On the importance of teamwork

Teamwork is a strange topic when it comes to games.  Most games are by definition competitive.  In addition to the enjoyment we get from playing the game, we are in general playing to win.  Even for the few games that are team-based or cooperative there is still a competitive element.  As players you still want to show off your skill, knowledge, cleverness, or resolve to your fellow players.

Even (or perhaps more importantly) outside of the game, teamwork is essential for die-hard gamers.  It is rare for us to be surrounded by a steady supply of people who are as dedicated to the hobby as we are.  Therefore it is in our best interest to cultivate our own team of gamers so that we can continues to do what we love.

For my own purposes, my wife has been the most important member of that local team, especially as I undergo my year of gaming resolution.  Since I only have a game meetup event to go to once a week, for the remaining six days I rely on my wife and kids for fellow players.  As the oldest of my kids is seven, most of those plays are with my wife.

I have been extremely thankful for the extent to which my wife has embraced this hobby of mine, especially with the quantity of time, money, and storage space that it has grown to occupy.  Even when I suggested this game-a-day resolution, she encouraged it.  Even with many of our plays happening late in the evening after the kinds are in bed, prioritizing gaming over the extra sleep.  Everyone should have this level of support.  Without support, what I am trying to do would be impossible.

Now to catch up on a couple days of play reports.

Game report Day 8 - Mille Bornes
Classic card game and is one of the first titles that my wife and I acquired after we got together.  The name is French for "Thousand Miles", which gives you some indication as to the goal.  Players are trying to accumulate a thousand miles of distance cards for their road trip, all while hitting their opponents with stoplights, speed limits, flat tires, etc.  First person to a thousand miles wins the round,  Depending on a few other factors the round scores points.  The game is won when someone passes 5000 points.  We just played two hands, splitting them one win apiece.

Game Report Day 9 - Dweebies
Gamewright Games has an extensive library of fun, silly looking card games.  This one has a deck of 52 cards consisting of 27 different dweebies.  Each turn a player will play one card from their hand onto the table, forming rows and columns of dweebies.  At any time when identical dweebies appear in the same row or column, the player that played the second dweebie collects the matching pair along with all of the cards in the row or column between the two.  When all cards have been played, you count up the number of collected cards, high number wins.  We played one round.  I won, though not by a lot.  Impressive given how tired my wife must have been, looped up on painkillers after a day of dental work.

Game Report Day 10 - Betrayal at House on the Hill
I just got this one today.  After looking for quite some time, I managed to find a used copy for a price I was willing to pay.  This is a game in a small, but growing category of semi-cooperative games.  In particular it is in a category called traitor games.  This means that everyone playing is on the same team, except one.  That one person is the traitor trying, usually secretly, to make everyone else lose.  Remember how I said that cultivating your local team of game players is important?  Choosing the games you play is one of the important parts of that effort.  I mention this now because this game, and games like it, are games that are not necessarily for every group.  Some players have a tendency to take things like treason and subterfuge personally.  If you have one of these people in your group, you just need to accept this and avoid games that involve deception, saving those games for more diverse meetups.

Fortunately my wife is not one of these people, although a game like Diplomacy might even push her limits.  Unfortunately, Betrayal at House on the Hill is designed for at least three players.  While there is a two player variant on BGG, we decided to include my son instead.  With some help he did fine.  The only thing I was watching out for was the odd chance that he would be the traitor.  If that were the case we would just fudge it.  As it turns out, my wife was the traitor.  She promptly exterminated the heroes, although I was very, very close to winning the game for the heroes.  One die roll just a little better.....

This is one game that will be getting more table time.