Board Game Designers Forum

In my opinion, no. Apart from your example of chess, there are countless other classic board games which are more or less "abstract" in design and concept (ludo, backgammon, draughts, etc.). I can't, sadly, think of any modern examples off the top of my head but hopefully someone else can mention some.

Crucially, I would definitely steer clear of "tacking on" a theme if I were you. Perhaps after more playtesting a natural theme will emerge, but for now at least there's nothing wrong with keeping things simple.

Theme isn't required, but I do think that abstract games are less popular (as a whole) than themed games.

As for a modern abstract, check out the GIPF line of games; they are all well-rated, solid games. I don't know what kind of exposure they have outside the hobby game community, but they are fairly well-known within it. Also, Hive. Here are a few links.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7854 Yinsh

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/528 Zertz

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2346 Dvonn

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2655 Hive

It depends on the context you're asking in. Are you talking about mass-market appeal? Appeal to publishers? Appeal to a specific publisher? Ease of learning the game? The answer is different for every one of these contexts. I know some people who will only play abstract games and some who will only play games with themes. (It's silly to set rules like that, but whatever...)

I use a theme when it fits the game. Typically, this'll be when I think of the theme first. Sometimes a theme will organically suggest itself as the game develops. Rarely, a theme rises up as a metaphor for explaining the game.

Do what works for you. =)

I'm glad to hear you guys say that. I don't really think that my game needs a theme; and however awesome a pancake-themed game would be, this isn't it.

And about the "some will only play themed/non-themed", is there a difference between hobby-store-oriented vs. mass market on this? Are people in one camp more likely than the other to play themed or not themed?

That's one very good reason to have a theme. Sometimes the rules are somewhat complicated, but a well-fitting theme can make them more mnemonic, natural and easy to remember.

The primary reason for a theme in my opinion is, still, provoking players' imagination and making the game more enjoyable.

I usually start with a theme and then try to figure out how to model it with game mechanics.

The exception is/was Pompeii (currently in playtesting limbo), where I started with the idea of directional flow hexes (put one here, and you have two "outs" where you can put the next one) before I settled on this mechanic as modeling a volcano eruption. The rest flowed (ahem) naturally from there.

And of course the GDS, which sometimes forces me to think mechanic first, theme second.

To answer your question, though, I think that an abstract of itself is fine, if the gameplay stands up. A theme might help it sell, but you can let a publisher worry about marketability -- the first priority should always be designing good game mechanics. And remember: the only thing harder to promote than a themeless game is a game with the WRONG theme.

a good theme:
-attracts buyers/players
-increases immersion in gameplay (which affects enjoyment, emotional investment, replayability, etc.)
-eases learning curve

these things are potentially interconnected, but are all "good" things.
i would say there has to specifically be a reason why you WOULDN'T have a theme, in most cases. and that reason needs to be pretty good, to understand what you're potentially losing.