BoardGameGeek
Encyclopedia
BoardGameGeek is a website
that was founded in January 2000 by Scott Alden and Derk Solko as a resource for the board gaming
hobby
. The database
holds reviews, articles, and session reports for over 45,000 different games, expansions, and designers. BoardGameGeek includes German-style board game
s, wargames
, card game
s and other tabletop game
s. Even public-domain card games like Spades
are included. The site also features bulletin board
s, a marketplace
, several online boardgames, and a gamer
database to help gamers find each other in the same location. BoardGameGeek was the recipient of the 2010 Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming, which recognized it as "a resource without peer for board and card gamers, the recognized authority of this online community."
In 2009 there was an attempt to integrate BoardGameGeek along with similarly styled websites for roleplaying games and video games under a parent site Geekdō. Scott Alden announced in August 2010 that the Geekdō domain would be disbanded, while retaining individual domain names for Board Game Geek, RPG Geek, and Video Game Geek.
ratings are presented for each game. The Bayesian system adds dummy ratings in order to pull the average of games with fewer ratings closer to the overall mean. It is this set of averages that is used to generate a ranked list of games. Only games with at least 30 ratings are included in the ranked list.
In 2006, an additional list of top-ranked wargames
was created. Due to the generally smaller number of ratings these games receive, they often become lost in the overall rating list. In 2010 other category lists were introduced, including Abstract Games, Customizable Games, Children's Games, Family Games, Party Games, Strategy Games, and Thematic Games.
Players can also rate how light or heavy (essentially its complexity in rules and/or gameplay) a game is on a scale of 1-5, though this is not used in the calculation of the rankings. Over the last five years, the only three games that have achieved #1 in the rankings are Puerto Rico, Agricola
, and Twilight Struggle
.
players, and online games are frequently arranged on the forums. A Secret Santa gift exchange was introduced several years ago, with more than 1700 participants in 2010.
, GeekGold, to reward users who provide site content, including entries for new games, pictures of games, game reviews, game sessions, rule translations, and play aids. GeekGold was originally awarded only by administrators, but an automated moderation system is now in place, whereby users can vote on submission approvals and award GeekGold to other users. GeekGold can be used to purchase an avatar
as well as various types of badges. It can also be transferred from one user to another in the form of "tips".
When it was first released, GeekGold could not be purchased with actual money, but this has changed in recent years. During a brief period in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
people were able to purchase GeekGold with money and all of the proceeds were donated to the Red Cross, with a total of $36,403 raised between September 1, 2005 and September 9, 2005. GeekGold is occasionally traded for actual money or games, and there are even special auctions in which members can purchase games and accessories with GeekGold. Beginning January 2, 2008, the site began giving its donors one GeekGold for every dollar donated. The new GeekGold reward was announced as "a small token of thanks" to supplement the "supporter badges" previously given to donors. Direct GeekGold-for-money transfers between users generally result in a much superior exchange rate of 20-25 GeekGold to the dollar. GeekGold is also used to trade for games and accessories in GeekAuctions and Games-for-GeekGold Lotteries.
Another system for rewarding individual effort is the use of a "thumbs up" icon for good contributions. Any user can award a thumbs up whenever he or she sees something that deserves recognition. Thumbs are recorded on a user's profile, but unlike GeekGold, they cannot be used to purchase benefits. For a short period of time, one could also give a thumbs down to content, but this was removed due to user complaints.
The first BGG.con was held November 3rd – 6th 2005 in Dallas, TX, and had an attendance of 250 people. The convention was organized primarily around open gaming, and it featured a large game library from which attendees could check out a game. Other scheduled events included a flea market, a Texas Hold 'Em
tournament, a game show contest, and grand prize drawings.
In 2006 the convention was held from November 9th – 12th and attendance increased to 400 persons. A treasure hunt was added to the list of scheduled events, and the Golden Geek Awards were presented for the first time.
The 2007 BGG.con was held from November 15th – 18th, and was moved to Irving, TX in order to accommodate growth in attendance. The same location has been used for the convention in subsequent years (November 20th - 23rd 2008, November 19th - 22rd 2009, November 17th - 21st 2010).
to determine the winners. The award categories and winners are listed below.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
that was founded in January 2000 by Scott Alden and Derk Solko as a resource for the board gaming
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
hobby
Hobby
A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time.- Etymology :A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse...
