The Art of Sacrifice

Choice is an element of game design that often differentiates a good game from a bad game. To truly make that choice meaningful though, there has to be some element of sacrifice involved in that choice—that is, you either must give up something good to get something better, or you must choose one good thing to do instead of another. Sometimes this is simple—trading in resources (a good thing to have) for the new settlement or tech upgrade or whatever else that will produce more useful things in the future (a better thing to have). Sometimes it's more complex—choosing between three or four options that you desperately need, but can only have one of (I'm looking at you, Agricola).

This element of sacrifice creates a tension that is the driving force in the best of games. Do I trade two resources for one with an opponent to get the one I need? Do I try to cure more infections from the board or reach another player to trade cards? Do I build up my own defenses or reach out to attack and weaken my enemy?

This tension creates a unique challenge that exercises our minds, bringing us into a strategic mindset, forcing us to figure out how to use our resources more efficiently, and generally adds to the excitement of any game.

So here's a thought: