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Should D&D be sold as a boardgame?
- Thread starter JoeGKushner
- Start date
HeapThaumaturgist said:
This is a great game idea and they already use this mechanic in a game called "Mystic Wood" that I bought back in the '80s. I'd love to see more games like this, and I've pondered creating my own expansions for it. I don't know how it would go over with the general population though.
Are there any numbers/surveys about what kind of board games are the most popular?
Isn't D&D already a board game? 
and don't forget "D&D Clue": http://www.biffleys.com/Strategy/clued&d.htm
Who killed the Archmage? Was it Tordek in the Dragon's Lair with the Flaming Battle Axe? Or Mialee in the Dungeon with the Staff of Power?
and don't forget "D&D Clue": http://www.biffleys.com/Strategy/clued&d.htm
Who killed the Archmage? Was it Tordek in the Dragon's Lair with the Flaming Battle Axe? Or Mialee in the Dungeon with the Staff of Power?
rogueattorney
Adventurer
Mouseferatu said:
I can't add anything. This says it all.
R.A.
Imperialus
Explorer
Back when I was younger before I got into D&D I used to have an absolute blast playing Hero Quest. The cool dice, the fast pace, the miniature heros monsters and dungon furnature and the ability to "advance" your character by buying better equipment and collecting cool items was a lot of fun. In all honesty Hero Quest was probably what got me into D&D in the end... that and I thought the dice looked really cool.
I think a game simmilar to Hero Quest marketed under the D&D brand name could get a lot of new players into D&D. In the late 80's when I got the game I think it was about 40$ cdn so a price tag of 50-60$ wouldn't be unreasonable now, market it during saturday morning cartoons, target the complexity towards 9-12 year olds and you'd almost definatly have a winner. Include some adverts for the D&D basic set so that once the kids hit 12 or 13 years old they can move on to that. Heck I still have my old Hero Quest game sitting on a shelf... now I want to go dust it off and play again.
I think a game simmilar to Hero Quest marketed under the D&D brand name could get a lot of new players into D&D. In the late 80's when I got the game I think it was about 40$ cdn so a price tag of 50-60$ wouldn't be unreasonable now, market it during saturday morning cartoons, target the complexity towards 9-12 year olds and you'd almost definatly have a winner. Include some adverts for the D&D basic set so that once the kids hit 12 or 13 years old they can move on to that. Heck I still have my old Hero Quest game sitting on a shelf... now I want to go dust it off and play again.
RangerWickett
Legend
HeroQuest got me into D&D. But The Hobbit got me into fantasy and sci-fi. We need a Hobbit movie!
Anyway, I proposed this idea a few years back in some thread or other. Basically, you have a series of related boardgames, and each boardgame has it's own unique dungeon or adventure. You take D&D minis and include them in the box, along with a prepackaged adventure aimed at 10-year-olds, and have characters included.
Taking a cue from the ridiculous 4e threads, I'd make it so that each adventure has 6 pre-made characters, who have their own card that lists all their powers and stats. Then there'd be various item cards, and each character could have two -- special swords, special spells, magic items, etc. If you beat an entire adventure, you'd be allowed to choose an extra card when you played the next adventure.
Really, it would have to compete with video games, but I think it could do that because you'd have minis (toys!), and the players would get to do things that video games might not normally allow. Each adventure would specifically start with a small bit of roleplaying, including a script for the game master to read. I imagine you'd have a ratio of about 1 roleplaying encounter for every 2 puzzles and 5 combats.
The key thing is presentability. If you can manage to get a great-looking boardgame for $30 or $40, and have a series of these things released every two months, hopefully kids would keep playing. It'd be like a collectable board game, where you try to get new items, monsters, spells, and maps.
I wish I could get a job at Hasbro doing this stuff. Maybe I should work on a proposal some time.
Anyway, I proposed this idea a few years back in some thread or other. Basically, you have a series of related boardgames, and each boardgame has it's own unique dungeon or adventure. You take D&D minis and include them in the box, along with a prepackaged adventure aimed at 10-year-olds, and have characters included.
Taking a cue from the ridiculous 4e threads, I'd make it so that each adventure has 6 pre-made characters, who have their own card that lists all their powers and stats. Then there'd be various item cards, and each character could have two -- special swords, special spells, magic items, etc. If you beat an entire adventure, you'd be allowed to choose an extra card when you played the next adventure.
