What boardgames are you playing?

[John]

Played some Dune, Codenames, and Secret Hitler last weekend. Good weekend for gaming.

I did not appreciate how badly some people are terrified by social deduction games. One of the players (new to Hitler, but not to fancy boardgaming generally) wore a watch with a heart monitor. She got to rates that suggested she was full-on panicking by the time the opening night phase was over and maintained them for the whole game.

When she showed us after the game another one of the players said in so many words that her experience was the same.

We switched to Codenames at that point (obviously) but I wonder, has anyone else here felt this way when playing a social deduction game or know somebody who does? I'm trying to figure out if this has something to do with an inability to distinguish between a playacted social conflict and a real one, or if people with appeasing/avoidant personalities are so afraid of a hostile conversation that they freak out even if it's a game.

[Sith_Mafia]

Played some Dune, Codenames, and Secret Hitler last weekend. Good weekend for gaming.

I did not appreciate how badly some people are terrified by social deduction games. One of the players (new to Hitler, but not to fancy boardgaming generally) wore a watch with a heart monitor. She got to rates that suggested she was full-on panicking by the time the opening night phase was over and maintained them for the whole game.

When she showed us after the game another one of the players said in so many words that her experience was the same.

We switched to Codenames at that point (obviously) but I wonder, has anyone else here felt this way when playing a social deduction game or know somebody who does? I'm trying to figure out if this has something to do with an inability to distinguish between a playacted social conflict and a real one, or if people with appeasing/avoidant personalities are so afraid of a hostile conversation that they freak out even if it's a game.

interesting, the only time I have felt this way during a game is playing texas holdem with strangers. i used to play all the time and had no issues, but now I play about twice a year and notice that when i have a hand or am just bluffing my heart rate is pounding. maybe its because money is on the line i dunno

[GinDragon]

Played some Dune, Codenames, and Secret Hitler last weekend. Good weekend for gaming.

I did not appreciate how badly some people are terrified by social deduction games. One of the players (new to Hitler, but not to fancy boardgaming generally) wore a watch with a heart monitor. She got to rates that suggested she was full-on panicking by the time the opening night phase was over and maintained them for the whole game.

When she showed us after the game another one of the players said in so many words that her experience was the same.

We switched to Codenames at that point (obviously) but I wonder, has anyone else here felt this way when playing a social deduction game or know somebody who does? I'm trying to figure out if this has something to do with an inability to distinguish between a playacted social conflict and a real one, or if people with appeasing/avoidant personalities are so afraid of a hostile conversation that they freak out even if it's a game.

Social deduction games are a personal favorite of mine.

For some reason I LOVE deceiving people in a low-stakes, socially acceptable context. Maybe it's because I abhor lying so much in normal life.

But a friend of mine who I like to play games with can't stand it. The only game like that he won't strongly try to avoid playing is Battlestar.

[GinDragon]

Played some Dune, Codenames, and Secret Hitler last weekend. Good weekend for gaming.

I did not appreciate how badly some people are terrified by social deduction games. One of the players (new to Hitler, but not to fancy boardgaming generally) wore a watch with a heart monitor. She got to rates that suggested she was full-on panicking by the time the opening night phase was over and maintained them for the whole game.

When she showed us after the game another one of the players said in so many words that her experience was the same.

We switched to Codenames at that point (obviously) but I wonder, has anyone else here felt this way when playing a social deduction game or know somebody who does? I'm trying to figure out if this has something to do with an inability to distinguish between a playacted social conflict and a real one, or if people with appeasing/avoidant personalities are so afraid of a hostile conversation that they freak out even if it's a game.

interesting, the only time I have felt this way during a game is playing texas holdem with strangers. i used to play all the time and had no issues, but now I play about twice a year and notice that when i have a hand or am just bluffing my heart rate is pounding. maybe its because money is on the line i dunno

I hear you for sure. There's something of a thrill to get from playing hold 'em. Perhaps it's not even the lying, maybe it's manipulating other people into thinking you're doing something you're not, or that you're not doing something you are.

[John]

maybe its because money is on the line i dunno

Oh I think gambling and social deduction at the same time are a powerful combination of stressor/stimulants. You can have one without the other but it would make sense if they were more powerful in combination than addition would suggest.

For some reason I LOVE deceiving people in a low-stakes, socially acceptable context. Maybe it's because I abhor lying so much in normal life.

That's another interesting division: people who prefer being the bandits vs. people who prefer being the town. I have a pretty strong preference for being the town but it seems like people more often want to be the bandits, especially people who really like social deduction games.

But a friend of mine who I like to play games with can't stand it. The only game like that he won't strongly try to avoid playing is Battlestar.

I have some friends who can handle games with hidden assigned teams like BSG a lot better than they can handle games with teams that can shift at the discretion of other players' decisions to either defect or remain loyal. "I was a cylon the whole time because a card told me I was, good game" gets a handshake, "thanks for tying up Germany for me, sucker, F BLA - SEV for the win" gets genuine anger.

