Introspective: Magic Maze

[@ZarlokTV]

it was my favaurites YT show about games - i rembember watching many times before buying Agricola your review! :) Finally i boyght Agri and i love it! Thank U!

[@crapuchettes]

That was very interesting and pleasant.You're a fantastic professor!

[@JeramyWare]

I love to hear you talk about games. You are almost solely responsible for getting me into my passion of board gaming. Thank you for the work you do and sharing so much.

[@mr0santan]

Glad to hear Scott back, and loving this format.

[@TheStarwarsgolfer]

To avoid the impulse to quarterback, if I see someone struggling with what to do or they ask, I usually give them some of the options I was thinking about for them. I share the options and the potential outcomes and then they can choose what they like from those. Sometimes the options are both good, but one is a little better. It isn’t worth people not enjoying the game to ensure every play is the optimal move!

[@AnkimoX]

Thank you for making this.

[@lsav10]

Scott, thanks so much for this video. I have gone on record of saying that the Do Something pawn is my favorite component in board games for many of the reasons you stated and ones that I haven’t even considered that you enlightened me too. Thanks for your articulate thoughts. I’ve considered getting a tattoo of the pawn; you may have just convinced me to commit. Keep up the great work.

[@Stephen-Fox]

I think a problem with the leader token idea is similar to what you were mentioning about the Do Something pawn creating pressure - I know people who dislike co-op games because they get performance anxiety for want of a better word with them, they get anxious about making mistakes and 'letting the other players down.' That concept that every 2, 3, 4 rounds they're in charge would probably exasperate that sensation.

[@9206audree]

You got it backward, the point is to limit quaterbacking by taking turns being the only one able to, not by forcing it to someone in turn order.

[@geoFortune]

Like the new format :) ( thx for Agricola suggestion back then)

[@GregorMcNish]

I love how the theme music has slowed down a bit. Great to see you again!

[@ScottNicholson]

just like me... slowed down a bit.

[@sitdowngames]

Thank you Scott for this great video! Thinking about gameplay materials and elements from a more global or specific point of view is often very interesting and we know that the "Do something!" pawn is much discussed, pleasing to some and less so to others :-) Playing with others is a social experience and we encourage players to use this token in a courteous and kind way ;-)

[@millsdavid]

I appreciate the thoughtful discussion, and looking forward to your insights in this series!

[@KenBurnside]

I found this fascinating! Thank you! I try to slide into an "RPG Game Mastering" headspace when I play cooperative games with people I don't know -- my job is to make sure everyone else has a fun experience. If it turns out we all have the _same_ level of experience with the game, I dial that back. I find that the best practice (for me) is to find out who has had the fewest plays with the game before we begin and let them do the first and second order decision-making, and whatever their play (even if we know it's a 'wrong' one), we back it. More often though, I'll encourage people to play these games while I read a book at the next table over, or I'll play something else, so that I don't inadvertently wreck their fun. For me, watching people explore a coop game is almost as fun as playing one. "Captain Sonar is a great game, it's a lot of fun, and if I'm playing it with you, you will have less fun. I will cheerfully watch you guys play and get a lot of enjoyment out of seeing you play it! The flaw is with me, not the game!"

[@ScottNicholson]

That's an interesting point, and something I've done myself, where I don't play the game, but I GM and facilitate the game. So, I flip the cards for the threat, answer rules questions, run the timer, and keep the gameplay flowing. I'm still involved and part of the gameplay experience, but am not an active player.

[@UndeadVikingVideos]

Keep 'em coming Scott!

[@coryjhoover]

Great to see you making videos Scott

[@adamwulf]

Love the videos, very interesting how different games solve quarterbacking in different ways. And that music sure takes me back to BGWS!

[@ledbetter10]

Great video Scott!

[@pilleater]

Thank you for this!

[@lukeholbrook204]

Looking forward to more of this series! The Do Something mechanic is interesting, and I wonder if you could create other designs for it (maybe in other games). For instance, instead of Do Something, it’s Help Me! Or maybe you use it to take the pressure off of yourself by handing off to another player.

