What Board Games do that Videogames cannot

You know how books and movies are two totally different ways of telling a story? Books let you live inside someone’s head—feel what they feel, think what they think, but ask you to focus and think yourself. Meanwhile, movies hit you with the visuals and the soundtrack, without the mental effort of imagining the scenery.

Well, I think board games and video games are like that too. Not better or worse—just built for different things.

Video games are fast, save progress, and some of them look better than actual dreams. But there’s something board games do that I’ve never found behind a screen.

Let me explain.

Same Table, Same Room

Board games require you to actually be there—same space, same table, there’s no lag,  no bug, no connection problen.

You watch someone bluff and can’t decide if they’re lying or just bad at hiding excitement. You make up alliances and whisper side deals like you’re running a mini-campaign headquarters out of your living room.

These are moments that don’t translate well over headset or chat box. They live in glances and shudder.

Slower on Purpose

Board games move at the pace of the group. Sometimes painfully slow. And yet… that’s the charm.

There’s time to argue over what a rule “really means.” Time to pause mid-turn because someone got up to refill their drink. Time to talk about how terrible (or brilliant) that last move was.

You feel the game in the pauses. It’s not just something you play—it’s something that unfolds, sometimes awkwardly, sometimes hilariously, always together.

Custom, Tactile, Unpredictable

Ever changed the rules of a video game? Yeah, good luck with that.

But board games? You house-rule them without even realizing it. You lose a piece and replace it with a penny. You mix expansions from different games just to see what happens. You make it your own.

It’s like cooking with friends versus ordering takeout. One is clean, fast, and predictable. The other might get messy—but it’s something you made, and that matters.

You Remember the People, Not the Score

I don’t always remember who won. But I remember when that friend traded all her resources just to spite that other one in Catan.

Board games live on as stories. They’re social.

I like both. Because some games aren’t just about winning. They’re about being there.