Games page - complete the catagories

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Sawyer Einherjar
Posts: 99
Joined: 17 February 2014, 13:36

Games page - complete the catagories

Post by Sawyer Einherjar »

Hello admins,

As I work on translations / bugs / wiki I visit the games page regulary. The first 3 categories are fine by me, even though the category of recommendation is stuck on 4 games i do not plan on playing (no idea where these are based on :P, i do like perudo though but well only when i can see some faces and hear some voices :P).

Anyway recommendations is followed by Newest games and most popular games so these are interesting lists for new players. After that it becomes a bit chaotic. Some of you might not agree with me on this, and i'm not here to try to convince you to turn or anything its all matter of personal opinion. In any case my problems are the following:

1st: when i'm with a group of friends we judge whether we play a game, or not, based on, the amount of players the game supports (can we all join in!) and the time it takes to finish the game. These two categories are just missing/not complete. There is a category for soloplay (which has 1 game) and there is a category for 2 player games. The funny thing is that this category for 2 players also lists games that support more then 2 players (RftG, time masters, haggis, tournay) while a whole bunch or 2 player games only are not listed. Yes RftG may be favored for playing with 2 players only on this site but it's not a 2 player game by definition.

Time categories are also funny. we have Short games (lists 1 game) average games (lists 6 games) and long games >30 minutes (lists 2 games). As the last category implies that all games with a duration of 30 minutes till infinity should be listed here it makes me curious how only a total of 9 games are listed in these 3 categories. Does this mean that the rest of the 52 games take less then 0 minutes? :D.

2nd: a lot of categories only have 1 or 2 games listed and can as such imho be deleted from the categorie list. It is good that you try to divide the games up by mechanics and such but if lots of mechanics only have a single game in them it become an immense long scrolling lists, rather make a category Remainder or something like that. (i'd only give an exception for the solo play and 3 player game). Example: There is a category Adventure and a catagory Explore 1 and 2 games, can we not just lists these 3 games under the same category of adventure?

3rd: Do you know that the last category (all games) resets and has a different order each time you refresh/load the page. Imo especially for this category it is nice if all games are just listed alphabetical, period.

4th: Can some of the catagories titles please consist of more then one word. After 8 masters revenge was released a new category was made called: Prototype. (listing only 1 game 8 masters revenge). I really have no clue what this category means at all :) Same for battle sheep being the single game in Conquer (how is game to be put in a category conquer and not in the category majority? which i'd call something like: Own a majority to win). Especially after translating these single words it sometimes leads to random a Dutch words that makes even less sense :)

5th: Can there be categories or headings of categories, you list games on themes, mechanics, players, time, which is good but somewhat unclear (especially with the one worded categories) whether its revering to a theme or a mechanic (take Race for example, does this list games with a racing theme or is it refering to the mechanic of being the first to achieve the goal and win the game? :D). Most are listed in sequence (all on time, theme etc), but my point is that its not clear when switching from one group of categories to the next :).

6th: As you have a category for Awarded games, i made you a category for games with a rating of 7+ on BGG.

I took liberty of making you the lists of the games. The time ones are based (As much as possible on the BGA average times) and the amount of players based on the amount of players listed on BGA. I put it in the code window to prevent from exploding this post :D. I stole the Game id's with firebug. Don't know if that would help in the event you'd decide there is time and you feel like i made a point! :D. Also added the list of games with Id's in alphabetical order.

Code: Select all

Games for solo play:
71	Thermopyles

Games for 2 players:
25	China Gold
23	Dragonheart
28	Gomoku
32	Gygès
1007	Hex
79	Hive
33	Jaipur
5	Kahuna
1010	Kalah
57	Neutreeko
63	Pylos
39	Quarto
43	Quoridor
35	Reversi
54	Senet
69	Targi

Games for up to 3 players:
16	Haggis

Games for up to 4 players:
15	Amyitis
1005	Armadöra
47	Battle Sheep
11	Can't Stop
1012	8 Master's revenge
41	Expedition: Northwest Passage
17	Gosu
36	Hearts
10	Race for the Galaxy
30	Seasons
75	Sobek
13	Stone Age
37	Takenoko
1011	Through the Ages
1004	Time Masters
18	Tobago
45	Tournay
20	Troyes
80	Tzolk'in
19	Uncle Chesnut's Table Gype
31	United Square

Games for up to 5 players:
29	Caylus
27	Color Pop
2	Coloretto
21	Diam's
22	Hawaii
26	In the Year of the Dragon
55	Machiavelli
38	Niagara
14	Puerto Rico
1002	Spyrium
34	The Boss
1006	The Jelly Monster Lab
1003	Tokaido
49	Yahtzee

Games for up to 6 players:
51	Cinco
64	Elfenland
67	Gear & Piston
56	Libertalia
58	Perudo
1009	Twin Tin Bots

Games for up to 10 players:
24	Saboteur
1008	Take 5!

