Narratives and Databases in Game of Thrones - Game Play: Paratextuality in Contemporary Board Games - page 147

locations, players must play their March orders—which also depend on the
supplies in each location. Indeed, much of the game play within A Game of
hrones: he Board Game relies on players negotiating their limited resources
into armies.
hus, there is a cyclical nature to the turn, as each individual facet of game
play depends on the others: armies need supplies, which are earned by marching,
which takes armies. Ultimately, the database of places within Martin's literary
world of Westeros plays an important role in the way the game mechanics
function, and, as I mentioned above, relects new media concerns. For example,
digital technology allows multiple ways of accessing information about, say, cult
media texts like A Game of hrones . Partly because of its database-like qualities,
A Song of Ice and Fire has spawned scores of fan-written wikis online like A Wiki
of Ice and Fire . hese databases of narrative information hold blocks of data
about the series in much the same way as individual players must negotiate and
navigate their own understandings of the elements of their Houses compared
with other Houses. he pleasure of successfully planning a strategic move two
turns in advance depends on a database-like understanding of not only what
your own House is doing but also on the deductions gleaned from the orders
given to the other Great Houses.
Battles are also won through the comparison of a number of interdependent
items, including the support of armies surrounding the attacked location, the
strength of the defense in comparison with the strength of the attacker, and
the House cards. Each player is in control of seven cards that can augment an
attack or a defense. he cards depict characters that belong to each House and
can ofer strength and/or abilities. For instance, as House Lannister, I could play
as Ser Gregor Clegane, who not only can add a strength of three to my combat
but also can kill three armies if I win the battle. Cards also feature text, as on
the Tywin Lannister card, which aids the larger game play for the Lannisters
(Figure 7.2).
House cards change the focus of the battle from a mere mathematical
comparison (I have four armies and you have three, therefore I win) to a more
strategic play. One must be able to not only understand the larger war strategy of
the game but also “out think” one's opponent by playing a card that combats the
particular strategy one's opponent is using. his mechanic of algorithmic strategy
combined with interpersonal thematics suggests player agency within the game.
As Woods notes, the most successful games depend not just on understanding
the game play but also on understanding the game players : “the player continues