Editing Eurogame (section)

== Characteristics ==

Eurogames tend to be focused on presenting a complex challenge to players. They feature economics and the acquisition of resources rather than direct conflict,<ref name="Your Move">{{cite book | title=Your Move | last=Moriarty | first=Joan | year=2019 | publisher=Sutherland House | isbn=9781999439545}}</ref> and have a limited amount of luck.<ref name="The Civilized Guide to Tabletop Gaming">{{cite book | title=The Civilized Guide to Tabletop Gaming | last=Litorco | first=Teri | year=2016 | publisher=[[Adams Media]] | isbn=978-1440597961}}</ref> They also differ from abstract strategy games like chess by using themes tied to specific locales, and emphasize individual development and comparative achievement rather than direct conflict.<ref name="Eurogames"/> Eurogames also emphasize the mechanical challenges of their systems over having the systems match the theme of the game. They are generally simpler than the [[wargaming|wargames]] that flourished in the 1970s and 1980s from publishers such as [[Simulations Publications|SPI]] and [[Avalon Hill]], but still often have a considerable depth of play.

One consequence of the increasing popularity of this genre has been an expansion upwards in complexity. Games such as ''[[Puerto Rico (board game)|Puerto Rico]]'' that were considered quite complex when Eurogames proliferated in the U.S. after the turn of the millennium are now the norm, with newer high-end titles like ''[[Terra Mystica]]'' and ''[[Tzolkin (board game)|Tzolkin]]'' being significantly more difficult to master.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

=== Incentive for social play ===
[[File:Ticket to Ride Rails & Sails.jpg|thumb|A four-player game of ''[[Ticket to Ride (board game)|Ticket to Ride]]'' near the end of the game]]
While many titles (especially the strategically heavier ones) are enthusiastically played by gamers as a hobby, most Eurogames are well-suited to social play. In keeping with this social function, various characteristics of the games tend to support that aspect well, and these have become quite common across the genre. In contrast to games such as ''[[Risk (game)|Risk]]'' or ''Monopoly'', in which a close game can extend indefinitely, Eurogames usually have a mechanism to stop the game within its stated playing time. Common mechanisms include a predetermined winning score, a set number of game turns, or depletion of limited game resources. Playing time varies from a half-hour to a few hours, with one to two hours being typical. Generally, Eurogames do not have a fixed number of players like chess or bridge. Although there is a sizeable body of Eurogames that are designed for exactly two players, most games can accommodate between two to six players (with varying degrees of suitability). Six-player games are somewhat rare; examples include ''[[Power Grid]]'' and ''[[Caverna (board game)|Caverna]]'' (the latter supporting seven-player games). Some require expansions, such as ''The Settlers of Catan'' or ''Carcassonne''. Players usually play for themselves, rather than in a partnership or team.

A growing number of Eurogames support solo play with modified rulesets.<ref>{{cite web|last=C.|first=Jess|date=5 July 2021|title=The rise of solo play games|url=https://play.nobleknight.com/the-rise-of-solo-games/|access-date=4 May 2022}}</ref> To win, the player either has to achieve specific [[Single-player video game|single-player]] campaign goals or beat the score of a simulated opponent that takes actions according to special rules outlined in the scenario. Recent Eurogames suitable for solo play include ''[[Wingspan (board game)|Wingspan]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zimmerman |first=Aaron |date=2019-03-16 |title=Wingspan review: A gorgeous birding board game takes flight |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/03/wingspan-review-a-gorgeous-birding-board-game-takes-flight/ |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}</ref> ''[[Terraforming_Mars_(board_game)|Terraforming Mars]]'', and ''[[Spirit Island (board game)|Spirit Island]]''.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}
[[File:Terraforming Mars vid slutet av en spelomgång.jpg|thumb|''[[Terraforming Mars (board game)|Terraforming Mars]]'' basic three-player game (shows the board, the player boards, and the players' cards at the end of a game round)]]

=== No player elimination ===
Another prominent characteristic of these games is the lack of player elimination.<ref>{{Cite news| last = Faber| first = Tom| title = The transformative power of games| work = Financial Times| location = London| accessdate = 2022-01-19| date = 2021-12-17| url = https://www.ft.com/content/c2f8b5b6-1f30-48cc-a098-71484ded9a00}}</ref>  Eliminating players before the end of the game is seen as contrary to the social aspect of such games.  Most of these games are designed to keep all players in the game as long as possible, so it is rare to be certain of victory or defeat until relatively late in the game. Related to no-player-elimination, Eurogame scoring systems are often designed so that hidden scoring or end-of-game bonuses can catapult a player who appears to be in a lagging position at end of play into the lead. A second-order consequence is that Eurogames tend to have multiple paths to victory (dependent on aiming at different end-of-game bonuses) and it is often not obvious to other players which strategic path a player is pursuing. Balancing mechanisms are often integrated into the rules, giving slight advantages to lagging players and slight hindrances to the leaders. This helps to keep the game competitive to the very end, an example of which is Power Grid, where the turn order is determined by number of cities (and biggest power plant as the tie-breaker), such that players further ahead are handicapped in their option of plays.

