Q&A with Axis & Allies & Zombies Game Designer, Scott Van Essen Part 1

I used to be afraid of new things too, simply because they are new.  I had a friend who opened a copy of Ticket To Ride and said “well i read the rules, this is lame, so…bascially meh”.

Do I think Ticket to Ride is the best game in history?  No.  It is the most fun, engaging type of game that I always want to play? No.

Having said that, I’d play right now.  As a game group leader, I often have to play games that other people would prefer.  I’ve run game clubs for RPG, TTWG, eurogames, minigames, Warhammer 40K, etc.  In general, the group members prefer not to play my own favorite type of game (tabletop wargames)–they are universal in dismissing them as too complex, too slow moving, too great a learning curve, and too long and overall very boring.

To sum up, it seems easier to be closed minded and focused on your abstract perceptions of something you’ve never seen …in reality, the easier path is to overcome those preconceptions and sit down and play it and have fun