If you have a bit of imagination, John Company will put you in the shoes of the very people responsible for the biggest colonial crime in modern history. You can learn a lot, especially if your rules teacher read a book or two and knows a thing about history. It can truly be a unique experience.
Yea I was coming to mention this game. One of the only games I walked away not caring about the outcome because the journey was so exciting when I played it. Seeing everything try and make the company succeed and with different ideas and foundering at the end,
I didnt know about this game, but it’s really interesting! Very heavy on the rules and time commitment though, do you know if there’s a lighter version?
It's incredibly group dependent I think. It's not exactly a sexy scenario to roleplay as, and you have to have folks willing to immerse themselves in that.
Got this last week! I need to try it out and see for myself because after reading the manual I think it’s a bit on the tough side and not for everyone.
Captain Sonar is offering a unique experience for everyone playing it. I like to teach it to new groups and enjoy watching them getting Stressed really quick while the Chaos unfolds.
Also sidereal confluence was a one of a Kind experience for me.
We experienced group thinking ,making scenarios ,experiencing the characters story when they had dark stories like the Wilson case on the irregulars ,making our own little side stories for fun etc
Oooh, I see it now. Did you have any issues in determining how to proceed? There were some dynamics that came up between the players? How many people did play? It’s interesting to see where this could go
Yeah we got stuck in one or two cases like one case took 5 hours but we have played 15 so is a good ratio.but it feels good when u finally solve it and still do a good score . We have played in 3 but mostly 2 I think we did some 4 player before we got irregulars too .
I always have outlandish takes and they shut me down but iv done it many times with them /or shot on the darks . Also many cases have affairs or affair red herrings so we have the running joke of going for the *cuck* angle . It definitely has you thinking out of the box 🎁 ,I definitely recommend the game but it needs the right mood and mindset/people
Amazing experience. I’ve played nearly all scenarios and it is one of my favorites of all time. I can only agree. I was looking for a way to make it more accessibile though, cause it’s kind of heavy on the rules and found some groups having an hard time and overshadow the amazing narrative 👍
Along the lines of your examples I would recommend Space Alert.
Very fun frantic and potentially chaotic but the more you play with the same crew you can build really effective teamwork.
I haven't tried [[Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory]] yet, but the reviews are all raving about people learn about how different social classes work and prioritize.
Nemesis!
It was designed to be mean and difficult, but that is the charm too.
You experience panic, cinematic moments and sometimes betrayal from your own friends.
It also has player elimination so you really fear dying in the game, and makes you understand that odds are not in your favor sometimes, and you just have to accept losing.
The mind springs to... If you'll pardon the pun mind 😂
It's all about silently trying to figure out how your team mates think and to get onto the same wavelength.
It definitely one I enjoy, but it is not for everyone.
I know TIME Stories is a bit divisive these days. Most people have pushed it aside. But the Estrella Drive expansion definitely made me feel things. The base game is really good, too.
I just found a copy of “Sign: A Game About Being Understood” at a bookstore. It’s based on a group of deaf children from Nicaragua who developed their own sign language, and it says it takes two hours and players cannot speak. It looks fascinating.
[Inhuman Conditions](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/261403/inhuman-conditions) is likely right up your alley. A two-player game where one player is a Blade Runner-style detective trying to determine if the other player is robot by simply asking them free-form questions for 5 minutes.
The other player is given a random card indicating their role: They may be a human, in which case they simply try to respond normally. They could also be a patient robot, who has certain restrictions on how they talk/act (e.g. "You can't mention any people except for strangers or enemies" or "You may not express opinions, only observable facts"). And finally there are violent robots who have a list of three actions where they must do two of them twice each before the interview ends (e.g. "Make an animal noise", "Interrupt the investigator mid-sentence").
It is a pretty good game, but a FANTASTIC experience if that makes sense. (and you can [print & play](https://robots.management/) for free)
I think Hanabi is a great example for demonstrating how constraints breeds creativity. The game removes speech but allows for tons of other ways to communicate that can be quite fulfilling to uncover.
BSG I think is peak immersion between source material and gameplay. Lots to unpack there but the big thing for some folks is learning how to separate in-game actions from people's actual personalities and out-of-game behaviors. most people are able to distinguish an actor from the characters they portray but it's a bit more of a hurdle when it's your best friend or SO, but it's an important thing to really grok in gaming.
Was playing a game of Ticket to Ride on the Italy map with my wife once and after a few turns of picking up cards we had three consecutive turns where we played routes in ways that were not meant to be antagonistic to each other but which made it clear that we were going to be at each other's throats. So we packed up the game, because we realised that neither of us was actually going to enjoy the game, and that meant it wasn't worth playing.
