The Gameboard-1 Has a Lot of Potential
I love tabletop gaming, but sometimes it can be a hassle to set games up and you just think that a digital version would be so much nicer. Well, we may not be too far from that. No, I’m not talking about digital versions of games like Gloomhaven or Smash Up on Steam and other platforms. Gameboard-1 is an upcoming product that may help change the way tabletop games are played for some.
Gameboard-1 is a flat, 16-inch by 16-inch display that has a computer built in. The idea is that you’ll be able to play different games on this at your table with friends and with physical pieces if you so desire. Or, you can forgo all the physicality of things and go purely digital. Owners can buy games or subscribe to them (depending on the game and features) and then you can go from there. In theory, people will be able to make a digital version of the board games you love and then you can use the Gameboard-1 as the board.
Of course, the Gameboard-1 isn’t going to be limited to only board games. Developers will be able to make anything they like. There are roughly 100 games already committed, too. One obvious option is for tabletop RPG players to use it for battle maps. This is completely doable. In addition, some pieces will be able to store data:
Most of the game pieces are actually passive and require no batteries. The Gameboard-1 can detect the location, orientation and type of piece when they are placed on the board. The pieces themselves store about 2K of encrypted data. Some of this is read-only and contains vendor and product info but a lot of the storage can be used for user data.
This opens up a whole new category of play because, for example, a wizard character piece could build experience (XP) and store it in the piece. Therefore, the capability of a given piece can change over time. You can take your pieces to a friends house and keep your XP without anything being stored in the cloud.
Active pieces contain a battery and electronics. These pieces have two-way communication with the game board and could have buttons for additional user input or incorporate any number of other sensors, even communication with your private screen.
For example you could cast a spell from a private screen, the active wizard piece would glow and pulse and the light show could transition to the pixels on the screen as the spell radiates out, Wyatt said.
What’s more, The Last Gameboard has said they will launch bases that can be used to turn your own pieces into passive pieces for use with Gameboard-1.
Oh yeah, you can connect other screens like your phone to use as private screens. This is ideal in games like poker where you need to keep some information secret. It could also be used for players to keep their character sheets on their phones with the battle map on the Gameboard-1.
So, you think 16” x 16” is too small? Well, you can connect multiple Gameboard-1s together to enlarge the screen space.
If you’re interested in Gameboard-1, The Last Gameboard is launching a Kickstarter campaign on October 10 with the cost of a Gameboard-1 currently set at $350.
Via: Venture Beat