In the world of board games, symbols and iconography play an essential role in enhancing the player experience. From representing resources to indicating actions or statuses, well-designed icons can significantly streamline gameplay, making complex mechanics easier to understand and more intuitive to navigate. The use of icons goes beyond simple decoration — they are an integral part of how players interact with the game and can deeply influence the overall flow and accessibility of the game.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the importance of iconography in board games, how it improves player experience, and why it should never be overlooked when designing a game.
What is Iconography in Board Games?
Iconography refers to the use of symbols, pictures, and icons to represent concepts, actions, or components in a game. These visual elements can replace lengthy text descriptions, convey meaning at a glance, and help players navigate the game world more efficiently.
For example, in a game like Terraforming Mars, a symbol might represent a specific resource like titanium or steel. Instead of spelling out the word “titanium” every time, the game uses a small icon that players can easily recognize. This allows players to focus on strategy rather than constantly interpreting text, improving both the flow and clarity of the game.
Why Iconography Matters in Board Games
1. Simplifying Gameplay
One of the main reasons iconography is so important is that it simplifies gameplay. When there are multiple actions or components to track, relying on icons helps eliminate the need for lengthy rule explanations or constant reference to rulebooks.
Take Catan, for example. The game uses simple icons on resource cards to represent various materials — wood, brick, ore, sheep, and wheat. By using these easy-to-understand symbols, players can quickly know what they have and what they need without having to remember complex rules or read through piles of text.
In more complex games like Twilight Imperium, icons represent various concepts such as fleet strength, victory points, or resource production, allowing players to process information quickly without confusion. This visual shorthand is crucial in reducing cognitive overload during gameplay.
2. Enhancing Accessibility
Another key benefit of iconography is its ability to enhance accessibility for players. Games with extensive text can sometimes alienate non-native speakers or individuals who may struggle with reading. By using universally recognizable symbols, designers can create a game that’s easier to pick up and play for people of various backgrounds and experience levels.
For instance, in Pandemic, a series of icons are used to indicate infection levels, outbreaks, and disease types. These symbols are easy to interpret, making the game more approachable for newcomers while still maintaining its strategic depth for experienced players. By simplifying text and relying on visual cues, you create a game that appeals to a wider audience.
3. Streamlining Game Setup and Play
Iconography doesn’t just improve gameplay during a session; it also helps with setup and preparation. When players are familiar with the icons, they can quickly set up the game without needing to read through a long set of instructions. This is especially important for games with many components.
Consider Gloomhaven — a complex game with numerous cards, tokens, and counters. The use of icons throughout the game allows players to easily identify and sort out the necessary components, speeding up the setup process. Players can quickly recognize what needs to be placed where and what actions certain tokens represent.
4. Consistency Across Game Elements
Good iconography ensures consistency across the game’s components. Consistent visual elements tie together the different parts of a game, creating a cohesive experience. From the board to the cards, tokens, and player sheets, well-designed icons keep everything in sync, making it easier for players to understand how the game elements relate to one another.
For example, in 7 Wonders, symbols are used consistently across the various cards to represent different types of resources, actions, and buildings. Players don’t need to memorize a new set of rules for each card — the icons help guide them through the game without feeling overwhelmed.
How to Design Effective Iconography for Board Games
While icons can be incredibly helpful, they must be designed with care to be effective. Here are a few principles to keep in mind when creating iconography for a board game:
1. Simplicity and Clarity
Icons should be simple and easy to recognize. Avoid cluttering the symbol with unnecessary details. A successful icon conveys its meaning in an instant, even from a distance. A crowded or complex icon can lead to confusion, defeating the purpose of visual communication.
2. Consistency
Make sure that icons follow a consistent style throughout the game. If you use a certain color for one symbol, use that same color for similar symbols throughout the game. This consistency helps players build associations and easily identify components without second-guessing.
3. Intuitive Design
Good iconography should be intuitive, meaning players should be able to understand the icon’s meaning without needing to look it up. This can often be achieved by using familiar, universally recognized symbols (e.g., a fire icon for “damage” or a heart for “health”).
4. Testing and Feedback
As with any game design element, iconography should be tested in real play situations. Get feedback from players on how easy the icons are to understand and use during gameplay. Iterating based on this feedback is crucial to refining the design and ensuring it enhances the player experience.
Examples of Iconography Done Right
Let’s take a look at a few games that use iconography effectively:
- Agricola: This game uses icons to represent various resources (wood, clay, stone, etc.) as well as actions such as building, sowing, or feeding the family. The icons are simple, clear, and easy to distinguish from one another, making the complex mechanics much easier to understand.
- Gloomhaven: The game is filled with icons on action cards, status effects, and combat abilities. Each icon is purposefully designed to ensure that players can interpret them quickly without needing to constantly consult the rulebook.
- Dominion: This deck-building game uses small, simple icons to represent actions, victories, and money on each card. The use of icons allows players to understand at a glance what each card does without lengthy text explanations.
- Codenames: While not using traditional icons, Codenames uses word associations and simple visual connections between the clue giver and the guessers. The use of color-coded cards helps streamline the process of understanding the game’s rules, making the game easy to play and quick to set up.