For the win (Topic Discussion)

There are so-called "race" games, where the first player to fulfil certain winning conditions takes the victory and the game ends immediately. These games differ from other games where you play so many rounds and whoever has the most points at the end wins. Most race games are highly competitive and it's every player for themselves, but in some of these types of games, the situation is a bit more complicated. In this article, I want to look at race games where positive player interaction is a thing.

K2 (Digital Eyes)

Being halfway up the mountain, in bad weather, the time when we were still acclimatizing at base camp felt like an eternity ago. I knew that "Squiggle" was ahead of me and had erected their tent, but I had to save mine for nearer the top, where we needed the shelter more urgently. I could only imagine the relative comfort my fellow climber was in, while I was hunkered down behind a small collection of rocks to take the brunt of the storm. I kept thinking how dangerous it was, but I also kept reminding myself of the ultimate goal: reaching the summit of K2.

Karuba (Digital Eyes)

In the jungle, the mighty jungle, there is no lion, but a bunch of four, intrepid explorers trying to make their way through. The paths they cut into the vegetation will cross each other and wind their way almost aimlessly from the edge of the forest to finally emerge at four different temples and each explorer is trying to get to their specific temple. It's not clear why each explorer has their heart set on only one, specific destination, but that's how it goes in Karuba by HABA.

Terraforming Mars (Digital Eyes)

We were on Mars. Our colonization team had arrived. The mission of our corporation was to make this planet inhabitable and do so in the most economical and efficient way possible. There were many challenges ahead, but we had a great mix of engineers, researchers, technicians, managers and construction workers and everyone was fully committed to our goal. We were fully aware that this project would take us a number of generations and we were ready to begin Terraforming Mars by Stronghold Games.

Animal Alliance (Saturday Review)

It was unheard of, but here they were: cats and dogs working as a team. They were busily scouring the village green for toys to take home or return to the Lost & Found. It was really hard to believe and when you looked closer, things weren't quite as peaceful as they seemed - and they were even stranger than you could imagine. The cats and dogs weren't all working together as one big pack or clowder. No. One cat and one dog were working together as a pair against all the other cat and dog teams. They had formed an Animal Alliance by Atikin Games

Feline Felonies (Saturday Review)

Look! There's another shiny toy! I'm going to grab it and take it home. It's mine! Oh, I could show it off to the other cats in the neighbourhood. Then they can see my amazing new toy. It's extra special after all. Look over there though! Another toy. I need to get that one too. All right, it's not strictly mine, but it will be. Well, at this rate, there will be plenty of Feline Felonies by Atikin Games.

Canine Capers (Saturday Review)

There was something iffy going on in our little country village. My nose was twitchy and I was soon on the trail of some interesting clues. It was clear it was going to take some time and some clever snooping, but I was on a roll and knew I would be able to solve the Canine Capers by Atikin Games.

One Card Wonder (Saturday Review)

Building the Colossus was going to require a lot of resources. Some iron for the base, many carefully hewn and ornately dressed stones to create a strong structure that would represent our most revered sun-god Helios. Chares, the sculptor, oversaw the project from start to finish to ensure the Gods would smile on us and our country's fortunes well into the future. We all knew it was going to be hard work, but it seemed that the Gods helped us along and building the whole structure was over more quickly than anyone expected. In fact, it was so quick that we couldn't wait to build yet another One Card Wonder by Ape Games.