[tombombodil]

maybe its because money is on the line i dunno

Oh I think gambling and social deduction at the same time are a powerful combination of stressor/stimulants. You can have one without the other but it would make sense if they were more powerful in combination than addition would suggest.

For some reason I LOVE deceiving people in a low-stakes, socially acceptable context. Maybe it's because I abhor lying so much in normal life.

That's another interesting division: people who prefer being the bandits vs. people who prefer being the town. I have a pretty strong preference for being the town but it seems like people more often want to be the bandits, especially people who really like social deduction games.

But a friend of mine who I like to play games with can't stand it. The only game like that he won't strongly try to avoid playing is Battlestar.

I have some friends who can handle games with hidden assigned teams like BSG a lot better than they can handle games with teams that can shift at the discretion of other players' decisions to either defect or remain loyal. "I was a cylon the whole time because a card told me I was, good game" gets a handshake, "thanks for tying up Germany for me, sucker, F BLA - SEV for the win" gets genuine anger.

I think it has a lot to do with how it's implemented. The Resistance to me has never been a good party game to play with mixed company because it's so focused and requires so much negotiation and really requires you to be an aggressive salesman. It pretty much has no place for people who aren't very socially outgoing and proactive, and people who have a tendency to get talked over by other louder voices.

Compare this to Secrets, which is another social deduction/deception/hidden roles game. In a lot of ways it seem very very similar to The Resistance or even Coup, but it's a much safer bet to play with a group of mixed people some gamers some not etc. because it actually allows you to choose how you interact with the social dynamic the game creates. You can be the deceiver who is actively trying to muddy the waters, you can be the noble protagonist trying to figure out what's going on and call people on their bullshit, or you can be much more passive and just try and direct your own personal dingy through the chaotic waters of the game's systems.

It'd be kind of hard to explain why without just playing both games with you, but it's not just inherently the mechanics, you can make any mechanic more or less palatable to almost anyone based on how it's presented and how it's integrated into the rest of the game.

[tombombodil]

On another note I've been playing more Arkham Horror the cardgame. It fell completely out of favor with both of my main groups of tabletop gaming friends because it's not a game you play to win, it's a weird hybird of a horror RPG and a co-op cardgame and a lot of the time you just get the "bad" ending no matter how well you play (incednetally this makes me feel totally justified on being reticent to run trail of cthulhu for either of these groups).

As much as I love Love LOVE the AkHCG I'm really realizing that it is not for everyone and lots of people who like either lighter games, or traditional strategy, war, or puzzle games will seriously clash with the specific emotional wavelength this game requires you to operate on.

Thankfully I have another friend who likes boardgames but isn't super into them that LOVES it, and just the two of us played through the base game's campaign and are now 60% through one of the box expansion campaigns (on scenario 7 out of 10) and man I love this game. It's so creative and vibrant and evocative and maintains such a consistent tone and mechanics-as-story. And the grim hardcore nature of how tough it can be makes the rare times when you do succeed so much more satisfying, and the progression of your characters through permanent effects from the campaign to upgrades you buy for your deck between scenarios provides so much investment.

I'm really glad I found someone to play it with.

Also, on the complete opposite end of the spectrum I recently picked Lowlands, a game about sheep farming in olden-times Scandinavian and it's a really really simple interesting economic management game where you competitively try to raise the biggest flocks of sheep and build the best farms while co-operatively working together to build a dike to stop the tides from flooding your farmlands. I was astonished by how balanced and well designed it is, and it's simple enough that it could be a game to go alongside Concordia as a fantastic first-Eurogame for your friends who maybe haven't gotten into really heavy economy building games.

[okeefe]

I've played a bit of Root for the last two years with friends at conventions, but the big reprint & newest expansion bundle arrived last month and I've been digging in, teaching friends, and playing it a bit.

I'm getting better at teaching Root, but it's at the upper end of what I'm comfortable with rules-wise for a board game. I love that's it's highly replayable.

[Nny]

I've played a bit of Root for the last two years with friends at conventions, but the big reprint & newest expansion bundle arrived last month and I've been digging in, teaching friends, and playing it a bit.

I'm getting better at teaching Root, but it's at the upper end of what I'm comfortable with rules-wise for a board game. I love that's it's highly replayable.

I love Root. I've played many times and taught it just as many and i STILL feel like i learn something new about each faction every single time.

[Nny]

Got a game of Star Trek: Ascendancy planned for tomorrow. I got the Andorian and Vulcan expansions last week,( making my collection complete! )
For certain, we'll have at the table: Federation, Klingon, Cardassian, Romulan. I have to familiarize myself with Vulcans and their Agendas mechanic but im leaning toward them.
Being a teaching game (3 at the table have not played before, but are quick studies) We are not using the Borg but i would love it if we did!
Anyways, thats whazzup