If you’re a millennial like me, browser based flash games were a seminal moment in your development as a gamer. Many of my breaks in between classes were spent at the library, trying to rack up a new high score on Bloons or trying to get past the first level in Alien Hominid. The games hosted on Newgrounds, ebaumsworld, and others continue to shape our games, memes, and culture to this day. While flash is hardly having a resurgence, browser based games are, and I’m not talking about the copy of Sudoku your grandma plays on Facebook.
Today, browser based games offer a variety of genres to choose from. Heck, I think there was a brief moment you could even play Super Mario 64 in Google Chrome. These games have a depth and richness to them that put the Newgrounds games of yore to shame. That is of course, if you’re looking to emulate modern board game classics rather than side scrolling shooters from the arcade.
I wouldn’t fault you for picking up a little bias in the preceding paragraphs. In addition to being a PC Gamer, I am also a big board game player. Pre-quarantine my friends and I would play a board game every Saturday or Sunday, drinking wine and beer and eating deliciously fatty foods throughout the day. I think you could go as far as to say it was tradition. We would not be caught dead playing titles like Monopoly or Scrabble. No, our bread and butter was (or perhaps still is) strategy, RPG and resource management games. Twilight Imperium, Eclipse, Scythe, Secret Hitler, and Gloomhaven are just a few that come to mind.
And so, it was with great sadness that we ended our weekend tradition at the start of quarantine. Looking back over the year, March seems like a lifetime ago, but thankfully, we’ve been able to add some normalcy (and some more gaming) to our lives with the addition of browser based board games. Below I’ll talk about three different games offered on three different services. I’ve played these three the most, but there are plenty of other choices to be had if this isn’t your cup of tea.
Dominion
Dominion is the ultimate deck-building card game, ranking up there with the likes of Magic: The Gathering and Android: Netrunner. Unlike Netrunner and Magic, Dominion is not a collectible card game. Instead, players will build their decks from a common pool of cards each game. Building from a common pool rather than cards you own democratizes gameplay, emphasizing skill, strategy, luck, and, I might add, replayability, especially when played casually among friends.
The goal of Dominion is simple enough: score the most victory points. Victory points are purchased using treasure cards, and treasure cards are earned using action cards. Treasure cards also purchase action cards and other treasure cards. Certain action cards have synergies with each other, increasing the number of pathways to victory. Essentially you want to build a deck that increases the number of cards you draw, the number of actions you can execute and the number of cards you can buy per turn. The more things you can do each turn the more likely it is that you’ll have enough treasure to purchase a victory card and win the game.
Of all the games featured in this article, I would say that the digital version of Dominion looks the best. Created by two of the world’s highest ranking Dominion players, Dominion Online is a serious love letter to the analog deck builder. The cards are all legible, and feature wonderfully illustrated high resolution art.
That said, the UI isn’t exactly intuitive, and neither is the ranking system. As of writing my leaderboard “level” was 38.75 with a μ of -.6235, a φ of .4385, and a σ of .033. I hope I didn’t just thoroughly embarrass myself, as I have no idea what those values and numbers represent. I’m sure there is some type of relevance to the ranking system, but like I said, it is not intuitive, and I haven’t bothered to look it up yet. Despite these minor hang ups, the UI does what is needed and matchmaking works really well. I rarely find myself frustrated by a competitor that is too strong or too weak. Setting up a private game between friends is also a breeze.
Perhaps what is most incredible about Dominion Online is the value. The base game is free to play, private games included. Even better, if your opponent has a subscription, you get to play with the expansion cards for free. It’s fairly cheap to subscribe. I paid €60 for a two year subscription to all current expansions. If you prefer a month to month type deal, you can snag a subscription for less than a pint of beer; half the expansions cost €1.95 per month and all current expansions cost €3.90.
7 Wonders
7 Wonders is another classic deck builder, much like Dominion, in that it is not a collectible card game, but unlike Dominion, 7 Wonders excels with 4 or more players. (If you can’t get 4 players together, you may want to check out 7 Wonders Duel. I haven’t played, but my friends say it’s quite fun as well).
At the start of each game players choose an empire and wonder type. Each empire and wonder type has unique strengths and weaknesses, characteristics that will influence each player’s tactics and strategy for that match. Each game is broken into three rounds, called “Ages”, and each Age has a unique set of cards that are randomly dealt to players. Each turn, players pick a card from their hand, with any remaining cards passed to the player on their right. If this all sounds complicated, the good news is that there are tons of resources on the site that will help teach you the game, including a full rulebook and a video tutorial.
The passing and sharing of drafting pools adds a tactical element to picking your cards. For example, maybe you’re given a hand of bunk cards. None of them are helpful to you at the moment, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any good choices. Selecting a card eliminates it from the drafting pool, and with the right strategy can deal a serious blow to your opponent's opponent. Games are quick, usually lasting 20-30 minutes depending on the experience of the players.
