The Hololens REVOLUTION

Microsoft has developed a new state of the art product. Hololens are Augmented Reality glasses. Think Iron Man or Terminator. The sci-fi esque technology that previously only seemed to be available to Robert Downey Jr or Mr. Schwarenegger is now coming to the general public (but without the "i-turn-into-a-super-hero-killing-machine-and-defy-physics" apect). 

These kinds of glasses are awesome ( this is NOT an understatement ). They are so powerful. One can use them to teach doctors who will later save lives, NASA has mentioned they want some in their spaceships, and no, it's not to keep the crew entertained. If Anno 2205 was available for Hololens, i feel humanity's voyage into space may experience some stunted growth but them I'm a sucker for futuristic city skylines. But think about it, they could project them onto the Moon. No research would be done at all. 

As you can probably tell, I am most interested in the gaming aspect of Hololens. I especially like the idea of bringing the technology to table top. I think it's an incredible opportunity. The cardboard revolution doesn't exactly need a boost, neither does AR but enthusiasts of both love innovation. Holograms that only you can see and interact with have such a wide spectrum of uses that 's hard to imagine a game you wouldn't be able to use them in.
But the most exciting aspect, in context of board games, is the possibility of playing a real, tangible board game with your friends and family, or even random people, while not being physically in the same place. Online, mutliplayer board games will be a thing! Incredible stuff!   

Minecraft looks incredible.

The infamous Google Glass and Meta Glasses (funded on Kickstarter) are similar products which failed. This left some people thinking that the world wasn't ready for these kinds of changes. Microsoft didn't use the term "Augmented Reality" but started to talk about Holograms instead . I Guess we are all just REALLY into cool stuff we saw in movies. Holograms sound sexy, they sound awesome, they sound like you're a sophisticated high-tech-savvy person who talks to Yoda. Everyone gets it. Everyone wants it. 

This guy gets it.

So when will Hololens come to Essenspiel, when will they have a seperate category on Board Game Geek? Hard to say. My personal prediction is 5 years, but it's more about AR hologram Monopoly being shoved into a big budget hollywood production or equally good smooth marketing techniques being used. Your move Microsoft.