Agency within Analog Shakespearean Games

Abstract

Analog (board and card) gaming is gaining popularity, in part motivated by the influence of new design principles inspired by so-called eurogames (deriving from the tradition of board games begun in Germany, such as Catan). This article studies the development of new approaches to affording player agency within three analog games with developed Shakespearean themes: Kill Shakespeare, Council of Verona, and Shakespeare. Using Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theories of agency as manifested in playing analog games, this article argues that games offer a meaningful way to see agency within a discrete social space and that games offer distinctive sites for varying agentic opportunities for players, though often as limited as they are freeing due to game and social constraints. These contemporary games use Shakespeare as a thematic center, allowing players to become agents within new Shakespearean game worlds, engaging players in active and dynamic social roles and highly structured play.