When most board games take you on a trip, they do it the easy way — glossy postcards, famous landmarks, tidy itineraries. Abroad doesn’t do that. This is a travel game, sure, but it’s not about sightseeing. It’s about what really happens when you step into an unfamiliar place, far from the rhythms and comforts of home.
It’s about culture shock. About fumbling through a phrasebook at a crowded market. About figuring out how to read a train schedule in a language you barely know. It’s not a travel brochure — it’s the actual trip.
That’s exactly the experience the game’s designer set out to capture. In a recent Designer Diary for BoardGameGeek News, they opened up about the winding, often messy creative process behind Abroad — and in doing so, offered a masterclass in making a game that feels alive.
The First Spark
It started with a tricky question: How do you make a game about traveling that’s both social and strategic — without losing the subtle, human texture of real-life culture clashes?
- A deck of cards representing destinations and unexpected events.
- Test games where players stumbled through journeys that felt… a little too random.
- A pivot toward giving players more meaningful choices, rather than letting chance run the show.
The designer began anchoring every location in the game to specific cultural dynamics — not just trivia, but fictionalized minority and majority communities that shaped how each action played out. That decision became a defining part of Abroad’s personality.
Balancing Mechanics and Meaning
One of the big challenges? Finding that sweet spot between complex strategy and thematic clarity. Early versions of the rules were intricate — the kind only dedicated strategy gamers would want to parse. But playtesting revealed that the theme, not just the mechanics, was the real heart of the game.
The gameplay shifted: tension came from adapting to sudden cultural curveballs and logistical snags, the kind every traveler knows. A standout feature was the “insider vs. outsider” system: depending on your character’s background, you might breeze through certain regions while hitting barriers in others — sometimes minor, sometimes game-changing, often sparking lively negotiation.
Lessons From the Journey
- Theme is the compass. Every change was guided by the question: “Does this capture the feeling of being abroad?”
- Listen widely. Playtesters from varied cultural backgrounds ensured the game’s representation remained thoughtful and respectful.
- Iterate without mercy. If a mechanic didn’t work, it was cut — no matter how clever it seemed on paper.
More Than Just Rules on a Page
Abroad is proof that board games aren’t just about systems and scoring — they’re about communication. They create a shared space where decisions, emotions, and stories unfold. When a game embraces themes as rich as travel, identity, and cultural exchange, its craft lies in making that world authentic enough for players to care.
This isn’t a checklist kind of travel. It’s messy, awkward, and surprising — just like the real journey of leaving home.
Question for you: When a board game tackles a real-world theme, how much does authenticity matter compared to lightness and ease of play? Would you choose grit and nuance, or keep it breezy?
If you’d like, I can provide a deep-dive game analysis of Abroad — exploring its mechanics, how they shape the play experience, and the types of players it might attract. This could turn the story of its creation into a full feature package.