Sometimes the points are more theoretical. For example, when you take a spot in Agricola no one else can take that spot, whereas being the first to take a spot in Dungeon Lords gives a different, better, reward than being second or third.Īction Points – Players get a certain number of points per round to spend on a limited number of actions. This is often seen in Worker Placement games. If you think I’ve missed a key mechanic, please leave a comment or drop me an email and let me know.Īction Blocking or Modification – When a player takes an action it prevents players from taking that action in the future or modifies the action in some way for any players taking that action after the first player. So here’s my list of game mechanics and definitions. They also include something called area-impulse that I’ve never heard of. Two things that I consider game mechanics, which they obviously don’t. Nowhere on their list is engine building or dexterity. For example, lists fifty-one different mechanics. What doesn’t help is that not everyone uses the same terms or definitions. I know for someone new to the tabletop game hobby hearing all of these terms can be overwhelming. I think it’s worthwhile to take a look at some of the more common ones and define them.
There are a lot of different game mechanics out there (I’ve also put together a Giant List of Board Game Types that you may find useful if you’re looking for more board game terms and definitions).Īs I said, there are a ton of different game mechanics out there. Those are probably my top mechanics, though I’m sure I’m forgetting something. It’s not all about heavy games for me either, there are few dexterity games out there that I’ve tried and not liked Many of my favourite games also tend to involve engine building, which for me goes back to Power Grid. I have a soft spot for tile-laying games, going back to many games of Carcassonne played with my family. I’ve always prefered deck building (improve your deck during play) to deck construction (build your deck before play) games. Before that, I was already a fan of action/role selection games like Puerto Rico. I can’t say that there’s one particular mechanic that sticks out as my favourite, but there are many that I have enjoyed playing.Įver since first trying Caylus, I’ve found that I really enjoy worker placement games. Over the years I’ve played a lot of games and have seen a ton of different new mechanics.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So I think it’s worth taking some time to talk about the wide variety of mechanics out there as well as discussing those that I enjoy the best.įor the podcast discussion version of this list check out Tabletop Bellhop Live Episode 9 – Under the hood.ĭisclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. There are a ton of different game mechanics, and for someone new to gaming, all these terms can be confusing. Today I’m going to try to define some of the most common board game mechanics based on a question we received during our first live show. A lot of these are board game mechanics that people may not be familiar with. When talking games a number of board game terms come up that can be confusing to people.