Board game tools

As the hobby of board games grows, more and more new tools are invented that can facilitate or enhance the gaming experience. In this description, I will share four that I use myself and that I find useful. The description will not include the Board Game Geek (BGG) application or website, as this could be a separate series of articles, but I recommend that everyone use the platform (especially the application) to organize their collection in this way.

Chwazi

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tendadigital.chwaziApp

Chwazi is a super simple application that allows you to identify the first player. Respectively, each participant of the game places a finger on the phone screen and the phone randomly chooses one of the placed fingers. I use the app in practically every game, especially games that suggest stupid ways to determine player 1. The application also works great in multiplayer games, or agreeing on whose turn it is to clean the cat's pot.

Quick Score

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cukurwate.quickscore

This is an application created in Latvia (Jelgava Table Games Club), which allows you to easily count game points. Of course, there are games that have scoring fields or special sheets to write down the score, but many games like Kingdomino, Carcassonne or Seasons do not have a good scoring system, so an application like this is very useful from time to time. The mechanics are simple - players are entered into the application and points can be added or subtracted at any time.

Boardgame Ranking Engine

https://www.pubmeeple.com/board-game-ranking-engine/

If you're like me, you also like to look at and create different charts, compare your games, etc. However, it is difficult for a person to look at his collection and objectively evaluate his favorite games, so a special tool can be used for this. The Ranking Engine allows you to record games yourself, or (more wisely) select them from your BGG account, and then the evaluation process begins, constantly pitting two games against each other from which only one can be selected. The process can be long, and if there are more games, it can take up to an hour, but gradually, as you compete with each other, your favorite game is determined. In addition, it is much more objective, because you can have to make difficult decisions and choose between two very beloved games.

Board Game Motivation Profile

https://apps.quanticfoundry.com/surveys/start/tabletop/

This is a survey created by professionals, which assesses what type of player you are by answering various questions. As a result, an answer evaluation grid is created, which evaluates how important criteria such as conflict in games, strategy, asceticism or social aspect are (my grid in the appendix). The test is interesting and well prepared, so I recommend that every gaming enthusiast should take it at least once.