MindFull Media: The case for cardboard

Opinion Editor Dillon Kato will be guest writing MindFull Media this week, a break from documentaries and music to talk board games.

Monopoly is terrible.

It is one of the best-selling games of all time, but America's favorite capitalism simulator is poorly designed, not fun and tends to drag on endlessly. A little known fact: Most players who start a game of Monopoly die of old age before anyone puts hotels on Marvin Gardens. It's true. Trust me.

At the end of last semester, Mike mentioned Forbidden Island, an excellent board game, in a MindFull Media column. Both because of the low price and because it provides a refreshing experience from what people normally connect with board games, I still think Forbidden Island is the best place to jump into the hobby. Unlike traditional games where you compete against everyone else at the table, Forbidden Island puts the players on a single team that works against the game itself.

Even though more and more games are coming to digital formats — as Flash games online or apps on phones and tablets — the plain old cardboard versions provide an ability to interact with your fellow players that poking or clicking a screen just can't match. This is one of the hurdles — physical board games require you to have friends. This isn't Words with Friends — there is no button to find a stranger on the Internet. (See? board games keep children safe too.)

Maybe — hopefully — you gave a game like Forbidden Island a chance. Or have played or at least heard of Settlers of Catan, the most popular game around the world for the last few years. Here's a suggestion of what to try next: Qwirkle.

The game was last year's recipient of board gaming's most prestigious award, the Spiel des Jahres, which is given out by a panel in Germany. Qwirkle is a mashup of Scrabble and Sudoku — if those games used colors and shapes instead of letters and numbers. Players have a hand of two-inch square tiles, each printed with one of six possible shapes in one of six possible colors. Points are accumulated by making lines of matching shapes or colors, drawing replacement tiles from a bag at the end of every turn. Bonus points are awarded for completing a full rainbow of each symbol or a complete set of one color's shapes. Best of all, nobody needs to know how to spell.

Games are quick, usually lasting less than 30 minutes, and Qwirkle can be played with two to five people. The game is available at a few places around town, like Barnes & Noble, but can be found cheaper (about $20) online through Amazon.

dillon.kato@umontana.edu