S9.E01 :: A Recipe for a Distilled 4x Experience
Oct 2, 2014
Quantum brings the 4x experience to the tabletop without engulfing other games in its wake of space exploration and expansion. The game pairs down the experience in every way possible without losing the essence of the 4x game. Players take on the roles of fleet commanders bent on controlling the cosmos by placing their quantum cubes on planets. Instead of plastic miniatures, the game uses dice to represent the ships at the players' disposal. Each ship has a special power that can be activated on top of the 3 actions each turn providing a rich strategic experience to the game. The first player to place all of his or her cubes on the planets below will win and be crowned the emperor of space and time itself (I may have exaggerated the emperor part).
Our discussion focused on the key elements of Quantum and how Eric was able to bring these together to create a rich, abstracted 4x experience. We discuss his role as the arts professor at the NYU Gamecenter, which now offers both an MFA and BFA in game design, and what that means for the future of board game design.
If you wish to learn more about Eric, please visit this link. You can engage with Professor Zimmerman on twitter and learn more about the NYU game design program if you click on the links provided.
Finally, if you wish to donate to encourage me to play board games for 24 hours straight, Who, What, Why? has joined Flip the Table's team Bance at Extra-Life.org. Please click this link to my profile if you wish to donate and if not, please join us in spirit and play some games on Octboer 25. Thank you for listening.