. The database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
holds reviews, articles, and session reports for over 45,000 different games, expansions, and designers. BoardGameGeek includes German-style board game
German-style board game
German-style board games, frequently referred to in gaming circles as Euro Games or Euro-style, are a broad class of tabletop games that generally have simple rules, short to medium playing times, indirect player interaction and abstract physical components...
s, wargames
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
, card game
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
s and other tabletop game
Tabletop game
Tabletop game is a general term used to refer to board games, card games, dice games, miniatures wargames, tile-based games and other games that are normally played on a table or other flat surface...
s. Even public-domain card games like Spades
Spades
Spades is a partnership trick-taking card game devised in the United States in the 1930s, in which the object is for each pair or partnership to take at least the number of tricks they bid on before play began. Spades is a descendant of the Whist family of card games, which also includes Bridge,...
are included. The site also features bulletin board
Bulletin board
A bulletin board is a surface intended for the posting of public messages, for example, to advertise things to buy or sell, announce events, or provide information...
s, a marketplace
Marketplace
A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...
, several online boardgames, and a gamer
Gamer
Historically, the term "gamer" usually referred to someone who played role-playing games and wargames. Since they became very popular, the term has included players of video games...
database to help gamers find each other in the same location. BoardGameGeek was the recipient of the 2010 Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming, which recognized it as "a resource without peer for board and card gamers, the recognized authority of this online community."
In 2009 there was an attempt to integrate BoardGameGeek along with similarly styled websites for roleplaying games and video games under a parent site Geekdō. Scott Alden announced in August 2010 that the Geekdō domain would be disbanded, while retaining individual domain names for Board Game Geek, RPG Geek, and Video Game Geek.
Game rankings
In addition to the game database, one of the key features of BoardGameGeek is the statistical information obtained from player ratings. The site allows users to rate games on a 1–10 scale. The average and Bayesian averageBayesian average
A Bayesian average is a method of estimating the mean of a population consistent with Bayesian interpretation, where instead of estimating the mean strictly from the available data set, other existing information related to that data set may also be incorporated into the calculation in order to...
ratings are presented for each game. The Bayesian system adds dummy ratings in order to pull the average of games with fewer ratings closer to the overall mean. It is this set of averages that is used to generate a ranked list of games. Only games with at least 30 ratings are included in the ranked list.
In 2006, an additional list of top-ranked wargames
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
was created. Due to the generally smaller number of ratings these games receive, they often become lost in the overall rating list. In 2010 other category lists were introduced, including Abstract Games, Customizable Games, Children's Games, Family Games, Party Games, Strategy Games, and Thematic Games.
Players can also rate how light or heavy (essentially its complexity in rules and/or gameplay) a game is on a scale of 1-5, though this is not used in the calculation of the rankings. Over the last five years, the only three games that have achieved #1 in the rankings are Puerto Rico, Agricola
Agricola (board game)
Agricola is a German-style board game created by Uwe Rosenberg, and published by Lookout Games in Europe and Z-Man Games in the US. The goal of the game is to build the most well-balanced farm at the end of 14 rounds, consisting of plowed fields for crops and fenced pastures for livestock. The...
, and Twilight Struggle
Twilight Struggle
Twilight Struggle is a card-driven board wargame for two players, with its theme taken from the Cold War. One player plays the United States , and the other plays the Soviet Union . The game takes its title from John F...
.
Community
BoardGameGeek is a large, international community with over 400,000 users, as of August 3, 2011, of which about 100,000 are active users. One major activity is the creation of GeekLists, which are lists of games based on a particular theme, or games that people want to trade. There are forums in which members discuss such issues as the merits of theme versus mechanics, European versus American design, and how to best calculate game rating statistics. Gamers can also get to know each other online by using the chat room and asking and answering "GeekQuestions." There is a large community of WerewolfMafia (game)
Mafia is a party game created in the USSR by Dimitry Davidoff in 1986, modelling a battle between an informed minority and an uninformed majority. Players are secretly assigned roles: either "mafia", who know each other; or "townspeople", who know only the number of mafia amongst them. In the...
players, and online games are frequently arranged on the forums. A Secret Santa gift exchange was introduced several years ago, with more than 1700 participants in 2010.
GeekGold & other rewards
The site uses a virtual currencyLocal currency
In economics, a local currency, in its common usage, is a currency not backed by a national government , and intended to trade only in a small area. As a tool of fiscal localism, local moneys can raise awareness of the state of the local economy, especially among those who may be unfamiliar or...
, GeekGold, to reward users who provide site content, including entries for new games, pictures of games, game reviews, game sessions, rule translations, and play aids. GeekGold was originally awarded only by administrators, but an automated moderation system is now in place, whereby users can vote on submission approvals and award GeekGold to other users. GeekGold can be used to purchase an avatar
Avatar (computing)
In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
as well as various types of badges. It can also be transferred from one user to another in the form of "tips".
