We don’t actually live in a digital world

 While playing board game digitally is an amazing resource, I also like playing games analog as well. Actually playing with physical components definitely affects the experience. Literally, adding the tactile means an additional sense is involved. 

When I moved away from my gaming groups, I focused on digital gaming but slowly but surely, Print and Play snuck in, giving me an easy way to explore solitaire gaming. And a way to keep analog gaming in my life.

Two that I keep coming back to over the years are Elevens for One and Criss Cross. That’s because I feel like they are as little as you can get and still feel like you’re really playing a game. 

 

I’ve written about the idea brain fog games. Those are games I can play without actually thinking. In this case, I’m not talking about that. In this case, I am looking at games with minimal prep and play time that still actually make me think.

And there are plenty of games like that, thanks to  games like Love Letter, Qwixx and Palm Island increasing an interested in the development of micro games, Roll and Writes and In Hand games. Elevens for One and Criss Cross have just become two of my fall back ones. On any given month, they both see play.

I will admit that Elevens for One is grandfathered in a bit. It was one of my first serious PnP steps and was the gold standard for me for a bit. That said, there are a limited number of card interactions so plays can be formulaic. 

Criss Cross, though, is a tiny Knizia gem, giving me tough choices in twelve moves. It’s not his simplest game (Catego is currently holding that place for me) but it’s the simplest I want to play lol

When I started writing this, my focus was on those two games. However, what I’ve found is that it’s really why playing physical copies of games is still important. 

Playing games is mostly mental (pun intended) but analog gameplay has value. You are actively doing, which uses other parts of your brain. Part of why PnP R&Ws is because they gave me a production-light way to explore a bunch of different ideas.

We don’t live in a digital world, as hard as that is to believe sometimes. Having a non-digital way to game can make a big difference.