Nuggets of Board Game Wisdom

[SamVS]

Tips relating to tabletop gaming, whether for playing strategy, buying games, designing them, fitting them into your lifestyle, whatever. Can be your own thoughts, or quotes from elsewhere. Share the wisdom.

"Remember, my M.O. for the last five-plus years is to ignore new games unless it still had people playing a year or two later, then I’d give it a try."

From this Tao of Gaming article. I don't often buy board games, but this sort of advice appeals to me. I wonder if the big spenders at our club could hold back their excitement to wait to get a game until a year after release, if their wardrobes would have less unplayed games in them, but if buying games might be less fun as a result.

"Lose your first fifty games quickly."

This is an old learning adage told to aspiring Go players, but I think it applies to any complex game you want to get competent at. I've heard people say "don't play to win, play to move" in your first games.

"Every single turn should matter. If you cannot lose the game in the first turn then the first turn shouldn't be played."

This is, maybe unsuprisingly, from the designer of Food Chain Magnate. It's in this interview, 12:18:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYjvu3ka2Gw

[Kes]

You only get better by playing people better than you. You learn a lot more from losing than from winning.
That's mostly an observation on xwing but probably holds true to a lot of games as evidence by your first couple of quotes.

[BeardyTom]

There's the classic quote from Reiner Knizia about playing games in the right spirit:
"The goal is to win... but it is the goal that is important not the winning"

And for board-game design, here's a quote from Peter Olotka, one of the creators of Cosmic Encounter, when asked if he worried that any of the myriad alien race powers they keep on adding in to the game may be too powerful or may unbalance it:
"Balance is for weenies"

[Santa Claus]

Remember Sam... I'm watching you!

[DaveB]

There's the classic quote from Reiner Knizia about playing games in the right spirit:
"The goal is to win... but it is the goal that is important not the winning"

I always liked that one

[Jamie]

There's the classic quote from Reiner Knizia about playing games in the right spirit:
"The goal is to win... but it is the goal that is important not the winning"

I always liked that one

Me too Dave, very much so.

[Ste]

Don't be a dick.

[JohnH]

Don't be a dick.

This


As much as it may appear that I subscribe to the contrary, I assure you that it is always a necessity (or best option) at the given time and within the parameters of the game...

I don't just randomly bludgeon people I've just met to death in a Co-op game when we're already safe....

[Admin]

In the given parameters of the game - have you never seen an episode of the walking dead?

[Arun Cheesus]

Don't be a dick.

This


As much as it may appear that I subscribe to the contrary, I assure you that it is always a necessity (or best option) at the given time and within the parameters of the game...

I don't just randomly bludgeon people I've just met to death in a Co-op game when we're already safe....

hmmmm

[JohnH]

Don't be a dick.

This


As much as it may appear that I subscribe to the contrary, I assure you that it is always a necessity (or best option) at the given time and within the parameters of the game...

I don't just randomly bludgeon people I've just met to death in a Co-op game when we're already safe....

hmmmm

Wasn't random at all

[Ste]

I'm more referring to not being a dick outside of the context of the game. This generally includes being condescending during rules explanations, making unnecessary comments about people's decisions during the game, aggressively quarterbacking, etc, etc. I'm sure we can all think of more.

Other than Kes mocking my X-Wing lists (bastard), I've never experienced it at SBGC but there are certainly people like that out there. I'd actively avoid playing anything with such a person again.

[Kes]

It was critique, not mockery!

[Ste]

It was critique, not mockery!

Critique does not usually include sniggering.

[SamVS]

I can't remember who said this one below (probably Tao of Gaming), but it's one I was thinking about today. I'll paraphrase:

A cooperative game has failed if it's more mechanically interesting to play all of the characters yourself.

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