So Happy Together (A Guide on Cooperative Games)

Only you and your teammates can stem the tide of disease in Pandemic

When non-gamers first hear that I like to play board games, I think one of the first scenes they imagine in their minds is the one with a group of young siblings playing a competitive game of monopoly or sorry until they get in a fight and quit angrily.  And while some relish the conflict and competition inherent in most board games, there is a genre of game which pits players not against each other, but against the game itself.

Even though cooperative games aren't a new phenomenon, many outside of the hobby gaming scene haven't heard of them, and aren't sure what that means.  Usually one of the first questions I get when I introduce a cooperative game is, "So you're on, like, teams?"

Fortunately, if you've run into trouble explaining the concept, or are unsure what it means yourself, this guide is here to help you out.  

So, what is a Cooperative game?

News Bits: 4/15/2013

A fairly light week as far as news is concerned, but there's some good stuff here nonetheless. Here it is, the NEWS:

Z-Man Games reveals Pandemic triptych [Link] Z-Man Games revealed the final artwork for the In the Lab and On the Brink Pandemic expansion covers this week, and all three games form one long photo. Is this a compelling enough reason to buy the new edition? Maybe, just maybe...

So Say We All (A Review of Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game)

Everybody look to your left. Now look to your right. One of you is probably a Cylon. It might even be you.

At least, that's the way of things in Fantasy Flight's Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game. Players will take on the roles of characters from the (modern) show as they face dangers, tense political situations, dwindling supplies, and of course the fact that some of the players are secretly Cylons working against them.

What Happens In Avalon.... (A Review of The Resistance: Avalon)

It is a dark time in Camelot.  (If that sounds familiar, perhaps you recently read this review of another Arthurian-themed traitor game)  King Arthur has disappeared, and Mordred is pressing hard against his loyal servants.  Unfortunately, Mordred is not waging an all-out war so much as infiltrating the ranks of Arthur's people.  Will the loyalists be able to root out the evil minions of Mordred in time, or will they fall prey to their cunning deception?  Or, perhaps even worse, will they fail to protect Merlin, their only hope?

In the Resistance: Avalon, an updated version of Don Eskridge's The Resistance, players take on the role of characters in Arthurian times--either loyal servants of Arthur or minions of the evil Mordred.

Please Don't Take My Sunshine Away (A Review of Shadows over Camelot)

'Tis a dark time for Camelot. Lancelot has run off with Guinevere, hordes of Picts and Saxons are invading, and the evil works of Mordred and Morgana cannot be ignored. Knights of the Round Table must join together in quests to save the kingdom, recover the holy grail and Excalibur, and defeat all their enemies before it is too late.

As the shadows creep over the land, these brave Knights struggle valiantly onward; but a traitor may be hidden among them and bring desolation to them all!

Shadows over Camelot is a board game for three to seven players in which players take on the role of knights trying to save Camelot. It is a cooperative game; however, one player may be a traitor secretly working to sabotage everyone’s efforts.

Wait, Where Was That Betrayal At Again? (Betrayal at House on the Hill review)

When you take a group of friends into a haunted house, it’s almost a guarantee that something crazy is going to happen, and one of those friends will definitely betray you all. Unless it’s you, then you’ll just betray everyone.

At least, that’s what happens in Betrayal at House on the Hill, a thematic horror game that tells the story of a foray into a haunted house, and the mayhem that ensues. But is this ghost story worth telling?