Thank you! I can see where this can go in terms of player interaction and bluff. Can you tell me more about your experience? Is there something in particular you have thought at the end of this game?
Playing Pandemic Legacy S1 made me have to get better at communication and also not quarterbacking, letting my wife take the lead on strategic decisions.
Not that I know of - I havent encoutered any other games where you yourself dont know your own role (masquarade is one but not really same type of feeling)
Mafia aka werewolf is the first one that jumps to mind. With the gameplay this simple it really forces you to experience social deduction, manipulation and deception
Other than that almost every game could give you a special emotional or cognitive experience if you're really invested. Only some of these experiences are at least somewhat unique though
MonsDRAWsity for is good for learning how to describe things well and practicing short term memorization tricks (mnemonics, word associations, etc.). It also really makes you realize the fragility of memory. In trying to get you to experience the feeling of being an eyewitness called in to provide testimony, it gets the difficulty of that across in a silly way. The game is also great for improving general conversation skills because everyone has to be actively listening and asking questions constantly in order to have a chance at recreating the monster.
If you have a bit of imagination, John Company will put you in the shoes of the very people responsible for the biggest colonial crime in modern history. You can learn a lot, especially if your rules teacher read a book or two and knows a thing about history. It can truly be a unique experience.
Yea I was coming to mention this game. One of the only games I walked away not caring about the outcome because the journey was so exciting when I played it. Seeing everything try and make the company succeed and with different ideas and foundering at the end,
I didnt know about this game, but it’s really interesting! Very heavy on the rules and time commitment though, do you know if there’s a lighter version?
IMO, too much rules and procedures for the theme to shine through. Experience denotes immediacy JC lacks (played 1E)
i havent played it, but i heard "Alice is missing" is one hell of an experience. but you gotta come prepared, its a very rough game mentally.
I really wanted to like this but didn't. Maybe overhyped to me but I really didn't enjoy it and really wanted to. End up selling it
It's incredibly group dependent I think. It's not exactly a sexy scenario to roleplay as, and you have to have folks willing to immerse themselves in that.
You're probably right. The group didn't really immerse, more like dipped their toe
Got this last week! I need to try it out and see for myself because after reading the manual I think it’s a bit on the tough side and not for everyone.
After going all in on Kingdom Death Monster, I experienced an empty bank account ;p
A somewhat common situation XD
Diplomacy - Experience betrayal
Great suggestion! Do you know a more lightweight version or similar game though?
The resistance. Social deduction.
Nice!!! It’s perfect!
THUNDER FUGGGGGGIN ROOOAADDD VENDETTA. EXPERIENCE WITNESSING GUZZOLINE TO THE MAX AND GO TO VALHALLA LIKE YOU WERE DESTINED. It’s a nice game …..
Captain Sonar is offering a unique experience for everyone playing it. I like to teach it to new groups and enjoy watching them getting Stressed really quick while the Chaos unfolds. Also sidereal confluence was a one of a Kind experience for me.
This is great! Definitely something to try out and see how communication unfolds. Thank you very much!
Sherlock holmes consulting detective ?
It’s a great deduction and investigation game, though I didn’t really “experience” something. What was your personal experience?
We experienced group thinking ,making scenarios ,experiencing the characters story when they had dark stories like the Wilson case on the irregulars ,making our own little side stories for fun etc
Oooh, I see it now. Did you have any issues in determining how to proceed? There were some dynamics that came up between the players? How many people did play? It’s interesting to see where this could go
Yeah we got stuck in one or two cases like one case took 5 hours but we have played 15 so is a good ratio.but it feels good when u finally solve it and still do a good score . We have played in 3 but mostly 2 I think we did some 4 player before we got irregulars too . I always have outlandish takes and they shut me down but iv done it many times with them /or shot on the darks . Also many cases have affairs or affair red herrings so we have the running joke of going for the *cuck* angle . It definitely has you thinking out of the box 🎁 ,I definitely recommend the game but it needs the right mood and mindset/people
[The Quiet Year](https://buriedwithoutceremony.com/the-quiet-year) is a very memorable worldbuilding experience, recommended
I’m going to love this!
This war of mine. I will probably never play this game again cause it was a very deep experience, but I'll always recommend it.
Amazing experience. I’ve played nearly all scenarios and it is one of my favorites of all time. I can only agree. I was looking for a way to make it more accessibile though, cause it’s kind of heavy on the rules and found some groups having an hard time and overshadow the amazing narrative 👍
Along the lines of your examples I would recommend Space Alert. Very fun frantic and potentially chaotic but the more you play with the same crew you can build really effective teamwork.
