Granted, there are a lot of sensations, experiences, and more visceral emotions that video games can provide to a player that board games simply, by their nature, can not. It is pretty much impossible for any board game to come close to generating that frisson we all felt the first time that dog jumped through the window in RESIDENT EVIL or when SHODAN made herself known in SYSTEM SHOCK 2, or the haunting, enervating atmosphere of SILENT HILL's aural environment. Sure, there are plenty of horror board games out there, and some damn good ones at that, but fear is just one of those areas where board games just can't compete with a medium that more closely resembles the experiential functioning of a film (or even real life).

Likewise, a feeling of speed is something that board games just can't give you. Any racing game will offer you an opportunity to test your reflexes, snap decision making, and your ability to experience at least a little of the physical thrill of high velocities. Board games with racing themes, by turn, tend to favor mechanics that emphasize management of wear-and-tear and strategic maneuvering. But considering that most racing games out there clock in at two or more hours, you can see what I'm getting at—another area where board games are no competition for their electronic counterparts.

(It's hard to simulate this on a board...)

No doubt, there are plenty of advantages and unique qualities that video games possess that make them an entirely different sort of experience than board games. We respond to those stimuli as humans and our reactions are human, but it is a vastly different experience to respond directly to someone else's decisions, offers, pleadings, or strategies. It's a level of humanity that makes board games perhaps a little more primal, direct, and more subtle in the end and although it may not be as visceral or sensual as a video game, it's still definitely exciting and fascinating to watch, let alone to experience.

Questions or comments for Michael? Send them along to gameshark.feedback@yahoo.com .

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