Game Play: Paratextuality in Contemporary Board Games

Description

The 21st century has seen a board game renaissance. At a time when streaming television finds millions of viewers, video games garner billions of dollars, and social media grows ever more intense, little has been written about the rising popularity of board games. And yet board games are one of our fastest growing hobbies, with sales increasing every year. Today's board games are more than just your average rainy-day mainstay. Once associated solely with geek subcultures, complex and strategic board games are increasingly dominating the playful media environment. The popularity of these complex board games mirrors the rise of more complex cult media products. In Game Play: Paratextuality in Contemporary Board Games, Paul Booth examines complex board games based on book, TV, and film franchises, including Doctor Who, The Walking Dead, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, The Hunger Games and the worlds of H.P. Lovecraft. How does a game represent a cult world? How can narratives cross media platforms? By investigating the relationship between these media products and their board game versions, Booth illustrates the connections between cult media, gameplay, and narrative in a digital media environment. Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Board games in a digital culture Board games as paratexts The rise of the board game Summary of chapters The principles of paratextual board games Part 1 Understanding Games Chapter 1 Ludifying Lovecraft in Arkham Horror Algorithms, games, and Lovecraft The horror of structure and unstructure Rules and story “The inability of the human mind...” Chapter 2 The Lord of the Rings as Convergent Game Play Playing games/Playing media Convergence, cooperation, and contemporary media Playing LOTR and The Complete Trilogy “What to do with the time that is given to us...” Chapter 3 Transmedia Pathos and Plot in The Walking Dead Transmedia pathos The Walking Dead zombies and playing Walking Dead “You can’t think forever...” Part 2 Understanding Media Chapter 4 Battlestar Galactica and Spimatic Meaning in Games Space and time in paratextual games Playing human, playing Cylon “So say we all...” Chapter 5 Mutability and Materiality in Star Trek Playing (with) multiple Star Treks Mutability in space “A balance of power...” Chapter 6 The Hunger Games and Fan Paratextual Participation Participatory fandom and The Hunger Games Playing The Hunger Games “The odds are ever in your favor...” Chapter 7 Narratives and Databases in Game of Thrones Networking and serialization Playing the seven kingdoms “There is no middle ground...” Chapter 8 Ludic Interaction in Doctor Who Interactive play in paratextual board games Ludic interaction and imaginative transformation in Doctor Who “This song is ending, but the story never ends...” Glossary Notes Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Bibliography List of references List of media Index