It is the sort of piece that you hold in your hand, recognizing the publisher could have executed in some simpler way. This component is function and personality rolled up into one. And yet, what I’ve sensed is that certain bits walk the impossible tightrope of enhancing while remaining above reproach. This component might be excessive in its production. ![]() This component might be the best or only way to carry out some portion of the game, only degrees shy of a gimmick. This component might be the nicest component in the box, the one place where the publisher felt the need to go deluxe. I’m not saying a mini couldn’t make this list, but it would have to be a highly emblematic miniature that blights the game by its absence far more than it blings it out by its presence.Īhem, but…We’ve reached the portion of the article where I contradict myself. Obviously I adore the miniatures in Marvel: United or The Grimm Forest, but if the games weren’t more than their plastic, I wouldn’t play them. I have some games where certain bits and pieces are spectacular, but they are almost the opposite of what I’m describing. Not just cute, but consequential…and maybe cute, too. The move from cubes to not-cubes is exciting, but I’m looking for something more poignant. Miniatures are (sometimes) better than standees are (sometimes) better than meeples. Stamped wooden resource tokens are better than cardboard chits. Metal coins are better than cardboard chits. ![]() While they border on genius, they do not enhance, they simply are the game. Alas, I must leave out the likes of the lego-style dice in Dice Forge or Dice Realms. Gimmicks aren’t necessarily bad, but they are often so crucial to their games that they can’t help but become the game’s ethos. Several games are so highly dependent on one component that they cross into the land of the gimmick. ![]() So while I love the elevated clouds in my Collector’s Edition of Petrichor, I cannot include them because they are not necessarily on everyone’s table. The component in question is essential to the game’s intended experience. This is more than a matter of mere dollars and cents, more than a material upgrade. This component is available in the game’s retail edition. Indulge me, though, as I present some of my qualifications. You must understand: I’ve had a hard time nailing down the definition of this component, and it has taken me a while to gather six examples from my collection. There are plenty of games out there that are irresistibly touchable, but that’s not quite what I’m going for here. It transcends its function and gives an unexpected life to the game. Yes, it serves its gamified purpose, but it does so with more joie de vivre. They are cards to play, meeples to move, miniatures to admire, coins to spend.įrom time to time, though, I handle a component and it occurs to me: now THAT component was more than just another bit. Most components are just components: bits of wood, plastic, metal, stock, or cardboard that serve mechanical functions. Bob found six components that are more important than their function.Īmid the hundreds of titles and thousands of components that have passed through my hands, I’ve noticed something. ![]() Sometimes a component transcends its mechanical purpose in the game.
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