Apples Today Keeps the Boredom Away (Game Analysis)
In the early 90’s, the classic Parker Brothers games ruled the family board game night and for the longest time there were no contenders. But then in 1999, out of the blue, a simple card game flew in and took the world by storm. You guessed right, Apples to Apples is the game in mind that is ruling this new trend and is now a household name. But what spurred all of this popularity? Why do we find this simple card game so much fun? It appears that back then, “Out of the Box” had got the formula right for the perfect game. Apples to Apples was simple, fun, and addicting; and that‘s the basis on what started a gaming revolution.
What does every top selling game have in common? If you guessed simplicity, then you are absolutely right. Every game that has sold past one million copies has had a simple learning curve. This isn’t insulting the intelligence level of society, its just saying the in order for something of this nature to catch on then anyone needs to be able to pick it up and figure it out with no trouble. Just look at Apples to Apples, it is just a box full of two sets of cards with one page of rules. If you put two new board games about the same topic right next to each other, the one with the smaller rulebook will catch on nine times out of ten. All the extra rules that are listed in those huge books (that make the game complicated) often take the fun out of the game and just make it seem more like a chore rather than a game. From a design standpoint, simplicity is the key to creating a best selling product.
In order to get someone to play a game, the game itself has to have that fun factor. If the game doesn’t have that, then it can’t even bear to call itself a game. After all, the only reason people play games is to release themselves from the stress of real life and have fun. But, the question is, where does that “fun” come from? In Apples to Apples that comes from the player interaction alone. I have even tested this in my own little experiment. I first played the game with a group of friends and then again with my family, it was fun and I was even able to connect with my family for the first time in forever. Then I moved to play the game online with “Vassal” the fun factor was not nearly the same as with sitting at a table with a group of people and seeing their reactions. This game is built on reactions and humor after all.
The third and final factor in this stew of best selling board games is having the product be extremely addictive. Just like with other things in life that are made out to be addictive, mainly tobacco and such, there are certain factors that allow for this addictiveness to exist. The main factor in this is that spark that makes you want to continue. In Apples to Apples this is the competitive and social experience that comes with this game. You choose compete automatically because the game is so fun and then the whole game is designed on social interactions in order to be able to compete. Having those two factors interact together creates the addiction that we see in this game and thus creates its popularity.
This game was designed to be a best seller even before it came out. Its design was simple enough that it was fun, and that fun factor created the addiction. If you haven’t heard of Apples to Apples then you have been living under a rock for the past ten years. The game deserved to sell over two million copies and will hopefully sell even more in the future.
-That TCG Blogger-
Got a question, comment, concern? Email me at Ecomicsinc@gmail.com
Also follow me on Twitter: Twitter.com/ThatTCG_Blogger
