Table-top games are booming in the video-game age

http://ipadboardgames.org

Console-first development -for all the violence it has done to game design- has been a godsend in this department. I'm getting a huge amount of mileage out of my ~6-year-old gaming PC.

I know that you said that you're not going back to PC gaming, but I just have to recommend a few indie PC games that I've had a lot of fun playing with friends.

If you're ever looking for things to play with friends on the same screen, I can personally recommend Nidhogg, [0] TowerFall Ascension, [1] Monaco, [2] and the somewhat-recent Spelunky HD remake. [3] Also, the Let's Play folks [5] seem to play a new same- or split-screen co-op game once every other week or two.

[0] (A two-player, tightly-designed, reasonably deep, fast-paced side-scrolling sword fighting game) http://www.nidhogggame.com/

[1] (A one-to-four-player single-screen acrobatic archery combat game. This one's a little hard to describe, but the 50% of the video on the Steam page that's actual gameplay gives you an okay idea of how it plays.) http://store.steampowered.com/app/251470/

[2] (A one-to-four-player single-screen strategy heist game with static levels, but semi-random enemy and resource placement) http://www.monacoismine.com/

[3] (A 2D-scrolling randomly-generated-dungeon exploration and exploitation game, that has a rather finely-tuned risk/reward mechanism, and a really high skill cap. [4] However, it's totally not required to get "good" at the game. Derping around with friends is rather chaotic and tons of fun.) http://www.spelunkyworld.com/whatis.html (Sadly, that page is not so useful for getting a sense of the game. The 2008 version of the game is freely available [and linked on that page], so you can play a single-player-only, less polished version of the HD remake.)

[4] That is to say, there are a bunch of systems in the game that can interact in many different ways. You have a much easier time with the game if you are able to figure out many of these interactions, but doing so is strictly optional. The game is hard, but always fair, and gets you back in the game quickly after you -inevitably- fail.

[5] https://www.youtube.com/user/LetsPlay/videos

Broadly speaking, tabletop games are divided into what are called Euro games and Ameritrash [1]. Euro games have less player-conflict and (often but not always) less luck.

Euro games either originated in or were popularized in Germany and the beginning of that trend is really Settlers of Catan and (later) Carcasonne. Both of these games were and are big but for the more "serious" Euro games, the trend really took off with Puerto Rico, which came out in 2002. Since Puerto Rico there has been an absolute explosion of games.

In the 90s we might've had 10-20 games to choose from? Now, hundreds.

Every few years there tended to be a standout game which would propel the industry in some way, often evidenced by the many knockoffs. Agricola (2007), Race for the Galaxy (2007; although it was largely a rethemed San Juan (2004), which itself was inspired by Puerto Rico) which led to Dominion (2008+), Terra Mystica (2013), etc.

Kickstarter is really feeding off this success not the other way around.

As for DRM (including copy protection), this has been a thing most of the life of computer gaming. Now is really no different other than DRM of the last 10+ years has moved towards always-on Internet connections or, worse, turning single player games into games that can only save online (eg the SimCity V fiasco).

My experience with LAN gaming was it was one of two types of games: FPSs and RTSs.

FPSs honestly haven't changed all that much in years. Sure the graphics have gotten better and there have been minor improvements but honestly an FPS is an FPS.

We played LAN Warcraft 3 (eg tower defense maps). Personally I prefer turn-based strategy games, which are a dying breed (sadly).

But what drove those early LAN gaming sessions was I think two things:

1. Novelty; and

2. Internet connections.

There was a time when multiplayer gaming wasn't possible with the Internet connections of the day. Now it is. The result is less need to drag your computers to someone elses house.

Of course the effect of that is that you can then play with anyone not just your friends, which ironically seems to mean that you just don't do it anymore. Anyone older the school age seems to hate online gaming with strangers as you have to deal with cheaters and kids who have nothing better to do than play 8+ hours a day, which is fine, but it's not fun for the casual gamer.

See why tabletop games work is that tabletop gaming is a social exercise. You get together with friends and play. If you just played online, even with your friends, I don't believe it'd have anywhere near as much stickiness and definitely less adherents.

[1]: http://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Ameritrash

The boardgame Eclipse compares somewhat. (Though Eclipse really wants to be a computer game.)

Eclipse on the iPad is fun in local hand-the-iPad-around mode. But since you can't see the board while other people are mucking around, you can't plan ahead easily during the downtime.

(I guess I'll have to write that one myself.)