So, as promised, the results of this months poll…
- Solo 7 (43%)
- Two Player 14 (87%)
- Three Player 10 (62%)
- Four Player 11 (68%)
- Five Player 7 (43%)
- Six Player 7 (43%)
- Seven Player 5 (31%)
- Eight Player 4 (25%)
- I only ever play Werewolf 0 (0%)
It’s interesting that more people play 2-player than any other category. Based on looking at games in my collection it is obvious that publishers often aim games at a 4 person market, which makes sense especially with the modern family. That said I most often play games in a 3-player setting, one which is generally less well catered for and rarely do I play games with more than 5.
Despite the social aspect of gaming in larger groups, like 4 or more, I too enjoy the 2-player style of game. There are many reasons why.
Two Player games are often specifically designed and balanced around the number of players, which can make them tighter and more tactically challenging. They are often cheaper (although Horus Heresy could be the exception that proves the rule). In many ways they act like solo or computer games, except that your opponent is a living breathing human who can react to you like no computer could hope to.
One of the things that does appeal to me in a two player game is the fact that you don’t really feel victimised. With more players you can feel picked on if you have a particularly bad game, where as in a two player game, with the exception of heavily luck-based games, you are generally defeated because you were outplayed.
I also find it interesting that almost half of the people who voted also play games solo. I am have been known to play Agricola, Red November or Space Hulk Death Angel by myself, but I wouldn’t classify myself as a solo gamer. I tend to prefer the challenge a computer opponent can bring to a game if I’m playing solo. Plus the faff and space required by a board game is completely eliminated by using a computer instead, but clearly there is still a strong argument for a solo mode in board games.
When I post the poll up, I also added a discussion in the UKGMN Guild to ask our members which games they would recommend for a specific numbers of players and I just wanted to share a few of them with you guys:
- Space Hulk: Death Angel, Red November, Pocket Civ, Castle Panic, Ambush!
- Pandemic, Warhammer Invasion, Memoir '44. Space Hulk. Jaipur. Conflict of Heroes. Twilight Struggle
- Citadels, Dominion, Stone Age, Galaxy Trucker, Middle-Earth Quest
- Carcassonne, Stone Age, Nexus Ops, Small World, Puerto Rico, Power Grid, Pandemic
- Descent, For Sale, Evo, El Grande, Shogun, Small World
- The Great Fire of London 1666, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Shadows Over Camelot, Absolute Balderdash
- Diamant, Saboteur, Apples to Apples, Werewolf
- Taboo, Roborally
- Werewolf, Wits N Wagers
- Time's Up, Werewolf
If you have any more suggestions (and I’m sure you will) why not post them below or better still get involved in the conversation over on the Guild and become part of our little community.
Some Other Bits
That’s about it, tomorrow is review day so keep an eye out for that. A few small additions have been made to the blog, including RSS feeds for both Board Game News and The UKGMN Guild are now in the sidebar. Don’t forget our competition to win the Adventurers Pre-painted Minis (click the image in the sidebar for more info.) If you have something to say, articles to contribute or games you want reviewed don’t hesitate to contact us using the link in the side bar.
Until tomorrow, have fun gaming!
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