BoardGameGeek is a website that was founded in January 2000 by Scott Alden and Derk Solko as a resource for the board gaming hobby. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. A board game is a Game in which counters or pieces that are placed on removed from or moved across a "board" (a premarked surface usually specific to that game A hobby is a spare-time Recreational pursuit Etymology A Hobby horse is a wooden or Wickerwork toy made to be [1][2] The database holds reviews, articles, and session reports for over 30,000 different games, expansions, and designers. A Computer Database is a structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer system BoardGameGeek includes card games and other tabletop games, as well as wargames and German-style board games. A card game is any Game using Playing cards either traditional or game-specific Tabletop game is a general term used to refer to Board games Card games Dice games Miniatures wargames Tile-based games and other A wargame is a Game that simulates or represents a Military operation. German-style board games are a broad class of games produced in recent decades in Germany and other countries The site also features bulletin boards, a marketplace, several online boardgames, and a gamer database to help gamers find each other in the same location. A bulletin board ( pinboard, pin board or notice board in British English is a place where people can leave public Messages for example to advertise A marketplace is the space actual or metaphorical in which a Market operates Historically the term " gamer " usually referred to someone who played Role-playing games or wargames.
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Game rankings
In addition to the game database, one of the key features of BoardGameGeek is the statistical information obtained from player ratings. The site allows users to rate games on a 1–10 scale. The average and Bayesian average ratings are presented for each game. The Bayesian system adds dummy ratings in order to pull the average of games with fewer ratings closer to the overall mean. It is this set of averages that is used to generate a ranked list of games. Only games with at least 30 ratings are included in the ranked list.
Puerto Rico currently occupies the number one ranked position on the list. Puerto Rico is a German board game designed by Andreas Seyfarth, and published in 2002 by Alea in German and by Rio Tic-tac-toe is at the bottom of the rankings. [3]
In 2006, an additional list of top-ranked wargames was created, due to the generally smaller number of ratings these games receive, causing them to be lost in the overall rating list. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. A wargame is a Game that simulates or represents a Military operation.
Players can also rate how light or heavy (essentially its complexity) a game is on a scale of 1-5, though this is not used in the calculation of the rankings.
Community
BoardGameGeek is a large, international community with over 110,000 users, as of December, 2006. [4] One major activity is the creation of GeekLists, which are lists of games based on a particular theme, or games that people want to trade. There are forums in which members discuss such issues as the merits of theme versus mechanics, European versus American design, and how to best calculate game rating statistics. Gamers can also get to know each other online by using the chat room and asking and answering "GeekQuestions. " There is a large community of Werewolf players, and online games are frequently arranged on the forums. Board game related cartoons by Brian Barling occasionally appear on the front page.
Along with the growing membership at BoardGameGeek, a controversy has developed regarding how much individual users should be able to post controversial or potentially offensive content, and moderators have become more vigilant regarding what is and is not appropriate. This has led to the locking or deletion of various GeekLists and forum posts which were perceived as excessively hostile to individual members. Critics have argued that the posts were not intended to be taken seriously and that these acts constitute censorship. Censorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable harmful or sensitive as determined by a censor [4]
In March of 2007, BGG founder, Scott Alden banned a user for the first time in the history of the site on the grounds of violating the code of conduct. [5] [6] In subsequent weeks there was considerable debate about whether the offending behavior constituted "personal attacks" or merely satire and banter, as well as the ethics of preventing a member from contributing to the website.
GeekGold
The site uses a virtual currency, GeekGold, to reward users who provide site content, including entries for new games, pictures of games, game reviews, game sessions, rule translations, and play aids. In Economics, a local currency, in its common usage is a Currency not backed by a national government (and not necessarily Legal tender) and intended GeekGold was originally awarded only by administrators, but an automated moderation system is now in place, whereby users can vote on submission approvals and award GeekGold to other users. GeekGold can be used to purchase an avatar as well as various types of badges. An avatar is a computer user's representation of himself/herself or alter ego whether in the form of a three-dimensional model used in computer games a two-dimensional Icon It can also be transferred from one use to another in the form of "tips".
