Reply To: Beer & Pretzels — How do you define it?

[McLaddie]

“Yes – one of our regulars, who is a real gent, and so whilst very knowledgeable about WW2, doesn’t disparage ‘beer and pretzels’ games but just rolls up his sleeves and joins in, said at a recent ‘Bolt Action’ game – ‘I think of it as simulating the movie of the battle, not the battle itself’ – I think that’s neat!”

 

Yeah, it is neat.  I don’t know why anyone would disparage a Beer & Pretzel game, or whatever is on the refreshment list. I think one issue with defining a design as a “Beer & Pretzels” game is what the designer had in mind and what gamers believe that the game does vis a vie military history.  If his game was meant to be a full blown simulation and folks label it a Beer & Pretzel experience, that will be seen as disparaging.  I know of a number of designers who have purposely designed a movie-type game so they would have no problems with that moniker. They’d  be thrilled if their game were compared the the movie “300”.

However, the designers of Bolt Action don’t think of their creation that way from what I have read and seen.  I could be wrong.  I know for sure that the Flames of War creators would feel that is a disparaging judgment, even with hub-t0-hub tank battles.  So either it is a bona fide type of game design with certain characteristics common to the type or simply a disparaging description of a game we see as simplistic and therefore don’t happen to like.  I don’t agree with the latter, but we are a long way from establishing the former in the hobby.