I can't wrap my head around the idea why there is no mini-games in Skyrim. It would make roleplaying a character so much more fun. I would like some simple things. Like some card games we could gamble in. I loved that in Fallout New Vegas. Or the obvious like a arena or jousting events. It would offer things to do besides fetching this or killing that. Thoughts?

Jousting, yes.
Card Games, maybe.
Arena, hell yes.

Don't forget shooting galleries.

Card games are always nice, and so is gambling in general. I wouldn't mind it seeing as there is no Luck attribute anymore so it's actually gambling.

if it's the arena from the first fable please god yes! oh and a fishing mini game like the one from legend of zelda twilight princess.

There is....Lockpicking. We don't need that either.

Lockpicking is a mini-game, of course.

DURNIT! You beat me to it.

Although I don't particularly mind there being a lockpicking game. The downside is that it's so easy and lockpicks are so common, that there's never any reason to take any perks in lockpicking.

A card game would be fun, one of the great things fable had. But a mini game for every small task is just annoying, sometimes I like to just let my character chop wood while I look at the mountains and take in the music.

Ha! Hello G-Man...

I don't care for Lockpicking because it should be based on the skill of the character and not the player. It should also include spells, for mages and bashing for warriors.

Mini games in general...I am just not all hat thrilled about. I can always play solitaire on the PC.

Seles' the name. Shells' the game.

Gambling and Card Games make me think of Fable.
Fable is bad. Real bad.
Except 1 and Lost Chapters.

They did card games well, I liked playing cards in Fable.

why not think of new Vegas or Red Dead Redemption? they are much better games. Besides, i was using cards as an examples. And the whole lock picking argument is not the kinda of mini game i'm talking about but more like someone said, fishing. Anyway, i'm thinking of mini games that are addictive and fun and could detract us from the "always at work mentality" of the game and make us feel like there is more to life in skyrim besides fighting for survival.

I kinda sympathize with that, but I know that people have kinda complained about Morrowind's combat, where they were pretty strict about doing it that way. I think the idea was "Yeah, I know my level 2 character doesn't have much skill, but I'm swinging a sword at a grazing sheep and he's right there and I can't hit him because my skill is too low? I mean, come on, the crosshairs are right on the stupid sheep and I can't hit it?"

So I kinda sympathize with that point of view too, and I kinda prefer a balance of player skill and character skill. Sure, you don't want it to lean too far toward character skill so that a skilled player can take an unarmored mage with no one-handed skill and dance around killing two dozen bandits with a sword and never get hit, but on the other hand I don't like the idea of combat being "Stand toe to toe, hit the 'attack' button repeatedly and just hope that your character skill is higher than his" either.


I could see that, so long as there were some balancing factors like the spells and bashing being noisy or flashy and therefore un-stealthy.


That I agree with. I'm not impressed with the addition of things like marriage and wood-chopping either. They just seem extraordinarily bland and pointless. The first couple hours you play the game, you're like "Wow, that really enhances realism" but after another couple hours you're like "Oh yeah, this is why they call chopping wood work or a chore" and "Yeah, marriage to a nonexistent computer-generated entity? I'll pass. I already played The Sims a long time ago and don't need it in my TES game."

Why are we talking about card games?

I miss the ARENA! Remember? That awesome place in the Imperial City. I'm not expecting something like that, but maybe a small place like the little training ground on Assassin's Creed II.

I played the arena the first time around in Oblivion, but afterward I never did really see the point. I got plenty enough combat out in the world, after all.

I understand what you mean. But that game based all of that stuff on a "dice roll". I am not fond of that either. The mages have the spells. That is based off of the skill of the character and thus obtaining the spell for that level. Warriors bashing the lock open would be based off of the character's weapon skill (or something). These skills are that of the character but are increased by the player. There needs to be a similar skill for the non mage or non warrior characters.

This "character based skill", or lack there of, is why I don't care for mini games in TES. I see how some people would like them. But that would be to the choice of the player. Unlike Lockpicking, as there is no way around it.