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To theme, or not to theme. How do you like your games?
I happen to adore theme in games. The more, the better. A good theme won’t cover up bad mechanics for me, but I usually need a good theme to play a game. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy games such as Qyshinsu, Cannon, or even Through the Desert, but most of the time I prefer something oozing with proper theme.
So how about you? Is theme important to you, or could you take it or leave it?
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I like theme as long as it makes the rules easier to learn and remember. At times, that might mean the theme is front and center, with every little play dynamic singing the theme loudly. Sometimes the theme just becomes noise, especially if it contradicts or is disconnected from the actual play experience.
I’d rather have good mechanics than a good theme. Its easier to play a game that’s light on theme, and just let my imagination take over, than to play a thematically awesome game with broken rules.
Some games do manage to do both (A Touch of Evil being a good example), and I’m certainly not against theme. I just see it as an overrated element.
Themed games can be nice, but a pasted on theme works fine for me. Through the Desert is a great example of an excellent multiplayer abstract that would not be as much fun with colored cubes. The pastel camels and plastic palm trees make it more interesting.