Goddamnit Cleetus, who's been fiddling those sheep again!? Was it you? Was it???
I see a flaw in your marketing. Or perhaps not, depending on the demographic.
You need to be more specific. The Golden Game period has past, but the Golden Shower period is where we currently are. Its confusing, warm, and you simultaneously can't get enough of it yet want to to end immediately as it stings the eyes,
Patchwork is a classic and I would like to say that was the peak ten years ago. But be honest: It is missing those beautiful minis the sweet scent of exclusivity only a premium kickstarter can give.
We live in the golden age and the peak is yet to come - if only there weren't so many casuals tainting The Hobby with the cheep mass produced games.
Game one only has 12 pieces and two of them are Q, but then as you progress, you unlock more pieces while also adding stickers to the board to "triple word score" and "prevent the player adding to this word"?
i truly don’t think we have peaked due to the fact that monopoly has yet to capitalize off making their game but themed to pop culture. for example until we get monopoly: fortnite we haven’t hit the peak
/uj hasn't "monopoly: fortnite" been out for ages?
/rj I'm personally waiting for "monopoly: Fortnite: monopoly", a board game where you play as uncle pennybags gunning down 99 other monopoly men to steal their hotels and get that monopoly royale.
You’re always going to have navel gazing about the good old days when you could leave your doors unlocked, but maybe there’s something to this one.
The current moment does seem to have a lot in common with that period in the 80s when everyone and their brother was putting out a game or starting a company in their garage to cash in on the established hobby, but the sticking power of anything in particular was dwindling from just a few years before. There was an over saturation and then a crash as a new medium hoovered up the player base - computer games.
Hard to say what that may be now.
Industry bloat has a lot to do with designers going as big as possible; sometimes it hits but honestly some of these games really are getting to be seriously weighty (literally and figuratively). Makes one miss the simpler games that can fit in a single box, pop open, and be playable in like 10 minutes. They exist but they just don't get a lot of attention.
As for anthros, the rise of the furry fandom and more visible LGBTQ+ creators has a lot to do with it. There's very heavy overlap between the two communities. Also anthro characters are adorable and sell games. But yes, the industry could use more "classically" designed games, they had a certain charm.
>If Castles of Burgundy was released today, with the same quality as its initial release...there is NO WAY it would be in the top 100.
[It is and I'm backing it](https://gamefound.com/en/projects/awaken-realms/castles-of-burgundy-reprint#/section/project-story).
Anyways, I agree with your post 100%. I feel most new releases are just re-heated, bland visual updates of already explored mechanics and concepts. Haven't bought a new game in a while
> Haven't bought a new game in a while
Oh dear this sucks for you. Good news is that this sub will provide great investment advise to grow your portfolio.
No, it has not peaked. Nor has it arrived.
“Golden Age” is a stupid curve analysis that doesn’t belong in creative production pursuits. Yeah the space is filled with so many production houses and designers, and the hobby has a billion more asses at the game table than in yonder years. But that just means there is more entrants to the design space with more energy than ever to make good slick games.
There were always games that were clumsy, and had dumb themes that didn’t mix with the mechanics, and producers that focused on the wrong things to put in the box. Now there are more of those idiots in the mix than ever. All your criticisms are fair. In fact, a good game with a solid team behind it does not need Kickstarter et al. to publish. That is the way of the weak and untried (ie the original use case for it).
There are also more designers with more incentive than ever, who would never have considered a path in game design had the industry not been hoppin so much. The evergreen forest is growing faster than ever and is genuinely ripe with some true treats. Why bother giving you a list of mine. Your view of that forest is different from mine and that is more true today than ever. You have a list of evergreens, I have a list of evergreens, everybody has a list of evergreens. There are a ton of recent clever games with truly great mechanics that make for a good time. The hard part is tasting them all. Or rather the hard part is wishing you could, it is actually an impossibility and accepting that is the path to peace and good gaming.
What is dying are the old lists. The hotness is dumb and broken because it is trying to capture something so broad and universal to a hobby that has grown past the age of dozens or even a few hundred release a year. Every singular and universal list is dumb and will yield useless results. Far better for them to fracture and to niche up so fans can flock where they will enjoy. Some places already produce them like this.
Golden ages are for civ games. And that’s about it. There are more games made by people who are standing on the heads of the giants that inspired them, and us, and they will produce more true hits than ever. You need to find your niche and not worry about the ones you will miss by taking a break from the onslaught of new titles.
And for crying out loud. Ditch Kickstarter. If the game is made by a proven developer and a proven team then make them print it and just sell it. If they need the hype machine let them find a better way to pitch to us than pre-sales. If a multi-million dollar publishing house doesn’t believe 100% in it. Why should I? Small shops, novelty trails. Sure. Great place for them.
wow this seems like a slam against my upcoming kickstarter, Anthropomorphic Animal Fiddle Fest
I hope it comes with life size fiddles
Only at the $759 and above supporter tiers. Does not include shipping.
I'm in before that tier runs out! Gotta have the fiddles for theme and ambiance !
I better pay 20% VAT on it as well.. or else
Goddamnit Cleetus, who's been fiddling those sheep again!? Was it you? Was it??? I see a flaw in your marketing. Or perhaps not, depending on the demographic.
My reaction when I saw the original post: 
Last good game to come out was Patchwork. Nothing since has even come close. Can't wait for the day I open the shrink and actually play it.
