Comments for Analog Game Studies

Comment on The First Nations of Catan: Practices in Critical Modification by Allen Paca

Allen Paca — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 15:24:14 +0000

What should the First Nations player do with the Road Building development card? It would be frustrating to buy a card that has literally no utility for that player.

I propose possible amendments for the First Nations player:
1) move the Tribe up to two spaces, or
2) play this card instead of paying to attack with the Tribe.

@Greg, what are your thoughts?

Comment on Assessing Gender and Racial Representation in the Board Game Industry by George Locke

George Locke — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 17:53:47 +0000

In reply to Tommi Brander. Just chiming in to say that Fisher's Exact Test would be more appropriate than a Chi-Squared test. They both do the same thing, in principle, but Chi-Square is best reserved for large populations. (Its assumptions become more tenuous as the numbers get close to one, such as 12/10 non-white-males.)

Comment on Blinded by the Roll: The Critical Fail of Disability in D&D by Bruce Williams

Bruce Williams — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 00:45:21 +0000

As a physician who has been playing D&D for about 40 years I found your article to have some valid points that Wizards should address. I agree that the artwork mentioned is offensive and demeaning. I agree that there should be better mechanics to portray characters with disabilities and allow a player with disabilities to embrace rather than abandon an important aspect of their identity. Take the analogy of a player who, in their real existence, is physically weak. That player has the option to create his character in different ways. One is to could create an ultra strong fighter-type to explore what they could never actually do. Alternatively they could play a character who’s strength has little bearing on what they can achieve. Characters with disabilities should have similar options. Until these are available it is up to the DM to work with players to find ways to portray their desired character without disrupting game play.
Back in the early 80’s a members of our gaming group was paraplegic. It is interesting, in retrospect, that none of us (all intelligent and socially aware) ever brought up the idea of playing a character with a disability. I don’t remember even considering the possibility. It shows that conversations like this are long overdue.
That said, my current character is a blind bard with multiple personality disorder. I have to confess that 3 of the 5 members of our gaming group have been playing together for about 20 years, so we are not a typical group. We are also well accustomed to creating very atypical characters. Role playing is more important to us than having the most powerful party.
There are existing ways to help compensate for disabilities and ways to role play around some of them, especially with the DM’s assistance. Deafness need not be overly limiting to a party. Other members can listen for dangers the character might have missed. Players can communicate with sign language or acquire a means for telepathy. A player lacking a limb can compensate for in may ways. Even complete paraplegia can be compensated for, especially if the player is willing to play a character relying primarily on mental attributes. The difficulty of mental illness will always be more of a role playing problem than one of game mechanics. Blindness poses some unique difficulties and I do not advise it for a beginning gaming group as I think it would add stresses that they do not have the experience to easily handle.
My DM gave me a bonus on perception checks for hearing and smell and touch, all of which provide a benefit to my party. With a character such as a bard you can concentrate on a primarily supporting role and still aid the party while accurately portraying the disability. Playing a blind front line fighter type is more difficult. OK, my bard does that too, but it took a lot of thought and time working with the DM.
There are also some game mechanics to help overcome some of the drawbacks of disabilities. Spells can be used to take away an enemy’s sight (or hearing or movement, etc) and turn the tables to give advantage to the character accustomed to their condition. Spells and magic items can be used to remove some of the hindrances the disability poses, just like technology does in the real world. To argue that this should not be necessary is like arguing that people with actual disabilities should not take advantage of technological aids that are available. Using a familiar (available to any character fairly early in the game) for periods of vision is helpful, though there are limitations to this. There is no reason you cannot have a trained companion animal that acts as service animal or even have your familiar play that role. These are only a few examples.
In the end an experienced DM should be able to work with players to create and play a character with disabilities. Wizards should continue to strive to be more socially responsible. Removing offensive artwork is an easy first step.
Tackling societal apathy and prejudices will be more difficult.

Comment on Assessing Gender and Racial Representation in the Board Game Industry by Tommi Brander

Tommi Brander — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 18:56:59 +0000

In reply to Tanya A Pobuda.

It would be interesting to see, as both diverse creators and diverse art are often seen as goals, and one would intuitively believe they support each other.

If you need help with the statistics (not to assume you do, I do not know your skills), feel free to contact me. I am a mathematician, not a statistician, but the simple tests and their interpretation should go well enough. My academic email can be found at university website https://www.ntnu.edu/employees/tommi.brander .

Comment on Black Boxes out of Cardboard: Algorithmic Literacy through Critical Board Game Design by Données et algorithmes | Pearltrees

Données et algorithmes | Pearltrees — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 16:31:17 +0000

[…] Black Boxes out of Cardboard: Algorithmic Literacy through Critical Board Game Design. As we enter an era in which algorithmic technology is woven into the fabric of almost all our social experiences,1 these computational systems have come to exercise a subtle but problematically pervasive power in society.2 As algorithms are generally invisible, “often referred to as ‘black box’ constructs, as they are not evident in user interfaces”, most people who engage with them daily are unaware of how they work or how they can be socially harmful.3 Consequently, academics, media critics, and civic organizations have called for initiatives that can foster public algorithmic literacy.4 This would allow the public to become more aware of, critical towards, and knowledgeable about how, when, and to what ends these automated systems impact their lives. […]

Comment on Assessing Gender and Racial Representation in the Board Game Industry by Leon d'Audretsch

Leon d'Audretsch — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 10:22:57 +0000

Thank you for this article. I very much believe that the hobby is hobbled by its lack of diversity, this article is one step of the many on the long road ahead.

Comment on Assessing Gender and Racial Representation in the Board Game Industry by Tanya A Pobuda

Tanya A Pobuda — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 13:55:53 +0000

In reply to Tommi Brander. This a really good suggestion. It was out of scope for this piece but I would love to tackle it for a subsequent piece.

Comment on Pluie de Balles – Complex Wargames in the Classroom by MAJ Ivan Torres

MAJ Ivan Torres — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 05:11:42 +0000

How can someone obtain a copy of the rules and supporting documents for Pluie de Balles?

Comment on Assessing Gender and Racial Representation in the Board Game Industry by Meeple Monthly Roundup, December 2018 – Meeple Like Us

Meeple Monthly Roundup, December 2018 – Meeple Like Us — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 09:32:10 +0000

[…] Pobuda has a marvellous article on inclusivity in board games, looking at the BGG top 200 to see how they represent gender and racial identities on their box covers. It’s a really good read that provides actual quantitative evidence for something I’m sure many […]

Comment on Assessing Gender and Racial Representation in the Board Game Industry by paulinahargraves.joomla.com

paulinahargraves.joomla.com — Wed, 26 Dec 2018 13:32:41 +0000

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