Have you heard of board game arena? I did not but I do love board games so I was immediately curious. I found that lots of people are wondering if this platform is real and trustworthy. At first I was doubtful too but I tried it out so I can tell you guys all about it. What games are there, how does it work, is it easy? I will explain what I learned and share this experience.
Board game arena
For all board game lovers, there is board game arena. But what is it really? What can and can’t I do there? Can I trust it? Is it possible to play for free and do I get stuck on newsletters, spam and monthly payments? I have seen loads of different questions online and that got me wondering. How does it work? I decided to try it out and let you know.
Board game arena is actually a community-based website. It was created in 2010 by Grégory Isabelli and Emmanuel Colin. So it has been online for a pretty long time now and I have only encountered it for the first time pretty recently. The board game arena team is now nine people strong and they are based all over the world. There is also a team of moderators, loads of game developers and some translators. After all this work that is put in, they are now the largest board game table in the world.
Fun fact:
Board Game Arena has 9 940 000 players
and 796 games to play
First use
Board game arena is online, you play on the website so no download is necessary. I am not used to this anymore and immediately think of the years where I played really simple online games on game websites. Do you remember those? To start playing I have to make an account. This is fast and simple because they only want my email, a name and password. I am glad to now have to put tons of information in there that feels unnecessary to share. You have to be 15 tears or older for this and confirm your email. Within no time I can start.
When I search for a game and read something about a premium account my head is like ‘you probably have to pay for anything fun and get loads of ads otherwise’. But, I can play the game I wanted to even though it is premium. The fun thing here is, I will get paired with someone (2 player game) that has a premium account and also wants to play this game. I get a waring that it does increase waiting time, but find a game in a minute. So far so good.
Let’s play!
So, my first game was a game of Splendor duel. The 2 player version of Splendor. This is a resource-management game that I really like, only I have never tried the 2 player version before. My first turn is a little chaotic as I am unsure what to do and I am the first player. I quickly get used to how everything looks online and where the information is and after that all is fine. It is actually pretty easy and a really helpful system. There is just a lot on the screen which could take a moment to get used to.
When scrolling down there is a lot of info about the game as well as links to rule books. On the top of the screen there are two rows that show your table number, number of the move, game progression in percentage, who’s turn it is and what they should do now. This last one is really helpful if you are unsure what to do next because it will tell you to pick a card/ move spaces et cetera.
Other useful notes on board game arena
- There is a chat for your current table
- 655 games have tutorials
- There is an average playtime shown for each game
- You can play all games with a free account, only miss some luxury extras
- premium is 5 euros a month or 36 a year and gives extra tournaments and extras
- You can earn trophies and points
- You can filter on type of game, filters are;
casual, short, best for 2, party games, family, solo, for core gamers, cooperative
All in all
Is it save? For sure!
Can you play it for free? Definitely
How does it work? I hope this blog gave you an overall idea of Board game arena, if not please do not hesitate to ask.
Board game arena is made by a loving community and made as easy as possible to use. There are lots of online members so you will always find someone that wants to play that game you like. I really needed a bit of time to get used to how the games itself look and work and was confused at the start of my first few games. I was able to play a game I really liked and had not played in years. It is too expensive and I don’t know enough people that would want to play this long game. Also I wil for sure use it to get to know a game to speed up the learning process when playing with friends or to decide whether I want to buy a game.
I hope this blog gives you insight and I wish you happy playing!
If you are interested in board games, just like I am, maybe you will be interested in my blog about this amazing haunted mansion co-op tabletop game I love; Betrayal at house on the hill
