Experimenting with Existence-Episode 1: Strategy Board Games (Parts 1-4)

In this episode of Experimenting with Existence, I discuss my passion for strategy board games. Here, in parts 1-4 of the episode, I examine what strategy board games are, discuss my history with them (and strategy video games), outline the value of them, and explore my collection of them.

0:00 Introduction
0:43 Overview of the Episode
~Part 1: What Strategy Board Games Are~
7:00 What Are Strategy Board Games?
7:49 Strategy Board Games Involve Thinking and Meaningful Choices
10:32 "Ameritrash" vs. "Euro Games"
13:56 Game Mechanics
17:39 Down Time
18:24 Weight
24:15 "Strategy" vs. "Tactics"
28:03 Luck/Randomness and Perfect Information
~Part 2: My History Playing and Designing Strategy Board Games~
32:29 My Introduction to Strategy Board Games
34:10 "The Settlers of Catan" Was My "Gateway Game" (Shout-out to Klaus Teuber)
40:56 I Started Designing Strategy Board Games As Soon As I Started Playing Them
42:33 Over the Years, I've Introduced My Friends and Family to Strategy Board Games
44:36 Story Time: Learning to Play "Axis & Allies"
47:51 Playing Strategy Board Games Online (Shout-out to Yucata)
51:01 Gaming Groups
52:23 Reflections on Why Some People Seem Averse to Strategy Board Games
55:02 Raising My Kids with Strategy Board Games
56:57 "Agricola", "Power Grid", and "El Grande" Were Some of the Other Games I Acquired and Played When First Getting into the Hobby
~Part 2 of Part 2: My History with Strategy Video Games~
58:38 What About Strategy Video Games!?
1:00:08 KOEI and Strategy Games on the Sega Genesis
1:04:49 Sid Meier's "Civilization" Series
1:07:13 The Adaptation of Strategy Video Games into Board Games (E.g., "XCOM" and "Civilization")
1:13:03 The Adaptation of Strategy Board Games into Video Games (E.g., "The Settlers of Catan")
~Part 3: The Value of Strategy Board Games~
1:13:55 Why Play (and Design) Strategy Board Games?
1:16:37 They Provide Relief from Our Everyday Trials and Tribulations
1:17:48 The Vibrant Themes of Many Strategy Board Games Help Elicit This Benefit (E.g., "Thebes", "Fresco", and "Mysterium")
1:22:31 The Educational Value of Strategy Board Games (E.g., "A Game of Thrones: The Board Game", "Founding Fathers", "Wingspan", and "Evolution: Climate")
1:32:17 Strategy Board Games Bring Us Together (E.g., Party Games Like "Wits & Wagers", "One Night Ultimate Werewolf", and "Codenames")
1:40:27 Games Are More Flexible Than Other Leisure Activities
1:43:06 Board Games Offer More of a Return on Your Investment Than Other Leisure Activities
1:48:37 Strategy Board Games Exercise the Mind
1:51:24 Strategy Board Games Are a Good Family Activity (E.g., "Martinique", "Grave Business", "Loot", "Corinth", and "Micropolis")
1:59:34 Why I Personally Find Playing and Designing Strategy Board Games Appealing
2:04:00 Illustrating What I Get from Designing Games Byway of Discussing the Process of Designing "Fantasy Basketball: The Board Game"
~Part 4: My Collection of Strategy Board Games~
2:10:59 My Collection of Strategy Board Games
2:12:24 General Remarks about My Collection
2:22:48 My Favorite Board Game Designers and Some of Their Games...
2:23:22 Wolfgang Kramer ("Torres", "El Grande", "Merchants of the Middle Ages", "Tikal", and "Hacienda")
2:27:20 Richard Garfield ("Magic: The Gathering", "King of Tokyo", and "Bunny Kingdom")
2:32:09 The Game That Got It All Started (I.e., "The Settlers of Catan") and Other Noteworthy Games in My Collection...
2:32:44 The Highest Rated Game in My Collection: "Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion"
2:34:14 The Second-highest-rated Game in My Collection and Last Year's "Hotness": "Terraforming Mars"
2:37:26 An Aside: Dealing with Component Issues and Contacting Publishers
2:39:24 The "7 Wonders" Family of Games and a Discussion of "Expansions"
2:43:59 A Game Specifically Designed for Solo Play: "Friday"
2:45:35 One of the Older Games in My Collection and a Great Family Game: "Survive"
2:47:43 The Game That Has Probably Received the Most Table Time and That Every Family Should Own: "Zooloretto"
2:49:41 Our Favorite Vlaada Chvátil Game: "Galaxy Trucker"
2:52:32 Reiner Knizia, "Auction Games", and Dad's Favorite: "Ra"
2:55:01 "Fiddliness" and a Game That Has Grown on Me Over the Years: "Smash Up"
2:57:36 The Recent Hotness: "Just One" and "Point Salad"
3:04:31 Video Tour of My Collection
3:10:22 Conclusion

*Check out Yucata (https://www.yucata.de/en) and BoardGameGeek (https://www.boardgamegeek.com), which I reference throughout the episode.
**At the 2:53:00 mark, I mistakenly say that Dr. Knizia has won many Spiel des Jahres awards when, in fact, he has only won once thus far ("Keltis" in 2008); he has, however, been nominated for the award several times.

For the previous episode in this series, go here:    • Experimenting with Existence-Episode ...  
Visit my channel, where you can find all of my video lectures and other philosophy-related content:    / @drbradmusil  
[Recorded April 21-August 20, 2022; Edited April 21-August 21, 2022]