[@chrisschenck1419]

One tip I use when I'm tempted to quarterback in a cooperative game: Discuss the problem, not the solution. Let someone else suggest a solution if it doesn't directly involve my character. For example, if I'm playing Pandemic, rather than saying, "Scott, go treat Tokyo before it has an outbreak" I'll just say, "Tokyo is about to have an outbreak." If Scott volunteers to go there, great! If not, that's fine too. The game will be fun either way.

[@AdamR1977]

The concept of Hero Moments is great. I feel like this new series is going to be like lifting the curtain on Oz, and I'll start noticing these things with more conscious thought. Great stuff.

[@jeffreyallers336]

Great video, especially as I am working on designing a cooperative game, for the first time.

[@dusksheaks1010]

You do something for me . Thanks for the new videos !!!

[@th1ngo]

A fascinating step back from boardgames, to gain greater perspective. _Magic Maze_ vs _Spirit Island_

[@venusboys3]

Not exactly 'quarterbacking' but I play a lot of RPGs and when I GM it can be difficult to hold back and not give away too much info... to let the PCs make the wrong hunches and take the other path. It's often more fun if they do.... but I'm always tempted to let them know what's really going on, and I have to remember that as a Player I'd much rather figure it out for myself, or never find out at all.

[@9206audree]

SoC kept looking at me during this segment. In the long run, you gotta find the right balance of QBacking to be able to play either loyalty with the same personality.

[@ScottNicholson]

When we get there, we'll talk about how traitors in the mix changes everything about co-ops...

[@willzander6514]

I'm generally not a fan of co-op ganes, mostly because of the quarter back situation that often happens. I OVE this game because it seemed to engage everyone in the game.mire equally. Plus, it is fun to repeatedly slam the "do something" token in front of someone. This is much easier with people you know rather well.

[@sarahreed-eurogamergirl]

I like your suggestions for players to adopt to control quarterbacking/alpha gamers. Mostly because games that inhibit verbal communication or impose time limits are not visually accessible. Those with vision disabilities often rely on verbal communication to interact with board games and can't act as quickly. I know, not every game needs to be for everyone, but I do think some designers go a bit too far on trying to reduce a problem that I think is often better handled by player groups. Oddly, a few of my groups have been quite opposite of quarterbacking where so many people can't make decisions and seem to constantly look to others for advice on what to do. I don't mind this as much because a cooperative game is about working together, but it sometimes gets a bit much when a person really won't do anything that isn't suggested by someone else. Often, my husband has the best analysis of the game state and he becomes the de-facto leader, which I know he doesn't particularly like because he doesn't want to be the one telling everyone else what to do. So he usually does what you suggest, gives someone two options, that way the person is actually making a choice. Really like this new show! Looking forward to the next one! Paper money is quite controversial in board games.

[@allluckyseven]

Huh. I don't think I have every played a game where there's a mechanic to mitigate or to use in some other way this... _phenomenon_ of quarterbacking. But I do love to think about these dynamics that are, let's say, undesirable, and how to turn them into something fun for everybody. Kind of like an Aikido approach: It's going to happen, let's use it in our favor.

[@maverickdelta]

I believe limiting free flow of information hinders (but does not prevent) quarterbacking (or what is called alpha gamer in some circles). In Pandemic, players are supposed to not show their hands, but can discuss freely what they have in their hand. In Gloomhaven, players are forbidden to talk about the stats of their cards, but can be vague about it. In T.I.M.E. Stories, players are asked to not read their card, but to express in freehand what their card says. Sometimes, a very short timer or the sheer chaos of a game can prevent a quarterback from forming a plan, in which case mistakes are viewed as an acceptable consequence of the time crunch, and cannot be directly blamed on a players ability. Like Fuse and 5-minute Dungeon, players must manage the stressful situation (the bombs that they need to defuse, the cards that must be played to KO a boss) and do not have time to absorb much information from the other players.

[@thegamesninja3119]

I hear the King of England just knighted Scott as an Elder Statesperson. This is mainly due to the beard. 🥷