Unspoken Words - Design & Illustration

On the Board Game Design Lab forum (great podcast, and great community), indie designer Kristian Fosh shared a box prototype for his upcoming game Beards and Booty (FB, IG).

I love the design, and it got me thinking about how much we communicate non-verbally. If we stripped the box of any and all text, it still clearly communicates that it’s a game about pirates.

But it goes farther than that. It’s a family game and on the lighter end (I would expect more distressed features if it was crunchy or targeted at just adults). I would expect the game to have elements of exploration, maybe swashbuckling, and definitely some element of luck (who knows what’s in the chest after all).

I haven’t demoed the game – so it’s possible that my expectations would be subverted, but that is a lot of potential to communicate with a glance.

This idea of what we communicate through illustration, graphic design, and component design fascinates me. It’s a topic that I am sure I will touch on more, but I wanted to get some thoughts down and to start a conversation.

The Quacks of Quedlinburg: The Alchemists (expansion)

The Quacks of Quedlinburg is a fast paced, light, push your luck game. You’re a Quack, mixing up bizarro potions, and hoping that it doesn’t go… BOOM!

For me, The Alchemists expansion does a great job of capturing the feel of the game, and the weight of the game. It is an interesting, and likely intentional departure from the base game box art.

The base game art, for me, strikes a crunchier tone. I would expect more of a market-based game, or even worker placement. I would not expect a bag full of bugs, mandrake, and… ghost breath.

Scythe 

Scythe is a mid-weight worker placement game with “action drafting”. The game set a new standard for artwork and graphic design. It is incredibly well designed and developed and remains one of my favorite games.

One of the few pieces of criticism I’ve heard for the game is that the prevalence of giant mechs in the artwork and game components – made people assume that more of the gameplay would be centered around giant mech battles.

In practice the game is much more about positioning with your mechs, in kind of a cold war-esque stand-off, as well as using them as worker transports.

I personally think that the giant mechs are additive, that they create atmosphere, and tension, and are appropriate within the design and gameplay. But, I also agree that expectations were somewhat subverted – and that I initially also assumed that there would be more battles and destruction.

Root & Bunny Kingdom

Some games intentionally subvert our expectations. Both Root and Bunny Kingdom are crunchier games, that use cute animals to lure us in, lighten the mood, and make the games more welcoming to a broader audience.

And it really works.

What games do a great job of communicating through their graphic design and illustration, and what games subvert your expectations?