Reality Realisation - how board games represent reality (Topic Discussion)

<p>Board games that represent real historical events face a problem that fiction can largely avoid. The designer can&#39;t start with a blank page. Players are going to expect that the game somehow mirrors what actually happened in the past. Yet, a board game can&#39;t faithfully reproduce an entire historical period. The designer has to select and simplify, turning the subject into rules and mechanisms. A historical board game can&#39;t ever be completely accurate. The question really is how designers decide which parts of reality belong in the game, which can be abstracted, and which should be left out. In this article, I look at this question from the perspectives of five designers, each with a different answer to the problem.</p><p><strong>Read the full article here:</strong> <a href="https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/09/29/reality-realisation-how-board-games-represent-reality-topic-discussion/">⁠https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2026/09/29/reality-realisation-how-board-games-represent-reality-topic-discussion/⁠</a></p><p><strong>Useful Links</strong></p><ul><li><em>Votes for Women</em> review: <a href="/2024/02/10/votes-for-women-digital-eyes/">⁠https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2024/02/10/votes-for-women-digital-eyes/⁠</a></li><li><em>Pax Pamir 2e</em> review: <a href="/2022/08/27/pax-pamir-second-edition-saturday-review/">⁠https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2022/08/27/pax-pamir-second-edition-saturday-review/⁠</a></li><li><em>Sebastian Bae</em>, &quot;Designing <em>Littoral Commander: Indo-Pacific</em>, a professional educational wargame&quot;: <a href="https://sdhist.com/designing-littoral-commander-indo-pacific-a-professional-educational-wargame/">⁠https://sdhist.com/designing-littoral-commander-indo-pacific-a-professional-educational-wargame/⁠</a></li><li><em>Mark Herman</em>, &quot;Empire of the Sun: Monograph on U.S. Air Operations versus Japanese Fleet Bases - Truk example&quot;: <a href="https://medium.com/%40markherman54/empire-of-the-sun-ca2287fe3eff">⁠https://medium.com/%40markherman54/empire-of-the-sun-ca2287fe3eff⁠</a></li><li><em>The Players&#39; Aid</em> interview with <em>Tory Brown</em>, Designer of <em>Votes for Women</em> from <em>Fort Circle Games</em>: <a href="https://theplayersaid.com/2020/09/07/interview-with-tory-brown-designer-of-votes-for-women-from-fort-circle-games-currently-on-kickstarter/">⁠https://theplayersaid.com/2020/09/07/interview-with-tory-brown-designer-of-votes-for-women-from-fort-circle-games-currently-on-kickstarter/⁠</a