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Cooperation is coordination
Key Takeaways:
Low-stakes coordination is fun. Cooperative games are based around disrupting that coordination to make a game of it.
Communications Protocols provide specific ways to communicate and coordinate for computers.
Board games that formalize coordination and can add delightful wrinkles to all-together co-op games!
In case you haven't heard yet, I love board games. I was the one who requested the /tabletop channel back when dwr was doing the 2nd round of channel creation in summer 2023, deep in the bear.
This article is experimental, rewrapping some old casts of mine for the content. Following some Seemore advice, thanks @cameron.
I'd like to tell you why I love cooperative board games in general, and these six in particular.
Co-op games and communications protocols
I've recently been thinking about how board games in general and cooperative games in particular are very similar to data protocols. There are strict rituals about how players can interact, non-interaction of Euro games, limited in something like a worker placement, to all-out brawling of pvp games.
Cooperatives especially put emphasis on ritualizing communication because the whole point of the game is to coordinate in order to defeat the game/forces of chaos/heat death of the universe/etc. Pandemic introduces compounded chaos through Outbreaks that force the group to put attention on specific areas of the board and the game for players becomes predicting which particular problems are likely to get unmanageable.
The rituals are often disrupted, or force specific disruptions to that communication. Sometimes you can only communicate about specific things, or at specific times, or using particular schemas. It's very interesting to see the Byzantine Generals problem play out at low stakes in real time, even though it's usually misunderstandings rather than malice at work. In other words,
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.
- Hanlon's Razor
To me, novel coordination problems are very fun, and cooperative board games can provide an awesome experiment space. Here are six of my favorites.
Nerd's Favorite Cooperative Board Games
Spirit Island
Coordination comes from individual understanding of each players area of responsibility and coordinating to defeat a more-powerful threat. Extremely asymmetric player powers, area control, and card drafting make for a near infinitely-replayable game.
Spirit Island addresses coordination by making each player responsible for their own island and keeping the pressure on the entire game. There's literally too many systems with too much going on for all but the most experienced players to quarterback and tell other players what to do.
area control + hand management + card drafting against an ever-growing enemy
asymmetric player powers
amazing anti-colonial narrative
too much going on to quarterback
iSpeakNerd 🎩💩 on Warpcast
My favorite Co-op Games: Day 1: Spirit Island Native spirits of the island fight off the invaders who come to ravage the land and its people. - area control + hand management + card drafting against an ever-growing enemy - asymmetric player powers - amazing anti-colonial narrative - too much going on to quarterback https://i.imgur.com/006t0Pz.png
A truly cooperative experience with a wonderful anti-colonialist narrative, which is a direct counter to the prevailing game mechanics and themes of exploitation in 4X games.
Greater Than Games | Spirit Island: Base Game | Cooperative Strategy Board Game | 1 to 4 Players | 90+ Minutes | Ages 14+
Powerful spirits have existed on this isolated Island for time immemorial. They are both part of the natural world and - at the same time - something beyond nature. Native Islanders, known as the dahan, have learned how to co-exist with the spirits, but with a healthy dose of fear and reverence.
The Crew - Quest for Planet 9 and its sequel Mission: Deep Sea
Coordination in the Crew comes from disallowing players to discuss the contents of their hands but require each player to succeed on trick-taking goals for each round.
The Crew is a fresh twist of trick-taking by giving each player goals "I will win more tricks than anyone else" and then forcing players to fulfill all goals to succeed the mission. The wrinkle is that you can't discuss what cards you have with the other players, leading to situations where players must use their experience of trick-taking games to know when they need to trump in to take a trick, when they should slough off-suit to keep another player leading, and how they are all going to fulfill their goals, together.
It's a wonderful coordination game that builds on player experiences with trick taking games like Hearts, Spades, and Bridge but the coordination requires whole new ways of thinking. For under $15, this is definitely a must-buy in my book.
Fresh twist on trick taking
Campaign missions build player skills
Compact box, easy to carry
iSpeakNerd 🎩💩 on Warpcast
My fav Co-op Games Day 2: The Crew - Quest for Planet 9/Mission Deep Sea Trick taking classic like Spades/Hearts but certain people must take certain tricks in certain order. Oh, and you can't talk about your hand 🙃 - fresh twist on trick taking - campaign missions build player skills - compact box, easy to carry https://i.imgur.com/cXWoXm5.png
THAMES & KOSMOS The Crew - Quest for Planet Nine | Card Game | Kennerspiel des Jahres Winner | Cooperative | 3-5 Players | Ages 10+ | Trick-Taking | 50 Levels of Difficulty | Endless Replay
Astronauts wanted! The scientific community is abuzz over signs of a mysterious planet located at the edge of our solar system. But despite all of their efforts, so far they have been unable to provide substantial evidence of its existence. Join this exciting space adventure to find out if the th...