Average times on BGA are mostly based on 2 players.
Short games (<10 minutes)
11	Can't Stop
51	Cinco
27	Color Pop
23	Dragonheart
28	Gomoku
32	Gygès
1007	Hex
1010	Kalah
57	Neutreeko
63	Pylos
39	Quarto
43	Quoridor
10	Race for the Galaxy
35	Reversi
71	Thermopyles
31	United Square
49	Yahtzee

Average game (11-25 minutes)
1008	6 Nimmt!/Take 5!
1012	8 Master's revenge
1005	Armadöra
47	Battle Sheep
25	China Gold
2	Coloretto
21	Diam's
67	Gear & Piston
17	Gosu
16	Haggis
22	Hawaii
36	Hearts
79	Hive
26	In the Year of the Dragon
33	Jaipur
5	Kahuna
56	Libertalia
38	Niagara
58	Perudo
30	Seasons
54	Senet
37	Takenoko
34	The Boss
1003	Tokaido

Long games (>25 minutes)
15	Amyitis
29	Caylus
64	Elfenland
41	Expedition: Northwest Passage
55	Machiavelli
14	Puerto Rico
24	Saboteur
1002	Spyrium
13	Stone Age
69	Targi
1006	The Jelly Monster Lab
1011	Through the Ages
1004	Time Masters
18	Tobago
45	Tournay
20	Troyes
1009	Twin Tin Bots
80	Tzolk'in
19	Uncle Chesnut's Table Gype

Games with a 7+ rating on BGG:
34	The Boss
15	Amyitis
16	Haggis
18	Tobago
45	Tournay
41	Expedition: Northwest Passage
1004	Time Masters
56	Libertalia
22	Hawaii
79	Hive
1012	8 Master's revenge
1002	Spyrium
37	Takenoko
26	In the Year of the Dragon
30	Seasons
33	Jaipur
69	Targi
13	Stone Age
20	Troyes
10	Race for the Galaxy
29	Caylus
80	Tzolk'in
14	Puerto Rico
1011	Through the Ages

All games Alphabetical:
1008	6 nimmt!/take5!
1012	8 Master's revenge
15	Amyitis
1005	Armadöra
47	Battle Sheep
11	Can't Stop
29	Caylus
25	China Gold
51	Cinco
27	Color Pop
2	Coloretto
21	Diam's
23	Dragonheart
64	Elfenland
41	Expedition: Northwest Passage
67	Gear & Piston
28	Gomoku
17	Gosu
32	Gygès
16	Haggis
22	Hawaii
36	Hearts
1007	Hex
79	Hive
26	In the Year of the Dragon
33	Jaipur
5	Kahuna
1010	Kalah
56	Libertalia
55	Machiavelli
57	Neutreeko
38	Niagara
58	Perudo
14	Puerto Rico
63	Pylos
39	Quarto
43	Quoridor
10	Race for the Galaxy
35	Reversi
24	Saboteur
30	Seasons
54	Senet
75	Sobek
1002	Spyrium
13	Stone Age
37	Takenoko
69	Targi
34	The Boss
1006	The Jelly Monster Lab
71	Thermopyles
1011	Through the Ages
1004	Time Masters
18	Tobago
1003	Tokaido
45	Tournay
20	Troyes
1009	Twin Tin Bots
80	Tzolk'in
19	Uncle Chesnut's Table Gype
31	United Square
49	Yahtzee
It is hard to categorize the games by mechanic and even harder to do so by theme. I tried but i gave up as the list of categories would just expand and expand :P. So yeah i'll might rethink them at a later time.

Became a bit of a long post. But well i think your game page should be a nice business card to players interested in joining and provide a good overview for active members. At the moment i personally just think it looks a bit messy/incomplete. (No offence! :D) But well i'd enjoy it if you'd have some time and look into it. I once read a post that you had remoddeled the page to its current state removing the all games and from that discussion the all games was readded. Cannot find that post anymore :S. So if i'm saying stuff that had been discussed there already my appologies.

