In a recent edition of The Gamer's Notebook, Mike Siggins coined the term "Super Filler". Here's what he had to say:
The Super Filler is really a subtype of game that I used to call The Middleweight. It is more than a 20 or 30 minute starter, but it does not amount to a main course in weight or play length. The game is �straight in�, has plenty of decisions, a fair amount of depth, but importantly it is very quick to play. Almost always under an hour, and leaving you feeling as if you have played for longer.
As usual, Siggins's thoughts are insightful and crystallizing. There are indeed games that are neither appetizers nor big, meaty dishes. And, as Siggins suggests, these "Super Fillers" may be on the upswing in the marketplace. I for one would love that. Siggins himself seems happy enough with the possibility, or at least doesn't seem bothered by it.
I do, however, want to take mild issue with his suggestion that these games are neither heavy enough nor long enough to be suitable as "main courses" for an evening of gaming. The implication seems to be that no healthy gamer can subsist on a diet of nothing but Super Fillers.
Well, I am just such a gamer. I don't just love Super Fillers—they're the only games I eat. To me, an evening of "middleweights" is pure culinary heaven, leaving me feeling light, refreshed, and energized. In contrast, the more "meaty" games leave me feeling groggy, bloated, and (if I may say so) constipated.
Perhaps some will argue that this simply indicates that I'm a "casual gamer". This would be like saying that anyone who doesn't eat meat is a "casual eater"! I've met vegetarians who are more serious about food than anyone else I know. Similarly, when it comes to games, I'm anything but casual. Just as Siggins proposes that there's a special category of games, I propose that I belong to a special category of players. I'm a Vegetarian Gamer.
Like our culinary counterparts, we vegetarian gamers display a wide range of tastes. Some of us would never touch a slice of (Ark)ham with a ten-foot pole, but are happy to start the day with a scrambled Egg(ert) or two. Some of us will run screaming from giant Teutonic feasts, but can't live without the rich creamy sauces of the French. As a "vegan" gamer, I personally avoid both meat and dairy, preferring to dine on delicately-spiced dishes of lentils and chickpeas.
Such discussions always threaten to become religious, so let me emphasize that I make no moral judgments. The reasons for my own culinary choices are strictly dietary. I would never try to talk my carnivorous friends out of enjoying their meaty games, and in a healthy marketplace, all flavors will continue to be readily available. But if you ever happen to run into me at some game-related gathering and ask me to join you in a game of Caylus, I hope you won't be offended if I respond:
"No, thank you. I'm vegan."