Boardgamearena.com hosts the online version of 7 Wonders. While the site may look like it was built in 2001, it is updated regularly and gets the job done. Joining a game is easy and there’s a reputation and ranking system that works well enough. You need a premium account to set up a private game with friends, but that only costs $2 a month, and only one of you needs a premium account. The free account is another tremendous value, giving access to hundreds of board games. I really want to try out loads of other games on there like Terra Mystica and Carcassonne, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I don’t quite understand how all of these rich games could be free or at most $2 a month, but here we are in the golden age of gaming where almost anything is possible.
Secret Hitler
Secret Hitler has been a hit amongst my friends (at least that is in the time before Among Us). In case you haven’t heard, Secret Hitler is a very fun and funny board game to play with friends, and this version is actually completely free with no premium accounts required. However, be forewarned! Secret Hitler can be a relationship ender, and relies heavily on lying (not sure if I’ll ever trust my friends again). Basically the game plays like Mafia on steroids.
There is extensive information on guides on how to play the game and how to select winning strategies on the Secret Hitler website, however, I’ve summarized the game in short here as well. At the start of each game players are divided into two teams (the liberals and the fascists) with one player selected as “secret Hitler”. The goal of the fascists is to either enact seven fascist policies or elect Hitler, typically accomplished through lying and deception. The goal of the liberals is to enact seven liberal policies and stop Hitler from getting elected, which really is only achievable through trust and communication.
Secret Hitler is just one of many games available on the Tabletopia web service, including popular titles such as Wingspan, Scythe, Northgard: Uncharted Lands. Some of these games do require a premium account to play and most require a premium account to play private games with friends. Silver Premium accounts cost $5 a month and allow you to solo “premium” games and are required to play some non-premium titles with friends. The Gold Premium account costs $10 a month and is required to play premium games, such as Wingspan, with friends. So far, I’ve stuck with the free account, but if you’re into board games, a premium account on tabletopia isn’t such a bad idea.
Digital Board Games + Discord = Bliss
One of board gaming’s greatest strengths is the in person, face-to-face interactions facilitated by the medium. It may not be as cool as a LAN party, but physically playing a board game with your friends is an experience that is hard to reproduce in any other format, and before anyone calls me a console apologist, no, split screen gaming is not the same.
Discord has been a crucial tool for recreating these in person gaming experiences online. Keeping socially distant and isolated sucks. Digital board games with my bros, seeing their faces on Discord, and keeping our gaming traditions alive, have all made the whole quarantine experience slightly more tolerable. The best part is that it’s practically free if you want to try this out with your buddies. All you need is a PC, an internet connection and Discord.
Today, browser based games offer a variety of genres to choose from. Heck, I think there was a brief moment you could even play Super Mario 64 in Google Chrome. These games have a depth and richness to them that put the Newgrounds games of yore to shame. That is of course, if you’re looking to emulate modern board game classics rather than side scrolling shooters from the arcade.
I wouldn’t fault you for picking up a little bias in the preceding paragraphs. In addition to being a PC Gamer, I am also a big board game player. Pre-quarantine my friends and I would play a board game every Saturday or Sunday, drinking wine and beer and eating deliciously fatty foods throughout the day. I think you could go as far as to say it was tradition. We would not be caught dead playing titles like Monopoly or Scrabble. No, our bread and butter was (or perhaps still is) strategy, RPG and resource management games. Twilight Imperium, Eclipse, Scythe, Secret Hitler, and Gloomhaven are just a few that come to mind.
And so, it was with great sadness that we ended our weekend tradition at the start of quarantine. Looking back over the year, March seems like a lifetime ago, but thankfully, we’ve been able to add some normalcy (and some more gaming) to our lives with the addition of browser based board games. Below I’ll talk about three different games offered on three different services. I’ve played these three the most, but there are plenty of other choices to be had if this isn’t your cup of tea.
Dominion
Dominion is the ultimate deck-building card game, ranking up there with the likes of Magic: The Gathering and Android: Netrunner. Unlike Netrunner and Magic, Dominion is not a collectible card game. Instead, players will build their decks from a common pool of cards each game. Building from a common pool rather than cards you own democratizes gameplay, emphasizing skill, strategy, luck, and, I might add, replayability, especially when played casually among friends.
The goal of Dominion is simple enough: score the most victory points. Victory points are purchased using treasure cards, and treasure cards are earned using action cards. Treasure cards also purchase action cards and other treasure cards. Certain action cards have synergies with each other, increasing the number of pathways to victory. Essentially you want to build a deck that increases the number of cards you draw, the number of actions you can execute and the number of cards you can buy per turn. The more things you can do each turn the more likely it is that you’ll have enough treasure to purchase a victory card and win the game.
