Short Games, Multiple Plays

 “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”

— Vincent Van Gogh

Over the years my taste in games has skewed more toward more concise games that don’t consume vast periods of time yet still deliver meaningful play experiences. I certainly don’t mind spending an occasional weekend afternoon with a more involved game, but more often I find occasions for something that won’t keep us up all night while still delivering a satisfying evening’s entertainment: our occasional weekday, post-dinner “Game Night,” casual gatherings with friends curious about games, or more educational demonstrations showing how games can enhance learning. (I defer to “short” games because it emphasizes the time involved, although “concise” probably conveys a better sense of both time and quality.) Shorter games have their place in the vast adventure game hobby landscape, suitable environments where they best satisfy the host’s intentions, audience needs, and other contextual constraints (such as time). A well-designed short game encourages more streamlined rules comprehension, multiple plays, and time afterward for discussion...all key elements in both enjoying and learning from games. Many games that fit this “concise” profile prove excellent teaching tools when thoughtfully employed as games for learning.

Terraforming Mars: Not a short game.

A few years ago my wife and I visited another couple, old friends who also enjoy games. They suggested we play Terraforming Mars, which I’d heard positive buzz about and was eager to try. Alas, we took six hours to orient ourselves and play the game — the other couple had played it several times and were quite familiar with it — and we ultimately fumbled through everything, resulting in decisive losses. (Yes, I realize the suggested play time is two hours, no doubt for experienced players.) I enjoyed the game, but remained quite overwhelmed with all the moving parts, not to mention the numerous strategies one might pursue. I learned I don’t have much patience for such long-haul games with layered rules and strategies, piles of fiddly components (and their equally fiddly game applications), and enormous commitment of time and focus. These days we also have trouble attracting the interest and aligning the schedules of willful participants for such a long-haul game. The amount of time spent on a single play through — even a teaching game — was far too excessive on multiple levels. It seemed too long to play again (assuming I could find both the time and interested players). The experience was so multi-faceted and complex I wasn’t sure I could learn much beyond a slightly improved familiarity with the mechanics, let alone anything approaching competence (forget mastery) of the strategies involved to win. Though I did learn such games have limited appeal to me.

Certainly my experience with Terraforming Mars remains an exception to the many games I’ve learned, played, and hosted — even long ones — which resulted in a less frustrating, if not more enjoyable outcome. Experienced grognards like myself often don’t mind; this is part of our adventure gaming hobby. But we often seek to introduce games to newcomers to increase our potential player base or demonstrate to students the learning potential games offer. They don’t always have the patience or time for such long-haul games, though we often hope we can keep them interested enough to graduate to more substantial gaming fare.

Shorter games help facilitate three elements Dr. Jeremiah McCall cites as integral to using games for learning, as shown in his “Cycle of Gameplay and Analysis” model: learning to play, meaningful play, and analysis, reflection, and evaluation of the experience. (The framework features in McCall’s presentation “Gaming the Past: Teaching and Learning History through Videogame Analysis and Critique” worth watching at YouTube.) Concise games generally take less time to learn and often use low-complexity rules (though not always “simple” or “easy” as they interact through play). They allow players to have meaningful play experiences, especially since the relatively short duration allows multiple plays to explore different perspectives and strategies. And they leave time for participants to discuss the game, whether as a form of entertainment, reviewing key events during play, or as analysis examining how individuals assessed and reacted to situations, how well (or poorly) the game models its thematic situation, and how players might approach it differently next time...or even how they might modify it.

Time To Learn: Every player takes a different amount of time to learn the rules for any given game and its varying degree of complexity. Concise games with short play times naturally have fewer rules to comprehend, though they may interact in more complex ways than seem immediately apparent. Good game design can infuse shorter games with nuanced core mechanics that seem basic but offer deeper strategies. The shorter play time also reinforces learning, allowing participants to apply their understanding of rules during the course of a brief game, identify gaps in their understanding, and swiftly correct them in subsequent games.

Meaningful Play: The concise nature of these games provides plenty of room for learning and experimentation. Certainly each play-through reinforces participants’ comprehension of game mechanics and leads to a better overall understanding how all the parts and players work together to create the experience. Players have the chance to really explore the possibilities the game presents and evaluate how well it provides a model of the situation it seeks to simulate. Multiple plays also encourages participants to try different strategies, explore how various moving parts work (or don’t work), and how the game as simulation achieves its entertainment or educational goals. Players might find it easier to immerse themselves and engage in a game that doesn’t require a significant investment of time to learn or play...and may find it easier when they return to it for multiple plays.

Analysis & Discussion: With shorter times spent learning and playing games, participants have time afterward to reflect on their experience, often with the benefit of having played multiple times to truly gain a better understanding of various aspects of a game. Discussion might focus on any of a number of factors worth investigating: how players perceived and approached in-game challenges; what emotions various in-game events provoked in them; thematic issues the game sought to simulate; and certainly how well the game rules worked to involve players in the particular issue it sought to explore.

