Narrative (in) Boardgames

In this course, we shall discuss in how far boardgames may be regarded as storytelling media. After all, many boardgames seem to tell at least rudimentary stories. Just think of classical boardgames: one may easily perceive a story of two monarchs battling for supremacy in Chess, of several capitalists competing for profitable town development in Monopoly, of imperialist powers expanding their realms in Risk, of detectives solving a murder case in Clue, or of settlers colonizing a new region in Catan.
Taking its cue from such observations, we are going to engage with a number of boardgames produced during the last two decades, exploring in how far these games may be considered "narrative", what kind of narratives emerge in the games, how they are presented, and what may be specific features of the boardgame as a narrative medium. For this purpose we shall apply the narratological foundations you learned in previous literary studies classes (for instance the "Introduction to Literary and Cultural Studies"), combining them with elements from ludology. In order to have a fruitful discussion, however, we must also engage with the respective games in practice.

After establishing a theoretical framework for academically assessing boardgames, the course will, therefore, contain a number of play sessions in which students will form small groups playing the games to be discussed in class. The game selection for the course consists of two examples each of different boardgame genres. Depending on the eventual course size, students will have played at least one game per genre during the term. The games will be provided in class; a list of titles can be found under "Literature".
All course participants will be expected to familiarize themselves with the rulebooks of the games they play (i.e. read the rulebooks, which will be provided in class, and prepare the rules so that you can begin playing immediately in the session).
Each participant will be expected to serve as an expert for one game in particular, being able to act as a troubleshooter and clarify questions arising during the play sessions. Depending on the type and amount of SLs required, those experts may also be asked to provide playing aids (e.g. cheat sheets compiling the essential rules at one glance) and/or short "how to play" videos of the respective game.

After the play sessions, a third section of the course is reserved for the critical reflection on your experiences with the games, in view of the above-mentioned research questions. This section will connect our findings and situate them within the research framework that was established at the beginning of the term.

Combining theoretical and practical elements, this course is aimed at students who like to explore new grounds in research, by creatively applying their own previous knowledge and expertise. Due to its project character, it is less suited for students who expect me to present them with ready-made chunks of recordable pieces of knowledge, and who feel uncomfortable if this is not provided. Whereas the theoretical and reflective sessions will be in English, a considerable part of the play sessions will be in German, for the simple reason that most of the games will be available in their German version.

Previous experience with boardgames is not required (if you have this experience, please send me a short email with the games you are familiar with). What is essential, though, is your readiness to actively participate in the playing sessions (even if one realizes that board games may be quite complex, with rulebooks of 10-30 pages), because this commitment will eventually decide on whether the course will work – and maybe even be enjoyable. So is the readiness to participate in 4-hour sessions, even if you only need one 3 LP (i.e. one SL or one PL) from the course. However, you may indeed complete an entire module with this course.

To all students who only take the course because they need credit points and do not care where they obtain them, or because the course fits well into their weekly schedule; and to students who do not like playing boardgames: The success of this course chiefly depends on students' continuous commitment to it throughout the entire semester. The course can be entirely spoiled for everyone, if students register at first, but then decide to drop out after a few weeks – for the play sessions, such behaviour is simply destructive. If the first sentence of this paragraph applies to you, please select one of the other courses in this module element.