Clik here to view.
Can’t We All Just Get Along: Cooperative Gaming
This is a reprint of an article written in October, 2007 for first publication in the March 2008 issue of Knucklebones magazine; it was the final issue. Because of its origins, this article is more...
View ArticleGaming Evolution: Co-Op Games, Part One: Honored Ancestors
Over the last decade, we’ve seen the evolution of a new genre of gaming: the co-op game. Because we’re still here in the early days of the genre, we’ve had the good fortune over the last decade (and to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Co-Op Interviews: Richard Launius — Arkham Horror
Last month I started a discussion of co-op games with an article I called “Gaming Evolution: Co-Op Games, Part One: Honored Ancestors”. It talks about some of the primordial co-op games which helped to...
View ArticleCo-Op Interviews: Reiner Knizia — Lord of the Rings
In previous articles in this column I discussed the primordial co-operative play board games, from 1987 to 2000 — starting with Arkham Horror and ending with Lord of the Rings — and I talked with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New To Me: Winter & Spring 2013
As with its predecessors, this article is intended to talk about the games that I played recently which I’d never played before. Most of them are games that were published in the last year or so within...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kickstarter Preview: Monster Mansion
To date I haven’t paid any attention to Kickstarters in this blog under the theory that it’s better to talk about games when they’re done and published. However, two current Kickstarters caught my eye,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Co-Op Interviews: Matt Leacock — Thunderbirds
Matt Leacock is well-known as the designer of Pandemic (2007), Forbidden Island (2010), Forbidden Desert (2013), and related games. I interviewed him about his designs a couple of years ago, following...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Co-Op Interviews: Eric B. Vogel & The Dresden Files Co-Op Card Game
Eric B. Vogel is the designer of multiple games, including two deckbuilding designs, Zeppelin Attack! (2014) and Don’t Turn Your Back (2015), that he’s discussed in previous interviews. This time...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Bagbuilding Look at Orléans
Dominion (2008) kicked off a whole new genre of play: the deckbuilding games. But it’s also created a few spin-offs of its own, with Orléans (2014, 2015) being one of the more far-flung examples....
View ArticleClik here to view.
New to Me: Spring 2017 — So Much Co-op!
I’ve co-authored a pretty extensive book on the design of cooperative games. (It’s currently seeking a publisher.) As a result, I’m usually quick to suggest a new co-op game hit the table … and a lot...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Tao of Board Gaming VII
Koans I-III can be found in The Tao of Board Gaming I (December 2009). Koans IV-VI can be found in The Tao of Board Gaming II (April 2010). Koans VII-IX can be found in The Tao of Board Gaming III...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New to Me: Winter 2018 — Another Season of Co-ops
For the last few years, I’ve been working on a book about the design of cooperative tabletop games with my co-author, Christopher Allen. We’ve recently finalized a contract with a publisher, and we...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Announcing Meeples Together
For a while now I’ve been alluding to the fact that I’ve been working on a book on the design of cooperative board games, alongside my co-author, Christopher Allen. In fact, you can see the excess of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Alpha Player Problem (or: How to Avoid Controlling Co-Ops Without Even...
The biggest problem with cooperative game design is the issue of the controlling player — or if you prefer, the alpha player. It’s such a big problem that some players won’t play co-ops because of bad...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Co-op Case Study: Lord of the Rings
Meeples Together (which is now being funded on Kickstarter) breaks down the design of cooperative games primarily through the analysis and dissection of existing releases. These discussions form the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Co-op Case Study: Thunderbirds
Meeples Together is continuing to crowdfund on Kickstarter. It’s already blown through its first stretch goal, which adds a case study for Matt Leacock’s Forbidden Island to the book. We hope we’ll...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Co-op Case Study: Between Two Cities
Meeples Together (which is nearing the end of its funding on Kickstarter) covers a whole spectrum of cooperative games. “True co-ops” are the heart of the book, but it also discusses traitor games,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Co-op Case Study: Sub Terra
Our Kickstarter for Meeples Together ends this week, but we’ll be continuing to publish new case studies supplementing the book in the weeks and months to come. (We’ve got more than 50 additional case...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Co-op Interviews: Nikki Valens
Nikki Valens was a Senior Game Designer at Fantasy Flight Games from 2013-2018, during which time she worked on several cooperative board games, including two of FFG’s top releases: Mansions of Madness...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Co-op Case Study: Pathfinder Adventure Card Game
This co-op case study was originally posted at Meeples Together, a blog focusing exclusively on cooperative game design. And, if you missed the Kickstarter for my upcoming book on cooperative game...
View Article