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Cooperation is coordination

In case you haven't heard yet, I love board games. I was the one who requested the /tabletop channel back when dwr was doing the 2nd round of channel creation in summer 2023, deep in the bear.

This article is experimental, rewrapping some old casts of mine for the content. Following some Seemore advice, thanks @cameron.

I'd like to tell you why I love cooperative board games in general, and these six in particular.

Co-op games and communications protocols

I've recently been thinking about how board games in general and cooperative games in particular are very similar to data protocols. There are strict rituals about how players can interact, non-interaction of Euro games, limited in something like a worker placement, to all-out brawling of pvp games.

Cooperatives especially put emphasis on ritualizing communication because the whole point of the game is to coordinate in order to defeat the game/forces of chaos/heat death of the universe/etc. Pandemic introduces compounded chaos through Outbreaks that force the group to put attention on specific areas of the board and the game for players becomes predicting which particular problems are likely to get unmanageable.

The rituals are often disrupted, or force specific disruptions to that communication. Sometimes you can only communicate about specific things, or at specific times, or using particular schemas. It's very interesting to see the Byzantine Generals problem play out at low stakes in real time, even though it's usually misunderstandings rather than malice at work. In other words,

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.
- Hanlon's Razor

To me, novel coordination problems are very fun, and cooperative board games can provide an awesome experiment space. Here are six of my favorites.

Nerd's Favorite Cooperative Board Games

Spirit Island

Spirit Island addresses coordination by making each player responsible for their own island and keeping the pressure on the entire game. There's literally too many systems with too much going on for all but the most experienced players to quarterback and tell other players what to do.

• area control + hand management + card drafting against an ever-growing enemy

• asymmetric player powers

• amazing anti-colonial narrative

• too much going on to quarterback

iSpeakNerd 🎩💩 on Warpcast

My favorite Co-op Games: Day 1: Spirit Island Native spirits of the island fight off the invaders who come to ravage the land and its people. - area control + hand management + card drafting against an ever-growing enemy - asymmetric player powers - amazing anti-colonial narrative - too much going on to quarterback https://i.imgur.com/006t0Pz.png

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A truly cooperative experience with a wonderful anti-colonialist narrative, which is a direct counter to the prevailing game mechanics and themes of exploitation in 4X games.

Greater Than Games | Spirit Island: Base Game | Cooperative Strategy Board Game | 1 to 4 Players | 90+ Minutes | Ages 14+

Powerful spirits have existed on this isolated Island for time immemorial. They are both part of the natural world and - at the same time - something beyond nature. Native Islanders, known as the dahan, have learned how to co-exist with the spirits, but with a healthy dose of fear and reverence.

https://www.amazon.com

The Crew - Quest for Planet 9 and its sequel Mission: Deep Sea

The Crew is a fresh twist of trick-taking by giving each player goals "I will win more tricks than anyone else" and then forcing players to fulfill all goals to succeed the mission. The wrinkle is that you can't discuss what cards you have with the other players, leading to situations where players must use their experience of trick-taking games to know when they need to trump in to take a trick, when they should slough off-suit to keep another player leading, and how they are all going to fulfill their goals, together.

It's a wonderful coordination game that builds on player experiences with trick taking games like Hearts, Spades, and Bridge but the coordination requires whole new ways of thinking. For under $15, this is definitely a must-buy in my book.

• Fresh twist on trick taking

• Campaign missions build player skills

• Compact box, easy to carry

iSpeakNerd 🎩💩 on Warpcast

My fav Co-op Games Day 2: The Crew - Quest for Planet 9/Mission Deep Sea Trick taking classic like Spades/Hearts but certain people must take certain tricks in certain order. Oh, and you can't talk about your hand 🙃 - fresh twist on trick taking - campaign missions build player skills - compact box, easy to carry https://i.imgur.com/cXWoXm5.png

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THAMES & KOSMOS The Crew - Quest for Planet Nine | Card Game | Kennerspiel des Jahres Winner | Cooperative | 3-5 Players | Ages 10+ | Trick-Taking | 50 Levels of Difficulty | Endless Replay

Astronauts wanted! The scientific community is abuzz over signs of a mysterious planet located at the edge of our solar system. But despite all of their efforts, so far they have been unable to provide substantial evidence of its existence. Join this exciting space adventure to find out if the th...

https://www.amazon.com

The Crew - Mission Deep Sea | Card Game | Cooperative | 2 to 5 Players | Ages 10+ | Trick-Taking | 32 Levels of Difficulty | Endless Replayability

In this highly-anticipated followup to the original cooperative card game - winner of the 2020 Kennerspiel des Jahres - players work together to search for the lost continent of Mu. This new adventure takes your crew deep down into the abyss on a search for the fabled sunken land.

https://www.amazon.com

Magic Maze

Another fresh take, Magic Maze tasks players with escaping a mall but they each don't get their own character, no no, in Magic Maze each player controls one or more direction of movement for all the characters.

All characters must move left at some point so if I control left movement, I need to know when to kick in and move each character left at the correct time to not derail each character's movement throughout the maze and around obstacles. Oh, and players can't talk to each other during gameplay.