The Crew - Mission Deep Sea | Card Game | Cooperative | 2 to 5 Players | Ages 10+ | Trick-Taking | 32 Levels of Difficulty | Endless Replayability
In this highly-anticipated followup to the original cooperative card game - winner of the 2020 Kennerspiel des Jahres - players work together to search for the lost continent of Mu. This new adventure takes your crew deep down into the abyss on a search for the fabled sunken land.
Magic Maze
Another fresh take, Magic Maze tasks players with escaping a mall but they each don't get their own character, no no, in Magic Maze each player controls one or more direction of movement for all the characters.
In Magic Maze, a player controls a direction of movement for all the characters, not all movement of a single character. The team must coordinate without talking to get everyone in and out of the maze.
All characters must move left at some point so if I control left movement, I need to know when to kick in and move each character left at the correct time to not derail each character's movement throughout the maze and around obstacles. Oh, and players can't talk to each other during gameplay.
Players can discuss plans at "rest stops" throughout the maze, but it truly takes each player understanding the goal for each character, and how their role fits into the to make the experience sing as a cooperative experience. It's definitely a bit gimmicky, but so fun!
iSpeakNerd 🎩💩 on Warpcast
My fav Co-op games Day 4: Magic Maze Real-time escape the maze only moving in certain ways (protocol-ized movement) and no talking during game time (disrupted coordination). - Incredibly fun and satisfying to get right - Hilariously tomfoolery when team gets it wrong - Real-time coordination with disrupted comms https://i.imgur.com/MP0RCfw.png
Sit Down! Magic Maze - Real-Time Gameplay, Move the 4 Characters Through the Mall Before the Timer Runs Out - Co-operative, Everyone Has a Different Power, 1-8 players, 15 mins, Ages 8+, Medium
After being stripped of all their possessions, a mage, abarbarian, an elf, and a dwarf are forced to go rob thelocal Magic Maze shopping mall for all the necessaryequipment they need for their next adventure. They agreeto pull off their heists simultaneously, then dash to theexits in order to eva...
Gloomhaven
Gloomhaven, the Jaws of the Lion re-release, and sequel Frosthaven are the closest board gamers will come to a crunchy CRPG-like experience on the tabletop. It's big and brash and demands your attention to play with each session lasting several hours, it's like playing Dungeons and Dragons without relying on a DM to moderate the game sessions.
Combat is extremely satisfying with players choosing the timing of the actions, and being forced to adapt those actions on the fly after other players jump ahead of them in turn order and change the board state unexpectedly. This is the coordination negotiation that players make because you can't discuss the exact number of the speed of the actions you are playing, but can only describe them as low, mid, or high.
Player turn order is variable in Gloomhaven, which means the board state will often have changed before you get to do what you planned to do that round. So coordination comes from the dance of negotiating who will go "fast" or "slow" and working around others messing up your plans.
Very very fun, but requires a significant investment of time and money from committed players.
iSpeakNerd 🎩💩 on Warpcast
My fav co-op games Day 5: Gloomhaven giant, CRPG-esque, legacy campaign; unlock new chars + player powers, best combat in /tabletop - fun hand mngmt, risk/reward burst actions vs. early exhaustion - tactical + adjustable combat - round initiative, top/bottom card plays allows adjustment when plans get fucked up 😂 https://i.imgur.com/OAsHJri.jpg
Frosthaven Cephalofair Games Frosthaven Board Game, 1 to 4 players
Frosthaven is the story of a small outpost far to the north of the capital city of White Oak, an outpost barely surviving the harsh weather as well as invasions from forces both known and unknown. There, a group of mercenaries at the end of their rope will help bring back this settlement from the...
FUSE - stress and dice galore
Tension is high as the bomb-defusal team must coordinate against the clock to get the right dice to the right people at the right time each turn. The time stress inevitably means that players have to compromise on their plans; the negotiation and re-negotiation to avoid having to return dice to the bag keeps everyone on high alert.
With heavy collective punishment for coordination failure, each player must return a die from their bomb card goal if any of the dice drawn each round is unclaimed. High stress and high rewards await players in FUSE.
