I Want to Sell You Something... for Free

I’m going to sell you something. For free. No IAP. It’s an idea.

Let’s start with a question. What do Agricola, Summoner Wars, and Neuroshima Hex have in common? Yeah, that’s an easy one. They’re all successful iPad titles. Going slightly deeper, I imagine you know they began life as popular board games. In fact, I’ve seen that many popular board game’s have been converted to the iPad, or PC (Heroes of Stalingrad).

Why’s that? Three reasons come to mind. First off, it’s easier for an iOS (Video or PC, for that matter) developer to implement a proven design than start from scratch. If the game exits, and it’s popular, you know it works. And games that work are less common than you might think. Furthermore, existing designs often include art that can be—to use the industry buzzword, repurposed. Such is the case with PlayDek’s Summoner Wars, or Matrix's PC production of our own Lock ‘n Load: Heroes of Stalingrad.

The second reason is customer base. Every sentient, tool-using being, and most of their pets, have heard of Settlers of Catan. Hence, selling a digital version to those customers is much easier than establishing a spanking new base of sentient, tool-using beings.

Finally, and most importantly, there are just truckloads of great board games out there. Computers, and when I say computers, I mean PCs, consoles, iPads and Android tablets, do a lot of things cardboard can’t replicate. They splash immersive graphics on screens large and small, manage numbers, track rules, ease setup, and provide opponents, both human and artificial. But what they can’t do, or rarely do, is match the creativity of play, imaginative and delightful mechanics, and social interaction that are the hallmark of a great strategy board game.

I’m a designer by inclination and a multitasker by necessity. I frequently have two to three designs in the works at any given time. Currently I’m working on an unannounced game in our World at War series, prepping Heroes of the Pacific for the printers, and polishing the scenarios in Heroes of Stalingrad (HoS), our aforementioned PC design. I believe that both of these designs will be engaging and popular (hopefully), but it strikes me that although HoS comes with a boatload of content, computers simply lack the mechanical thrill and social interaction that board games have in abundance. (No, being cursed at by a 13-year old Call of Duty ninja on Xbox Live isn’t social interaction.)

It thrills me to roll dice, or even better, lots of dice, match them against hit numbers, and watch anguish in my bested opponent’s eyes. Enter an open gaming room at any convention, and the hoots, hollers, and cheers can be near deafening. Some of it is the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat, but much of it is just the sheer excitement of playing an engaging game with friends.

Yeah, that's me.

So maybe next time you find a top-notch App, such as Summoner Wars or Ticket to Ride, you’ll buy its cardboard forebear and give it a shot. You might be surprised how much fun you can have with your computing device turned off. And that’s the idea I want to sell.

Mark H. Walker is a retired U.S. Navy Commander and author of over 40 books, including the acclaimed World at War: Revelation, a novel of a twisted third world war. You can read more about Mark/me at my personal website thing. 

PS. I originally wrote this piece for Owen Faraday (Hi,Owen!) over at Pockettactics.