When it was first released, GeekGold could not be purchased with actual money, but this has changed in recent years. During a brief period in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
people were able to purchase GeekGold with money and all of the proceeds were donated to the Red Cross, with a total of $36,403 raised between September 1, 2005 and September 9, 2005. GeekGold is occasionally traded for actual money or games, and there are even special auctions in which members can purchase games and accessories with GeekGold. Beginning January 2, 2008, the site began giving its donors one GeekGold for every dollar donated. The new GeekGold reward was announced as "a small token of thanks" to supplement the "supporter badges" previously given to donors. Direct GeekGold-for-money transfers between users generally result in a much superior exchange rate of 20-25 GeekGold to the dollar. GeekGold is also used to trade for games and accessories in GeekAuctions and Games-for-GeekGold Lotteries.
Another system for rewarding individual effort is the use of a "thumbs up" icon for good contributions. Any user can award a thumbs up whenever he or she sees something that deserves recognition. Thumbs are recorded on a user's profile, but unlike GeekGold, they cannot be used to purchase benefits. For a short period of time, one could also give a thumbs down to content, but this was removed due to user complaints.
BGG.con
Beginning in 2005 Scott Alden and Derk Solko inaugurated an annual boardgaming convention called BGG.con. While the convention was open to anybody it was overwhelmingly attended by registered users of BoardGameGeek, and was heavily promoted on the website.The first BGG.con was held November 3rd – 6th 2005 in Dallas, TX, and had an attendance of 250 people. The convention was organized primarily around open gaming, and it featured a large game library from which attendees could check out a game. Other scheduled events included a flea market, a Texas Hold 'Em
Texas hold 'em
Texas Hold 'em is a variation of the standard card game of poker. The game consists of two cards being dealt face down to each player and then five community cards being placed face-up by the dealer—a series of three then two additional single cards , with...
tournament, a game show contest, and grand prize drawings.
In 2006 the convention was held from November 9th – 12th and attendance increased to 400 persons. A treasure hunt was added to the list of scheduled events, and the Golden Geek Awards were presented for the first time.
The 2007 BGG.con was held from November 15th – 18th, and was moved to Irving, TX in order to accommodate growth in attendance. The same location has been used for the convention in subsequent years (November 20th - 23rd 2008, November 19th - 22rd 2009, November 17th - 21st 2010).
Merger of BoardgameNews.com with BoardGameGeek
In the final months of 2010, BoardgameNews.com, an industry-specific news site dedicated to providing large quantities of news and commentary regarding board games announced that it would be merging with BoardgameGeek.com.Golden Geek Award
2006 was the first year of the Golden Geek Awards which are to be given annually to the best new games of the year as selected by registered BoardGameGeek users. The awards use the Schulze methodSchulze method
The Schulze method is a voting system developed in 1997 by Markus Schulze that selects a single winner using votes that express preferences. The method can also be used to create a sorted list of winners...
to determine the winners. The award categories and winners are listed below.
| Category | 2006 Winner | 2007 Winner | 2008 Winner | 2009 Winner | 2010 Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game of the Year | Caylus | Shogun Shogun (board game) Shogun is a strategy board game designed by Dirk Henn and published by Queen Games in 2006. It is based on his earlier game Wallenstein , but it is set in the Sengoku period, which ends with the inception of the Tokugawa Shogunate.... |
Agricola Agricola (board game) Agricola is a German-style board game created by Uwe Rosenberg, and published by Lookout Games in Europe and Z-Man Games in the US. The goal of the game is to build the most well-balanced farm at the end of 14 rounds, consisting of plowed fields for crops and fenced pastures for livestock. The... |
Dominion | Hansa Teutonica |
| Best Gamers’ Game | Caylus | Shogun Shogun (board game) Shogun is a strategy board game designed by Dirk Henn and published by Queen Games in 2006. It is based on his earlier game Wallenstein , but it is set in the Sengoku period, which ends with the inception of the Tokugawa Shogunate.... |
Agricola Agricola (board game) Agricola is a German-style board game created by Uwe Rosenberg, and published by Lookout Games in Europe and Z-Man Games in the US. The goal of the game is to build the most well-balanced farm at the end of 14 rounds, consisting of plowed fields for crops and fenced pastures for livestock. The... |
Le Havre Le Havre (board game) Le Havre is a board game about the development of the town of Le Havre. It was inspired by the games Caylus and Agricola and was developed in December 2007.... |
Hansa Teutonica |
| Best Wargame | Twilight Struggle Twilight Struggle Twilight Struggle is a card-driven board wargame for two players, with its theme taken from the Cold War. One player plays the United States , and the other plays the Soviet Union . The game takes its title from John F... |
