A game with a fantastic end that I would like to mention is Spirit Island. In that game, you feel on the back foot the entire time. It always feels like you are going to be overwhelmed by the colonizers. But then, somehow, someway, you are able to put one last final epic turn together and rid the island of evil. And that last turn always feels grand in scale as well as a huge relief. Truly one of best endings of any board game.
Hmm, for me Spirit Island is a game with kind of anticlimactic ending. As you mentioned there is the tention in the beginning, feeling that you are going to be stomped which I quite enjoy, but then once you start gaining power the last one or two turns feel predetermined and it's just a burden to do the bookkeeping.
@@Tyraris I can see both. In my plays, we've definitely been able to see a clear win and get there without the risk of losing. But those games still had a nice arc of going from hopeless to in control with the end in sight.
Minus the counting up points at the end, I think ticket to ride has a great ending. As the game progresses your routes get harder and harder to fill because other people are taking what you need. It can be a real stretch in the final few rounds trying to reach your final destination. I love picking up extra destination cards so it's always fun and exciting at the end.
Thanks for sharing Jamey. The reveal at the end of games with a programming mechanism often makes for triumphant, climatic and memorable ending. I'm thinking of Colt Express.
An example I have of a game that went down to literally the last turn was Legendary Encounters: Firefly. A couple months ago I played a 3-player game of the final three episodes. (One session is always three episodes played back-to-back.) We were able to win on the VERY LAST turn. If my friend didn't have just the right cards in his hand to complete the final objective on that turn, we would have lost the entire evening of gaming! And actually, that's what happened the previous time we had played several months ago playing the second to last group of episodes. We had a few turns for each of us to draw just the right hand of cards to fulfill the last object, but never did. The inevitable card ended it and we lost. Both were super fun experiences for the exact reasons Jamey talked about.
Captain Sonar has to be mentioned. Real time, team-based hidden movement. Some naval war music in the background and it's tense the whole time. End game comes down to hunting or being hunted by the other team and a confident/hopeful shot which may win you the game or give more info for your opponents to work from so the tables turn. When it ends one team will be jumping and hugh-fiving for sure.
Great video. Some wonderful ideas on analyzing how the end game can be triumphant. A couple more categories to throw in would be any game where victory points are hidden such as Small World or Survive:Escape from Atlantis (though this could be a subcategory to surprise reveal). Another good one would be multi-player games that reduce to a showdown through player elimination or whatever such as King of Tokyo, Love Letter, and Challengers!
One not too common type of ending I really enjoy is the "aha" endings. Mostly seen in deduction type games, like Clue, Awkward Guests, or Alchemists, where it's a race to see who has enough information to correctly proclaim the truth.
Your reveal category should have included Ticket To Ride. I don't often think of that game, because I only ever play it on the app against bots, but I always enjoy the little animation at the end where your train moves up the score track as each ticket is revealed. I have the older app, so I don't know if the new one is different, but I'm glad it doesn't show your current score as you play. It's much more fun to see the tickets revealed at the end. The category where you had Viticulture and Dune should have included Euphoria. And that would be my favorite in that category.
On my birthday we played a chaotic 5 player Thunder Road Vendetta. It was hilarious and destructive throughout, but ended explosively (at least for me). Sitting more or less on the midline of the track, two spaces from the end of the race, my only remaining vehicle was targeted and damaged by a friend. I already had a damage token on my truck, so this was it for me. I drew the damage token, flipped it over and everyone laughed. It was the Blast Off effect. I managed to convince everyone that it the dice blasted me over the line that they'd declare me the winner (it was my birthday, after all). I rolled. 4 for distance, forward and down in direction. I blasted right off the bottom of the road. Everyone cheered. Not triumphant, but definitely unforgettable.
Jamey, do you think you could do a video on how to get involved with the board game industry and publishing companies? Is there any degrees required? I’m a high schooler in St. Louis considering career paths and board games really interest me. Also, funny thing my mom’s friend used to date you! Also my dad, Don, his friend Charlie knows you if you know who that is.
