“Public Interest” and the (Potential) Social Impact of Board Games: The Role of the “Strategic Twist”, Definition and Scope

Abstract

Modern board games – precisely after what has been dubbed the “renaissance” of analog games since the publication of Catan and the consequent affirmation of the “German games” – have served for a vast reflection in the field of metagame.
In this text it is considered that the effects following what is called “strategic twist” in modern board games, allow reflecting about the dynamics of the field of leisure/ludicity from two aspects: the orientation of games towards strategy; and the strategic character of the transition of/in the milieu.
One must understand how the “twist” can be thought about and what can be thought about the political-philosophical reflections that address the “public interest”, and how these two fields can be broadly intertwined.
With this theoretical-societal connection, the aim here is to move on from the role that the “strategic twist” plays in calling the “public interest” attention for the practice of this type of activity (the impact of a new dissemination of games), to the “public interest”, that may have reciprocally provided it; and to how something like this “interest” can be treated in the games themselves. Finally, also how some light can be shed on it by the combination and choice of some game mechanics.
The intersection of these two domains also prepares us to talk about serious issues in the future.