{"id":307800,"date":"2024-11-05T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T14:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/?post_type=top-six&p=307800"},"modified":"2024-11-04T23:38:38","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T05:38:38","slug":"claytons-top-6-board-game-gripes","status":"publish","type":"top-six","link":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/top-six\/claytons-top-6-board-game-gripes\/","title":{"rendered":"Clayton’s Top 6 Board Game Gripes"},"content":{"rendered":"

For all the wonderful things that this hobby brings to the table (yes, that was intended), there are some rather less-than-savory ingredients mixed in as well. I’m about to discuss my six most frustrating, annoying, and sometimes painful, things I’ve encountered in gaming.<\/p>\n

Spoiler Warning<\/h2>\n

This is a rant. It’s a big, fat, slimy, whiny rant that I’m not ashamed about because this stuff needs to be said. Now that that is out of the way, I’m about to rally some people, offend others, make some people laugh, and maybe even some others cry, but it’s all in good fun kind of, because I’m going to be quite subjective here since these are all my experiences (in no particular order).<\/p>\n

So, feel free to laugh and get angry with me and agree and disagree and agree to disagree and leave comments and suggest other things that should have been mentioned. This is literally your chance to get a glimpse into what my bugbears are, so enjoy it. Or don’t. It’s really up to you. You’ve been warned.<\/p>\n

Mini Cards<\/h2>\n

I have guitar player’s fingers. This means they’re long and dexterous and should be able to deal in the small and precise as easily as the large and cumbersome. But believe me, when I say I struggle with handling mini cards, it’s a real struggle.<\/p>\n

Mini cards have made their way into many games, and some publishers, like [cough] Fantasy Flight and [hack] CMON, like to include them in almost every title. Sometimes, these small cards have a place, such as the small gear cards featured in Kingdom Death: Monster<\/i><\/a>, where it makes functional sense to keep them small. I’m referring here to mini cards used in decks that get shuffled in place of standard size cards. Let me break it down why these are such a problem:<\/p>\n

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  1. I hate them.<\/li>\n
  2. They could actually be a hindrance to accessibility for someone with arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome.<\/li>\n
  3. They’re very difficult to shuffle.<\/li>\n
  4. They’re difficult to read from the opposite side of the board when you need to read them.<\/li>\n
  5. Did I mention that I hate them?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, there you have it. Scientific evidence that if mini cards can be avoided, they should be avoided. So why do publishers keep using them? Honestly, I have no idea, because there is no good reason unless it functionally makes sense for the game. Maybe they’re saving money, but at the cost of accessibility. But I could speculate all day on this. It feels like they’re making fun of us, though.<\/p>\n

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