Naturelich Games

This GeekList Aggregator deals with How-to-GeekLists. Many geeklists serve as a little how-to guide. Most of them are serious, some others just pure fun and they cover a broad range of topics. One How-to list covers the game rules and nicely connects BGG images and text, some others investigate how to manage and categorize game collections and another one is focused on how to best explain the rules.

Pretty thought provoking stuff *g*, all collated in GeekList Aggregator #17: How-to GeekLists.

Continue reading "GLA #17: How-to GeekLists" »

Posted by Naturelich at 11:25 PM | Permalink

Many of us Geeks have their shelves filled with board games. Once the collection exceeds a certain size, one has a pretty nice basis to judge production quality. For example, compare the small cards in the original Ticket to Ride to the heavy character cards in Um Krone und Kragen (aka To Court The King). You can virtually feel the difference. Once the average Geek gets to this point, they will almost instantly start to get interested in board game production processes. How to develop a game from prototype status to a full release? What are the production steps required? What are the low-budget vs. the totally high-end, over-the-top games? Many, many questions...

Some answers provided in GeekListAggregator #16: Board game production.

Continue reading "GLA #16: Board game production" »

Posted by Naturelich at 11:06 PM | Permalink

14 issues of the GeekListAggregator are now available. The original idea was to keep an eye on good and interesting GeekLists that otherwise get lost in the huge number of lists posted to BGG every day. The GLA idea came to life to address a lack of quality in most geeklists. The lists we see today are mostly not of universal interest. So far, (to my knowledge) has defined what makes a "good" GeekList. These times are now over.

GLA #15 looks at Meta-GeekLists (in other words GeekLists about GeekLists). Until today, not many of these GeekLists exist. Actually, it's only one GeekList that focuses on what quality lists are made of.

Continue reading "GLA #15: Geeklists about Geeklists" »

Posted by Naturelich at 1:40 AM | Permalink

Many board games podcasts have surfaced on the web. And although release frequency and show quality vary a little bit between shows they are generally very appealing to the casual Geek (I am trying to understate this - actually, I personally believe they are rrreally cool and would not want to miss them any more - but maybe that's just me). Several GeekLists have been created that combine the best shows for several different podcasts. Hopefully, this GLA allows you to quickly browse the recommendations by other BGG users.

Continue reading "GLA #14: Best of board games podcasts" »

Posted by Naturelich at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A few months ago Scott Nicholson started his Boardgames with Scott video podcast. A few GeekLists have tried to gather and collate information on existing video reviews of boardgames. The great thing about having these GeekLists is that they combine both a link to the game (with additional information and additional text reviews) as well as a link to the video review.

So here we go with GLA #13: Board game videos on the internet.

Continue reading "GLA #13: Board game videos on the internet" »

Posted by Naturelich at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

While I was browsing the huge amount of GeekLists relating to the wargame hobby, I felt a need to generate sub-clusters. This GeekListAggregator focuses solely on air combat games. The existing lists are sorted by historic period.
In order to give credit to the main contributor of these lists, please have a look at game designer Andrea Angiolino's personal website.

Continue reading "GLA #12: Thematic lists about Air Combat Games" »

Posted by Naturelich at 1:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Inspired by my recent experiences with Memoir '44 (see here) and A Game of Thrones (find it there) I seem to become more and more interested in wargames. I also listened to the Boardgames To Go podcast by Mark Johnson with Mike Siggins about Euro/Wargame hybrids (#38B). In their show Mark and Mike speculate about possible upcoming hybrid games between wargames and German type games. It's a very interesting subject and I had to dive into it a little bit deeper. So, here is what the excellent BoardGameGeek had to offer in terms of GeekLists for wargaming newbies (like me).

Continue reading "GLA #11: Wargames for newbies" »

Posted by Naturelich at 11:16 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (1)

Have you ever wondered: who is the person behind your favorite game? Sometimes you can read an interview or an article about a (famous) designer. But how do they look like?

