Thursday 18 April 2013

Political Gaming

So I've just finished watching the latest Episode of Geek & Sundry's Tabletop - The Resistance. This is definitely a game that I'm going to be looking to pick up soon as its something that I know I'll enjoy. Now that I've started this blog, I'm always looking for subjects to write about so I thought I'd write a post about Social or Political Gaming.


So when it comes to tabletop gaming, there are those games which are purely strategical (such as Ticket to Ride, Flux and Pandemic) and then there are those games where the winner of the game isn't decided by your skill at the game, but your skill with your fellow players.

I'm a big fan of political games, even though I'm not the best of them. My number one reference for this is an old favourite for a lot people... Munchkin. Now I've played way too many games to count when it comes to Munchkin and I've lost most of them. This isn't because I'm bad at Munchkin, in fact I'm actually pretty smart at working out how to win. No, the reason I lose most of my munchkin games is because of the group I play with. Bel is almost always there along with an assortment from our group of friends (Tom, Nat, Chris B, Hollie, Jon, Chris L and occasionals Adam, Ian and Amy).

The group dynamics don't ever play in my favour with my friends Bel rarely gets picked on because people either "like" or "fear" her (with the exception of Jon who claims to be immune to the Bel-factor). Nat is Bel's best friend and so people worry about picking on her for fear of reprisal. However I am the acceptable punching bag of the group. Its almost cool to pick on me, and honestly I can usually take the flak pretty well. In fact the only way I ever win in political games is to divert the heat on Chris L (who makes himself a target by... just being him).

Every group is different and that's what makes the games so interesting. The dynamic of any of these games depends on how well you know the people around you. Little alliances form, friendly rivalries are born and each gaming night is different from the last.

So when we get The Resistance I'm sure we'll be in for a great night of double guessing, accusations and most importantly fun...

Till next time...

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