When it was first released, GeekGold could not be purchased with actual money, but this has changed in recent years. During a brief period in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina people were able to purchase GeekGold with money and all of the proceeds were donated to the Red Cross, with a total of $36,403 raised between September 1, 2005 and September 9, 2005. Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest in the history of the United States The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an International humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers worldwide who stated [7] GeekGold is occasionally traded for actual money or games, and there are even special auctions in which members can purchase games and accessories with GeekGold. [8] Beginning January 2, 2008, the site began giving its donors one GeekGold for every dollar donated. [9] The new GeekGold reward was announced as "a small token of thanks" to supplement the "supporter badges" previously given to donors. Direct GeekGold-for-money transfers between users generally result in a much superior exchange rate of 5-10 GeekGold to the dollar. [10]
A more recent reward system for individual effort is the use of a "thumbs up" icon for good contributions. For the Chinese newspaper see Thumbs Up (newspaper. For the Indian Cola drink see Thums Up A thumbs up or thumbs down is Any user can award a thumbs up whenever he or she sees something that deserves recognition. Thumbs are recorded on a user's profile, but unlike GeekGold, they cannot be used to purchase benefits. For a short period of time, one could also give a thumbs down to content, but this was removed due to user complaints [11]
BGG. For the Chinese newspaper see Thumbs Up (newspaper. For the Indian Cola drink see Thums Up A thumbs up or thumbs down is con
Beginning in 2005 Scott Alden and Derk Solko inaugurated an annual boardgaming convention called BGG. con. While the convention was open to anybody it was overwhelmingly attended by registered users of BoardGameGeek, and was heavily promoted on the website.
The first BGG. con was held November 3rd – 6th 2005 in Dallas, TX, and had an attendance of 250 people. The convention was organized primarily around open gaming, and it featured a large game library from which attendees could check out a game. Other scheduled events included a flea market, a texas hold em tournament, a game show contest, and grand prize drawings. Texas hold 'em (also hold'em, holdem) is the most popular Poker game in the casinos and poker card rooms across North America and Europe
In 2006 the convention was held from November 9th – 12th and attendance increased to 400 persons. A treasure hunt was added to the list of scheduled events, and the Golden Geek Awards were presented for the first time.
The 2007 BGG. con was held from November 15th – 18th. It was moved to Irving, TX to accommodate growth in attendance.
Golden Geek Award
2006 was the first year of the Golden Geek Awards which are to be given annually to the best new games of the year as selected by registered BoardGameGeek users. The awards use the Schulze method to determine the winners. The Schulze method is a Voting system developed in 1997 by Markus Schulze that selects a single winner using votes that express preferences. The award categories and winners are listed below.
| Category | 2006 Winner | 2007 Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Game of the Year | Caylus | Shogun |
| Best Gamers’ Game | Caylus | Shogun |
| Best Wargame | Twilight Struggle | Combat Commander: Europe |
| Best Kids Game | Nacht Der Magier | Zooloretto |
| Best Two Player Game | Twilight Struggle | BattleLore and Commands & Colors: Ancients (tie) |
| Best Family Game | Ingenious | Zooloretto |
| Best Light/Party Game | Diamant | Wits and Wagers |
| Best Card Game | - | Caylus Magna Carta |
| Best Artwork/Presentation | - | BattleLore |
See also
References
- ^ The Dice Tower: Interviews by an Optimist #32 - Scott Alden Retrieved December 29, 2006
- ^ KublaCon: Special Guests Aldie and Derk Retrieved December 29, 2006
- ^ GameBrowser - Sorted By Rank | BoardGameGeek
- ^ a b BoardgameNews: Scott Tepper: Playing Nice on BGG Retrieved December 29, 2006
- ^ The Banning of Michael Barnes | BoardGameGeek Forums
- ^ Fortress: Ameritrash: March 2007
- ^ GeekGold for Katrina Relief [Ends Friday!] | BoardGameGeek Forums
- ^ Geekgold - what the gosh darn heck is THAT about? | BoardGameGeek Forums
- ^ [1] Retrieved February 22, 2008
- ^ [2] Retrieved February 22, 2008
- ^ [3]. Caylus is a strategy oriented German-style board game designed by William Attia and independently published in 2005 by Ystari in France and Caylus is a strategy oriented German-style board game designed by William Attia and independently published in 2005 by Ystari in France and Twilight Struggle is a card-driven Board wargame for two players with its theme taken from the Cold War. Zooloretto is a Board game designed by Michael Schacht published in 2007 by Abacus Spiele and in English by Rio Grande Games Twilight Struggle is a card-driven Board wargame for two players with its theme taken from the Cold War. BattleLore is a strategy Board wargame for two players created by Richard Borg and published by Days of Wonder. Commands & Colors Ancients is a Board wargame designed by Richard Borg, Pat Kurivial and Roy Grider and published by GMT Games in Ingenious is the US name for Einfach Genial (Simply Ingenious a German Abstract strategy Board game designed Zooloretto is a Board game designed by Michael Schacht published in 2007 by Abacus Spiele and in English by Rio Grande Games Wits & Wagers is a Board game designed by Dominic Crapuchettes and published by North Star Games BattleLore is a strategy Board wargame for two players created by Richard Borg and published by Days of Wonder. A board game is a Game in which counters or pieces that are placed on removed from or moved across a "board" (a premarked surface usually specific to that game A card game is any Game using Playing cards either traditional or game-specific German-style board games are a broad class of games produced in recent decades in Germany and other countries A wargame is a Game that simulates or represents a Military operation.
External links
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