bump/resurrect
Do you have any games with a collection of modules?
What delineates a module from an expansion or variant? Heck, I don’t exactly know.
I think what it’s not is a good start – not “more content” (maps, cards, factions). And not just a rules variant, there’s got to be something physically new going on. And there’s a proportion thing, where the adjustment to the game is minor compared to the meat of the base experience, but on the other hand the number of mix-and-match options are higher than an expansion. Lastly, they always come in packs. I think modules allow you to mix and match.
But draw the line wherever you like.
- How do you feel about this pot-pourri approach to game design? Is it the generosity of kings or laziness of designers to push their incomplete playtesting to us, who now have to find the best way to play?
- What module-laced games do you have in your collection? Does it make you eager to dabble and explore?
- Any notable successes or combinations? Any abominations? Who wore it best?
2 Likes
Just as an aide in definition, this is what I have that I’d include:
- Castles of Burgundy (all the mini expansions)
- Grand Austria Hotel Let’s Waltz
- Ladies of Troyes
- Seasons of Inis
- Heat (comes with all the core modes of play)
- Carson City Big Box
- Carcassonne expansions
- Manhattan Project Energy Empire new edition (includes Cold War and some new modes)
- Evacuation
- Most anything from Level99 (Empyreal, BattleCon, Argent…)
- La Granja Deluxe
- Honey Buzz Fall Flavors
- First Rat has several options for play
But there’s a bunch of edge cases that I just don’t know. The two Village expansions feel module-y? All the original Dune: Imperium expansions as a collection? MLEM Space Agency with the UFO and the secret objectives? You decide.
1 Like
My short answer:
I tend to ignore modules and later find out that I never played the actual “complete” experience.
Examples:
- Bärenpark says the contracts are “optional”. I never played with the module before deciding the game was pretty boring.
- Tranquility the Ascent has a bunch of modules included. Since I don’t play the game regularly, I keep forgetting the module rules (and not just those) and when relearning I am too lazy to use the modules even though I remember from my first plays that the goats module is pretty neat.
On the other hand I am an expansion completionist. But that’s mostly for collector’s purposes and many expansions I own suffer the same fate as modules. But expansions are (normally at least) really optional.
Games that fail to deliver a complete experience with the base game without expansions or modules… are more often than not going to land on the sell pile.
2 Likes
I tend to feel that I want at most two game modes: “the best way to play”, which should be with everything, and “the simplified game for new players”, which I’ll end up playing more often than I’d like to.
Firefly had a lot of expansions (two map expansions, three with new ships, etc.) but I honestly think the best way to play is still with everything, even for a new player. (That was one of the original inspirations for my rulebook project.)
3 Likes
I had an early success story in my gaming exploration. Within my, likely, first dozen purchases, I bought the Alhambra Big Box, and my partner and I spent quite a bit of time exploring the different modules it contained. I think we both eventually came to roughly agree on which modules to play with.
This early success set me up for… failure. Because as my collection grew, I was quick to buy “modular” expansions for games, only to find that I never truly had time to explore them. Perhaps the closest I got was Istanbul, because we did explore the expansions a bit, both independently and all combined (with the mega-sized board, if I recall)
In general, I like the concept of being able to tweak a game session with minor changes that break up groupthink and, perhaps, mix up the “value” of resources to create interesting new decisions rather than relying on established strategies.
However, I do think with module-heavy games, the problem of “there are dozens if not hundreds of ‘games’ here, which is ‘the best?’” is very real and troubling. If I play a game once and I don’t care for it… what is going to drive me to try another permutation of the modules? What if the game isn’t interesting without adding modules in? (see Anacrhony)
Clinic Deluxe may be the most module-heavy option I have in my collection. I have several expansions, which mostly consist of boolean modules. No, not everything is balanced. Every permutation of which modules you include change the game.
4 Likes
I like expansions that have a bunch of modules. I particularly like them when they are released later than the base game. If a game comes with modules I’m less inclined as that annoys me trying to have to work out the best way to play.
Santa Maria was a game I quite enjoyed and got the expansion around 10 games in. Being able to add different modules was nice to break us out of tried and true strategies for a bit and varying it each time with different modules and combos. It adds some fun exploration again ahead of minute refinement.
Teotihuacan’s expansion approach is the same and I like it there too and same with La Granja Deluxe post owning years of La Granja. I think for euros which are quite puzzley they benefit but something more player driven they aren’t as needed if player choices have bigger l effects to change how you’d play.
It does make me wonder though if I’d count Roads and Boats maps as modules? They are scenarios but could I draw a meaningful enough equivalence?
3 Likes
@yashima Yeah, absolutely. And that is my thought on how sometimes modules seem to be a way for designers to toss final playtesting over the fence and hope we’ll deal with it.
Viticulture would be a marquee example - panned game, Tuscany module expansion, BGG reacts, Stonemeier bundles several Tuscany modules into the base game and re-releases as Essential Edition.
On Barenpark I almost did the same as you - and I really wish they’d put the best version of the game as the version of the game, with a family variant to exclude goals. Barenpark IMHO also needed some thought put into the 2p experience, just like Blue Lagoon could be made much better with official rules for dummy colors on islands when playing at 2.
Evacuation, for me, also got a black mark for this. There’s the game, and then there’s like 5 variants at the back, significant enough to feel like modules. Different scoring, and using the front (individual) or back (generic universal) side of action cards. I was fortunate to stumble on an excellent combination of options for my last play of it before selling - which wasn’t enough to stop the sale but wildly changed the game’s spot in my headcanon.
Maybe I’m just not the target market, or maybe they got the target market wrong - in either case deliberately packaging the game for someone wanting something different than me. But I don’t like it when a box feels like the final design came with an “I dunno.”
2 Likes
The game that pops out most to me is Taverns of Tiefenthal. There’s essentially an introduction game which is very basic, then they add on one module, then another, then another, until you are playing the full game. The expansion continues this modularity with (I think) three more modules. What’s nice is that despite it being the “full game” you can still omit certain modules if you want to and still have an enjoyable game. So far we’ve really only adopted the sommelier/wine cellar module from the expansion, but it’s the easiest to implement, so I don’t need to spend much time refreshing myself on the rules for it when we play.
3 Likes
I need to check my shelf when i get home, but FCM comes to mind with its modules and I have written my thoughts in the FCM thread
Not necessarily. A designer can be lazy with a “full experience” expansion.
1 Like