Really, it would have to compete with video games, but I think it could do that because you'd have minis (toys!), and the players would get to do things that video games might not normally allow. Each adventure would specifically start with a small bit of roleplaying, including a script for the game master to read. I imagine you'd have a ratio of about 1 roleplaying encounter for every 2 puzzles and 5 combats.
The key thing is presentability. If you can manage to get a great-looking boardgame for $30 or $40, and have a series of these things released every two months, hopefully kids would keep playing. It'd be like a collectable board game, where you try to get new items, monsters, spells, and maps.
I wish I could get a job at Hasbro doing this stuff. Maybe I should work on a proposal some time.
Sleepy Voiced
First Post
Red Box!
I myself think that something more like an actual role-playing game is necessary. In fact I think that the current Basic game is too much like a board game if anything.
If the idea is to get young people to become "real gamers", they need a "real rpg". By that I mean there needs to be a system that is complete (perhaps divided into basic and expert sets) that can be used to have a real role-playing experience. Character creation, dungeon creation, campaign creation, etc need to be fully supported AND be accesible to the ~10 year-old crowd.
It seems like a tall order, but the old red and blue box sets pulled it off. I would like to think that it should be even easier with the unified D20 mechanic to make a streamlined, fast, fun game for newbies. The options available don't have to be as extensive as in the core rules, in fact it would be far better to keep the options manageable for kids, and give them a reason to move up to the "advanced" game when they are ready for more complexity. But the long-term gaming experience should be available to newbies without such great investment (both monetary and time).
That said, I think there should be a whole range of introductory products. The D&D minis game, the current Basic game, board games of a variety of styles, card games, video games, whatever, anything that can be a self-contained item that introduces people to the hobby. I think a broad approach will be necessary. The lynchpin, however, needs to be something kids can take to school, and create their own exciting stories with, not some pregenerated collection of characters and a limited dungeon that simply tries to funnel them as quickly as possible into the core rulebooks.
I myself think that something more like an actual role-playing game is necessary. In fact I think that the current Basic game is too much like a board game if anything.
If the idea is to get young people to become "real gamers", they need a "real rpg". By that I mean there needs to be a system that is complete (perhaps divided into basic and expert sets) that can be used to have a real role-playing experience. Character creation, dungeon creation, campaign creation, etc need to be fully supported AND be accesible to the ~10 year-old crowd.
It seems like a tall order, but the old red and blue box sets pulled it off. I would like to think that it should be even easier with the unified D20 mechanic to make a streamlined, fast, fun game for newbies. The options available don't have to be as extensive as in the core rules, in fact it would be far better to keep the options manageable for kids, and give them a reason to move up to the "advanced" game when they are ready for more complexity. But the long-term gaming experience should be available to newbies without such great investment (both monetary and time).
That said, I think there should be a whole range of introductory products. The D&D minis game, the current Basic game, board games of a variety of styles, card games, video games, whatever, anything that can be a self-contained item that introduces people to the hobby. I think a broad approach will be necessary. The lynchpin, however, needs to be something kids can take to school, and create their own exciting stories with, not some pregenerated collection of characters and a limited dungeon that simply tries to funnel them as quickly as possible into the core rulebooks.
Speaking from my observations of my own kids (who are very familiar with RPG's) and neighborhood kids who are not, I think some union of the old redbox, HeroQuest and D&D Miniatures would be the way to go.
My kids were already D&D-heads when we got Heroquest, but they absolutely love that game, and have used it successfully to "gateway drug" their friends into Star Wars and D&D minis and D&D. All three of them have run their own Heroquest creations at local cons.
The main reason I'd like to see a true basic set (in the vein of the red box), are for kids in our family that have played with us, but don't know how to play for themselves (and live too far away). I want to get them the new D&D basic game, but I didn't really like the 3.0 version. It got my kids into it, but was really just a D&D-lite with no progression beyond 3rd level. Anyone have experience with the 3.5 version of this?
My kids were already D&D-heads when we got Heroquest, but they absolutely love that game, and have used it successfully to "gateway drug" their friends into Star Wars and D&D minis and D&D. All three of them have run their own Heroquest creations at local cons.
The main reason I'd like to see a true basic set (in the vein of the red box), are for kids in our family that have played with us, but don't know how to play for themselves (and live too far away). I want to get them the new D&D basic game, but I didn't really like the 3.0 version. It got my kids into it, but was really just a D&D-lite with no progression beyond 3rd level. Anyone have experience with the 3.5 version of this?
Digital M@
Explorer
Don't forget the old 1981 version "Dungeon" which is very similar to Dungeoneer or Hous on the Hill games but with a static board. I loved this game as a child.
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