Game play: paratextuality in contemporary board games

265 Pages·2015·4.418 MB·English

by  Booth, Paul

Game Play
ii
Game Play
Paratextuality in Contemporary Board Games
Paul Booth
Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc
NEW YORK • LONDON • NEW DELHI • SYDNEY
Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc
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BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published 2015
© Paul Booth, 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior
permission in writing from the publishers.
No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or
refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be
accepted by Bloomsbury or the author.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: HB: 978-1-6289-2744-3
PB: 978-1-6289-2743-6
ePub: 978-1-6289-2742-9
ePDF: 978-1-6289-2741-2
Typeset by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
I dedicate this book with love to my family, who have been playing games
with me since I was young. Thank you for the fun times and
great memories … and for letting me win once in a while.
vi
Contents
List of Illustrations viii
Acknowledgments x
Introduction 1
Part 1 Understanding Games
1 Ludifying Lovecraft in Arkham Horror 21
2 The Lord of the Rings as Convergent Game Play 44
3 Transmedia Pathos and Plot in The Walking Dead 67
Part 2 Understanding Media
4 Battlestar Galactica and Spimatic Meaning in Games 93
5 Mutability and Materiality in Star Trek 115
6 The Hunger Games and Fan Paratextual Participation 134
7 Narratives and Databases in Game of Thrones 156
8 Ludic Interaction in Doctor Who 175
Glossary 189
Notes 197
Bibliography 223
Index 241
List of Illustrations
Figure 1.1 “Azathoth” and “Nyarlathotep,” two Ancient Ones from Arkham
Horror: The Board Game © 2005 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.
Photo by the author 30
Figure 1.2 Character cards for “Jenny Barnes” and “Amanda Sharpe”
from Arkham Horror. The Board Game © 2005 Fantasy Flight
Publishing, Inc. Photo by the author 36
Figure 1.3 The town of Arkham, Game board from Arkham Horror:
The Board Game © 2005 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.
Photo by the author 40
Figure 2.1 The Lord of the Rings board with the corruption track.
Photo by the author 54
Figure 2.2 The Lord of the Rings Mordor board with conflict tracks.
Photo by the author 54
Figure 2.3 A piece of Middle-earth. Photo by the author 55
Figure 3.1 Section of game board. The Walking Dead Board Game ©Z-Man
Games 2011. Photo by the author 80
Figure 3.2 Original 2010 advertisement for The Walking Dead TV series
©AMC 2010 86
Figure 3.3 The Walking Dead board game covers. The Walking Dead: The
Board Game ©Cryptozoic Entertainment 2011. The Walking
Dead Board Game ©Z-Man Games 2011. Photo by Katie Booth 87
Figure 4.1 The Battlestar Galactica game board. Battlestar Galactica: A
Parker Brothers Game ©Parker Brothers 1978. Photo by the author 99
Figure 4.2 The main section of the Battlestar Galactica game board.
Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game ©Fantasy Flight Games
2008. Photo by the author 100
Figure 4.3 Yoke of a Colonial Viper. Battlestar Galactica ©Universal TV
1978 106
Figure 4.4 “Thirty-Three” Cylon attack card. Battlestar Galactica: The Board
Game ©Fantasy Flight Games 2008. Photo by the author 111
Figure 4.5 Fan-made “Thirty-Three” Cylon attack card. Battlestar Galactica:
The Board Game ©Milan Rancic 2010 112
List of Illustrations ix
Figure 5.1 HeroClix Spock, Uhura, McCoy, and Kirk, flanked by a Klingon
Battle cruiser and the Enterprise. Star Trek: Expeditions ©WizKids
2011. Photo by Katie Booth 122
Figure 5.2 Klingon ship facing the fleet. Star Trek: Fleet Captains. ©WizKids
2011. Photo by Katie Booth 125
Figure 5.3 Branching narratives. Star Trek: Expeditions. ©WizKids Games
2011. Photo by Katie Booth 132
Figure 6.1 District 12 game board. The Hunger Games: District 12 Strategy
Game ©WizKids 2012. Photo by Katie Booth 145
Figure 6.2 Character cards and allies. The Hunger Games: Training Days
©WizKids 2010. Photo by Katie Booth 151
Figure 7.1 Supplies in Westeros are earned via representations of barrels.
Game board from A Game of Thrones: The Board Game © 2011
Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc 164
Figure 7.2 House cards for “Tywin Lannister,” “Ser Gregor Clegane,” and
“The Hound” from A Game of Thrones: The Board Game © 2011
Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc 166
Figure 8.1 Components of Doctor Who: The Interactive Electronic Board
Game ©Toy Brokers Ltd., 2005. Photo by the author 181
Figure 8.2 Interactive game board. Doctor Who: The Time Travelling Action
Game ©Toy Brokers Ltd., 2007. Photo by the author 184