My Favorite Short Games

I have a brief list of go-to games I turn to when we’re in the mood for such fare, usually with a historical theme. I also keep some in mind for events offering constraints in time and audience where a concise game might prove more effective. And I’ve spotted a few on my internet radar that seem ideal short games, often for exploring current and emerging issues facing the real world, the realm of “serious” games governments and institutes use to simulate, explore, and train for coming challenges.

Also not a short game....

My teenage son helps provide guidance on what makes a good short game. He’s certainly able to focus for long periods on a specific subject or task — his high school courses require it — but at home he’s more apt to drift toward easy entertainment like his tablet or game console, regrettably like most kids his age. So when dad tempts him to play a game after dinner on Thursday “Game Night” or on a weekend afternoon, he doesn’t want to sit down and play SPI’s infamous Campaign for North Africa (with a suggested play time of 60,000 minutes) or even something that lasts more than an hour or two, like the many block wargames I own or some of the more involved board games on my shelves. Certainly some games play quickly once one takes the time to read and comprehend the rules and play a teaching game or two; our recent experience with Fort Circle Games’ Shores of Tripoli demonstrated how quickly we could set up and play once we gained a familiarity with the rules. My son’s helped me identify some recent short games we’ve enjoyed...and they’ve encouraged him to try more involved fare as his familiarity with rules and interest in specific themes grow

I offer a few recommended favorite short games with possible applications in learning environments:

Pirateer: We’ve played this Mensa Select game for a long time, though it’s not really in print anymore (it’s a rare find at tag sales, flea markets, and thrift stores). The core concepts remain fairly simple: roll two dice and use the values to move three pirate ships around the board to grab the treasure and return it to your port. The competitive nature drives the game, with players choosing how best to use their die rolls moving their ships. I taught and ran this game numerous times the year I volunteered for the local library’s monthly teen gaming events. It generated some good discussions on remaining gracious in victory and defeat.

Monitor vs. Virginia, Watch Out Minnesota! A free American Civil War DIY game with basic rules yet some tactical depth as the vessels navigate shallow waters to maneuver into firing range of enemy vessels. It offers a concise but faithful simulation of the Battle of Hampton Roads’ second day action, demonstrating the importance of armored craft, the hazards of maneuvering in restricted waters, and the question of what constitutes a victory. Wish I had some local venues to demonstrate it since I live in the state where the battle occurred.

Hannibal (green) heads for the Alps
while the Romans run defense.

Hannibal vs. Rome: One of three Reiner Knizia games in the Rome box from GMT Games, it focuses on the Punic Wars using a streamlined and abstract system. Players leverage legions and fleets across a map, using a limited set of cards to resolve conflicts in their campaigns to achieve victory conditions. It seems simple but confronts players with key choices in attack routes and force deployment. We’ve not yet tried the other games in the box, but I suspect they fit my qualifications for short games. Lamentably out of print but occasionally available on the secondary market.

Schlieffen: A game by Professor Philip Sabin exploring the opening moves on the Great War’s western front. Although it has a steep learning curve for non-wargamers, it’s an excellent wargame demonstrating the fog of war, as each player plots his own map-board with a divider hiding their intentions from their opponent. My son and I played this on several occasions, making sure we swap sides at least once for different experiences. An excellent game for exploring the historical reality of the situation as well as the feeling of uncertainty as the conflict unfolds. Sabin’s solitaire Take That Hill also serves as a basic game easily learned and playable multiple times to explore fire and movement (both concentrated and dispersed) in infantry combat.

CNA Games: The Center for Naval Analyses (an independent research and analyses defense organization) offers a handful of free, downloadable micro-games covering emerging issues like military deployment, North Korea, and disaster response. Sebastian Bae, one of CNA’s consultants and micro-game designer, also published Crisis in Korea, a two-pack of micro-games about possible near-future situations involving North Korea, available from Catastrophe Games. Besides consulting and teaching wargame design at Georgetown University, Bae stays busy developing micro-games exploring evolving defense issues, ideal for use as easy-to-learn games for multiple plays and incisive discussion.

All this isn’t to say longer, larger games are bad. More involved games have their own advantages and offer different, satisfying experiences in their own right. Games of different lengths, along with a healthy variety in other considerations, helps keep our activities fresh and engaging. Some folks may have a predominant preference for shorter games or longer, more complex ones. We all have our specific and often changing tastes in games ranging the full spectrum from short to long, basic to complex, abstract to explicit, and a host of other variable criteria. For some applications, however — and specifically for introductory or educational environments — keeping things concise remains an admirable goal. It leaves plenty of time for learning rules, playing multiple times, and discussing aspects of the game afterward. These games provide a compact experience, one easily and quickly repeated to explore issues in both the rules and theme, leaving plenty of time for discussion afterward. And if participants don’t connect with the game for whatever reason, it’s easy to move along to the next game knowing one hasn’t wasted too much time on an unfulfilling experience. Such bite-sized ludic morsels can offer a sampler to determine which ones work best for intention and audience.

“I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.”

— Winston Churchill