What am I playing at...? with Laura Lexx
The author and comedian on her upcoming Slinky tour, plans for a stand-up-themed board game and loving Monopoly for the admin
‘What am I playing at’ is our new semi-regular feature discussing board games with those outside the industry. And first up at the tabletop is British comedian, actor and writer Laura Lexx.
With TV credits including Live at the Apollo, Mock the Week and Hypothetical, Laura is set to tour the UK later this year. Her first book, Klopp Actually, detailed her idealised, imagined life with Jurgen the No-nonsense Football Manager, and was followed in 2022 by Pivot, a novel about a ramshackle team finding their feet in life through the medium of netball.
Laura’s also a huge board game fan. So, we had a chat about all the above, but really, mainly, to discuss whether Twilight Struggle is worth the hype and what snacks are permissible to scoff while rolling the dice.
Hi Laura. So, what do you think you're playing at?
LL: At the moment, I’m preparing for my autumn tour: Slinky. I just became a mother recently and I’m trying to work out my thoughts on the whole thing and get them funny enough to take around the country.
I feel a bit weird talking about my kid and invading her privacy so I’m trying to develop a whole show about parenting that doesn’t really tell you anything about her – just me and my reaction to suddenly adding a new job role to the slate.
Did I read right that you're designing a board game? If so, can you say much about it
LL: I am! It’s a very long and slow project that I’m working on with my husband (fellow comedian Tom Livingstone from improv group The Noise Next Door).
We have been working out an idea for a game where you slowly become a comedian and perfect your jokes, while trying to pay your rent and not burn out.
It’s a lot of fun and has some great flavour to it but the mechanics are obviously tricky. We wanted to show off the brilliance of the UK comedy circuit while also making a game that was fun for people who like a properly complex game.
There weren't many books about fifty-something netball players around until you wrote Pivot. There's clearly a gap in the market for board games on this subject too. If you could adapt the novel for the tabletop, which game mechanics and formats would you use?
LL: Ooh, that’s a great question! Do you know, netball does sort of suit game mechanics because it has so many rules. It’s what made me hate it but it does suit the tabletop design.
You could have a limited hand of actions each go, for example – pivot, pass, move… or perhaps those action cards vary slightly depending on which position you are? So defenders also have a block card and shooters have a shoot?
You’ve got me thinking now…
Jurgen Klopp once described his teams' playing style as ‘heavy metal’. Obviously, this leads to other non-musical analogous comparisons. Having, in Klopp Actually, led an entire imaginary life married to the man – and therefore in a good place to know – what board game would work best as a metaphor for Klopp's outlook on life?
LL: He seems to have a very strong sense of community responsibility so I’d have to say some sort of co-operative team game. Maybe Pandemic? Something where everyone has good skills, needs strong communication and are working together for the good of the world?
‘Does a board game truly look loved until it has Wotsits on every card?’
Ideal game night: which games are you playing, who's with you, where are you and what snacks are you chowing down on?
LL: So, this is tough because I have a lot of gaming friends and I don’t want to leave anyone out. Shout out to Joe and Lia who we often used to have game weekends with (pre-kids, you know?), and they introduced me to all sorts of staples in my weeknight play now: Quacks of Quedlinburg, 6 Nimmt!, Nidavalir… they’re great at finding those sort of mid-length fun games.
Quacks of Quedlinburg got me through lockdown when we realised that you can play it over Zoom, if you have it at each house, because it requires no real interaction between players.
With my brother Ron, who co-hosts my silly podcast Lexx Education, I love to play Magic: The Gathering – we love a draft. We also do a lot of Catan (but only with the Cities & Knights expansion or is it even worth it?).
My main game opponent, though, is Tom, my husband, and we love a broad mix. Classics we love are Tyrants of the Underdark, Everdell, The Taverns of Tiefenthal, but we also like smaller games.
Snacks… snacks I’m going crisps, even though they are slowly ruining every game I have with their grease – but does a board game truly look loved until it has Wotsits on every card?
Which tabletop games, for better or worse, did you grow up playing with?
LL: We had the usuals like Risk, Monopoly, Game of Life.
The one I really remember fondly is a little game my grandparents had called Barricade, where you had to race to the finish and block each other’s paths. My parents also had one called Hägar the Horrible's Gløg Game that we always used to want to play but they said wasn’t suitable.
Do you have a grail game – one you always wanted to play but never have?
LL: It used to be Twilight Struggle and then we caved and bought it, and it was so dry we gave it away after four attempts. I have no idea what we were missing that everyone else loves so much but I thought it was incredibly dull.
Now I would probably say… maybe Viticulture? That one keeps catching my eye and I haven’t got round to it yet.
What's the most nefarious/antisocial thing you've seen someone do when playing a board game?
LL: I have never yet played a game of Quacks of Quedlinburg where I haven’t cheated almost constantly (and still lost).
Monopoly: yes or no? Explain yourself
LL: Yes, absolutely. I love it. It’s easy, it’s silly, it’s argumentative and, as long as you have a get-out method, I think it doesn’t have to be hours long.
I used to play it as a kid and keep a log book of all money in and out. I think I preferred admin to playing back then.
Have you ever felt scared playing a board game?
LL: Erm, no.
Who's the most famous person you've played a tabletop game with?
LL: Ooh, um, I’m not sure I ever have really… it’s a deeply personal thing that I do not do in any way for career development.
Except for this interview and developing one to hopefully sell for millions, obviously.
What's the best game component?
LL: It has to be all the little bits in Everdell doesn’t it? The squishy berries and the twigs and the amber? Tom bought me some 3D-printed holders for all of them so the amber is in the trunk of a tree and the coins are in a chest.
I think Everdell is one of the most beautifully thought-out and made games ever.
Laura is touring the UK with Slinky in October and November. For more information and for tickets, visit lauralexx.co.uk.