Of all the games featured in this article, I would say that the digital version of Dominion looks the best. Created by two of the world’s highest ranking Dominion players, Dominion Online is a serious love letter to the analog deck builder. The cards are all legible, and feature wonderfully illustrated high resolution art.
That said, the UI isn’t exactly intuitive, and neither is the ranking system. As of writing my leaderboard “level” was 38.75 with a μ of -.6235, a φ of .4385, and a σ of .033. I hope I didn’t just thoroughly embarrass myself, as I have no idea what those values and numbers represent. I’m sure there is some type of relevance to the ranking system, but like I said, it is not intuitive, and I haven’t bothered to look it up yet. Despite these minor hang ups, the UI does what is needed and matchmaking works really well. I rarely find myself frustrated by a competitor that is too strong or too weak. Setting up a private game between friends is also a breeze.
Perhaps what is most incredible about Dominion Online is the value. The base game is free to play, private games included. Even better, if your opponent has a subscription, you get to play with the expansion cards for free. It’s fairly cheap to subscribe. I paid €60 for a two year subscription to all current expansions. If you prefer a month to month type deal, you can snag a subscription for less than a pint of beer; half the expansions cost €1.95 per month and all current expansions cost €3.90.
7 Wonders
7 Wonders is another classic deck builder, much like Dominion, in that it is not a collectible card game, but unlike Dominion, 7 Wonders excels with 4 or more players. (If you can’t get 4 players together, you may want to check out 7 Wonders Duel. I haven’t played, but my friends say it’s quite fun as well).
At the start of each game players choose an empire and wonder type. Each empire and wonder type has unique strengths and weaknesses, characteristics that will influence each player’s tactics and strategy for that match. Each game is broken into three rounds, called “Ages”, and each Age has a unique set of cards that are randomly dealt to players. Each turn, players pick a card from their hand, with any remaining cards passed to the player on their right. If this all sounds complicated, the good news is that there are tons of resources on the site that will help teach you the game, including a full rulebook and a video tutorial.
The passing and sharing of drafting pools adds a tactical element to picking your cards. For example, maybe you’re given a hand of bunk cards. None of them are helpful to you at the moment, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any good choices. Selecting a card eliminates it from the drafting pool, and with the right strategy can deal a serious blow to your opponent's opponent. Games are quick, usually lasting 20-30 minutes depending on the experience of the players.
Boardgamearena.com hosts the online version of 7 Wonders. While the site may look like it was built in 2001, it is updated regularly and gets the job done. Joining a game is easy and there’s a reputation and ranking system that works well enough. You need a premium account to set up a private game with friends, but that only costs $2 a month, and only one of you needs a premium account. The free account is another tremendous value, giving access to hundreds of board games. I really want to try out loads of other games on there like Terra Mystica and Carcassonne, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I don’t quite understand how all of these rich games could be free or at most $2 a month, but here we are in the golden age of gaming where almost anything is possible.
Secret Hitler
Secret Hitler has been a hit amongst my friends (at least that is in the time before Among Us). In case you haven’t heard, Secret Hitler is a very fun and funny board game to play with friends, and this version is actually completely free with no premium accounts required. However, be forewarned! Secret Hitler can be a relationship ender, and relies heavily on lying (not sure if I’ll ever trust my friends again). Basically the game plays like Mafia on steroids.
There is extensive information on guides on how to play the game and how to select winning strategies on the Secret Hitler website, however, I’ve summarized the game in short here as well. At the start of each game players are divided into two teams (the liberals and the fascists) with one player selected as “secret Hitler”. The goal of the fascists is to either enact seven fascist policies or elect Hitler, typically accomplished through lying and deception. The goal of the liberals is to enact seven liberal policies and stop Hitler from getting elected, which really is only achievable through trust and communication.
Secret Hitler is just one of many games available on the Tabletopia web service, including popular titles such as Wingspan, Scythe, Northgard: Uncharted Lands. Some of these games do require a premium account to play and most require a premium account to play private games with friends. Silver Premium accounts cost $5 a month and allow you to solo “premium” games and are required to play some non-premium titles with friends. The Gold Premium account costs $10 a month and is required to play premium games, such as Wingspan, with friends. So far, I’ve stuck with the free account, but if you’re into board games, a premium account on tabletopia isn’t such a bad idea.
Digital Board Games + Discord = Bliss
One of board gaming’s greatest strengths is the in person, face-to-face interactions facilitated by the medium. It may not be as cool as a LAN party, but physically playing a board game with your friends is an experience that is hard to reproduce in any other format, and before anyone calls me a console apologist, no, split screen gaming is not the same.
Discord has been a crucial tool for recreating these in person gaming experiences online. Keeping socially distant and isolated sucks. Digital board games with my bros, seeing their faces on Discord, and keeping our gaming traditions alive, have all made the whole quarantine experience slightly more tolerable. The best part is that it’s practically free if you want to try this out with your buddies. All you need is a PC, an internet connection and Discord.
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