Cheers,
Sawyer
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groupscheme
Posts: 8
Joined: 04 June 2013, 19:58

Re: Games page - complete the catagories

Post by groupscheme »

That's some nice information you have there! Certainly it would be useful to complete the description games by approximate playing time (might give players an idea of whether a game is suitable for trying out).

But "number of players" needs changing. I think the reason games like Race for the Galaxy and Haggis appear under "2 players" is not that they are only playable with 2 players, but that playing with 2 (in real life, not just on the site!) is considered to provide a good experience, or at least better than the other possible numbers of players. So if a certain 2 people wanted to a play a game together, or someone enjoys 2 player games in general, they should look at those games first. (Of course, the games that do require exactly 2 players should be put in this category by default.) Similarly, there are a lot of games that do not play well with the maximum number of players, so categorizing games by maximum number of players would be a bit misleading.

It would be better to characterize games by "best" number of players, or all "good" numbers of players (sometimes BGA has a specific number listed as best, or a number to avoid; in other situations BoardGameGeek has polls). Of course, no one's expecting you to do all this... :mrgreen:
User avatar
Sawyer Einherjar
Posts: 99
Joined: 17 February 2014, 13:36

Re: Games page - complete the catagories

Post by Sawyer Einherjar »

Bumping my own post from ages ago now that you rearranged the games page. It's still imo sloppy, best example still being how on the front page there is a advertisment for 69 games online at this date however if we look at all games based on their play time we find that there are only 13 games?? the other games are instand games or actually take you back in time :o. (as only optioned not mentioned are negative times!)

Anyway also updated with the 8 new games since the original post. Play time is still based on the time you mention on the specific game pages (so not the times on the tables as my loading times are still so long when opening a table and i as so cannot be bothered to check each game individually; the times shown at table creation are bit shorter though so keep that in mind)
groupscheme wrote:That's some nice information you have there! .... Of course, no one's expecting you to do all this... :mrgreen:
I still listed games by their full capacity. Yes it is true that most games usually don't play balanced enough on max capacity. But when you're in a group on this site and there is 6 players online and you want to play a game with that group of 6 and just have some fun and a nice chat it is nice to be able to directly find what options there are for you. I know cause at some point we had a small group of 5-6 players online daily. If you want a list that is based on best amount don't be shy to create it using BGG and the list i post below.

Code: Select all

games for solo play:
1013 injawara
71	Thermopyles

games for 2 players:
53	Backgammon
74	Checkers
25	China Gold
23	Dragonheart
28	Gomoku
32	Gygès
1007	Hex
79	Hive
33	Jaipur
5	Kahuna
1010	Kalah
57	Neutreeko
1016	Polis: Fight for the Hegemony
63	Pylos
39	Quarto
43	Quoridor
35	Reversi
54	Senet
69	Targi
1017	Tash-Kalar

games for up to 3 players:
16	Haggis

games for up to 4 players:
1012	8 Master's revenge
15	Amyitis
1005	Armadöra
47	Battle Sheep
11	Can't Stop
41	Expedition: Northwest Passage
17	Gosu
1014	Koryo
10	Race for the Galaxy
30	Seasons
75	Sobek
13	Stone Age
37	Takenoko
1011	Through the Ages
1004	Time Masters
18	Tobago
45	Tournay
20	Troyes
80	Tzolk'in
19	Uncle Chesnut's Table Gype
31	United Square
36	Hearts

games for up to 5 players:
29	Caylus
27	Color Pop
2	Coloretto
21	Diam's
1015	Hanabi
22	Hawaii
26	In the Year of the Dragon
40	K2
55	Machiavelli
14	Puerto Rico
1002	Spyrium
34	The Boss
1006	The Jelly Monster Lab
1003	Tokaido
49	Yahtzee
38	Niagara

games for up to 6 players:
1013	injawara
51	Cinco
64	Elfenland
67	Gear & Piston
56	Libertalia
58	Perudo
1009	Twin Tin Bots

games for up to 10 players:
1008	6 nimmt!/take5!
24	Saboteur

Based on play time ( using average times of BGA; so mostly based on 2 player and turnbased?)
Short games (<10 minutes):
53	Backgammon
11	Can't Stop
51	Cinco
27	Color Pop
32	Gygès
1007	Hex
1010	Kalah
1014	Koryo
63	Pylos
39	Quarto
43	Quoridor
10	Race for the Galaxy
35	Reversi
31	United Square
49	Yahtzee

