day.  We used to combine multiple sets and play huge scenarios with all kinds of crap we added to the game ourselves.  Seems like so many games have tried to show it over the years, but nothing quite does the job, even though it is not at all my favorite of the genre.

 

On 12/8/2021 at 6:34 AM, jgkspsx said:

Reviews on Board Game Geek have taken a turn for the worse since I last checked:

 

Meh.  I wouldn't put much stock in what's said at BGG about anything.  Their rating system is kind of busted, and the site is geared toward a different style of game.