Game states as intent vessels
This paper views game states in board games as vessels of player’s intent. In a turn, a player embeds specific intents, and others attempt to read the embedded intent through the spatio-temporal context of the game state. These vessels create, contain, distort, channel, conceal, reveal, form, and deform the embedded intent in relation to the player’s perception and phenomenology. Firstly, we establish game states as intent vessels, then, from this standpoint, formulate a board game player experience theory - the 'intent theory of fun'. Player’s intent, its flow, and the game states as vessels form theory’s core. This perspective presents players as active shapers of their game experiences, embedding and interpreting intents. It also shifts focus from author's to player's intent, emphasizing their active role. We arrive at the theory and the vantage point of game states as vessels through empirical studies on 36 gameplays of 18 mechanic-driven board games.