Thanks Dave! If you look at the end of this article, there are some articles I've written on this topic: stonemaiergames.com/labor-day-2024-whats-new-this-year/ The quick answer is to find a few companies whose games you like and simply participate in their communities (often online) in an active, useful way. Some of them have volunteer/demo programs that are a next step. I'd also recommend looking at and subscribing to the Gameosity game industry job board to see what types of people game companies are looking for (graphic designers are in high demand, for example). I don't think most publishers care about your degree or where you went to school--we care much more about finding people who know games well, are good with people, and communicate well. I know Charlie Theel--that might be the Charlie you're referring to. I hope your mom's friend who I used to date is doing well!
This is an interesting topic from a psychological standpoint, and one I feel is often overlooked by many designers. Here's a video by Board Game Design Lab (ruclips.net/video/Jn38jGiEdKc/видео.html), with guest Geoff Engelstein, that covers this topic from another perspective (Chapter: Colonoscopies and End Game).
Thanks for reminding me of this! I'm finding that Board Game Design Lab is well worth the re-listen even though I listened to each episode when it was released.
A new game that won't be out until next Oct that hopefully ends each session with an epic boss fight is Valheim. I'm really excited to struggle through the exploration, survival, and crafting aspects of the first part of the game, but then struggle through defeating the boss in a completely different way for the second part of the game. My hope is that it really does have the feel of an epic conclusion to the whole experience. (If you can't tell, I'm a campaign backer. Went all-in. I love the designer, Ole Steiness, who also made my favorite game, Champions of Midgard.)
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
A game with a fantastic end that I would like to mention is Spirit Island. In that game, you feel on the back foot the entire time. It always feels like you are going to be overwhelmed by the colonizers. But then, somehow, someway, you are able to put one last final epic turn together and rid the island of evil. And that last turn always feels grand in scale as well as a huge relief. Truly one of best endings of any board game.
I agree, Spirit Island is a great example of this!
Hmm, for me Spirit Island is a game with kind of anticlimactic ending. As you mentioned there is the tention in the beginning, feeling that you are going to be stomped which I quite enjoy, but then once you start gaining power the last one or two turns feel predetermined and it's just a burden to do the bookkeeping.
@@Tyraris I can see both. In my plays, we've definitely been able to see a clear win and get there without the risk of losing. But those games still had a nice arc of going from hopeless to in control with the end in sight.
Love this installment! Thank you for the examples and discussion. Crescendo = Gold.
Great video! I enjoy many of the games you mentioned esp in the race to finish (physically or with points). Thanks for sharing
Minus the counting up points at the end, I think ticket to ride has a great ending. As the game progresses your routes get harder and harder to fill because other people are taking what you need. It can be a real stretch in the final few rounds trying to reach your final destination. I love picking up extra destination cards so it's always fun and exciting at the end.
Some very cool picks! 🤓
Thanks for sharing Jamey. The reveal at the end of games with a programming mechanism often makes for triumphant, climatic and memorable ending. I'm thinking of Colt Express.
That’s a great example!
Great shirt! :)
An example I have of a game that went down to literally the last turn was Legendary Encounters: Firefly. A couple months ago I played a 3-player game of the final three episodes. (One session is always three episodes played back-to-back.) We were able to win on the VERY LAST turn. If my friend didn't have just the right cards in his hand to complete the final objective on that turn, we would have lost the entire evening of gaming! And actually, that's what happened the previous time we had played several months ago playing the second to last group of episodes. We had a few turns for each of us to draw just the right hand of cards to fulfill the last object, but never did. The inevitable card ended it and we lost. Both were super fun experiences for the exact reasons Jamey talked about.
yes! games that skip endgame tedious point counting are the best.
Captain Sonar has to be mentioned. Real time, team-based hidden movement. Some naval war music in the background and it's tense the whole time. End game comes down to hunting or being hunted by the other team and a confident/hopeful shot which may win you the game or give more info for your opponents to work from so the tables turn. When it ends one team will be jumping and hugh-fiving for sure.