That's the topic for GeekListAggregator #10.

GeekList #3285: Games and Designers - A Photo Tribute by Scott -Pokey Pokey Pokey- Reed
This GeekList references the many many pictures of game designers that have been uploaded to BGG. Most of them have been taken at Essen (from 2003-2005) but "real gems" (forgive me for this) can be found here, e.g. Alan B. Calhamer the designer of Diplomacy.

As a suggestion for improving the Geek: why not add a feature where you can link a game designer with existing images? I think this would sort of fit on the game designer page (where you see all games this person has designed). Maybe the upper right corner is a nice place for this. We just need a mod where we can associate the designer to their image.

Posted by Naturelich at 1:06 PM | Permalink

German-type boardgames have a strong theme. Several GeekLists are compiling games according to their theme.

This is not only interesting for people who like a particular theme or are into a particular hobby anyways (trains, pirates, history, etc.). Those themed GeekLists make a great source to plan a themed boardgame evening. Instead of dressing up for a murder mystery party you could ask your players to dress-up as pirates, cowboys (and -girls) or as medieval impostors, etc.

BoardGameGeek actually contains more themed lists than this single GLA could digest. I have therefore focused on those themes which I actually thought might make a nice theme for a dress-up party...

Continue reading "GLA #9: Boardgame themes" »

Posted by Naturelich at 12:36 PM | Permalink

Time to aggregate more GeekLists. This one deals with game expansions. Among gamers this is a very hot topic. Some like 'em, some hate 'em.

Pro
I noticed people like expansions to spice up a game they like *a lot*. The expansion brings something new, yet retains enough familiarity with the original game. Probably, the game group has already invented some sort of house rule, scenario or modification to keep the game interesting. The expansion comes at the right time to add new spice. Expansions make it easy for game publishers to sell to an exisiting customer base and are probably very popular from a commercial perspective.

Contra
Other people argue that expansions are basically the same game with some small modifications. Some even argue it is swindling or thievery by the publishers as they try to sell the same game twice. It is a more philosophical standpoint dealing with originality and other games which should also get published. Some also argue this makes the boardgame scene too uniform.

Good examples for expansions in general are the Carcassonne and Alhambra family. The Settlers of Catan probably also qualify. These games generated a huge fan-base which is easily exploited by offering the third or fourth expansion. But are all expansions worth buying? Are some even necessary for the original game to improve it? Let's find out in

GeekListAggregator #8: Boardgame expansions

Continue reading "GLA #8: Boardgame expansions" »

Posted by Naturelich at 5:53 PM | Permalink

The original idea of the GeekListAggregator was to provide an overview of useful GeekLists. With #7 I may already start to contradict this very rational economic concept of "utility". It is difficult to not stumble over funny GeekLists. I don't know about you, but I just can't get around them. I have therefore tried to dig a few lists which appeared funny (more or less). And let me say this upfront: there are zillions of more fun lists, it's just my "randomness" picking here ;)

But now, without further ado:

GeekList Aggregator #7: Funny geek lists

Continue reading "GLA #7: Funny geek lists" »

Posted by Naturelich at 12:01 AM | Permalink

The last issue of GeekListAggregator focussed on GeekLists submitted by game designers. GLA #6 will look at lists about boardgame designers. Several GeekLists deal with the artisans of our hobby: the established and successful designers, wargame designers as well as the rising stars in boardgame design.

Continue reading "GLA #6: Rising Stars in Boardgame Design" »

Posted by Naturelich at 11:56 PM | Permalink

BoardGameGeek is a large community. Their membership also includes numerous game designers. Several have actively contributed to the Geek. Either with comments on their own games or with interesting comments on the industry as a whole. I think this is reason enough to look at their own GeekLists in more detail and maybe even encourage more designers to provide us with similar insights. What do you think?

GeekList Aggregator #5 focussing on GeekLists by game designers...