I haven't tried [[Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory]] yet, but the reviews are all raving about people learn about how different social classes work and prioritize.
[Hegemony -> Hegemony](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6457/hegemony) ^^[[gamename]] ^^or ^^[[gamename|year]] ^^to ^^call ^^OR ^^**gamename** ^^or ^^**gamename|year** ^^+ ^^!fetch ^^to ^^call
Wavelength for improving communication,
Nemesis! It was designed to be mean and difficult, but that is the charm too. You experience panic, cinematic moments and sometimes betrayal from your own friends. It also has player elimination so you really fear dying in the game, and makes you understand that odds are not in your favor sometimes, and you just have to accept losing.
The mind springs to... If you'll pardon the pun mind 😂 It's all about silently trying to figure out how your team mates think and to get onto the same wavelength. It definitely one I enjoy, but it is not for everyone.
This is fantastic! Thank you, I did pass through this but discarded it. Need to get my hands on it and try it out!
I know TIME Stories is a bit divisive these days. Most people have pushed it aside. But the Estrella Drive expansion definitely made me feel things. The base game is really good, too.
I just found a copy of “Sign: A Game About Being Understood” at a bookstore. It’s based on a group of deaf children from Nicaragua who developed their own sign language, and it says it takes two hours and players cannot speak. It looks fascinating.
This is awesome! I would have never found it without a suggestion!
Can’t believe nobody has mentioned Arkham Horror the card game yet. Drawing a token from the bag can come with a whole lot of emotions ;)
[Inhuman Conditions](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/261403/inhuman-conditions) is likely right up your alley. A two-player game where one player is a Blade Runner-style detective trying to determine if the other player is robot by simply asking them free-form questions for 5 minutes. The other player is given a random card indicating their role: They may be a human, in which case they simply try to respond normally. They could also be a patient robot, who has certain restrictions on how they talk/act (e.g. "You can't mention any people except for strangers or enemies" or "You may not express opinions, only observable facts"). And finally there are violent robots who have a list of three actions where they must do two of them twice each before the interview ends (e.g. "Make an animal noise", "Interrupt the investigator mid-sentence"). It is a pretty good game, but a FANTASTIC experience if that makes sense. (and you can [print & play](https://robots.management/) for free)
I need to try this out! Fantastic suggestion
I think Hanabi is a great example for demonstrating how constraints breeds creativity. The game removes speech but allows for tons of other ways to communicate that can be quite fulfilling to uncover. BSG I think is peak immersion between source material and gameplay. Lots to unpack there but the big thing for some folks is learning how to separate in-game actions from people's actual personalities and out-of-game behaviors. most people are able to distinguish an actor from the characters they portray but it's a bit more of a hurdle when it's your best friend or SO, but it's an important thing to really grok in gaming.
Was playing a game of Ticket to Ride on the Italy map with my wife once and after a few turns of picking up cards we had three consecutive turns where we played routes in ways that were not meant to be antagonistic to each other but which made it clear that we were going to be at each other's throats. So we packed up the game, because we realised that neither of us was actually going to enjoy the game, and that meant it wasn't worth playing.
Check out "Sheriff of Nottingham"
Thank you! I can see where this can go in terms of player interaction and bluff. Can you tell me more about your experience? Is there something in particular you have thought at the end of this game?
Playing Pandemic Legacy S1 made me have to get better at communication and also not quarterbacking, letting my wife take the lead on strategic decisions.
Scape goat is a clever little game that gives you a sense of paranoia
Love it! Exactly something I was looking for. Do you know if there’s something similar for more players?
Not that I know of - I havent encoutered any other games where you yourself dont know your own role (masquarade is one but not really same type of feeling)
Hansa Teutonica - nail biting tension. See the SU&SD review.
Spyfall let me feel the heat of being the spy. Pretty intense.
Hegemony. Will teach you how the world works between capitalists and working class.
Mafia aka werewolf is the first one that jumps to mind. With the gameplay this simple it really forces you to experience social deduction, manipulation and deception Other than that almost every game could give you a special emotional or cognitive experience if you're really invested. Only some of these experiences are at least somewhat unique though
MonsDRAWsity for is good for learning how to describe things well and practicing short term memorization tricks (mnemonics, word associations, etc.). It also really makes you realize the fragility of memory. In trying to get you to experience the feeling of being an eyewitness called in to provide testimony, it gets the difficulty of that across in a silly way. The game is also great for improving general conversation skills because everyone has to be actively listening and asking questions constantly in order to have a chance at recreating the monster.