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Legacy game

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 209.60.158.242 (talk) at 20:08, 1 December 2017 (→List of legacy-style games: release day!). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

  • Comment: The eurogamer article appears to be part of what we want here: "If a topic has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject, it is presumed to be suitable for a stand-alone article or list."
    The topic here is legacy games, and the other sources don't really address that as a general topic, rather they mention or talk about a single instance of legacy games. Which is good enough to verify information, I'm not suggesting those references be removed, but we need *two* that are reliable, and go into some discussion about legacy games as a general concept, before we can have an article. joe deckertalk 03:27, 11 October 2017 (UTC)
This article is about the tabletop game genre. For the video games company, see Legacy Games.
Permanent changes, such as adding stickers to the game board, are prevalent in legacy-style games.

A legacy game is a genre of tabletop board games where the game is designed to change permanently over the course of a campaign, in particular those designed by Rob Daviau, starting with Risk Legacy in 2011.

History

Game designer Rob Daviau came up with the idea after jokingly asking at a work meeting why the murderous characters in Clue are always invited back dinner. Realizing that each new game basically resets like the movie Groundhog Day, Daviau thought about a game where everyone would remember who the murderer was and pitched the idea of a Clue legacy game to management at Hasbro. While the idea was initially rejected, Daviau was later asked to develop it into a new version of Risk.[1][2][3][4]

Daviau later followed up with an award-winning[5] Pandemic legacy variant. Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 was released in 2015 to positive reviews, even being praised as a leap forward in modern board game design.[4][6][7] He has recently co-developed a mechanic (called the Echo System[8]) to introduce persistent changes to subsequent titles in a game franchise.[7]

Daviau has cited his work on Betrayal at House on the Hill (which is currently being adapted into a legacy game[9]) and Trivial Pursuit: DVD – Lord of the Rings Trilogy Edition as predecessors to the legacy idea. The latter was designed in such a way that pre-programmed games essentially sorted the cards by difficulty. This caused some vocal backlash as the game, although no different, was perceived by many to have a more definite end than other versions.[1]

Common mechanics and themes

Legacy games are designed to be played over the course of a several-games-long campaign, usually with the same players, and permanently change over time.[3] As such they have been compared to tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons.[10] New rules can be introduced as the campaign goes on, allowing for the game to expand both mechanically and thematically.[7] Games can use the expanding campaign as a mode of storytelling; Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 uses a three-act structure to tell its story.[4] Daviau describes legacy games as “experiential” in contrast to traditional games that are “repeatable”.[1] He has compared his legacy games to that of a concert where you "buy a ticket for an experience"[11] while others have described the idea as "avante-garde performance art".[10]

Legacy games break certain "covenants" that players expect from traditional board games.[1] Permanent, physical changes can occur to components based on game outcomes and player choices.[2] For instance players might be instructed to write names on cards, place stickers on the game board, or even destroy some components.[10] This causes each copy of the game to be unique at the end[3] and has earned the legacy system criticism in that there is a finite amount of replayability.[7][11] Some games have been designed to be replayable with refill packs or non-permanent stickers while others were designed to still be playable once the campaign is over.[12] Other games have focused on the campaign-style aspect while forgoing permanent changes.[1]

List of legacy-style games

Title Year
Published 		Notes Refs
Risk Legacy 2011 [1]
The Ravens of Thri Sahashri 2013 [13]
Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 2015 [1]
SeaFall 2016 [1]
Android: Netrunner - Terminal Drective 2016 Expansion [14]
Gloomhaven 2017 [1][15]
First Martians: Adventures on the Red Planet 2017 Individual camgaign [16][17]
Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 2017 [1]
Charterstone 2017 [12]
Betrayal Legacy 2018 To be released [9]
Ultimate Werewolf Legacy 2018 To be released [18]
Centauri Saga: Abandoned 2018 To be released; expansion [19][20]
The Rise of Queensdale 2018 To be released [21]
Chronicles 1: Origins - In development; uses the Echo System [8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rob Daviau (2017). Legacy Games: From 'Risk' to 'Pandemic' to 'SeaFall' & Beyond (Keynote). GDC Vault. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b Lane, Rick (10 April 2016). "The Legacy of Rob Daviau, the man who helped flip boardgames on their head". Eurogamer. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Winkle, Luke (26 September 2016). "Rebuilding Boardgames: Rob Daviau on SeaFall and the Legacy Games". Paste. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Daviau, Rob (22 November 2017). "'Pandemic' Board Game Proves Infectious". All Things Considered (Interview). Interviewed by Michel Martin. NPR. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  5. ^ Hall, Charlie (22 March 2016). "The best board games of 2015, Board Game Geek's Golden Geek awards". Polygon. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  6. ^ Jolin, Dan (25 September 2016). "The rise and rise of tabletop gaming". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d Wilding, Mark (22 October 2016). "SeaFall: is the legacy format heralding a new era of board games?". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  8. ^ a b Searing, Rob (28 July 2015). "Artana's Echo System Announced". Dice Tower News. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  9. ^ a b Wells, Adam (19 November 2017). "Betrayal Legacy Announced For Next Year". Kotaku. Kotaku Australia. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  10. ^ a b c Un, Haoran (31 October 2016). "A Board Game Where Everything Is Permanent". Kotaku. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  11. ^ a b Hune-Brown, Nicholas (25 August 2016). "This Man Will Change the Way You Play Board Games". Slate. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Scythe designer's Charterstone will let you reset the legacy game using a 'recharge pack'". Tabletop Gaming. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  13. ^ Theel, Charlie (6 July 2016). "THIS JAPANESE CARD GAME WILL EAT YOUR DREAMS". Geek & Sundry. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  14. ^ Guida, Eddie (26 November 2016). "New campaign expansion has been announced for Android Netrunner". Dice Tower News. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  15. ^ Theel, Charlie (7 March 2017). "GLOOMHAVEN OVERVIEW – THE 21LB LEGACY DUNGEON CRAWL". Geek & Sundry. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  16. ^ Guida, Eddie (12 October 2016). "First Martians is landing in 2017". Dice Tower News. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  17. ^ "About the Game". Portal Games. Retrieved 20 October 2017. The second one is strictly a legacy campaign – you will use its components only once.
  18. ^ Guida, Eddie (18 August 2016). "Bezier Games announces Ultimate Werewolf Legacy". Dice Tower News. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  19. ^ Fisher, Jessica (19 September 2017). "Centauri Saga Goes from Online to Board Game to Mobile". Gameosity.com. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  20. ^ "Pledge Manager (please read!) and Production Update". Kickstarter, Centauri Saga: Season 1, Update #18. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  21. ^ "The Game of the Year-winning creators of escape-the-room series Exit have announced a legacy game". Tabletop Gaming. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.

Category:Legacy games

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