Lights pulse on the table as the sounds of harsh alien weather reverberate through the room. Far from home on this distant planet, managers of a fledgling space colony huddle around a table, discussing how to keep their colony and citizens alive for another month. Using RFID-enabled playing cards, these managers change the laws of this colony and the board game’s algorithms. Between rounds, the game processes how up to 15,000 different simulated colonists vote for these laws.
This scenario is part of a typical round when playing Beyond Humanity: Colonies, and just the tip of the iceberg of stunningly deep gameplay. But when you stop gawking at the gorgeous game pieces, the spellbinding artwork, and consuming the rich gameplay, you are left wondering, “What is this, and how have I never heard of it before?”
In the tabletop gaming industry, huge publisher groups dominate the scene and lead the way for new trends. However, a brand-new company has shaped the future for tabletop gaming with its initial breakout release, Beyond Humanity: Colonies (BH:C). The publisher, Three Headed Monster, is an aggressive new player in tabletop games and has destroyed the concept of hybrid gaming. With a companion app as the least extraordinary bit of tech being used, BH:C is truly leaping ahead of the status quo. But as high-tech as the game is, that technology makes it feel like any analog game.
Those who love and enjoy the wildly diverse world of board games are likely to have emphatic feelings towards hybrid or tech-enabled games. Some flatly refuse to accept hybrid games, viewing board games as a way to get away from technology. Others are leery of the prospect as there have been proper cautionary tales in the past (i.e., Golem Arcana). But many see how technology increases the potential for more engaging and immersive games to be brought to the table. And their numbers are growing. The industry is changing to meet these growing demands of more engaging games that use technology to push the experience that games can offer, but progress has been slow.
So how is it that a tiny new company, comprised of a few game-loving friends, has blasted past established companies with hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue? Three Headed Monster (THM) cofounder Casey McBeath stated, “explosive evolution requires outside provocation.” As crowdfunding backers and board game collectors themselves, the cofounders of THM realized their diverse career experiences and expertise could be combined to create their dream board game. Staffed with team members possessing expert knowledge of computer programming, engineering, storytelling, graphic design, and mathematics, THM seems purpose-built to deliver the dream of what hybrid games should be.
Max Salamonowicz, cofounder of THM, states, “As serious game enthusiasts, we love gaming. It was our escape from the stress of our very demanding jobs. But because of our backgrounds, we love math! And math, along with its clever implementation, is the backbone of all games. So, we studied the games we love. Really studied them! We went to board game design boot camps, attended industry professional events, became active forum participants, and generally did everything we could to learn more about how these great games are created.” And then, like most great ideas, a too-long conversation over beers turned into a discussion of what their dream game would be.
And that is how Beyond Humanity: Colonies was born. From a laundry list of desires to a finalized international product, Three Headed Monster has delivered the world’s first genuinely revolutionary hybrid game.
More information: www.three-headed-monster.com.
