Geek Syndicate Issue 8 | Page 52

Geek Syndicate

Sounds...different.
OK, so how about Ticket to
Ride, another Euro game that
has a lot of editions. This is a
game where you build Railways across North America
(or Europe, of many individual countries, depending on
which version) by drawing
cards and “buying” the routes
strategically. Turns are very
quick, the whole game takes
about ninety minutes, and you
can pick up the rules in about
five minutes.
These are both very buildy.
Yeah I guess so. But they’re
archetypal examples of these
sorts of games - Carcassonne
is about building walled cities
in France, Alhambra is about
building markets in Spain;
they’re all about you, as the
player, building up your little
empire in competition, rather
than opposition to the others.
It makes them a more social,
less directly competitive experience.

Several. One common mechanic is asymmetric gameplay, where one or more players is essentially playing a
different game. Some of the
best versions of this are “traitor” games, such as Shadows
over Camelot or Battlestar Galactica. Here, you play co-operatively against the board, representing the enemy, or forces
of dark fate, and if you complete the right tasks everyone
wins. Here’s the catch - one of
the players, sometimes two,
is on the side of the board but
you don’t know who. Paranoia
rules and everything gets a little harder and more tense.
I like the sound of that! But you
mean everyone can win?
Sure, there are a lot of straightforward co-operative games
too, like Pandemic, where you
work together to overcome

a global disease outbreak, or
recent breakout card game
Hanabi, a card game where
everyone can see your cards
but you, and you have to work
together to make sure you
play the right card at the right
time.
OK, OK. So there is a lot of diversity, I get that. It all sounds very
civilised.
It is. I don’t want to imply
that this gaming renaissance
is purely a European thing, as
there are a lot of great games
in the more mechanic-heavy
American tradition. The poster-child for this is probably
the mighty (and long) Arkham
Horror, based on the works of
H P Lovecraft.
He gets everywhere!
Being out of copyright prob-

Image © Thomas Haver, 2012

The first player to ten points
(gained from these roads and
towns), wins. Player interaction is mostly trading for resources, and the most aggressive thing you can do is build
where someone else wants to.

But maybe I want to tear down my
enemies! Grind them beneath my
Sandalled feet?
How very bloodthirsty of you.
Fighting or Treachery?
Oh, is there Treachery?

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Gamers enjoying Alhambra at a gaming group