CMON Feature Friday: What’s in a Theme?

As the board gaming hobby has exploded over the last couple of decades, we’ve seen games about almost every subject under the sun. From bean farming, to dog shows, to high fashion runways, name a subject and you can find a game themed after it. Of course, there will always be classic themes in board games, like fantasy, science fiction, and war, but fans and designers are really starting to expand their interests and exploring some new plotlines for games. 

Themes are the story of the game. It’s how we’re able to envision ourselves in a situation and suspend disbelief for a short time while we escape the real world. Even games like Chess or Go are themed around medieval battlefield encounters. Having a story is important to help explain to a player why they’re doing the things they’re doing.