BoardgamesToGo

Good episode. Another feature I think is vital (but often missing) in async games is in-game chat. True, no one uses this as much as I'd like (because no one has come up with an interface so great you can't avoid talking smack to each other), but it's really frustrating when there's nothing at all. Though I usually play async games against friends I can email or IM separately, sometimes I'm playing against strangers and there's no way to communicate. Dumb! I liked the point about boardgame adaptations benefiting from rules tweaks that enhance online play. Like the small mods Brief History of the World is crying out for. If you don't already know it, take a look at the play-by-web site Yucata.de. They've dealt with this problem for years, and in several cases have made those tiny mods you're talking about. Either it's an option to speed up online play (look at Yspahan), or they acknowledge a tweak to the rules (look at Pompeii). Something similar happens at MichaelSchacht.net for Hansa. Some players will be bugged by the changes, but it's to the game's benefit. Leaving the original way as an option seems like the best solution.