Designer Board Games

This article is designed to provide you will an introduction to Designer Board Games. If you are looking for a definition of designer board games are are wondering what designer board games are, then this article will bring you up to speed.

What are “Designer Board Games?”

You hear a lot of talk these days about “Designer Board Games.” Other descriptions or terms that you may hear in place of designer board games include German-style board games, Eurogames, sophisticated board games, family strategy games, or gamers' games. These titles represent games that typically include the following components:

• Games that emphasize strategy over luck
• Multi-player games that include a medium-to-high level of player interaction
• Games that have a theme
• Games that have attractive, high-quality components
• Games that employ a sophisticated game engine such as a focus on economic development

Designer games strongly contrast with American-style games (such as Monopoly, Scrabble, Trouble, or Sorry) which rely heavily on dice rolls, luck, and minimal player interaction. You might note that these games are typically cheaply made and, other than Monopoly, do not work to carry a “theme” thoughout the game.

The Settlers of Catan, released by Mayfair Games in 1996, is by far the most popular designer game. Although designer games have been around at least as far back as the 1960's, the Settlers of Catan is attributed for introducing designer games to the general public.

Popular Designer games include:

• Settlers of Catan (theme: players work to colonize the island of Catan through economic development and expansion)
• Puerto Rico (theme: players assume the role of the Governor of Puerto Rico and build a colony in the New World)
• Carcassonne (theme: set in the medieval period, players build and expand cities, farms, road, and monasteries around the French city of Carcassone)
• Ticket to Ride (theme: players compete to build a network of railways across the United States with goal of connecting key cities)
• Princes of Florence (theme: Players assume the roles of Florentine Princes and design their own villas and allow artists to create great works of prestige) 
• Alhambra (theme: players reconstruct the Alhambra palace in 14^th Century Granada)
• Lost Cities (theme: players fund and carry out expeditions for lost treasures)
• Dominion (theme: players assume the role of Monarchs building a Dominion that will bring civilization for their people)