Continue reading "GLA #5: Game designers' GeekLists" »

Posted by Naturelich at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

After Essen, the BoardGameGeek is full of discussion about William Attia's Caylus. As far as I was able to follow up on the discussion, BoardGameGeek saw at least one new Caylus related posting each day since Essen 2005. In addition, numerous boardgame blogs also followed up on the secret number one game of Essen 2005. Or they were just writing about the fair in general. Lots of pictures have been published, too.

You will probably have had plenty of opportunities to make up your own mind. I have seen some controversial reviews on some of the games. But who is right and who is wrong? Which games will remain? Which ones got a really good rating by the BoardGameGeek-community? Which games were not bought after playtesting them?
Lots of questions. To shed some light on these issues, there's several GeekLists out there providing answers...

GeekList Aggregator #4 compiles the Essen Spiel 2005 Aftermath.
Find out whether how your personal view correlates with the majority of the Geeks out there...

Continue reading "GLA #4: Essen 2005 aftermath" »

Posted by Naturelich at 11:21 PM | Permalink

Geek List Aggregator #3 deals with the upcoming game fair at Essen 2005. Probably, this GLA will not provide much enduring value but Essen is the topic of the week. So for the sake of providing current information...

Oh, wait --- before we come to the geek list, let me point you to some material that has/will become available in the blogosphere. Since this will be relevant in the days and weeks to come and also give additional context to this GLA I decided to include some links into this post:

• Gameblog - Mikko has added a full category for his days in Essen 2005 and already posted the first teaser
• Chris Farrell's Gaming Blog - Chris has left on October 7th and will continue posting upon his return

Personally, I will only be able to attend Saturday morning plus the full last day on Sunday. This is really a shame as I live in Düsseldorf. This means Essen is only 20 - 30 minutes away and I would loooove to blog more on the fair. But since taking a holiday is currently totally out of the question and opening hours are ridiculous (exhibits closing at 6 p.m.) what can I do? The answer is obvious: aggregate GeekLists...

Continue reading "GLA #3: Preparations for Essen 2005" »

Posted by Naturelich at 12:21 AM | Permalink

It is time for GeekList Aggregator #2. This time we look at the reception of board games in the real word. More particular: the movies.

We all know about the burden of being a Geek: the real world sometimes smiles at us. But it's interesting to see, how the real world continues to be influenced by Geeks like us. Some movies definitely drive their main theme from a board game. Others incorporate a particular game mechanism into their plot.

When I decided to write this blog entry, the following question kept popping up: "How can GeekLists focussing on board-games-displayed-for-one-second-in-a-movie ever be useful to me?" - A rightful question! With a little overdose of irony, let me recite

Geek rule #76
(anyone remember the Ferengi Rules of Acquisitions?):
In order to defend the Geek-ish position in front of non-believers, it is the Geeks duty to be aware of ties to the real world. This will allow non-believers to relate to the Geek.

This GeekList aggregation is supposed to prepare us for the common situation of someone throwing their he's-a-geek-smile at us. Or in other words: it's just for fun...

Continue reading "GLA #2: Board games in the movies" »

Posted by Naturelich at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)

Earlier today, I was wondering about the creation of a GeekList-Aggregator. Many people were complaining about GeekLists being totally spammed: too many lists in the style of Games I played on Saturday make useful GLs difficult to find. Let's try and put a spotlight onto some GLs which are really useful.
Naturally, by useful we all mean something different. This blog will be a harbor for what Naturelich finds useful. The Naturelich Games GeekList Aggregator will be subjective. It will perhaps contain GLs you already know. Be aware: I am relatively new to BoardGameGeek. I am very new to GeekLists. Please bear with me for the next few aggregations before you start flaming :-). Needless to say: comments, additions and hints are always welcome.

So here we go with the first post: GeekList Aggregator #1...

Continue reading "GLA #1: Board games and the computer" »

Posted by Naturelich at 10:24 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (1)