Tag: Simultaneous Play (Parallel Play)

Massively Multiplayer – from Quacks of Quedlinburg to Dragon vs Kingdom (Topic Discussion)

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One of the things that most competitive and many cooperative games have in common is some sort of turn order. You go first, then comes Bob and then it's my turn. Turn order might change throughout the game, but there is always someone whose turn it is. The more players there are, the more of an issue it can be, because the longer you have to wait for the round to come back to you. Yet, there is an interesting set of games where everyone plays at the same time, which I want to look at in this article.

Dragon vs Kingdom (Saturday Review)

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The new town was going to be glorious. Here in this wasteland that had seen many battles, it was important to create defenses, while also ensuring there were enough shops and houses for the people. It was going to take some time and our initial focus was on building towers that would allow us to see invaders far into the distance. The towers would also allow us to protect ourselves, because in these lands it was a matter of Dragon vs Kingdom by Chris Backe from No Box Games.

Prey Another Day (Saturday Review)

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The forest is dark and eerie. A cold wind whistles through the branches and makes them creak and groan. The rustling of the leaves goes some way to hiding the noise of your prowling through the undergrowth. You have your prey in sight, but suddenly, at the same time as you break cover, other hunters reveal themselves. There is a moment of confusion which our shared victim uses to their advantage to escape to safety. It looks like we are all going hungry today and we all have to accept that we will have to Prey Another Day by Matthew Dunstan and Brett J. Gilbert from Pegasus Spiele.

Flamme Rouge (Saturday Review)

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We had started in Florence when everyone was still fresh and raring to go. An endless sea of bicycles with teams sticking closely together had lined up at the starting line. The support teams had only done their last checks minutes before and everything was shiny and gleaming. Now, several thousand kilometres later, everyone started to show signs of slowing down. Yet, at the horizon a welcome sign became visible. We knew it wasn't going to be much further. There it was, the red flag, the Flamme Rouge by Asger Harding Granerud from Lautapelit.fi.

Diamant (Saturday Review)

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It was dark and damp. Of course, that was not unusual for the Tacora Cave, a giant underground system which was strewn with precious jewels and priceless artefacts. Those were the reason why we were here in the first place. Armed with our torches, we explored one tunnel after another, always mindful of traps. Sooner or later, one of us would get scared and make their way back to the entrance with their share of the treasures we had found so far. The rest of us continued, praying we would not fall foul of another trap and lose everything. After all, we wanted to get rich and find the most Diamant by Bruno Faidutti and Alan R. Moon from Iello.

Karuba (Saturday Review)

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Each of us was part of a team of four brave explorers who had spent months on the high seas to reach an island of myths and legends. All of us were on an expedition to navigate through dense jungle, trying to uncover paths that had been long lost and many of which were dead ends. If we were lucky we might find treasures along the way: gold nuggets or precious jewels. However, the riches along the way were mere trifles compared to our ultimate goal. Each of us wanted to be the first to reach one of the four temples whose tips we could see sticking out above the giant trees. These temples would reward us with unimaginable treasure and glory. We were determined to make history on the island of Karuba by Rüdiger Dorn from HABA.

Powerline (Saturday Review)

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You have been tasked with building the sustainable energy network of the future. Your goal is to connect wind farms, hydro-energy plants and other green power sources to each other, as well as different cities. You have to decide which part of the network needs attention first and what can wait until later. Take care though and make sure you don't spread your workforce too thinly, but also avoid putting all of your light bulbs into one circuit. You want to end up making the best use of each and every Powerline by Dirk Henn from Queen Games.

Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest (Saturday Review)

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Sailing the winds in your sky pirate ship, you and your crew land on a different island each day, looking for treasure, adventure and glory. You need to be fast though, because you're not alone. Other ships in the fleet have followed the same course and they want their share of the varied loot. If the crew member you send to the island is too slow, they will not come back with valuable treasure, but with a terrible curse or worse, they will not return at all. Only the best pirate will make it in Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest by Paolo Mori from Stonemaier Games.

Aquamarine (Saturday Review)

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It was a beautiful day. The sea was calm and the sun was shining. The water was crystal clear and even while you were sitting on the side of the boat, in your full diving gear, you could see the corals and wonderful sea creatures in the water. You knew it was going to be a long day and you would probably split it into two or three dives. You did one last check of your gear and then you leant back and dropped into the Aquamarine by Matthew Dunstan and Rory Muldoon from Postmark Games.

K2 (Digital Eyes)

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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.