The board games that are wowing design fans

We all know the simple beauty of the black and white checkered pattern of a chessboard,
and there's something endlessly appealing about the iconic design of Monopoly. But recently
there's been a real trend for new board games to show off some incredible aesthetic flair.

It might seem a little anachronistic to be developing physical boardgames in the age of virtual
reality video games and online casino sites, but a quick look at a game like Tomorrow shows
just how striking the modern boardgame has become.

With a sleek and minimal feel, and some wonderfully contrasted colours, it's a far cry from
the overly fussy likes of Cluedo that we all grew up with. And the attention to detail in
everything from the mushroom cloud-shaped playing pieces, to the government file-styled
rulebook shows how much scope there is for great design in boardgames.



Whilst the stark simplicity of Tomorrow echoes its doom-laden narrative, it's nice to find that
Tokaido offers a pleasing antidote. With its soft colours, lush landscapes, and pleasant
character drawings, it looks almost like a work of art in itself.

And with the game's core aim being to simply take a walk from Kyoto to Edo, it's good to see
that the game's designers have taken a suitably zen approach to their artworks.

It's because of this attention to detail that we have seen many board game designers
achieving a remarkable level of prestige in such a niche market.

The German designer, Stefan Feld, has managed to create a successful career out of some
top quality board games that range from simple Renaissance-era pleasures of Strasbourg, to
the tense and dramatic In the Year of the Dragon board game.

And whilst there is plenty of competition in the online realm from the table games that have
been reinvented for casino gamers at InterCasino, it seems that there is a hardcore fanbase
of players who want to keep their gaming in the physical world.

Board games like TIME Stories have managed to show that this traditional entertainment has
no trouble in coming up with plenty of imagination narratives. With a great way to time travel
from ancient Egypt to the present day, it shows just how much can be achieved in a fairly
simple board game.



And with Cthulhu Wars giving us one last chance to take a trip to the edge of the apocalypse,
it seems that the current generation of boardgames are getting weirder than ever.