Combat Commander: Europe | Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage | Combat Commander: Pacific | Washington's War |
| Best Children's Game | Nacht Der Magier | Zooloretto Zooloretto Zooloretto is a board game designed by Michael Schacht, published in 2007 by Abacus Spiele and in English by Rio Grande Games. The premise of the game is that each player is the owner of a zoo, and must collect animals in order to attract visitors to their zoo . Having full, or nearly full,... |
Chateau Roquefort | Sorry! Sliders | Forbidden Island |
| Best Two Player Game | Twilight Struggle Twilight Struggle Twilight Struggle is a card-driven board wargame for two players, with its theme taken from the Cold War. One player plays the United States , and the other plays the Soviet Union . The game takes its title from John F... |
BattleLore Battlelore Battlelore is a metal band from Lappeenranta, Finland. All of Battlelore's lyrics concern J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.-Style:Battlelore mixes female vocals with harsh male growling in "beauty and the beast" duet, backed by heavy guitar riffing and occasional keyboard interludes. The band's... and Commands & Colors: Ancients Commands & Colors: Ancients Commands & Colors: Ancients is a board wargame designed by Richard Borg, Pat Kurivial, and Roy Grider, and published by GMT Games in 2006. It is based on Borg's Command & Colors system using some elements similar to his other games such as Memoir '44 and Battle Cry designed to simulate the "fog of... (tie) |
Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage | Space Hulk (3rd Ed.) Space Hulk Space Hulk is a board game by Games Workshop, first released in 1989 and re-released in 2009. The game is set in their Warhammer 40,000 universe and draws a certain degree of inspiration from the Alien movies.... |
Washington's War |
| Best Family Game | Ingenious Ingenious Ingenious is the English name for Einfach Genial , a German abstract strategy board game designed by Reiner Knizia under commission from Sophisticated Games and published in 2004 by Kosmos... |
Zooloretto Zooloretto Zooloretto is a board game designed by Michael Schacht, published in 2007 by Abacus Spiele and in English by Rio Grande Games. The premise of the game is that each player is the owner of a zoo, and must collect animals in order to attract visitors to their zoo . Having full, or nearly full,... |
Thebes | Pandemic Pandemic (board game) Pandemic is a cooperative board game designed by Matt Leacock and published by Z-Man Games in 2008.Pandemic is based on the premise that four diseases have broken out in the world, each threatening to wipe out a region. The game accommodates 2 to 4 players, each playing one of five possible... |
Tobago |
| Best Light/Party Game | Diamant Diamant (game) Diamant is a multiplayer card game designed by Alan R. Moon and Bruno Faidutti, published in 2005 in Germany by Schmidt Spiele, with illustrations provided by Jörg Asselborn, Christof Tisch, and Claus Stephan.... |
Wits and Wagers Wits and Wagers Wits & Wagers is a board game designed by Dominic Crapuchettes and others. It is published by North Star Games. The first edition of the game was introduced in 2005, but the more refined second edition was released in 2007 and continues to be available today.The game is played in seven rounds... |
Say Anything Say anything (party game) Say Anything is a board game designed by Dominic Crapuchettes and Satish Pillalamarri. It was released by North Star Games in 2008 as a follow up to the award-winning Wits & Wagers. Say Anything is very similar to Wits & Wagers except players answer open-ended subjective questions instead of... |
Time's Up! Deluxe | Telestrations |
| Best Card Game | - | Caylus Magna Carta | Race for the Galaxy Race for the Galaxy Race for the Galaxy is a card game designed by Thomas Lehmann that was released in 2007 by Rio Grande Games. Its theme is to build galactic civilizations via game cards that represent worlds or technical and social developments... |
Dominion | Innovation |
| Best Artwork/Presentation | - | BattleLore Battlelore Battlelore is a metal band from Lappeenranta, Finland. All of Battlelore's lyrics concern J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.-Style:Battlelore mixes female vocals with harsh male growling in "beauty and the beast" duet, backed by heavy guitar riffing and occasional keyboard interludes. The band's... |
Jamaica | Space Hulk (3rd Ed.) Space Hulk Space Hulk is a board game by Games Workshop, first released in 1989 and re-released in 2009. The game is set in their Warhammer 40,000 universe and draws a certain degree of inspiration from the Alien movies.... |
War of the Ring Deluxe Edition War of the Ring (board game) War of the Ring is a strategy board game by Roberto Di Meglio, Marco Maggi and Francesco Nepitello, first produced by Nexus Editrice and currently published by NG International.... |
| Best Expansion | - | - | - | Pandemic: On The Brink Pandemic (board game) Pandemic is a cooperative board game designed by Matt Leacock and published by Z-Man Games in 2008.Pandemic is based on the premise that four diseases have broken out in the world, each threatening to wipe out a region. The game accommodates 2 to 4 players, each playing one of five possible... |
Dominion: Prosperity |
| Best Print & Play Game | - | - | - | Dune Express | Zombie in My Pocket |
| Most Innovative Game | - | - | - | Space Alert | Catacombs |