Tag: Analysis Paralysis (AP)

Bucket and spade

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Sandbox, or open world, games have been around in the tabletop games industry for a very long time. After all, that is exactly what role play games are all about. Every player pits their imagination and wits against the games master's plans. Nothing is impossible, within the rules of the environment of course, and every decision has consequences. However, when it comes to creating a convincing sandbox environment without using a games master you quickly reach limitations. Yet, there are a number of recent releases that create the illusion of a completely open world really well and in an elegant fashion.

Cutting cakes

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There is a great mechanism in tabletop games called "I cut, you choose", also known as "I split, you choose", which creates a very interesting dynamic. The mechanism is based on the method used by two people to fairly divide something - let's say a cake. One person cuts the cake into two slices. That person can decide to make one slice bigger than the other, but it's the other person who chooses which slice they want. So if the cutter makes one slice bigger than the other, the chooser can decide to just take the bigger slice, which of course encourages the cutter to make both slices equal.

Too many choices

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Complex games can be great fun. You have to really stretch yourself and think several steps ahead, while having alternative strategies ready to respond to the other player’s actions. You wrack your brain to come up with the best solution on each turn. It takes a lot of thinking and therefore is enjoyable by people who like this sort of puzzle.