More commonly referred to as “the alpha gamer”. Namely, the person within a co-op game that directs all of the other players as to what they should do an when.
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I consider it a subset of Alpha Gamer, because a lot of coop games seem to have the flaw of being easier if they’re coordinated by a “lead” player. This IMO is Pandemic’s biggest flaw… it tends to create a supervisor (usually whoever has a role that can modify movement).
I think the only ways to play games with the problem are:
- Everyone plays optimally every move. (Impossible due to randomness)
- Enjoy the game as a leader. (Valid as long as there is no conflict of leadership.)
- Enjoy the game as a follower. (Valid)
- Play the game sub-optimally. (Valid, I guess, but fewer satisfying wins?)
Common fixes to this problem seem to be:
- Remove trust (Traitor mechanic)
- Make it not a co-op game. (Secret individual goals)
- Information overload (Too many choices)
- Information flow restrictions (regulate how players interact)
- Embrace and reify the Alpha with rules/roles.
#1 and #2 are close enough that I almost put them as one method, but most people I think class single traitor games as co-op still. I think that #4 and #5 are the most successful. I think Hanabi is the best example of regulating information flow (I’m excitedly waiting for Bomb Squad, which has a similar mechanic but crossed with RoboRally). I’m drawing blanks on games that do #5, but I’m sure they’re out there…
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Nice.
BTW- Spoke to a few people that played Bomb Squad at GenCon and they were underwhelmed.
My game group like Last Night On Earth, which is a co-op vs game where one or two players are the zombies and the rest of the players are heroes. As long as the zombie controller plays with the “I’m gonna lose, but I’ll make it dramatic for them” attitude that a good DM cultivates, it’s a lot of fun. We played it weekly for over a year, maybe two, and still bust it out when we’re not ready for our next D&D campaign and nobody has a new game. There’s plenty of expansion scenarios, both official and fan generated. We emphasize Epic plays to make the episode memorable, unlike some games where you can’t remember anything about last weeks game.
There are several CO-OP games not mentioned in this article that have been mentioned on BB before. Mice and Mystics is one such, and it’s a great game. Escape from theTemple, which I own, is super-fun, even as it’s very simplistic. It’s also blessedly short. My problem with games like Shadows over Camelot and Battlestar Galactica is that they’re not truly co-op, since there’s a traitor, hindering everyone both directly and in the lack of trust. I agree that the alpha gamer CAN be a problem for games like Pandemic, but it also can give rise to a team building exercise, where people argue for consensus. Traitors can ruin a coop experience, by making a two-hour game an exercise in frustration or worse stealing the fun from the room in angry personal dynamics.
My favorite coop game at the moment is Elder Sign. Co-op Cthulhu hunters in a creepy museum. With things like die-rolling and meaningful choices for the individual that still allow a team experience, but is not prone to the Alpha Gamer, for even if he says ‘Go do that’, you still have to roll the dice, choose how to use them and whether or not to use equipment. And no traitors.
This is a good group of kids games at peaceable kingdoms.
FYI, some peaceable kingdoms games were designed by Jim Deacove of Family Pastimes. He is a big influence in kids coop games
I’ve got “Max” (Family Pastimes) & my boys play “Seeds for the Birds” (peaceable kingdom deacove title) games at the daycare
You can play Shadows Over Camelot without the possibility of a traitor, and in fact the rules suggest you do that the first time you play, though it does make for a rather easy game.
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