16
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Accepted
How have coop board games prevented a player(s) from taking over decision making
Simultaneous choice is another method of forcing players to stumble over each other a bit. Space Hulk Death Angel uses this to great effect - players have to choose between their available actions, ...
- 5,573
5
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How semi-cooperative games handle players who have nothing to lose?
The social contract does most of the heavy lifting
The social contract is an unspoken agreement between all the players of the game as to how the game should be played to maximize the enjoyment of ...
- 12.6k
4
votes
Accepted
How semi-cooperative games handle players who have nothing to lose?
There is really not much that you can do in rules to totally eliminate this problem, but you can try to reduce it.
One possibility is to implement catch-up mechanisms so that it is rather unlikely ...
- 355
2
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What makes a cooperative board game actually a game?
Not to beat a dead horse, but I think there's a more elegant/universal definition of a game that also answers your question. Taking a page from game theory,
A game is any procedure where the player(...
- 21
2
votes
Accepted
Clarification needed: Wrath of the Lich King - A Pandemic System board game
Abomination activate during step 4 "Activate Abominations". They don't activate when players move or during spawn or any time other than "Activate Abominations". See p. 8 of the ...
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2
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Earliest cooperative board game
While I am not sure it is THE earliest, The Landlord's Game/Prosperty, the origin for what we now call monopoly, had two sets of rules. The first set of rules, The Landlord's Game, formed the basis ...
- 14k
2
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How have coop board games prevented a player(s) from taking over decision making
Semi-Cooperative games
Another option is "semi-cooperative" games. Legendary is a good example; at the end whomever saves the most bystanders and beats up the most villains is the "biggest winner", ...
- 4,756
2
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How have coop board games prevented a player(s) from taking over decision making
Andrew provides an excellent answer, I'll just add one more option. Randomness can prevent "alpha player syndrome" to an extent, by making the outcome of choices uncertain. In a deterministic game ...
- 3,369
2
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How have coop board games prevented a player(s) from taking over decision making
Having "The Dictator" hijack decision-making in co-op games is never much fun. However, it should be said that in many of the real-world situations such co-ops model, dictators are built into the ...
- 1,091
1
vote
How have coop board games prevented a player(s) from taking over decision making
Real Time games
Another option is to have your game happen in real time. Damage Report and Captain Sonar both happen in real time, and everyone needs to be doing their part all the time, so there ...
- 4,756
1
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do all players win star realms pirates co-op
By the nature of it being a co-op then everybody wins. I can't anything specific in those rules to say an eliminated player doesn't win so I wouldn't rule that just those surviving are winners. It ...
- 10.5k
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