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CSSII: A Player Motivation Model for Tabletop Games

Authors:

Carlos Martinho,

Micael SousaAuthors Info & Claims

FDG '23: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games

Article No.: 13, Pages 1 - 10

https://doi.org/10.1145/3582437.3582477

Published: 12 April 2023 Publication History

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Abstract

Although multiple models have been proposed to explain what motivates different players to engage with digital games, the domain of tabletop games have not received the same attention from the research community. This work tries to fill that gap, investigating what drives us to play tabletop games. Based on the existing literature and in conjunction with tabletop game experts, we designed a questionnaire capturing relevant concerns both related to the analog artifact itself as well as to the context of play. Through principal component analysis of the responses from a diverse range of tabletop game hobbyists (N = 229, with an average collection of 99 tabletop games each), we propose a model with 5 dimensions characterizing the main motivations to play tabletop games that explains 80% of the variance of the data: (C)ompetitive interaction, (S)ocial challenge, (S)ensory experience, (I)ntellectual challenge, and (I)maginative experience. We discuss each dimension and compare our results to existing models on play motivations, and propose a 3-component version of our model providing a bridge to a broader interaction model. By understanding why players engage with tabletop games in their physical form, we hope to help the development of hybrid or digital versions of these games.

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Cited By

Tu JWang DChoong LAbistado ASuarez AHallifax SRogers KNacke L(2024)Rolling in Fun, Paying the Price: A Thematic Analysis on Purchase and Play in Tabletop GamesGames: Research and Practice10.1145/37006283:1(1-29)Online publication date: 17-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3700628
Sousa M(2024)Cities: Skylines: The Digital and Analog Game Design Lessons for Learning About Collaborative Urban PlanningVideogame Sciences and Arts10.1007/978-3-031-51452-4_18(257-271)Online publication date: 3-Jan-2024
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51452-4_18
Harrington J(2023)Let's Meetup? Board Game Communities in Hong KongGames and Culture10.1177/15554120231202707Online publication date: 24-Sep-2023
https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120231202707
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

CSSII: A Player Motivation Model for Tabletop Games
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. HCI design and evaluation methods
      1. User models
2. Social and professional topics
  1. User characteristics

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cover image ACM Other conferences

FDG '23: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games

April 2023

621 pages

ISBN:9781450398558

DOI:10.1145/3582437

Editors:
Phil Lopes
Lusófona University
,
Filipe Luz
Lusófona University
,
Antonios Liapis
University of Malta
,
Henrik Engström
University of Skövde

Copyright © 2023 Owner/Author.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives International 4.0 License.

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

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Published: 12 April 2023

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FDG 2023

FDG 2023: Foundations of Digital Games 2023

April 12 - 14, 2023

Lisbon, Portugal

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Overall Acceptance Rate 152 of 415 submissions, 37%

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Cited By

Tu JWang DChoong LAbistado ASuarez AHallifax SRogers KNacke L(2024)Rolling in Fun, Paying the Price: A Thematic Analysis on Purchase and Play in Tabletop GamesGames: Research and Practice10.1145/37006283:1(1-29)Online publication date: 17-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3700628
Sousa M(2024)Cities: Skylines: The Digital and Analog Game Design Lessons for Learning About Collaborative Urban PlanningVideogame Sciences and Arts10.1007/978-3-031-51452-4_18(257-271)Online publication date: 3-Jan-2024
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51452-4_18
Harrington J(2023)Let's Meetup? Board Game Communities in Hong KongGames and Culture10.1177/15554120231202707Online publication date: 24-Sep-2023
https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120231202707
Cross LPiovesan ASousa MWright PAtherton G(2023)Your Move: An Open Access Dataset of Over 1500 Board Gamer’s Demographics, Preferences and MotivationsSimulation & Gaming10.1177/1046878123118949354:5(554-575)Online publication date: 26-Jul-2023
https://doi.org/10.1177/10468781231189493

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