Ever wanted to try a game before knowing how it even plays?
Maybe it is the idea of exploring a dungeon, venturing into deep space, building a civilization, or stepping into a world that simply sounds too good to ignore.
Or maybe none of that matters to you if the mechanisms underneath are sharp, clever, and satisfying.
That got me thinking about a question I’d love to throw your way:
What entices you more in games: mechanics, or the theme/story?
Not asking which one matters. Both do.
But which one, for you, sits a little ahead?
Because some games wear their theme like a crown. The world, tension, and atmosphere become the heartbeat of the experience. You stop seeing cubes and cards. You start seeing danger, people, places, consequences.
A recent one that comes to mind for me is Harbor of Blight: Scenario Zero. It pulled me into its setting and made the experience feel larger than the components on the table.
Then there are games that can have a perfectly solid theme, but the real star is the machinery underneath. You want one more play not because of the story, but because the design itself is humming.
That is how I felt about Hanzō. The game had an excellent theme, but the way it used the pips on the dice and their alignment deserves a newsletter issue of its own. The mechanics were a major standout.
Having played and created a fair share of games… where do I land?
As a player and designer, I think I lean toward theme by the tiniest of margins.
Maybe 51 to 49.
Mechanics absolutely help a game stand out. But for me, theme or story is often what gets a game back onto the table. It adds pull. It adds that little spark where I think, I want to be in that world again…
As a designer, I often work the same way too. Theme first. Mechanics second. I want to know what the game feels like before I decide how it functions.
With my own creation, Escape the Living Library, there are mechanisms in there I’m proud of. But if I am being honest, the thing that steals the spotlight is the idea of climbing six floors of a haunted library, each floor carrying a unique theme of ghosts lurking all around, waiting to feast on your HP!
So yes, the theme won that battle.
To be clear, this is not a slight against mechanics. Far from it. Weak mechanisms can sink a great theme fast. Great mechanisms can elevate a modest theme higher than expected.
I just think if you asked my heart instead of my head, it would nudge theme forward by a nose…
I thought of adding a poll at the end of this issue to take your votes, but I’d rather hear your unfiltered take.
So hit reply and tell me straight:
What matters a bit more to you in games: mechanics or theme/story?
- Tas.
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