Not recommended for the faint of heart, and can only play a few of these games in a row from adrenaline fatigue. There's even an alarm and stressful sounds coming from the companion timer app as the team plays 😂 😂
high stress, high fun
tight schedule is forced coordination, great to play with same folks repeated
each game is only 10 min
iSpeakNerd 🎩💩 on Warpcast
My fav co-op games Day 6 - FUSE Real-time dice-stacking stress! deFUSE the bombs by grabbing the right dice; but watch out, if your team can't fit all the dice, you have to put some back! - high stress, high fun - tight schedule is forced coordination, great to play with same folks repeated - each game is only 10 min https://i.imgur.com/WpHa6Hr.png
Renegade Game Studios Fuse Board Game, for Ages 10+, Playing Time 10 Minutes, 1-5 Players, Cooperative Dice Game
FUSE is a real-‐time cooperative dice game for 2-‐5 players where friends work together to quickly save their ship from impending doom! Intruders have made their way on to your ship! Their goal: Total Destruction! Twenty bombs have been detected onboard, and the countdown has begun. Your elite ...
Return to Dark Tower
The coordination trick here is that Return to Dark Tower (RtDT) includes random number generation (RNG) from card decks for enemies encountered in the tower and RNG to determine layouts and what a player will encounter on any given assault on the tower.
"Advantages" earned from gameplay help players to mitigate the bad things that happen in the Return to Dark Tower. Players need to build up to assault the tower while also managing the situations created from enemy outbreaks across the board. Coordination requires negotiation of asymmetric powers, area control, and hand management.
It's less RNG than dice rolls like DnD but definitely not a sure thing, requiring players to build up "advantages" from items, asymmetric powers, and companions to mitigate the Bad Things™️ that will befall them inside.
Asymmetric + variable player powers
Variable RNG with cards but more control from "advantage" system instead of dice, limited RNG badness
Gimmicky but fun tower
iSpeakNerd 🎩💩 on Warpcast
My fav co-op games: Day 7: Return to Dark Tower Defend the lands from encroaching corruption while building up to the final assault on the Dark Tower! - Asymmetric + variable player powers - Variable RNG with cards but more control from "advantage" system instead of dice - Gimmicky but fun tower limited RNG badness https://i.imgur.com/JFoiVNw.jpg
Restoration Games: Return to Dark Tower
For an age, the tower lay in ruins. Unbeknownst to the people of the realm, a great evil stirred in its bowels. It started with strange sightings: a flock of crows flying in circles until they dropped from the sky, the lake frozen solid in the height of summer.
/tabletop Giveaway
Cast a photo of yourself (no faces needed) playing your favorite board game in the /tabletop channel by 4/4/24 to be eligible for this awesome giveaway worth nearly $400 in partnership with @cameron and @bigshotklim! Click the cast below for details:
iSpeakNerd 🎩💩 on Warpcast
/nounworks is giving us a case of these toys (launch 0.1 ETH) to reward the most helpful & active members of /tabletop community We're raffling this & everyone who shared a photo of their favorite game this year is eligible But don't worry, you have until Thurs 4/4/24 to cast a photo of your favorite game in action! https://warpcast.com/ispeaknerd.eth/0xfeae61f4
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I ask this a lot, but I think it is good question. We want to hear about your favorites and why! Board games and RPGs...go!!!
My own favorites: Top 5 board games - Ark Nova, Agricola, Terraforming Mars, Gaia Project, and Amun Re. I love engine building, and specifically card draft engine building. 3 of my favorite games (Agricola, Terraforming Mars, and Ark Nova) all have this aspect.
Top 5 board games- Return to Dark Tower, Keep the Heroes Out!, Sagrada, Twilight imperium, Stonespine Architects Top 5 RPGs- Baldur’s Gate 2, Fallout 2, TES3.Morrowind, Baldur’s Gate 3, Disco Elysium.
Man...people keep listing Twilight Imperium. I really need to play that game sometime...just need someone willing to teach it.
the biggest challenge in this game is to find people who will have a lot of free time at the same time)
But the game is worth it)
I love Terraforming and Ark Nova but I think I would put Brass on the list before Agri. Haven’t tried Amun Re, but seems it is worth it!
I got to play a couple games of Brass Birmingham while at Origins, and enjoyed it quite a bit. Agricola is a game that is a slow burn...it took a dozen games before it hit me. As for Amun Re, I do enjoy it, but the bidding element can throw off the game a little...that is my only gripe (but it is a minor one).
My top 5 RPGs: D&D claims my top spot. I've been playing that game since I was 8 years old, and it has been a life-long obsession (that I am passing along to my kids as well 😉 ). Pathfinder is up there (in fact, that is my preferred "D&D" version, currently). Others (these all receive significantly less play, but I still enjoy them!) - Call of Cthulhu, Dungeon Crawl Classics, and Shadowrun.