Players can discuss plans at "rest stops" throughout the maze, but it truly takes each player understanding the goal for each character, and how their role fits into the to make the experience sing as a cooperative experience. It's definitely a bit gimmicky, but so fun!

iSpeakNerd 🎩💩 on Warpcast

My fav Co-op games Day 4: Magic Maze Real-time escape the maze only moving in certain ways (protocol-ized movement) and no talking during game time (disrupted coordination). - Incredibly fun and satisfying to get right - Hilariously tomfoolery when team gets it wrong - Real-time coordination with disrupted comms https://i.imgur.com/MP0RCfw.png

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Sit Down! Magic Maze - Real-Time Gameplay, Move the 4 Characters Through the Mall Before the Timer Runs Out - Co-operative, Everyone Has a Different Power, 1-8 players, 15 mins, Ages 8+, Medium

After being stripped of all their possessions, a mage, abarbarian, an elf, and a dwarf are forced to go rob thelocal Magic Maze shopping mall for all the necessaryequipment they need for their next adventure. They agreeto pull off their heists simultaneously, then dash to theexits in order to eva...

https://www.amazon.com

Gloomhaven

Gloomhaven, the Jaws of the Lion re-release, and sequel Frosthaven are the closest board gamers will come to a crunchy CRPG-like experience on the tabletop. It's big and brash and demands your attention to play with each session lasting several hours, it's like playing Dungeons and Dragons without relying on a DM to moderate the game sessions.

Combat is extremely satisfying with players choosing the timing of the actions, and being forced to adapt those actions on the fly after other players jump ahead of them in turn order and change the board state unexpectedly. This is the coordination negotiation that players make because you can't discuss the exact number of the speed of the actions you are playing, but can only describe them as low, mid, or high.

Very very fun, but requires a significant investment of time and money from committed players.

iSpeakNerd 🎩💩 on Warpcast

My fav co-op games Day 5: Gloomhaven giant, CRPG-esque, legacy campaign; unlock new chars + player powers, best combat in /tabletop - fun hand mngmt, risk/reward burst actions vs. early exhaustion - tactical + adjustable combat - round initiative, top/bottom card plays allows adjustment when plans get fucked up 😂 https://i.imgur.com/OAsHJri.jpg

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Frosthaven Cephalofair Games Frosthaven Board Game, 1 to 4 players

Frosthaven is the story of a small outpost far to the north of the capital city of White Oak, an outpost barely surviving the harsh weather as well as invasions from forces both known and unknown. There, a group of mercenaries at the end of their rope will help bring back this settlement from the...

https://www.amazon.com

FUSE - stress and dice galore

Tension is high as the bomb-defusal team must coordinate against the clock to get the right dice to the right people at the right time each turn. The time stress inevitably means that players have to compromise on their plans; the negotiation and re-negotiation to avoid having to return dice to the bag keeps everyone on high alert.

Not recommended for the faint of heart, and can only play a few of these games in a row from adrenaline fatigue. There's even an alarm and stressful sounds coming from the companion timer app as the team plays 😂 😂

• high stress, high fun

• tight schedule is forced coordination, great to play with same folks repeated

• each game is only 10 min

iSpeakNerd 🎩💩 on Warpcast

My fav co-op games Day 6 - FUSE Real-time dice-stacking stress! deFUSE the bombs by grabbing the right dice; but watch out, if your team can't fit all the dice, you have to put some back! - high stress, high fun - tight schedule is forced coordination, great to play with same folks repeated - each game is only 10 min https://i.imgur.com/WpHa6Hr.png

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Renegade Game Studios Fuse Board Game, for Ages 10+, Playing Time 10 Minutes, 1-5 Players, Cooperative Dice Game

FUSE is a real-­‐time cooperative dice game for 2-­‐5 players where friends work together to quickly save their ship from impending doom! Intruders have made their way on to your ship! Their goal: Total Destruction! Twenty bombs have been detected onboard, and the countdown has begun. Your elite ...

https://www.amazon.com

Return to Dark Tower

The coordination trick here is that Return to Dark Tower (RtDT) includes random number generation (RNG) from card decks for enemies encountered in the tower and RNG to determine layouts and what a player will encounter on any given assault on the tower.

It's less RNG than dice rolls like DnD but definitely not a sure thing, requiring players to build up "advantages" from items, asymmetric powers, and companions to mitigate the Bad Things™️ that will befall them inside.

• Asymmetric + variable player powers

• Variable RNG with cards but more control from "advantage" system instead of dice, limited RNG badness

• Gimmicky but fun tower

iSpeakNerd 🎩💩 on Warpcast

My fav co-op games: Day 7: Return to Dark Tower Defend the lands from encroaching corruption while building up to the final assault on the Dark Tower! - Asymmetric + variable player powers - Variable RNG with cards but more control from "advantage" system instead of dice - Gimmicky but fun tower limited RNG badness https://i.imgur.com/JFoiVNw.jpg

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Restoration Games: Return to Dark Tower

For an age, the tower lay in ruins. Unbeknownst to the people of the realm, a great evil stirred in its bowels. It started with strange sightings: a flock of crows flying in circles until they dropped from the sky, the lake frozen solid in the height of summer.

https://www.amazon.com

/tabletop Giveaway

Cast a photo of yourself (no faces needed) playing your favorite board game in the /tabletop channel by 4/4/24 to be eligible for this awesome giveaway worth nearly $400 in partnership with @cameron and @bigshotklim! Click the cast below for details:

iSpeakNerd 🎩💩 on Warpcast

/nounworks is giving us a case of these toys (launch 0.1 ETH) to reward the most helpful & active members of /tabletop community We're raffling this & everyone who shared a photo of their favorite game this year is eligible But don't worry, you have until Thurs 4/4/24 to cast a photo of your favorite game in action! https://warpcast.com/ispeaknerd.eth/0xfeae61f4

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