Board Games as Media

by Paul Booth

Overview

Leading expert Paul Booth explores the growth in popularity of board games today, and unpacks what it means to read a board game. What does a game communicate? How do games play us? And how do we decide which games to play and which are just wastes of cardboard? With little scholarly research in this still-emerging field, Board Games as Media underscores the importance of board games in the ever-evolving world of media.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501357169
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/14/2021
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Paul Booth is Professor of Communication at DePaul University, USA. Booth's research interests include fandom, new technologies and media, popular culture, and cult media. He is the author of Time on TV (2012), Digital Fandom (2010), and Playing Fans (2014). He has edited Fan Phenomena: Doctor Who (2013), and has published numerous articles on fans, social media, and technology. He is currently enjoying a cup of coffee.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Board Games as Media
1. Meeples, Miniatures, and Cubes: Ludo-Textual Analyses of Board Games
2. A Depressing Choose-Your-Own-Adventure: The Interactive Potentiality of Board Games
3. Colonizing Mars: Ludic Discourse Analysis
4. The Designer as Créateur: The Board Game Industry and Constructed Authorship
5. The Player as Fan: Ludic Fandom in Board Game Cultures
6. Surveying Board Game Players: Who Plays What...
7. ...and Why: Examining Motivations and Popularity of Board Games
8. Cultural Studies of Games: Diversity and Inclusion in the Board Game Industry and Hobby
9. The Epic Adventure of Grundy and Trixie: An Autoethnographic Journey Through Gloomhaven
Conclusion: The Board Gaming Environment
References
Appendix 1. Survey Questions
Appendix 2. Data from Survey
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

The future of media studies lies off the screen. So says Paul Booth in this excellent book on board games, the board game industry, and the designers and players who make up the scene. An essential read for anyone curious about what comes next in media and game studies and those who just yearn to roll the dice.” —Aaron Trammell, Editor-in-Chief, Analog Game Studies

From the Publisher