This guy at my FLGS said board game geeks are just problem solvers with dice

I was at my local shop last saturday helping a buddy pick out a coop game. This older guy overheard us talking about Gloomhaven and he goes 'you guys aren't gamers, you're just problem solvers who like rolling plastic.' At first I laughed it off but then I thought about it for like 10 minutes. Every time I setup a heavy euro or a dungeon crawl I'm basically looking at a puzzle with different rules. Even the social deduction stuff is just reading people and figuring out moves. It hit different because it made me realize I don't even care about winning half the time, I just like figuring out the system. Anyone else feel like they're more about the puzzle than the competition?

2 comments

2 Comments

lily578h ago

Nah man, you're onto something real here. The older I get the more I realize I don't care about winning either, it's the clicking into place moment when everything lines up. Last week I played a game of Spirit Island solo for three hours and didn't even bother keeping score, just wanted to see if I could hold off the invaders one more turn. Some of my favorite sessions have been where I totally lose but still walk away happy because I figured out a neat combo or dodged a problem I didn't think was solvable.

keith_bennett8h ago

30 bucks for a lost game feels like a waste to me.