research-article

More Than a Gimmick - Digital Tools for Boardgame Play

Authors:

Melissa J. Rogerson,

Lucy A. Sparrow,

Martin R. GibbsAuthors Info & Claims

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, Volume 5, Issue CHI PLAY

Article No.: 261, Pages 1 - 23

https://doi.org/10.1145/3474688

Published: 06 October 2021 Publication History

Abstract

Despite increasing interest in the use of digital tools in boardgames for both commercial and research purposes, little research has to date explored how and why these tools are used. We interviewed 18 professionals working in the boardgame industry to explore the combination of digital tools and tabletop play, which affords new experiences and opportunities for both players and designers. We generated five key themes from the interview data. Participants engaged with ontological questions about the fundamental nature of games; they showed strong opinions about the use of digital tools; they discussed the impacts of digital tools for game design as well as in their design practice; they raised concerns about the costs to develop and maintain such tools; and they considered how they affect the in-game player experience. From these themes, we generate five design principles for digital tools for boardgame play: traceability, completeness, integration, privacy, and materiality. Grounded in empirical data, these design principles guide game designers and researchers seeking to explore this novel design space. Our research focuses attention on the role of digital components in play and on the need for thoughtful implementation that considers the entire lifecycle of the game, from development through publication and, ultimately, archival access.

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Cited By

Sousa MRye SSousa CRye SSousa MSousa C(2025)Game Systems in Analogue Game-Based LearningTransformative Learning Through Play10.1007/978-3-031-78523-8_5(131-177)Online publication date: 1-Feb-2025
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-78523-8_5
Jensen VChristensen EHansen NJensen R(2024)A Year in Energy: Imagining Energy Community Participation with a Collaborative Design FictionProceedings of the 13th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/3679318.3685355(1-15)Online publication date: 13-Oct-2024
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Sidji MSmith WRogerson M(2024)Human-AI Collaboration in Cooperative Games: A Study of Playing Codenames with an LLM AssistantProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36770818:CHI PLAY(1-25)Online publication date: 15-Oct-2024
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Index Terms

More Than a Gimmick - Digital Tools for Boardgame Play
1. Applied computing
  1. Computers in other domains
    1. Personal computers and PC applications
      1. Computer games
2. Human-centered computing
  1. Interaction design
    1. Empirical studies in interaction design

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cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction Volume 5, Issue CHI PLAY

CHI PLAY

September 2021

1535 pages

EISSN:2573-0142

DOI:10.1145/3490463

Editors:
Kathrin Gerling
KU Leuven
,
Elisa Mekler
Aalto University
,
Regan Mandryk
University of Saskatchewan

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Copyright © 2021 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than the author(s) must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected].

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Publication History

Published: 06 October 2021

Published in PACMHCI Volume 5, Issue CHI PLAY

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Cited By

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https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-78523-8_5
Jensen VChristensen EHansen NJensen R(2024)A Year in Energy: Imagining Energy Community Participation with a Collaborative Design FictionProceedings of the 13th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/3679318.3685355(1-15)Online publication date: 13-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3679318.3685355
Sidji MSmith WRogerson M(2024)Human-AI Collaboration in Cooperative Games: A Study of Playing Codenames with an LLM AssistantProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36770818:CHI PLAY(1-25)Online publication date: 15-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3677081
Farkas THughes NFiebrink R(2024)How Boardgame Players Imagine Interacting With TechnologyProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36770788:CHI PLAY(1-24)Online publication date: 15-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3677078
Adamkiewicz KDominiak JWalczak ARomanowski AWoźniak P(2024)Screenless Interactive Tabletop Gaming with Capacitive Surface SensingProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642654(1-10)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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Itenge HArendttorp EWinschiers-Theophilus HKristensen MJensen ABrereton M(2023)The Baobab Scapetale: Transforming Readers Into Protagonists in an Embodied and Collaborative Hybrid Reading GameSSRN Electronic Journal10.2139/ssrn.4648796Online publication date: 2023
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Sparrow LRogerson M(2023)Lessons from Homebrewed Hybridity: Designing Hybrid Digital Boardgames for Distanced PlayProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36110227:CHI PLAY(45-72)Online publication date: 4-Oct-2023
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Rogerson MSparrow LFreeman S(2022)The SMeFT Decks: A Card-Based Ideation Tool for Designing Hybrid Digital Boardgames for Distanced PlayProceedings of the 34th Australian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/3572921.3572933(298-309)Online publication date: 29-Nov-2022
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