Great video. Some wonderful ideas on analyzing how the end game can be triumphant. A couple more categories to throw in would be any game where victory points are hidden such as Small World or Survive:Escape from Atlantis (though this could be a subcategory to surprise reveal). Another good one would be multi-player games that reduce to a showdown through player elimination or whatever such as King of Tokyo, Love Letter, and Challengers!
I definitely like games with some kind of surprise reveal at the end. :)
One not too common type of ending I really enjoy is the "aha" endings. Mostly seen in deduction type games, like Clue, Awkward Guests, or Alchemists, where it's a race to see who has enough information to correctly proclaim the truth.
Thanks for mentioning that compelling category!
Your reveal category should have included Ticket To Ride. I don't often think of that game, because I only ever play it on the app against bots, but I always enjoy the little animation at the end where your train moves up the score track as each ticket is revealed. I have the older app, so I don't know if the new one is different, but I'm glad it doesn't show your current score as you play. It's much more fun to see the tickets revealed at the end.
The category where you had Viticulture and Dune should have included Euphoria. And that would be my favorite in that category.
Ik like games with multiple different winning conditions, like Civilization the boardgame. You win by culture or economic or tech or military.
On my birthday we played a chaotic 5 player Thunder Road Vendetta. It was hilarious and destructive throughout, but ended explosively (at least for me). Sitting more or less on the midline of the track, two spaces from the end of the race, my only remaining vehicle was targeted and damaged by a friend. I already had a damage token on my truck, so this was it for me. I drew the damage token, flipped it over and everyone laughed. It was the Blast Off effect.
I managed to convince everyone that it the dice blasted me over the line that they'd declare me the winner (it was my birthday, after all). I rolled. 4 for distance, forward and down in direction. I blasted right off the bottom of the road. Everyone cheered. Not triumphant, but definitely unforgettable.
That’s amazing! I would almost always take memorable over victorious. :)
FYI, if you are blasted or bumped through the finish line YOU DO win the game.
Jamey, do you think you could do a video on how to get involved with the board game industry and publishing companies? Is there any degrees required? I’m a high schooler in St. Louis considering career paths and board games really interest me. Also, funny thing my mom’s friend used to date you! Also my dad, Don, his friend Charlie knows you if you know who that is.
Thanks Dave! If you look at the end of this article, there are some articles I've written on this topic: stonemaiergames.com/labor-day-2024-whats-new-this-year/
The quick answer is to find a few companies whose games you like and simply participate in their communities (often online) in an active, useful way. Some of them have volunteer/demo programs that are a next step. I'd also recommend looking at and subscribing to the Gameosity game industry job board to see what types of people game companies are looking for (graphic designers are in high demand, for example). I don't think most publishers care about your degree or where you went to school--we care much more about finding people who know games well, are good with people, and communicate well.
I know Charlie Theel--that might be the Charlie you're referring to. I hope your mom's friend who I used to date is doing well!
A bad ending is like a messy breakup. Was the relationship worth it?
Sometimes! :)
This is an interesting topic from a psychological standpoint, and one I feel is often overlooked by many designers. Here's a video by Board Game Design Lab (ruclips.net/video/Jn38jGiEdKc/видео.html), with guest Geoff Engelstein, that covers this topic from another perspective (Chapter: Colonoscopies and End Game).
Thanks for reminding me of this! I'm finding that Board Game Design Lab is well worth the re-listen even though I listened to each episode when it was released.
A new game that won't be out until next Oct that hopefully ends each session with an epic boss fight is Valheim. I'm really excited to struggle through the exploration, survival, and crafting aspects of the first part of the game, but then struggle through defeating the boss in a completely different way for the second part of the game. My hope is that it really does have the feel of an epic conclusion to the whole experience.
(If you can't tell, I'm a campaign backer. Went all-in. I love the designer, Ole Steiness, who also made my favorite game, Champions of Midgard.)
That's great! I had my eye on Valheim, and I'm curious about the end result.