In a recent edition of The Gamer’s Notebook, Mike Siggins coined the term “Super Filler”. Here’s what he had to say:
The Super Filler is really a subtype of game that I used to call The Middleweight. It is more than a 20 or 30 minute starter, but it does not amount to a main course in weight or play length. The game is ‘straight in’, has plenty of decisions, a fair amount of depth, but importantly it is very quick to play. Almost always under an hour, and leaving you feeling as if you have played for longer.
As usual, Siggins’s thoughts are insightful and crystallizing. There are indeed games that are neither appetizers nor big, meaty dishes. And, as Siggins suggests, these “Super Fillers” may be on the upswing in the marketplace. I for one would love that. Siggins himself seems happy enough with the possibility, or at least doesn’t seem bothered by it.
I do, however, want to take mild issue with his suggestion that these games are neither heavy enough nor long enough to be suitable as “main courses” for an evening of gaming. The implication seems to be that no healthy gamer can subsist on a diet of nothing but Super Fillers.
Well, I am just such a gamer. I don’t just love Super Fillers—they’re the only games I eat. To me, an evening of “middleweights” is pure culinary heaven, leaving me feeling light, refreshed, and energized. In contrast, the more “meaty” games leave me feeling groggy, bloated, and (if I may say so) constipated.
Perhaps some will argue that this simply indicates that I’m a “casual gamer”. This would be like saying that anyone who doesn’t eat meat is a “casual eater”! I’ve met vegetarians who are more serious about food than anyone else I know. Similarly, when it comes to games, I’m anything but casual. Just as Siggins proposes that there’s a special category of games, I propose that I belong to a special category of players. I’m a Vegetarian Gamer.
Like our culinary counterparts, we vegetarian gamers display a wide range of tastes. Some of us would never touch a slice of (Ark)ham with a ten-foot pole, but are happy to start the day with a scrambled Egg(ert) or two. Some of us will run screaming from giant Teutonic feasts, but can’t live without the rich creamy sauces of the French. As a “vegan” gamer, I personally avoid both meat and dairy, preferring to dine on delicately-spiced dishes of lentils and chickpeas.
Such discussions always threaten to become religious, so let me emphasize that I make no moral judgments. The reasons for my own culinary choices are strictly dietary. I would never try to talk my carnivorous friends out of enjoying their meaty games, and in a healthy marketplace, all flavors will continue to be readily available. But if you ever happen to run into me at some game-related gathering and ask me to join you in a game of Caylus, I hope you won’t be offended if I respond:
“No, thank you. I’m vegan.”
That analogy works for me, since I’m a Bad Vegetarian (both in diet and gaming.) I mostly enjoy vegetarian games (the super-fillers) but have a small subset of meatier tastes, especially when out to dinner/gaming with people who don’t share my tastes.
But, since I mostly cook (provide the games) they often have to bow to my tastes, and I have to find middle ground…
Glad I’m not the only one who finds it burdensome to sit down to a 2 hour+ game.
I was completely stunned when I played Power Grid the first time and it was the first 2 hour+ game that actually had me wanting to play again RIGHT after the first time.
So can Vegan gamers play games that cast shadows?
I’ve never played Power Grid. I’ll probably try it sometime, but I might regret it afterwards.
Settlers of Catan: good example of a Super Filler?
I’d say Settlers is a decent example of a Super Filler, although the last time I played (which was years ago!), the game lasted way too long. It’s not one of my favorites, but it’s definitely the *kind* of game I like in principle.
Ticket to Ride is another good example.
There are a bunch of new games, like Yspahan, Die Baumeister von Arkadia, etc., that seem to fit the bill. I’m looking forward to trying those.
Settlers does vary in length depending on the number of players, the experience of the players, and how cut-throat the game is. My group of gaming friends at college would play Settlers very frequently, and we became so accustomed to the game (and the meta-game) that we were routinely able to finish a 4 player game in 45 minutes – setup included!
Heathkit – would Carcassone qualify as a Super Filler? Or is it too light, more of an ‘appetizer’? What about Carcassone with some of the more modest expansions such as The River or Inns & Cathedrals?
I agree, experienced groups can play Settlers in 45 minutes, and that definitely puts it into Super Filler territory.
Carcassonne: obviously this is all kind of subjective, but I would certainly include this one as well. I think it’s longer than an appetizer, and it’s not without some tough decisions, although it’s still pretty light.
But anyway, I like “light”. I guess my essay wasn’t entirely accurate. I said that Super Fillers are the only games I play, but of course, I play lighter fillers and appetizers, too. It’s the big slabs of beef that I can’t digest.
So your thesis really is: I hate long games. Geez, coulda saved us some time there. 😛
I’m kidding, I like the take of what you prefer instead of long-games rather then simply saying it, so I’d say the essay was very accurate, just not blatant and obvious with its point. Which is not a bad thing at all.
Ha! Actually, my intent wasn’t *just* to say “I hate long games.” My real intent was to point out that disliking long games doesn’t automatically make one a “casual gamer”.
And that should make sense to most people. Liking games doesn’t mean that you want to sit down and play one for 5 hours straight or anything like that.
Maybe it’s because I eat too much, but I find vegan meals can be just as super-filling. It depends on what the balance of fat, carbs and protein is like in the meal.
Food Blog, here we come! 😛
I also don’t see length as being the sole criteria. If Caylus were somehow playable in half an hour, but had all the same elements to it, I think it would still count as having some meat. Like a casserole.
To Elena99: I agree about vegan meals, and I feel the same way about vegan games. A good 45-minute super-filler can be really filling and satisfying. Siggins alludes to that when he says, “almost always under an hour, and leaving you feeling as if you have played for longer.”
To The Game: I would say that the other factor besides game-length (for me) is the length and complexity of the rules. So a half-hour version of Caylus with the same complexity of rules would still feel indigestible to me.
One of the other over-arching (but unspoken) points of my essay is that there’s an inherent bias in our language about games. The term “meaty” has universally positive connotations, while the terms “filler”, “gateway game”, and “casual gamer” all feel slightly dismissive (though not exactly negative). My point (to echo Elena99’s) is that vegan games can be just as “meaty” as other games.
But I don’t want to imply that, although super-fillers might *seem* “meaty”, they don’t actually contain “meat”! (Or they contain “fake meat”, etc.) We’re back to that language bias again, which is actually quite pervasive. Maybe my analogy is just breaking down here. But I think the slightly dismissive tone is real.
Wow, that all makes me sound more serious than I actually am. I’m ultimately more amused by it than bothered by it. 🙂
Good thing we have vegetarian food being advertised here now. Look on the sidebar.