Resisting the Attention Economy with Board Games

Many of us in 2022 live a knowledge seeker’s dream. With the click of a hyperlink, we can find a wealth of information about nearly any subject that tickles our fancy. We’re privy to the lives of our friends, acquaintances and complete strangers.

We have more information at our disposal than ever before, and not enough time or attention to consume it. This is the basis for the attention economy – that attention is a scarce commodity, and the main limiting factor in our consumption of information.

While the attention economy was first theorised in the 1970s by psychologist and economist Herber A. Simon, it has regained popularity in recent times in response to the Internet’s increasingly dominant role in our lives.

How to Do Nothing?

In Jenny Odell’s book “How to do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy”, Odell suggests resisting the attention economy (and the corporations and advertisers that have come to significantly shape online spaces) through refusal and taking back our control over our attention. She does this by returning her attention to the rhythms of her natural surroundings, spending languorous stretches of time at a creek, birdwatching and just… doing nothing. 

Still, Odell acknowledges just how difficult “doing nothing” can be, especially when the rat race demands we spend every second of our time productively. 

If you’re used to the constant dopamine hits that the Internet provides, throwing yourself into a serene, undistracted walk in nature may feel too drastic a shift. You may need to find some middle ground.

Resisting the Attention Economy

Playing board games is one way you can minimise your screen time and train your attention back into appreciating slowness. Most of the time, it requires you to put away your phone – and, by extension, the overwhelming assault of ads, brands and algorithms scrambling for your attention.

The tactile quality of board game components, the social nature of multiplayer games and the attention required to keep track of the game’s rules and your own strategy, create the perfect conditions for you to stay present and engage wholly with what’s in front of you.

This aligns nicely with mindfulness, a mental health practice defined as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment”. Board games have shown to be beneficial to reducing stress and enhancing one’s mental well-being, and have even been incorporated into many health programmes.

Even the less attractive aspects of board gaming can help you regain control over your attention. 

Whether it's reading rulebooks cover to cover, getting used to confusing new mechanics, or coordinating a group of busy adults for game night, committing yourself to this hobby means sitting through parts that are, frankly, not much fun.

But this tediousness is exactly what we’re looking for when resisting the attention economy. Committing yourself to these tiresome processes forces you to cultivate something that many have lost in our fast-paced world – the value of patience.

Fitting Into the Attention Economy

For many of us in the board game community, we know that the hobby is more than just the time spent at the table. This is where we find ourselves back in the grip of the attention economy.

The market value of the board game industry has been increasing steadily, with thousands of new games and expansions published each year. This also means thousands of board games vying for our attention, even before they hit the table.

Thanks to a rich online community of reviewers and content creators, each game comes with a plethora of content across many different mediums and platforms, that you can use to inform your playing choices.

Since attention is a scarce resource, we want to make sure we choose the game that’s worth spending it on. Ironically, this search for the best possible game ends up taking up even more of our attention, leaving less time for play.

A recent forum thread on BoardGameGeek titled “Researching Buying Games More Than Playing Them” saw some gamers lament that they were spending more time researching and watching reviews for board games than actually playing them.

Stonemaier Games recently wrote a blog post about the negative feelings that arise in customers, especially when shelling out on expensive games. He talks about how feelings like FOMO are, in part, created by game publishers, and urges publishers to consider this when releasing Kickstarter exclusives and deluxe products.

In a different post, he offers an alternative – publishers that not only resisted FOMO in their marketing, but made the extra effort to ensure backers didn't feel pressured to make purchases right away.

Considering the scarcity of attention and resources, and the demands of shifting algorithms set forth by social media giants, we can’t withdraw from the attention economy completely. But us publishers can make considered choices around marketing and the release of exclusive products, to reduce our demands on the attention of our customers.

At its heart, the board game community is full of people who, by virtue of being board game enthusiasts, can appreciate the value of presentness required by tabletop gaming. As publishers, reviewers and gamers, we can shape our interactions with the attention economy and each other to align with the same sense of rapt attention we dedicate to our favourite games.

Does it rile you up when your fellow players don’t pay enough attention on game night? You might relate to this post detailing some game night pet peeves.