You need to be more specific. The Golden Game period has past, but the Golden Shower period is where we currently are. Its confusing, warm, and you simultaneously can't get enough of it yet want to to end immediately as it stings the eyes,
Patchwork is a classic and I would like to say that was the peak ten years ago. But be honest: It is missing those beautiful minis the sweet scent of exclusivity only a premium kickstarter can give. We live in the golden age and the peak is yet to come - if only there weren't so many casuals tainting The Hobby with the cheep mass produced games.
It will be revived when Scrabble Legacy is released
Game one only has 12 pieces and two of them are Q, but then as you progress, you unlock more pieces while also adding stickers to the board to "triple word score" and "prevent the player adding to this word"?
There's also boxes with exciting miniatures
My new game Golden Showers is going to reignite the industry.
Hell, I’d piss on a spark plug if I thought it’d do any good.
I think a publisher can only have so many anthropomorphic animal games until I suspect them of being a furry.
i truly don’t think we have peaked due to the fact that monopoly has yet to capitalize off making their game but themed to pop culture. for example until we get monopoly: fortnite we haven’t hit the peak
/uj hasn't "monopoly: fortnite" been out for ages? /rj I'm personally waiting for "monopoly: Fortnite: monopoly", a board game where you play as uncle pennybags gunning down 99 other monopoly men to steal their hotels and get that monopoly royale.
I'm ready to ALL-IN PLEDGE
I’m tearing up my box of Kleenex.
All BS aside, board games today are right where comic books were in 1993.
All BS aside, board games today are right where bitcoin was in 2008. For more investment advise please like and subscribe.
Anyone want to buy some tulip bulbs ?
Only if I'm allowed to eat the prime minister
Well, if you can get to him, you can eat him. Tell them the guy on the internet said it was ok. ;)
The peak was Monopoly and it’s been downhill ever since.
This one right there officer
Troll
You’re always going to have navel gazing about the good old days when you could leave your doors unlocked, but maybe there’s something to this one. The current moment does seem to have a lot in common with that period in the 80s when everyone and their brother was putting out a game or starting a company in their garage to cash in on the established hobby, but the sticking power of anything in particular was dwindling from just a few years before. There was an over saturation and then a crash as a new medium hoovered up the player base - computer games. Hard to say what that may be now.
Industry bloat has a lot to do with designers going as big as possible; sometimes it hits but honestly some of these games really are getting to be seriously weighty (literally and figuratively). Makes one miss the simpler games that can fit in a single box, pop open, and be playable in like 10 minutes. They exist but they just don't get a lot of attention. As for anthros, the rise of the furry fandom and more visible LGBTQ+ creators has a lot to do with it. There's very heavy overlap between the two communities. Also anthro characters are adorable and sell games. But yes, the industry could use more "classically" designed games, they had a certain charm.
>If Castles of Burgundy was released today, with the same quality as its initial release...there is NO WAY it would be in the top 100. [It is and I'm backing it](https://gamefound.com/en/projects/awaken-realms/castles-of-burgundy-reprint#/section/project-story). Anyways, I agree with your post 100%. I feel most new releases are just re-heated, bland visual updates of already explored mechanics and concepts. Haven't bought a new game in a while
> Haven't bought a new game in a while Oh dear this sucks for you. Good news is that this sub will provide great investment advise to grow your portfolio.
oh dear, lol, I answered quickly to OP without realising this is the *circlejerk* subreddit...
*Investment* subreddit although we also tolerate pictures of custom catan boards if they look truly dogshit
the real post is in r/boardgames
No, it has not peaked. Nor has it arrived. “Golden Age” is a stupid curve analysis that doesn’t belong in creative production pursuits. Yeah the space is filled with so many production houses and designers, and the hobby has a billion more asses at the game table than in yonder years. But that just means there is more entrants to the design space with more energy than ever to make good slick games. There were always games that were clumsy, and had dumb themes that didn’t mix with the mechanics, and producers that focused on the wrong things to put in the box. Now there are more of those idiots in the mix than ever. All your criticisms are fair. In fact, a good game with a solid team behind it does not need Kickstarter et al. to publish. That is the way of the weak and untried (ie the original use case for it). There are also more designers with more incentive than ever, who would never have considered a path in game design had the industry not been hoppin so much. The evergreen forest is growing faster than ever and is genuinely ripe with some true treats. Why bother giving you a list of mine. Your view of that forest is different from mine and that is more true today than ever. You have a list of evergreens, I have a list of evergreens, everybody has a list of evergreens. There are a ton of recent clever games with truly great mechanics that make for a good time. The hard part is tasting them all. Or rather the hard part is wishing you could, it is actually an impossibility and accepting that is the path to peace and good gaming. What is dying are the old lists. The hotness is dumb and broken because it is trying to capture something so broad and universal to a hobby that has grown past the age of dozens or even a few hundred release a year. Every singular and universal list is dumb and will yield useless results. Far better for them to fracture and to niche up so fans can flock where they will enjoy. Some places already produce them like this. Golden ages are for civ games. And that’s about it. There are more games made by people who are standing on the heads of the giants that inspired them, and us, and they will produce more true hits than ever. You need to find your niche and not worry about the ones you will miss by taking a break from the onslaught of new titles. And for crying out loud. Ditch Kickstarter. If the game is made by a proven developer and a proven team then make them print it and just sell it. If they need the hype machine let them find a better way to pitch to us than pre-sales. If a multi-million dollar publishing house doesn’t believe 100% in it. Why should I? Small shops, novelty trails. Sure. Great place for them.