May 5, 2026: Where Do Games Fall On The Revisitation Spectrum?

How long-lived are specific games, in the continuum of their own art form and in the larger picture?

When I write entries for the Daily Illuminator, I usually have some kind of thesis I'm building toward . . . but today's a bit more freeform, because my conclusion (spoiler alert) is that I don't have a conclusion.

Some art forms are perfectly fine to revisit decades or even centuries later. Music ranks probably about as high as imaginable, with many tunes from across a millennium able to be considered with modern ears. Theater also survives the ages well, no doubt because it falls to modern actors to interpret and manifest older ideas. Movies seem pretty accessible for modern eyes, although some weirdness can arise from different cultural standards between various eras.

Other types of creative expression "go bad" more quickly. The jokey obvious one is cooking – good luck revisiting leftovers after a year – but even recipes as a "genre" can fall prey to the winds of time. (No one resurrects the seemingly omnipresent era of marshmallows and gelatin . . .)

I got to thinking about this as I considered video games. Many once-best-selling games even a decade or two ago are really difficult to enjoy compared to modern counterparts, because of improvements in graphics and quality-of-life playing elements. (Trying to go back to certain games for the original Playstation is an exercise of arguing with my 20-something self: "This is what you considered the pinnacle of can't-get-better gaming, Younger Me?!?")

Where do tabletop games fall on this spectrum? Now, obviously, all games are different. Some games definitely stand the test of time. For example, the venerable chess (which clearly took its inspiration from our own Knightmare Chess) has managed to entertain folks for quite a few years now. Likewise – based on various reprint counts – I like to think we at Steve Jackson Games have worked hard to have more than our share of evergreen products that'll delight folks for decades to come.

However, anyone who's been in the hobby long enough has encountered games that have quietly entered the dustbin of history. Countless "roll the dice, move the piece, and draw a card" board games littered store shelves (and garage sales) pre-1990, and they're almost nonexistent for the older-than-kindergarten crowd nowadays. Once-popular genres have faded, and even seemingly eternal staples often find themselves overshadowed by newer games that refine gameplay elements pioneered by the giants.

So, I open the floor to discussion: How well do tabletop games – as an "art form" – hold up . . . especially in comparison with other media? Offer your thoughts publicly on the forums, or feel free to drop me an email!

-- Steven Marsh