by Jacob Yaple

I know I usually submit literature, like poetry or short stories or cartoons, for Rundelania, but I’ve been busy with something different so I thought I’d submit that instead. Instead of writing literature, I’ve been designing board games. Surprisingly, board games have many things in common with literature.

Like literature, board games capture the imagination. Without imagination, literature would just be shapes printed on a page, and board games would just be pieces, dice, cards and/or a board. The user must make a huge jump from the parts to what they represent. To make that leap, the reader or player must suspend disbelief and put his or her trust in the author or designer to guide them to a satisfying conclusion.

Literature usually has only one ending, while a game has any one of many possible endings. Authors must steer the story to a plausible yet unforeseen and dramatic ending. Likewise, the game designer must ensure that, after struggling against the rules and other players for an hour or two, one player or group of players will emerge as the winner.

When writing board game rules, you must be simple and to the point, so as not to bore the reader. Writing poetry is similar: you must get your point across quickly. Brevity is the soul of wit in both literature and board games.

Abstract board games are like allegories in literature. Chess pieces symbolize a medieval court or army, with kings, queens, bishops, knights, rooks, and pawns. Some board games are representations of what is going on in the real world.

Like literature, board games help us understand the world. We would never be able to experience the entire world in person in one lifetime, so literature and board games act as a proxy to help us understand new concepts. Before we are old enough to play sports, most of us learn about winning and losing, sportsmanship and strategy through literature and board games.

In conclusion, literature and board games have many things in common, which is why I am including a link to my board game site here. Read all about it!

Jacob Yaple is an author, cartoonist and game designer from Rochester, NY.

Links to Jacob’s game designs:

https://rochester.makerfaire.com/maker/entry/833/

https://makeprojects.com/project/cold-quest-the-arctic-ice-floe-maneuvering-game