Average games (11-25 minutes):
1008	6 nimmt!/take5!
1012	8 Master's revenge
1005	Armadöra
47	Battle Sheep
74	Checkers
25	China Gold
2	Coloretto
21	Diam's
67	Gear & Piston
17	Gosu
16	Haggis
1015	Hanabi
22	Hawaii
36	Hearts
79	Hive
26	In the Year of the Dragon
1013	injawara
33	Jaipur
5	Kahuna
56	Libertalia
38	Niagara
58	Perudo
30	Seasons
54	Senet
37	Takenoko
34	The Boss
1003	Tokaido

Long games (>25 minutes):
15	Amyitis
29	Caylus
64	Elfenland
41	Expedition: Northwest Passage
40	K2
55	Machiavelli
1016	Polis: Fight for the Hegemony
14	Puerto Rico
24	Saboteur
54	Senet
75	Sobek
1002	Spyrium
13	Stone Age
37	Takenoko
69	Targi
1017	Tash-Kalar
34	The Boss
1006	The Jelly Monster Lab
1011	Through the Ages
1004	Time Masters
18	Tobago
1003	Tokaido
45	Tournay
20	Troyes
1009	Twin Tin Bots
80	Tzolk'in
19	Uncle Chesnut's Table Gype

Games with a 7+ rating on BGG:
1012	8 Master's revenge
15	Amyitis
29	Caylus
41	Expedition: Northwest Passage
16	Haggis
1015	Hanabi
22	Hawaii
79	Hive
26	In the Year of the Dragon
33	Jaipur
40	K2
56	Libertalia
1016	Polis: Fight for the Hegemony
14	Puerto Rico
10	Race for the Galaxy
30	Seasons
1002	Spyrium
13	Stone Age
37	Takenoko
69	Targi
1017	Tash-Kalar
34	The Boss
1011	Through the Ages
1004	Time Masters
18	Tobago
45	Tournay
20	Troyes
80	Tzolk'in

All games alphabetical:
1008	6 nimmt!/take5!
1012	8 Master's revenge
15	Amyitis
1005	Armadöra
53	Backgammon
47	Battle Sheep
11	Can't Stop
29	Caylus
74	Checkers
25	China Gold
51	Cinco
27	Color Pop
2	Coloretto
21	Diam's
23	Dragonheart
64	Elfenland
41	Expedition: Northwest Passage
67	Gear & Piston
28	Gomoku
17	Gosu
32	Gygès
16	Haggis
1015	Hanabi
22	Hawaii
36	Hearts
1007	Hex
79	Hive
26	In the Year of the Dragon
1013	injawara
33	Jaipur
40	K2
5	Kahuna
1010	Kalah
1014	Koryo
56	Libertalia
55	Machiavelli
57	Neutreeko
38	Niagara
58	Perudo
1016	Polis: Fight for the Hegemony
14	Puerto Rico
63	Pylos
39	Quarto
43	Quoridor
10	Race for the Galaxy
35	Reversi
24	Saboteur
30	Seasons
54	Senet
75	Sobek
1002	Spyrium
13	Stone Age
37	Takenoko
69	Targi
1017	Tash-Kalar
34	The Boss
1006	The Jelly Monster Lab
71	Thermopyles
1011	Through the Ages
1004	Time Masters
18	Tobago
1003	Tokaido
45	Tournay
20	Troyes
1009	Twin Tin Bots
80	Tzolk'in
19	Uncle Chesnut's Table Gype
31	United Square
49	Yahtzee
Further suggestions:
Can there be a shortlink to a overview of everything (not category based); the page you enter when you click on the header button games.

Next to that it would be very nice if we can get a close buttons for tabs containing more then 7 games (so 2+rows) you can open these but once they are open there is no way to close / resize them to a single row. If we could close it would mean less scrolling needs to be done.

cheers,
Sawyer
User avatar
Een
Posts: 3861
Joined: 16 June 2010, 19:52

Re: Games page - complete the catagories

Post by Een »

Hi Sawyer,

This has been in my forum bookmarks from ages ago.
Definitely something to do, but the pile is high and erodes slowly :?
Also, this one is kinda tedious to do (as it needs to repackage and redeploy every game module), so not really something we'd jump at in the middle of the night.

Anyway, thanks for your list, it may help us when we get to it (even as we will have to rotate it to get categories by game, and might find it easier to go about classifying directly rather than cross referencing)
BTW, the list of categories is available in the studio documentation: http://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/Game_m ... os.inc.php

Cheers,
Een
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