Games As Art And Literature

You're never going to play all those games, you know. The ones you got at your FLGS when they had that big anniversary sale. The ones you bought at the game convention swap meet. The ones that seemed like a great idea but you and your friends never had that much time.

 

And yet . . . you're watching your mail, because you just got a shipping notice for that really cool game you backed on Kickstarter. We all have them, the games we're never going to play. But we keep getting more.

 

Because games are more than . . . well, games. They have their own value.

 

When you think about it, we don't need other people to appreciate art with us or to read books with us. Those are things we do by ourselves, for ourselves. Certainly art galleries and movie adaptations of books exist, but they're another form of appreciation; they're not mandatory.

 

And games are no different. They have their own aesthetic, partaking somewhat of art, and of literature, and of something I can't really put a finger on, so I'll just call it "design." So we can appreciate games on their own.

 

When you've purchased a game or supplement (Bottled Sea comes to mind) beause the art is outstanding, you're doing it. When you've bought a game because the lore and setting is fascinating (Old Gods of Appalachia), you're doing it. When you've bought a game just to appreciate how it all works (just about anything SJ has ever touched), you're doing it. Games transcend their role as things to be played and become things to be appreciated and enjoyed just because. After all, chess players who have a perfectly good chess set nonetheless buy other sets because they're beautiful or interesting; why should RPGs or boardgames be any different?

 

So don't feel guilty about that box you're so eagerly watching the mail for. It's something you're going to enjoy, even if that particular form of enjoyment – like that of the chess player who buys a beautiful handmade glass chess set for their collection – will never be played as a game. It's art, it's literature, it's design. Go ahead and enjoy it.