Board Game Quality of Life Improvements That We Want to See More Of
Channel: Tabletop Bellhop
Date: 20/08/2023

In this segment we've got a question from a long time fan about board game quality of life improvements based on something she found in Wingspan. We spend an hour talking about quality of life improvements we would love to see more of and then share six of our favourite board game improvements.  

This is one segment from The Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast Ep 215, Quality of Life. The full episode: https://youtu.be/njw8WbQNVPw

We record live on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/tabletopbellhop), Wednesday night's at 8 P.M Eastern. 

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Disclosure:  Some links to games and publishers below are affiliate links. Using these links doesn’t cost you anything and helps to support our show. In addition, some games mentioned have been received as review copies from publishers. 

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00:00:00 Intro and Question

What are the board game quality of life improvements we appreciate the most? 

The Tabletop Bellhop Patreon https://www.patreon.com/tabletopbellhop
Wingspan https://amzn.to/47xP0kh

00:00:53 What do we mean by Quality of Life Improvements?
boop. https://amzn.to/3Yy92am

00:02:02 Box insert use diagram(s)
Castle Panic Big Box https://amzn.to/3OHV9SG
Eclipse Second Dawn for the Galaxy https://amzn.to/3Oyyok0
My Little Pony Adventures in Equestria https://amzn.to/3KCzcD6
Disney Villainous https://amzn.to/44lkWWi
Sanctum https://amzn.to/3L3qdeD

00:07:03 Just having a box insert at all

00:09:30 Baggies are a cheaper alternative to an insert

00:10:39 Box side text in both horizontal and vertical format

00:12:12 Player aids and summary sheets
Terra Mystica https://amzn.to/3ODhwbO
Geeking Out About The Geek https://youtu.be/DnsrIQGErko
Esoteric Order of Gamers https://www.orderofgamers.com/games/

00:16:42 Improvements to board game boards
Kitara https://amzn.to/3QEhoLR
Tapestry https://amzn.to/3DTNzzl
Power Grid https://amzn.to/44fh213
Unfair https://amzn.to/3DSb4sx

00:21:08 Dual layered boards

00:22:25 Use larger fonts and include an index 

00:24:08 Use artwork to differentiate things
When is a board game too pretty? Ep 213 https://tabletopbellhop.com/podcast/ep213/

00:25:02 You don't have to stick to standard card sizes

00:28:30 Component upgrades 

00:30:34 Separate set up sheets/cards 
Legendary A Marvel Deck Building Game https://amzn.to/3OWgMQg
Horizon Zero Dawn the Board Game https://amzn.to/47zjr9K

00:35:07 Include some form of onboarding
Catan https://amzn.to/3P1KdR8
What Video Games Can Learn From Board Games https://tabletopbellhop.com/podcast/ep210/
Race for the Galaxy https://amzn.to/3KH459p
Disney Sorcerer’s Arena Epic Alliances https://amzn.to/3OAnlqj

00:41:41 Include a marker to indicate what colour/team/faction players are on
Shikoku https://amzn.to/45EUOXH

00:43:55 Give us a score tracker

00:46:51 Backstory, lore and theme information
Space Base https://amzn.to/45yw8QC

00:50:05 Big box that holds all the expansions
Core Worlds Galactic Orders https://www.miniaturemarket.com/sg3001.html

00:52:33 A Universal rulebook 
Castle Panic Big Box https://amzn.to/47BM4mT

00:54:46 Our Top Six Board Game Quality of Life Improvements
DC Multiverse Box https://cryptozoic.com/products/dc-deck-building-game-multiverse-box-super-heroes-edition-retail-version
Anachrony Infinity Box https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/278292/anachrony-infinity-box
Azul Crystal Mosaic https://amzn.to/3KExxwS
Iron Clays https://roxley.com/products/iron-clays-200
Birds of a Feather App https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.SnowbrightStudio.BirdsApp&hl=en_US
Terraforming Mars Dual Layered Boards https://tidd.ly/3OSe0JY

01:04:51 Closing

Send your questions to questions@tabletopbellhop.com or visit TabletopBellhop.com and click on Ask the Bellhop.

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