=== Game mechanics ===
[[File:Samurai board game.jpg|thumb|''[[Samurai (board game)|Samurai]]'' is a game of tile placement, set collection, and area control.]]
A wide variety of often innovative mechanisms or [[game mechanics|mechanics]] are used, and familiar mechanics such as rolling dice and moving, capture, or [[Trick-taking game|trick-taking]] are avoided. If a game has a board, the board is usually irregular rather than uniform or symmetric (such as ''Risk'' rather than chess or ''[[Scrabble]]''). The board is often random (as in ''The Settlers of Catan'') or has random elements (such as [[Tikal (board game)|''Tikal'']]). Some boards are merely mnemonic or organizational and contribute only to ease of play, such as a [[cribbage]] board; examples of this include ''Puerto Rico'' and ''[[Princes of Florence]]''. Random elements are often present but do not usually dominate the game. While rules are light to moderate, they allow depth of play, usually requiring thought, planning, and a shift of tactics through the game and featuring a chess- or backgammon-like [[chess opening|opening game]], [[middle game]], and [[Chess endgame|end game]].{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

Stewart Woods' ''Eurogames'' cites six examples of mechanics common to eurogames:<ref name="Eurogames"/>

*Tile placement – spatial placement of game components on the playing board.
*Auctions – includes open and hidden auctions of both resources and actions from other players and the game system itself.
*Trading/negotiation – not simply trading resources of equivalent values, but allowing players to set markets.
*Set collection – collecting resources in specific groups that are then cashed in for points or other currency.
*Area control – also known as area majority or influence, this involves controlling a game element or board space through allocation of resources.
*Worker placement or role selection – players choose specific game actions in sequential order, with players disallowed from choosing a previously selected action.

=== Low randomness ===
Eurogame designs tend to de-emphasize luck and random elements.<ref name="San Diego Reader">{{cite web|last=Stevens|first=DJ|date=13 September 2017|title=Abandoning the screen for cardboard|url=https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2017/sep/13/hipster-abandoning-screen-cardboard/#|access-date=15 August 2021|website=[[San Diego Reader]]}}</ref> Often, the only random element of the game will be resource or terrain distribution in the initial setup, or (less frequently) the random order of a set of event or objective cards. The role played by deliberately random mechanics in other styles of game is instead fulfilled by the unpredictability of the behavior of other players.

=== Themes ===
[[File:Cartagena Jeu.jpg|thumb|[[Cartagena (board game)|''Cartagena'']]'s theme is the real 1672 [[Piracy|pirate]]-led [[jailbreak]] from the fortress of [[Cartagena, Colombia|Cartagena]].]]
Examples of themes are:
* ''Carcassonne'' – build a medieval landscape complete with walled cities, monasteries, roads, and fields.
* ''Puerto Rico'' – develop plantations on the island of [[Puerto Rico]], set in the 18th century.
* ''[[Power Grid]]'' – expand a power company's network and buy better plants.
* ''[[Imperial (board game)|Imperial]]'' – as an international investor, influence the politics of pre-[[World War I]] European empires.
* ''Bruxelles 1893'' – take the role of an Art Nouveau architect during the late 19th century and try to become the most famous architect in Belgium.<ref>{{cite web|last=Chivers|first=Kyle|title=Bruxelles 1893 Review – An Art Nouveau & Architecture Board Game|url=http://www.euroboardgameblog.com/reviews/bruxelles-1893-board-game-review/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528014704/http://www.euroboardgameblog.com/reviews/bruxelles-1893-board-game-review/|archive-date=28 May 2014|access-date=25 June 2014|website=Euro Board Game Blog}}</ref>

=== Game designer as author ===
Although not relevant to actual play, the name of the game's designer is often prominently mentioned on the box, or at least in the rule book. Top designers enjoy considerable following among enthusiasts of Eurogames. For this reason, the name "designer games" is often offered as a description of the genre. Recently, there has also been a wave of games designed as spin-offs of popular novels, such as the games taking their style from the German bestsellers ''[[The Swarm (Schätzing novel)|Der Schwarm]]'' and ''[[Inkheart series|Tintenherz]]''.