Can Digital Board Games Replace the Real Thing?

The convenience of being able to play anywhere is mighty compelling

Board games were a huge part of my life when I was a kid back in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. I would spend hours and hours just playing them with my siblings whenever we were able to all get together. Popular titles such as Monopoly, Cluedo, Risk, and Scrabble were all my favourites. All these were played when I was a much older kid.

Before that though, it was snakes and ladders, dominoes and checkers. Oldies but goodies. Although these are still around, not many kids play with them anymore due to the fact that most kids today would have a gadget of their own — be it a smartphone or a tablet.

Kids today are watching videos on YouTube, playing more modern educational games (which I think is good) and just spending more time on their devices than my generation did when we were their age.

This makes me think that developers bringing some of these board game experiences to the small screen is a very good thing.

Revisiting the classics

Back in 2010, I was introduced to the board game The Settlers of Catan — or just Catan as it’s known now — and its wide range of expansion packs. Without hesitation, my brothers and I…