Top new technologies to use in Hybrid Games

Hybrid games represent a new world of opportunities for board game designers. With the possibilities that new technologies like mobile or wearable devices - the sky is the limit. In this post we will go though the best examples or these new technologies in board games.

Some of the technologies mentioned below are already being used in board games, others aren't. The one thing we know for sure is that they are going to change the way we play forever.

No. 5: Smart mobile devices

Mobile devices have multitude of uses in enhancing board games. Most of the time they are simply a convenient way to store data or they become a game master, keeper of secrets or multimedia device that boosts immersion.

An example is XCOM: The board game. A game that uses a mobile device that plays against a cooperative team.

No. 4: Controller gadgets

Other devices and controllers have appeared after the boom of mobile phones and tablets. They are usually extensions of the functionality of mobile devices and cannot really do much without them.

Dice+ falls in this category. An electronic dice that connects to the phone and sends information about the rolls.

No. 3: iBeacons

iBeacons are another kind of device that can be used in games. In opposition to controllers like Dice+, iBeacons are passive and they  connect to mobile devices and send information about their localization. The gameplay opportunities that iBeacons offer are very distant from board games but they are still a kind of hybrid game.

There are plenty of companies building iBeacons at the moment like Estimote or Kontakt.

No. 2: Electronic Pawns

This is something completely new in the board game world. Pawns that move themselves and are able to keep track of rules of the game. They also do other fancy stuff depending of the model.

You can check out the ePawn for example. They are trying to kickstart themselves this very moment :)

No.1 1: Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality is by far the most convenient way of empowering a board game. It feels nice and powerful. If you think about it, the possibilities of adding 3D objects and procedurally generated content to board games is AMAZING! As we said before, the future for Augmented Reality could not be better now that Hololens are on the way. It can be combined with all the previously mentioned technologies too.

Publish or Perish is a hybrid board game in development that uses Augmented Reality (Developed with Vuforia) to display super fun sub-atomic collider experiments. :)

Do you know any other technology that could be used to build hybrid games? Do you disagree with the order of this list? Do you have any suggestions for future posts? See you soon! :)

Why Hybrids are a Thing (and why you might care about it!)

I am a boardgamer for a decade if not longer. Sure, it doesn't sound all that impressive, right? I mean, I personally know lovely maniacs with half a thousand game boxes littering their houses from floor to the ceiling, having almost a quarter of century of experience with these games and treating them no longer as "just a hobby" but more a way of life, if that is even possible. Still, I know myself the nagging, gnawing sensation of uncertainty, when you try to sell me a hybrid game. Which is funny, considering I make them now and actually enjoy them, right?

When it comes to the Hybrid Games a lot of hardcore players scrunches their noses with mild disgusts and proclaim quickly, that it is sinful. Or just plain bad. I mean, come on, right? You went for boardgames because you admire it's down-to-earth physical aspect, the fact that it's so disconnected from the modern world of everyday gadgets and technologies... You use your smartphone or tablet every day at work, you most likely treat internet connection in the same way as air you breath (it is just there, you barely notice it, but when it suddenly vanish, you feel your life choked out of you!). Classic boardgames with their pawns and tokens and boards are a lovely way of escaping from such dreary overlordship of technology over our lives. It's a statement, really - I like Boardgames, aside for other reasons of course, because they let me get my eyes off the bright digital screens...

Now it is clear why Hybrids for a long time had quite a lot of problems getting even a tiny niche in the minds of the boardgamers. After all, no matter what solutions, aid and even innovations they managed to bring to the table, all of this was encumbered by the heavy price of allowing a digital device into the gameplay as well.

Now let me change the direction... Ever considered why /nom/ hybrid games attacked again? Why they become a thing? Why Alchemists or X-COM gets solid reviews, quite often high praise? A few reasons, really. Firstly, times changed. Not so long ago mobile devices were still clunky, slow, weak computers. They were expensive too. And mostly, they were no so widely spread through the society. Now try to find a group in any western country that do not have at least one person with a smartphone or a tablet, I dare you. Chances are everyone get one of this devices. The publishers and boardgame developers learnt their lessons too - it is not hard to just slap an app on the game and call it a day. It is however quite a daunting task to make it in such a way, that the application is not an obstacle, but an actual help... And a vital ingredient of the game! It's a ripe time for the hybrid games to nudge the players again.

And there are oh so many benefits of adding an app to the game! Gosh, let me list a few:

• Objective judge! An app, unlike a human being, will not be bribed. Will not whittle at the emotional blackmail, will be exactly as harsh and just to anyone and most importantly, will keep the rules in line and in check all the time. App is a great tribunal for a game, especially when it holds and takes care of the rules... So, you can move up to three spaces with your pawn? Well, you will surely not be able to move more "by mistake", because it won't let you. You learnt something new and would love to back out of your action? Sorry, mate, not a chance.
  
• Keeper of secrets! I think this is the genre where Hybrid games will quickly become a dominant species. Clue, Letters from White Chapel, Roar! Catch the Monster... All these games are deduction games where plenty of information have to be kept secret, and a mobile device is a charm of making that a smooth ride. No need to pen and paper, no problem with running out of dockets to fill out, no problem with falling down paravans of cardboard... Everything is neatly stored in the app which easily allow us moving and keeping track of everything right on the screen.
  
• The progress tracker! Now, that is maybe less important to a lot of players, but I know some who would love this to be a thing... Want to know the scores you've got in a game last month? Or 50 games ago? Want to review what you did wrong and where you did well? Or gosh, maybe you have this sweet sensation of progress when you collect achievements and would not mind one bit having that implemented to your boardgames? App can do that. It was /made/ to do that and with ease.
  
• Variables and ease of expansion! Let me put it into a perspective first... If an app is a crucial part of the game and a lot of it happens through it, then the game developer can offer players outrageous amount of variations and flexibility to the game. Let's say we have an adventure game where every round a new event pop out. Usually that would be handled by cards, for example, which is fine. I mean, you can easily print 100 cards and make that a lovely way to keep the game fresh for longer, right? Sure. App can do 10 000 "event cards". Because it is not a printed material. And same goes for expansions... Adding new  scenarios? New mechanics? New elements? Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Let me once again bring the example of Roar! - in the game player holding the device control a fully digital monster that hides through the city. Each monster have an unique special power. Currently there are three of them in the game... But nothing stop the publisher to adding as many as they would like to later on! That's rad.
  
• Immersion! This is a given, isn't it? Remember the old games with VHS tape or a CD with music on it? Simple stuff, really, usually just a timer... You were suppose to play until the soundtrack or a movie ends. But it have a touch of RPG magic to it... A lot of Game Masters in a vast number of pen and paper roleplays like to add props to the session. Candles, maps, letters on a nicely burnt paper on the edges... And of course music, which is a natural mood builder. And a game with an App can reach for this benefits and double them, because you can not only add music and sound effect, but animation, 3D envirnoments, augmented reality and simply things that can happen only on a screen. It might be a plus for the adult players, but for kids? It is a godsend.

See? Hybrids don't have to be clunky games where players frustration grow over the constant juggling of the slow and unresponsive device and a game. It just might be a thing that smooth the ride through the fun and makes it all a much more pleasant experience for everyone. Just put the bias on the hook by the door and give them a chance.