Adding QR Codes to Board Games - New Ways to Play Analog Games
Try Sticking QR Codes on Sugoroku Squares
Adding QR codes to a sugoroku board game played with the family turns it into a game with a different development every time. QR code stickers are placed on some squares, and when a player who lands there scans one, an "event" occurs.
Examples of events: "Move forward 3 squares if you can say 5 words in a shiritori word chain within 30 seconds," "Play rock-paper-scissors with the next player and move back 2 squares if you lose," "Name 3 of your favorite foods (miss a turn if you cannot)." If you set up prompts like these at the QR code's link destination, sugoroku is less likely to become monotonous and can stay fresh even when played repeatedly.
If you set it up to display prompts at random, a different event will appear even when someone lands on the same square. With free web services, you can easily make this even without programming knowledge.
Adding Digital Elements to Card Games
Just adding a few "special cards" with QR codes to an existing card game such as playing cards or UNO can bring new fun to the game.
For example, add 4 "QR cards" to a deck of playing cards. A player who draws one of these cards must scan the QR code and complete the mission that appears. "Stand on one foot and count to 10," "Do an impression of the person next to you," "Share one good thing that happened today." Succeed at the mission for a beneficial effect, fail and receive a penalty. It makes it easier to liven things up as a party game.
Combining it with the Werewolf game is also fun. If you print QR codes on the role cards so that scanning one displays an explanation of your role and abilities, even first-time players can understand the rules more easily. It saves the trouble of reading a paper rulebook, and the game starts more smoothly.
Making an Original Board Game With QR Codes
With QR codes, you can easily make a one-of-a-kind original board game. Just draw a grid of squares on a large sheet of paper and stick QR codes at key spots. Because you can freely customize the game's content just by changing the QR codes' link destinations, it is easy to adjust it to the players' ages and preferences.
It can also be used as a learning game for children. Set math problems in the QR codes, and players move forward if they answer correctly and move back if they answer incorrectly. If you make games matched to school subjects, such as prefecture quizzes, English vocabulary quizzes, and history date quizzes, it becomes a tool that kills two birds with one stone, letting children study while they play.
Making an "original board game with QR codes" as a summer vacation independent research project is also recommended. Designing the game's rules, generating the QR codes, coming up with prompts, refining the design. Logical thinking, digital literacy, and creativity are all packed into a single work.
Examples of QR Code Use in Commercial Board Games
Among commercial board games, there are also products that make use of QR codes.
Rule explanation videos: A QR code card is included in the box along with the rulebook, and scanning it plays a video explaining the rules. It is easier to understand than a text-only rulebook and shortens the time needed to set up the game.
Expansion content: Scanning the QR codes on cards included in the base set lets you download additional scenarios and characters. It is a system that adds new ways to play digitally, even without buying physical expansion packs.
Background music and sound effects: Scanning a QR code at the start of the game plays a background music playlist suited to that game. Eerie music for a horror game, cheerful music for a party game. Sound effects help heighten immersion in the game.
Getting the "Best of Both" Digital and Analog
The appeal of board games lies in their "analog tactile feel": sitting face to face around a table, rolling dice, and picking up cards. Direct person-to-person communication, which smartphone games lack, is the essence of board games.
QR codes are a tool that adds digital convenience and variety without spoiling this analog appeal. Rules explained clearly with videos, events varied through random generation, atmosphere created with background music. Being able to get the "best of both," the warmth of analog and the richness of digital, is the appeal of board games with QR codes.