Technology of Boardgames
An examination of how production changed design
It is abundantly clear how videogames have changed over the decades due to technological advances. From ASCII to four color graphics, the path eventually lead to VR and graphics cards calculating far more polygons than were ever even conceived of in the days of text adventures.
Today, you can buy boardgames that integrate actual tech like apps and computers. While those games are great, I’d like to focus more on the dark days. You know, like before the internet.
There’s a few ways to look at ‘tech’ as it applies to board games. One is the really ephemeral concept of things like “we would never have Game X if Game B didn’t do it first”. And that’s true. Boardgames have gotten easier to understand rulebooks (see rule 4.1.23.6.b-e for a detailed explanation) and new design concepts have taken hold. Yes, once one CCG appeared, a ton did. Once one deckbuilder appeared, a ton did. Props given to those trend starters. That kind of ‘idea tech’ is not what this is about.
This is about the almighty factory. The printing press. The die cutter. And how actual physical changes in factories due to the progress of technology have changed the games on our tables.
