How long is a game?

Board games have been a cherished form of entertainment for generations, offering a captivating way to spend quality time with friends and family. One of the factors that greatly influences the gaming experience is the length of the game. From quick and snappy games that can be played within minutes to epic and immersive adventures that can last for hours, the debate over the optimal game length has been around for as long as humans have been playing.

Right now, the world of board games is diverse and ever-changing, with innovative new formats constantly being introduced to engage players in different ways. These new formats can range from legacy games that change permanently with each play, cooperative games where players work together to achieve a common goal, to hybrid games that incorporate elements of digital technology. 

In this seminar we'll discuss how the interplay between new game formats and improvements in game design have introduced a new dimension to gameplay and expanded our understanding of what the "perfect game length" can be.

Zoe Cunningham was born into a fantasy world. She spent her childhood immersed in books by authors including Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov and Ursula Le Guin. She continued to evade the real world by studying science - physics, chemistry and eventually a mathematics degree at Cambridge University, before taking a job as a computer programmer at a startup. Real-life finally caught up with Zoe when she became Managing Director of the software firm in 2012, and she used her new adulting skills to quadruple the turnover of the business. Zoe is currently working on several creative projects in the ATIC universe: her return to the fantasy land she wishes she never left, although sadly she still retains excellent financial and management skills.

David Johnston grew up in the wilds of the American Midwest. He studied philosophy and mathematics at St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has worked in the sciences, education, software development, and even ran a seedy bar in Chicago for a decade. Having been one of the first wave of role playing gamers in the late 70s, David found the Satanic Panic that gripped the States during his high school years baffling. He played and designed other sorts of games for a long time, until finding his way back to RPGs in the early 2000s. He designed and wrote the "Breaking Infinity RPG" that was released at the 2023 UK Games Expo. He is a founder of Baffle Box Games and is currently working on the ATIC Space Opera game. David lives in London with his beautiful wife and dangerous children. They have no dog.