A beer and pretzels game is any of a class of
tabletop games that are light on rules and strategy, feature a high amount of randomness and a light theme.
This is in direct contrast to
Eurogames
The EuroGames are an LGBT multi-sport event in Europe, licensed by the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation to a local city host each year and organised (most often) by one or more of the federation's member clubs. Similar to the Gay Gam ...
, which involve complex rules and emphasize strategy over randomness. The term was originally coined to describe relatively simple
wargames that did not require extraordinary focus to play. The name was then adopted by
gamers to mean casual, short and easy to play games in general. Examples of beer and pretzels games include ''
Bohnanza
''Bohnanza'' is a German-style board game, German-style card game based on the game mechanics of Trade, trading and politics, designed by Uwe Rosenberg and released in 1997 (in German) by Amigo Spiele and (in English) by Rio Grande Games. It i ...
'', ''
Wizwar'' and ''Pit''.
Characteristics
Beer and pretzels games vary greatly in
theme
Theme or themes may refer to:
* Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work
* Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos
* Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...
and
gameplay, but have a set of common characteristics. Rules are simple and generally explainable in just a few minutes, turns pass quickly and humor is common. Randomness, either in the form of cards or dice is essential. Fortunes may revert quickly and the game often ends suddenly and unexpectedly. Scoring requires very simple calculations.
From a design standpoint, beer and pretzels games are non-trivial to create. They need to have enough depth to encourage repeat play without a stiff learning curve, and need to be enjoyable in quick sessions.
References
Game terminology
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