Hello again! After a short break it’s time to jump back on the blog train. Today I thought I’d talk about board games, a passion that I rediscovered relatively recently with the aid of local friends Sam and Tom, and occasionally my wife-to-be Jane.
We’ve played a number of games in our now-regular Tuesday night sessions and it became clear to us very shortly after we started (with Risk, of all things) that there is much to explore that goes well beyond Monopoly – a game which is subject to a fair bit of snobbery from the people who are very much into the hobby. Saying that, having explored a number of less “mainstream” games now, I have to agree that Monopoly does lots of things wrong.
I thought I’d take a moment to share a little about our recent acquisitions.
Firstly, Pandemic. Pandemic is unusual in that it is a cooperative game where all players are striving towards the same goal – to beat the game. And this is very much a game that does not want to be beaten!
Players are assigned one of five random roles at the beginning of the game and are tasked with defeating four deadly diseases which are sweeping the globe. Each role has a particular special ability which is helpful in certain situations – the Medic is better at curing diseased locations, for example, so plays a key role in avoiding “outbreaks” – a location overflowing with disease to such a degree that it spreads further and takes the players one step closer to failure.
Each turn, players take four actions, which can involve moving through various means, treating patients to prevent outbreaks, researching cures by trading in cards and building research stations which help others to get around easier. At the end of the turn, the diseases spread further, potentially causing outbreaks, so it’s important to ensure areas are “secured” quickly.
The difficulty comes in keeping up with the game. Do you treat patients or try and collect cards to develop the cures -the sole victory condition being the development of all four cures? What should others do? Do you have enough time?
It’s a challenging game, even using the “easy” variant we started with. But it’s fun. It encourages discussion and strategic thinking and is genuinely cooperative. I like it a lot, and it helps that the components of the game are of extremely high quality. So if you’re looking for a challenging yet quite simple-to-play game that encourages teamwork rather than being at each others’ throats, Pandemic is a great game to play.
Later: Puerto Rico.
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Pandemic sounds like excellent fun; in fact, I’m going to pop over to the games store up the road this afternoon and see if they carry it.
Also, my relationship with Monopoly from a design perspective is probably best defined as “loathing”. Once you have learned a few essential concepts — 1) someone always comes out ahead in a trade, 2) always buy available properties when you have the chance [and 2b) upgrade when you have a monetary cushion] — the game ceases to be fun or strategic. Plus, who the hell turns the corner from Boardwalk and Park Place and ends up in the Baltic/Mediterranean slums?
I played Pandemic for the first (and thus far only) time a few weeks ago. I was surprised by how intense it gets; one does not expect that from a board game. We were able to win without coming too terribly close to global destruction (I believe we figured afterward that we were 2-3 turns from one of the diseases wiping out the planet).
I had no idea that this was a co-operative game. Consider it on my official “pick-up” list. Do you think the game would be appropriate for little ones?
I’ve been playing “analog” Scrabble with my family and it’s been the great unifier. We’ve been playing “themed” games which throws a heaving monkey wrench into the mess. Still, it’s been a welcome relief from the constant droning of digital entertainment.
I hate Monopoly with all of my might.