RHYTHM

AND GAMES
By Jeffrey D. Allers
Music has always been an important part of my life, especially when it has a
strong rhythm that quite literally moves me. Chill-out tunes have their time and
place, but the endless variety of beats from a good percussion trackwhether
analog or electroniccontinues to appeal to me, especially when listened to live.
Although Germany boasts the third largest market for music in the world, Berlin
is not well known for its musicians, with the exception being hard-rockers
Rammstein. Even so, when I first arrived here almost 20 years ago, one of my
favorite ways to discover the city that never sleeps and meet its colorful
residents was to explore the many unusual underground venues, and dance to
whatever local band or DJ was showcased there.
It turns out that Berliners share my love of rhythmic music. Industrial
complexes that were abandoned during the Cold War were turned into techno
clubs after reunification and used to attract the best DJs to the city, and the
largest street rave in the world was held here annuallyuntil the city grew tired
of having to pay for the clean-up afterwards.
But people here are also fascinated by music with African and Afro-American
influences, ranging from World Music to Hip Hop, although the rhythm is quite
differenteven challenging for the Germans at times. When our youth ministry
sponsored a professional-caliber gospel choir at a local high school several years
ago, the vocally gifted teens had difficulties keeping their clapping and swaying
synchronized. In fact, German audiences usually prefer to clap on every beat of a
song rather than only on the downbeatthe way they would to a polka tune
which may be one reason why techno comes so naturally to them.
In any case, its interesting to see how the rhythm in music both reflects and
drives the rhythm of life. Even the most non-conventional peopleand Berlin is
full of themare prone to routines and rituals that are repeated every day,
though they make variations or add different fills to keep their lives from
becoming too monotonous. Our interactions with each other have rhythms to
them, too, studies have shown, although we usually are not consciously aware of
them. A good conversation develops rhythm over time, as long as each
participant is given a turn with an equal opportunity to contribute.
Board games are instruments of social interaction, and it follows that people will
fall into these interpersonal rhythms when playing them. But each game also has
a rhythm of its own that is driven by its rules. Typical conventions such as player
turns and game phases all mark the downbeats of a game, giving the playing

experience a rhythmic structure. Repetition, then, is not only a good thing, it is

absolutely necessary to give a game its rhythm.
Repetition by itself, however, is not enough. After all, LCR and Candyland have
plenty of repetition, yet the rhythms those activities might create is only due to
the fact that no time is required for player decisionsbecause there arent any.
Other games are not as extreme, but in an attempt at creating rhythm, player
options are sometimes too constraining. Players feel that they are taking the
same actions over and over, wash, rinse, repeat. The beat is there, but there
isnt enough variation. Like Jazz musicians, players need room for creative fills,
the mini solos that keep ones interest in between the games musical phrases.
Furthermore, as fellow OG writer Patrick Brennan observes, it is important for
the rules to allow each participant to meet the social contract expectations of
every other player, which includes time to take a turn and the appropriate
amount of player interaction. If the game encourages someone to take too long,
or to play randomly, if the risk/reward payoffs are off, the luck-to-length ratio is
off, or encourages co-operation and nastiness in the same breath, for instance,
then I can see how it can be said the game lacks rhythm, Brennen says.
Games lacking rhythm are often described as clunky or inelegant. They can be
made up of too many subsystems that offer an uneven number of options every
round, prone to analysis paralysis on some turns while others turns are easier
to evaluate and quicker to complete. Rather than settling into a comfortable
rhythm, then, the jerky stops and starts in gameplay instead resemble the
practice sessions I used to have back in high school with my garage band.
And player interactiona key ingredient in a game with rhythmis often sparse
or non-existent. Can a multi-player solitaire sandbox game have rhythm? I
suppose it can, although it is probably more akin to a group of foodies snatching
dishes in turn order from a Sushi train conveyor belt.
Fast-playing card games, on the other hand, are the clearest examples of
rhythmic games, as their brisk pace makes them easy to observe, and their
social contract expectations are universal. Before I was old enough to learn them,
I used to watch in amazement the trick-taking games played at family reunions. I
marvelled at the rhythm they were creating as each player, in turn, drew one
card from her hand and tossed it into the center of the table. Then the winner
wiped them all to the side and, with a fluid continuation of motion, pulled
another card from her hand and began the next measure of music by leading a
new trick. I believe that it is this repetitionthis rhythm of card playtogether
with room for creative play, that makes trick-takers some of the most popular
games in the world.
And just as we like the rhythm of music to build in complexity during the

duration of the piece, we want our games to have a story arc in which the
rhythms are allowed to change for all players, eventually building to a climactic
finish. We want the stadium drum-solo ending rather than the lip-synced fadeout.
Can a successful game have a lack of rhythm? Probably. There are always
exceptions to the rule. Chess and Go can have a sluggish rhythm, unless one uses
a timer, a kind of metronome for boardgaming that establishes an artificial
cadence. And for awhile, the action point allowance system was all the rage
despite its knack for bogging down a game, and Tikal and Torres even won the
Spiel des Jahres award. But I dont think that its pure coincidence that the SdJ
jury, in the years since, have turned back to games with snappier player turns
games that encourage a more distinct rhythm. After all, the award was designed
to highlight designer games that are accessible to most people, and the best way
to make that happen is to pick games with a more distinct rhythm.
Ive even received feedback from publishers for my own designs that confirmed
this suspicion. One of my latest releases, Artifact, co-designed with Bernd
Eisenstein, originally had players taking up to 6 actions each turn. A publisher
who was interested in the game, however, told us, It reminds me of the action
point games of a few years back. The turns were too long and the game had no
pacingno rhythm. That critique pushed us to find a different solution, and
limiting players to 1-2 actions each turn gave the game a better sense of rhythm,
eventually leading to a final round finish in a game design competition and a
contract with another publisher.
Just as a song with a good beat moves us to dance, it seems that the rhythm
designed into games can move us to play and publish them. We all may not move
to the beat of the same drummer, but whether were aware of it or not, most of
us do enjoy getting in sync when we interact with each other, whether its over a
conversation

Jeffrey D. Allers is a designer of board and card games in Berlin, Germany. You can
read more from opinionatedgamers.com and his blog, entitled berlingamedesign.