As artifacts, abstract games offer uncommon barriers to criticism. These games often appear to be little more than sets of seemingly arbitrary symbols or shapes that are manipulated or transformed according to equally arbitrary rules, and it can be difficult to see these games as anything but interesting little challenges. Part of this difficulty stems from the fact that these games are not obviously about someone or something in the way other media forms—including other games—are. For Ian Bogost (2009), this lack of “aboutness”—meaning whether the game is clearly about an idea, concept, or theme—is a major barrier to interpretation:
Can we talk about such games the way we talk about, say, BioShock or Pac-Man or SimCity? All of those games offer aboutness of some kind, whether through narrative, characterization, or simulation. In each, there are concrete topics that find representation in the rules and environments. Indeed, it’s hard to talk about abstract games precisely because they are not concrete. Those with more identifiably tangible themes offer some entry point for thematic interpretation.
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