BoardGameGeek (BGG) is a singular repository of gaming information, knowledge and wisdom that has been serving the modern board game hobby since 2000. I consult it regularly and have used its database to manage my own game collection. I also used it when I was writing my 2016 book on gamified instruction, particularly with regard to the game mechanics that BGG identified and organized content into. While there are more than 85,000 games, even now, there are just 51 mechanics. Since every mechanic offers something to the teacher who wants to use games in the classroom, I'm going to use this section of Game Level Learn and my own contributions to it to assess games from each of these 51 mechanics. Next up?

Depending on how the board is built (at the beginning of the game, or during the game), the modular board mechanic offers an intriguing take on the question of replayability. In essence, when the board is set up, for each and every game the board is different. For a player who has a lot of experience playing a particular game, that means that there's no benefit for being a regular player in mastering the board itself. It remains a place of strategic contention. Modular board games are exciting in part because of their modularity. They're great examples of game mechanics for gamifying teachers because what they allow a teacher to do is construct an otherwise abstract space (a house, an island, a continent) in a way that maximizes the importance of random factors. The random factors might then be integrated by the students in some way during game-based learning. Indeed, the mere building of the modular board might serve a valuable game-based learning lesson.

Betrayal at House on the Hill (BGG Rank: 412)

One of the most fun games of the last fifteen years, Betrayal features a team of not-especially clever haunted house enthusiasts who decided to visit the titular House on the Hill for an evening of wackiness. As players move their characters in the house, they draw floor tiles that correspond to the floor they're on (attic, basement, etc.). In this way, the floorplan of the house is revealed. Players can generally only reveal one new tile at a time and as certain kinds of floor tiles are placed in the house, it triggers a "haunt check" to see if the cooperative game that they players are playing converts into a "traitor vs. team" game at that point. It always converts...when and in what way makes the game especially exciting.

Catan (BGG Rank: 278)

The game that in many ways got the modern board gaming movement off the ground, Catan (or Settlers of Catan for us old timers) has a board that you construct from a series of hex tiles every game. There is a pattern one might follow from the rules, but experienced players just put the tiles on the table and go for it. A very strategic resource game melded to a luck mechanic that determines what kinds of resources will be produced on a particular turn. If you haven't played Catan, you really should.

Dominant Species (BGG Rank: 49)

The heaviest game on this list, Dominant Species is a simulation of the rise of life on Earth. Players take on an abstract kind of life form (amphibians, insects) with very specific advantages and disadvantages. The players object is to become the Dominant Species. A good example of a game one could play out of the box (in a high level Biology class or Ecology), This game will strongly challenge even the most sophisticated players. And it's got a highly strategic action point system that adds to the challenge.

Dungeon Twister (BGG Rank: 759)

In Dungeon Twister, two players face off against each other with two goals in mind - escape from the dungeon...and/or prevent the other team from accomplishing this goal. Every game is different as the tiles that form the map are set up randomly. What Dungeon Twister uniquely brings to the modular board mechanic is a fiendish square on every board that when activated allows the player on the square to rotate the board she's standing on...and the other board in the game that shares the same number. Fantastic, maddening game play.

Escape: The Curse of the Temple (BGG Rank: 414)

The Escape games are great because they play in real time and the modular maps make it impossible to remember how best to escape. Because this game plays in real time, it might be a good fit for a short review exercise or an equivalent task.

Is there any more ubiquitous mechanic in game design than dice rolling? If there is, I'm not sure what it is. Dice rolling is one of the ancient aspects of game playing. In my book on gamified instruction and game-based learning, I discuss dice rolling as a way of expressing a fundamental aspect of games - alea or luck. There is no tool better able to simulate the fates and fortunes of players being at the mercy of the gods than dice. I would need at least a handful of additional hands to count the number of times I have lost a game that I was all-but winning because of the roll of the dice. Let's face it, dice are fun to throw, they're fun to play with and they're fun to hold. They're a lot less fun when they betray you, but alea can often lead to the other great game mechanic that I cite in the book, ilinx, or disorientation. The advice I give to gamifying teachers is to beware overuse of luck mechanics in gamified instruction, as players will feel that their grade being dependent on a die roll is capricious at best. Still, if you're interested in how dice play a role in different kinds of games, give these five a try.

Near and Far (BGG Rank: 166)

Near and Far, part of a series of games designed by Ryan Laukat, is a campaign-based fantasy game where you develop characters, level them and compete with each other to ultimately conquer a world boss at the end of the game. Near and Far is a game you should play in any case because of how well designed it is and how easy it is to learn as a storytelling game. Its use of dice helps the players understand probability and making effective choices.

Roll for the Galaxy (BGG Rank: 55)

What I love best about Roll for the Galaxy is that it serves as the Platonic Ideal for dice-based civilization building and exploration games. I find Race for the Galaxy, Roll's parent game, totally bewildering, but for whatever reason, Roll is much more accessible. In Roll, you are given the opportunity to acquire a host of different kinds of dice that each do different things based on their fundamental identity and on how they're rolled. Use this game to give you a sense of how to create a gamified learning experience based on dice doing a host of different things based on defined factors.

Roll Player (BGG Rank: 390)

Roll Player takes what many consider the best part of roleplaying games, character creation, and makes that process the whole of the game. In Roll Player, you are trying to maximize the statistics and background factors of a specific character you've chosen to design (a female Orc cleric from a noble family? Sure!). Over the course of the game, you roll dice and select dice from a common supply and as you place them in your display, they trigger special powers associated with each of the six statistics. Great fun, and again, a very different way to use dice from what you've come to expect.

Sagrada (BGG Rank: 208)

Sagrada, published in late 2017, is a game where each player takes on the role of a stained-glass window creator. Each player is given a pattern to work from and a set of special abilities and special rules that apply only to him/her. The luminous dice themselves, over time, form the stained-glass window. One of the most beautiful games of recent memory, this one will give you a whole new appreciation for what dice can do in a game and how they can be used in very different ways.

Xia: Legends of a Drift System (BGG Rank: 155)

Xia is another game where you are exploring the galaxy and building. It's not a civilization building game. Rather, you are a ship's captain and over the course of the game you are attempting to improve your reputation in the "drift system" by means of dozens and dozens of different actions. The dice here are used in ways that are pretty conventional, but given all of the different ways you might win this game, they factor big time.

Game

51 Mechanics: Modular Board

51 Mechanics: Dice Rolling

Game Level Learn

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