"New Games Are for New Gamers": Reflections on NY Toy Fair 2015

While I was on @MeepleSyrup last night (https://t.co/yKenWlAIej) w/ @425suzanne and @Aldie, @darylmandrews asked about Toy Fair trends. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

I drew a blank on Toy Fair trends because the market seems fairly diverse in terms of game styles, themes, mechanisms, etc. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

Thinking more, I realized the Toy Fair trends are simply what's always been out: licensed games, memory, real-time speed recognition. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

"New games are for new gamers." I said this some years ago & a friend reminds me of this from time to time when we survey the market. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

We're often looking at upcoming game releases and feeling that everything is similar to what's come before. That's because it's true. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

Most people who play games don't play as many as hardcore BGG users; they buy a couple of games each year, then play them to death. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

Most gamers don't notice the constant wave of real-time pattern recognition games as they don't survey the 100s of games out each year. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

"New games are for new gamers." Those designs we dismiss as "same ol' same ol'" will be new and exciting to thousands of players. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

Spiel features nearly 1,000 new games each year, and the majority of those games will be akin to other games. Twas ever thus. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

What's new & fresh for you as a gamer often depends on when you discovered modern games. Five years from that point, everything blurs. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

Which is why when people ask me about which games were exciting at Spiel or NY Toy Fair or Spielwarenmesse, I can often only shrug. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

Not that the new games at Spiel/NY Toy Fair/Spielwarenmesse aren't exciting or fun—only that I've seen so many & played so few of them. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

When I actually *play* these games, they're almost always enjoyable. They're good solid designs, just not in-your-face newness. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

Looking at designs on a historical basis can make new games less appealing. Looking at them on their own can highlight their strengths. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

I try to keep this dichotomy in mind when writing from conventions. Every game is new to someone; try to view it from that perspective. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

The same perspective seems more prevalent for books, movies & songs. View them from a historical perspective; view them on their own. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

Everyone has new ideas that aren't actually new. Sometimes you know that, sometimes you don't. It depends on your frame of reference. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

Some people complain about things like Love Letter: Batman because it's not new, but it will be new for thousands of players. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

I waved the Love Letter: Batman logo bag before my son and my exchange student & they jumped to attention to learn more about the game. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

The response to a license seems Pavlovian & you might view the game publisher using one as cynical, but it's an introductory tool. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

Ideally every element of a game serves a purpose. Sometimes it's simply to get someone to pick the game up off the shelf. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

Since what attracts me doesn't necessarily attract you, sometimes we'll differ on whether a game is appealing. Neither of us is wrong. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

I try to keep that thought in mind when checking out games at cons. I'm not looking for what I want to play, but trying to help others. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

My goal for BGG News is helping others find games that they want to play, which naturally entails showcasing games that you won't like. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

Ideally we can pan the annual game releases for gold while recognizing that fool's gold isn't worthless; it's just not to our taste. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

Which brings me back to conventions, with all their newness & "newness". Everything is new for someone. "New games are for new gamers." —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

The trend that you (think you) see now might be a minor peak in the trough of larger waves, but you lack the perspective to see it all. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

The larger trend being, of course, that people have rarely had as many avenues of enjoyment available to them at any point in history. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015

Every game builds on the past & adds to your possibilities of play. You'll never get to experience it all, so just enjoy what you can. —WEM

— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) February 19, 2015