Unpopular opinion: complexity in board games isn't depth, it's just more rules to forget

Last month I pulled out a game I hadn't played in like 6 months. It had a 12 page rulebook and a bunch of tokens and tracks. I spent 45 minutes just re-learning how to set it up and then another hour trying to remember what each card did. My buddy asked me if the game was any good and I honestly could not tell him. I think I spent more time reading than playing. Has anyone else ever realized a simpler game actually gave them a better experience because they could just play and not look up rules every 5 minutes?

2 comments

2 Comments

jenny471mo ago

Completely agree with you. I had a similar experience with a game called Terraforming Mars, I think it was. Bought it on sale, spent a whole evening reading the rulebook, then my friends and I got halfway through the game and realized we had been playing one of the main mechanics wrong the entire time. Never touched it again. Meanwhile, I can play a basic card game like Uno or a simple tile-laying game anytime with anyone and actually enjoy the conversation and the fun, not just the frustration of trying to remember if I can draw a card or not. Sometimes the best games are the ones where you can just jump in and play.

mason_lopez1mo agoMost Upvoted

Terraforming Mars is brutal like that. The rules are a maze and you think you get it, then bam, you realize you've been ignoring the whole heat production phase. Compare that to Splendor where you just grab chips and buy cards, no rulebook needed. My group had the same crash with Scythe, spent two hours setting up and gave up after the first turn. There is something pure about games where five minutes in you're already laughing and talking trash. That deep strategy stuff is great on paper but not when it kills the room's energy.