To quote the Borg: "Resistance is futile", and so it seems to be in the case of artificial intelligence, which is now seeping into more and more industries and not least aspects of our everyday life. Film, music, art, writing and now board games. At least if Hasbro gets its way and succeeds with the collaboration it has started with an Italian company called Xplored. They have created a board game platform that combines digital as well as physical aspects into a seamless experience.
For those of you who frequently play board games, it's probably no surprise that companion apps have become increasingly common. Examples of this include the popular Descent: Legends of the Dark, which in its latest edition used a digital game master with quite successful results. And now Hasbro wants to take this one step further, for even more interactive possibilities. In a joint press release they said the following:
"As the global leader in tabletop games, we envision a future where technology seamlessly integrates into analog gaming experiences and working with Xplored enables us to deliver innovative gameplay to our players and fans, limitless digital expansions to physical games, seamless onboarding, and powerful AI-driven game mechanics."
Both Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering are names that have been discussed regarding AI integration, and the possibilities are definitely exciting.
What do you think about this idea, good or bad?