Cooperative Board Games & iGaming Lovers: A Look At The Interconnectedness of These Players
While cooperative board games are played with physical boards with players in the same room together and iGames are played through online connectivity, there are still some interesting commonalities between the players of each.
The most obvious similarity is that both sets of players enjoy a hobby that involves playing games to feel the thrill of winning, often relying on strategies to achieve success. However, if we take a closer look, there are plenty more correlations:
Enjoying the thrill of risk and reward
Both the cooperative gaming and iGaming communities thrive on games that involve risk and reward. If we look at escape room based board games such as Unlock!, there is an intensity created by beating the buzzer to escape. Casino games also appeal to players who love the excitement of risk based games that offer big rewards, often of monetary value.
Playing an online casino Ontario and choosing to play slots for real money, is more risk driven than playing cooperative board games with friends, especially with higher stakes involved. Even slot games with smaller stakes have a high degree of risk when playing for longer play sessions.
To draw a comparison, some cooperative board game players participate in tournaments at national expos with prizes at stake, which can increase the pressure. These tournaments are very similar in setup to an online poker tournament at an online casino in Canada, with the exception that you’re playing as a team rather than an individual.
However, streamed poker tournaments in Canada can feel like you are playing with friends and players often do develop friendships when they play regularly at the same casinos.
Strategic thinking
Many cooperative board games and casino games involve a large element of strategy. Board games like Spirit Island and Gloomhaven have strategic complexity, the same way that poker and blackjack players apply strategies to improve their chances of winning.
People who choose to play strategic games often have good mathematics skills and knowledge, and enjoy the challenge of learning new tactics. They often enjoy the analytical element of games and are consistently looking to improve their game strategies.
Enjoyment of role play themed games
Many cooperative board games involve role playing using characters within the game experience. For example, The Lord of The Rings is based on the characters of the novel and film trilogies. Many slot games are also designed around characters from movies and other types of famous, popular characters.
Players enjoy the fantasy aspect of playing a role and transporting into the storyline of games. RPGs (role playing games) are becoming more common in iGaming and when VR enhanced games become more readily available, RPGs where players walk into the fantasy environment will become a popular game choice.
Community focused
Both iGamers and co-op board game players are part of communities with fellow players. Board game players meet up in person to play their co-op games with other teams, while iGamers join an online community. Online casino playing used to be a very solo and 1D experience, but it has become much more social with new technology and forums fostering communities.
From Discord forums discussing favorite games and tactics to chat facilities in poker games, casino players often enjoy the social aspects of interacting with other players, even having jokes and catching up on a regular basis. They often share tactics and share details of how they achieved big wins, revelling in social recognition for their feats.
Board game players have this same camaraderie within their group of players, celebrating wins together and working on tactics as a team.
Gaming at home
Another key common trait between iGamers and board gamers is that they choose to play games that can be played at home. Most board gamers arrange to play at the house of someone in the group in a laid back atmosphere.
Many other hobbies involve going to venues or being outdoors, while playing board games and online casinos suits those who prefer to play games in a more chilled out set up.
Online casino players can play from any device, including PC, laptop, tablet and mobile now that most online casinos have responsive designs. This means they can play from the comfort of their own home without needing to travel, get dressed up or go into busy spaces.
The two seemingly separate worlds of cooperative board gaming and iGaming actually have a lot of common ground. As well as choosing hobbies that are competitive, whether it’s beating the rival team or beating the dealer or other poker players, the two types of games have many other crossovers.
Board games have recently become more digitalized, with apps enhancing the game experience, for example, in escape games. As more board games bring digital elements into their format, the gap between the two will get even smaller.
With so many commonalities between board gaming and iGaming, it is no surprise that there is a section of players who enjoy the excitement of both types of games, based on their draw to risk and strategy, and the appeal of being part of a gaming community.