Spirit Island, 5e dnd (bc im a basic bitch), The Crew, Dead Reckoning, and toss up for final tbh: Western Legends and Great Western Trail
wrote a bit about my top co-ops last year Spirit Island Magic Maze The Crew Gloomhaven FUSE Return to Dark Tower https://paragraph.xyz/@ispeaknerd.eth/cooperation-games-for-coordination-protocols#h-nerds-favorite-cooperative-board-games
I think I'm gonna be pretty basic here for the most part... 1) Power Grid 2) Ticket to Ride 3) Carcassonne 4) Equate (it's math Scrabble) 5) D&D
Basic is fine! I enjoy Power Grid quite a bit. My regular group doesn't seem to love it, because it never hits the table. 🙁 ....and, of course, D&D is a personal favorite. What version(s) do you play?
favorite board games: twilight imperium, hero quest, warhammer 40k, necromunda, and Mordheim RPGs: Morrowind, classic world of Warcraft, Majora’s Mask, Rogue Trader, BG3
Oh! Warhammer 40k! I’ll be getting an intro to that soon. New obsession incoming…
oh man hope you enjoy. Lifelong player here and there’s much to love. Let me know what army you end up rolling!
What is the simplest board game you've ever played that you really enjoyed? I'm doing some research for my Indie Party idea.
For those curious about what Indie Party is: https://party.indie.win
Lots of votes for Candyland, haha my kids will be overjoyed.
My daughter ripped the board in half in a fit of rage. I happily retired it after that. 😆
Skull
oooh forgot about Skull. @seanconnolly its poker without all the faffing about with chips + hands. just pure bluffing + betting, really good
love skull
fluxx. but thats 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 dependent on taste Love Letter, Sprawlopolis, and Hive are also really good
Ahh Love Letter, I didn't think of that! I must try Sprawlopolis and Hive now too.
Plus one to hive, but get the pocket version
ants op pls nerf
Code Names is easy to get into and a good party game. Hanabi is fun. Simple rules on the surface, but there are ways to up the play level.
I've had hanabi for like 5 years and just played for the first time last week lol interesting way to fuck with coordination, really like those kinds of games lol shameless self shill of relevant article https://paragraph.xyz/@ispeaknerd.eth/cooperation-games-for-coordination-protocols
So, the next level for us was agreeing on some conventions that would communicate more….kinda like Bridge bidding conventions (best comparison I could think of). I’ll need to find my notes on it, but it definitely improved the game for me.
yeah protocolized communication 💯💯
War, classic card game. Unless you require an actual board, then checkers.
Okay, don't take this the wrong way but...do you actually enjoy War? I get that it's simple but generally don't like purely random games myself.
you asked simplest games haha but there are many games much more fun : https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/210040/illimat
"...that you really enjoyed?" 😀
Speaking of simple but not easy Go 😆
Captain Rino / Haba🚀🚀🚀 https://x.com/HabaJapan/status/1436437969041334299?t=zv0xu-hyAJLhYojhZaKg-g&s=19
not really board game but fishbowl
This one? https://fishbowl-game.com/
Yes! It's hilarious.
We. Must. Play.
Was thinking about what I play board games for (fun + collecting mechanisms and their intuitions), in light of what I hope those mechanisms can do (empower the disadvantaged), and it started making me wonder if you could make a board game where: 1. Players start with deliberately unfair distribution of points/resources. 2. Resources could be purchased directly from other players at agreed/colluded prices. Could we start a genre that develops the muscles for coordinating under severe imbalance? Seems like it could develop more relevant skills than the normal ("zero to win") type games today.
sort of a "kobayashi maru" genre? also kinda reminds me of "among us", since assumedly there's a player that would automatically draw aggro, and there are forced coordinated actions. would be cool to simulate an oversimplified equities market w/ random outsized returns & black swans.
Any recommendations for co-op board games to play with young kids?
How young? If they know how to play spades/hearts they're ready for The Crew FUSE would go over well also Magic Maze would be fun for sure! I wrote an article in April with more details on each of these games, check it out! https://paragraph.xyz/@ispeaknerd.eth/cooperation-games-for-coordination-protocols
Hey thanks! Just learning to read age (5-6) but gonna help with those parts.
