My Gaming Profile

Once every three months or so I retake the Board Gamer Motivation Profile to see how I have changed as a gamer. Each time I take the quiz, my motivation changes or shifts slightly. This could be from a variety of factors, but I do notice the shifts as I look back on the games I enjoy the most.

First off, I generally always end up pretty high on most of my scores, but recently since I started blogging and engaging more the majority of my scores are in the 75th percentile or above. I love a lot of different things about gaming. However, even in that I do see subtle shifts. Recently I have become much more interested in the strategic elements of games. I enjoy games that make me think through each step or turn in detail. When I first started gaming the strategic element was around 30%.  I have also seen a shift towards cooperation, which is somewhat surprising to me because while I do not gravitate towards cooperative games I have been enjoying them a lot more lately.

One thing that has not changed is my focus on aesthetics and social fun. Board games are the main way I socialize so that has always been something that was extremely important to me. I have a strong background in art as well, spending a great deal of my time painting or sculpting, so that way something looks has also stayed important.

I always find these profiles to be interesting, especially as I mature and change as a gamer. Some times they just reflect what I am feeling that day, but most of the time I can actually see trends over the months in what I like or dislike. Have you ever taken the gaming profile? What are your major motivations and were you surprised by them?