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Welcome to the next part in the series of Board Game Terms A to Z(atu)! B is obviously for board games and exceptional YouTube reviewer Board, Deck & Dice, but there are some other worthy inclusions...
Betting
Betting games are all about risk and reward, the most fun often give you ways to manipulate the favours in your odds through nefarious means too. Camel Up is a great betting game with fantastic table presence. Dice are placed in a pyramid device and as they are dispensed move the camels, instead of moving them you can make a bet. Do you spread your bets for a medium return or risk it all on a long shot?
Bluffing
Bluffing games usually need a certain crowd, but when you find that crowd you are in for an amazing time. One of my favourite moments of the recent UK Games Expo was playing Skull in a bar! Hidden role games normally involve an element of bluffing as you try and hide who you are while working out who everyone else is.
Bluffing can form a smaller part of any game with secret objectives though. Troyes is a great example of this as everyone scores all the secret objectives, so you need to achieve your goal while hiding it from everyone else!
Board
We play board games, but a board in the usual terms is not always needed. We have seen boards abstracted out to cards, tiles, or in the case of the upcoming Getaway Driver, use elements of the physical environment.
As well as the main board many game utilise separate player boards to track everything. From CMON's plastic dashboards in Zombicide and Massive Darkness, to the dual layer goodness of Scythe. I'm all for this as long as it doesn't detract from the over all experience.
Bored
Some games are boring. Some games are made boring by players with AP (See A is for...). I have only once not finished a game due to boredom, and that was because it was clear that we'd seen everything the game had to offer. But I've found that even the worst games can be made playable depending on your group. There are games we'd never play again yet because we had such a laugh playing them they remain good memories.
Board Game Terms
B was a bit lacking but we will be back soon with an exciting Board Game Terms article on the letter C!