I have some friends coming to visit in a few weeks and I’m looking for some solid 2 player games. Co-op > duel 60ish min Any theme We have yet to try a Legacy style game which sounds fun Pandemic Legacy comes to mind but wonder if I’m missing some fun ones. I don’t mind if they get too complex
I also haven’t fired up Zombiecide in awhile so that may be a good choice too
some of my fav co-op games article but for 2p - patchwork - Isle of Cats - azul - tapestry competitive - memoir '44 - star wars rebellion @stormblessed's top 2p games https://warpcast.com/~/search/casts?q=top+2+player https://paragraph.xyz/@ispeaknerd.eth/cooperation-games-for-coordination-protocols
awesome!! thank you for this
2 player co-op? Roughly from shortest to longest: Sky Team The Crew games (eg Mission Deep Sea) Paint the Roses Pandemic Legacy, yes Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island Too Many Bones Spirit Island
awesome list thank you! I have Too Many Bones and love it (just base version). I'll check out the others for sure 25 $degen
Thanks. Caveat on Robinson Crusoe: I love it, but it’s complex and tends to lead to a player quarterbacking. Most of the others figure out how to hinder quarterbacking
Oh… Nemesis maybe?
spent some time reskinning @acetcg cards with tabletop themes :) Shout out your favorite game and I'll make some more
Based on ideas from @ispeaknerd.eth @stormblessed
i was about to complain about the first one but you got it 💯💯 in the flavor just change "take" to "exploit" and its 🤌🤌
heck yeah, edit done ✅
ok i love this @kryptoshrimp
my fav co-op games: https://paragraph.xyz/@ispeaknerd.eth/cooperation-games-for-coordination-protocols @stormblessed is doing a series rn (click thru each cast is linked to past one by quote cast) https://warpcast.com/stormblessed/0x8505d55b
This article is great. Reminds me of the finite vs infinite games in Ace that I talked about here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIyNPcOMR84 tldr; The card game is a competitive finite game, collectively making the cards a cooperative infinite game.
Cooperative games can teach degens how to be regens 🌱
Terraforming Mars is popular Catan @perchy and I love Spirit Island @links loves bean Bohnanza @rustopian @dawufi and i had a great game of Istanbul last week
had a whole blast
a whole ass blast
A whole ass-blast
love this, more please 1000 $DEGEN
100 $DEGEN
I wrote a whole ass article on co-op games a few weeks back click the pic to jump to my top 6 list in the article https://paragraph.xyz/@ispeaknerd.eth/cooperation-games-for-coordination-protocols?referrer=0x3eEFAa9d6e2ab7972C1001D41C82BB4881389257#h-nerds-favorite-cooperative-board-games
What game(s) do you keep coming back to?
mine and @perchy's all time fav, Spirit Island https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/162886/spirit-island
I haven’t played it before, but have heard wonderful things about it. I love that you are playing as the island!
It was in my latest newsletter! Click the pic to jump to relevant header https://paragraph.xyz/@ispeaknerd.eth/cooperation-games-for-coordination-protocols#h-spirit-island
Not sure how into /tabletop this group is but thinking about some interesting parallels bw co-op board games and communication protocols i.e. coordination in crypto https://paragraph.xyz/@ispeaknerd.eth/cooperation-games-for-coordination-protocols
Parallels with disrupted comms in co-op games and crypto protocols + my top 6 co-op /tabletop games https://paragraph.xyz/@ispeaknerd.eth/cooperation-games-for-coordination-protocols
I played Sythe and then rode public transportation - not cooperative! 163 $DEGEN
You have good taste. And I share your preference for co-op games. Having common goals brings out the best interactions across the table.
this is the wei
New publish from the nerd 🤓 https://paragraph.xyz/@ispeaknerd.eth/cooperation-games-for-coordination-protocols
Hahaha this is what all crypto content should strive to be. I feel like exploring coordination games is a trove for getting ideas of what could work Onchain. Also the blog looks eclectic AF and fun to read through
thanks fam! i appreciate the feedback, and glad to hear you appreciate how 𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕞 and 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝓇𝓀𝓎 ✨ my writing is 420 $DEGEN
Called Spirit Island as your #1 right away 😅 interesting parallels! btw ever played Space Alert? 100 $DEGEN
👻🏝️ I feel seen 😆 Yes I have, great call out! also a great game and definitely one that should've been on the list given the focus on coordination and protocols 😂 Preprogram coordination and watch the failures pile up 😂😂 What were you going to say about it?
It humiliates the would-be quarterbacker lol. There’s too much going on & too much hidden info on facedown cards for a single human to keep track. Quarterbacks use the ladder the same time as someone else, or do something inane that drains the lasers just before a critical shot, and get demoted permanently 😂
😂😂 SI is the same way with too much for a QB to track Space Alert would be a great stream game I think, good for gamba and showcasing co-op
Exciting blog from @ispeaknerd.eth dissecting the fun in cooperative board games! They explore how they offer experiments with communication and coordination while providing a summary of their six favorites. Don't miss the /tabletop giveaway!