Unpopular opinion: That friend who always picks cooperative games was right about my group

My buddy Dave kept saying our game nights would fall apart with competitive games because half the group can't handle losing gracefully. After 6 months of trying everything from Catan to Risk, our group has 3 people who refuse to play with each other anymore. Has anyone else had a competitive game completely ruin the vibe at their table?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessica9212d ago

Wait, is Betrayal at House on the Hill really cooperative though? I mean, you're kind of working together at the start, but the whole point is someone turns on you halfway through. That's not really cooperative, that's just competitive with a slow burn intro. If your group can't handle losing gracefully in a normal game, they're definitely going to hate getting betrayed by a "friend" who suddenly has to hunt them down. I've seen that game end friendships too, just in a different way. It's more like a trust fall that turns into a shoving match.

wade_kelly772d ago

Your friend Dave was right about the whole competitive thing. Catan is actually one of the worst for this though because the trading mechanic lets people get petty real fast. We had a similar blowup over Risk where two dudes literally didn't talk for a month after someone broke a non aggression pact. Cooperative games like Pandemic or Forbidden Island are way better for keeping the peace since you're all losing together instead of blaming each other.

emma_wells832d ago

Has anyone tried playing Betrayal at House on the Hill though? It starts off all cooperative exploring this creepy house and then halfway through someone turns traitor and it's every man for himself. That way the backstabbing feels more like part of the game and less like someone just broke a real life promise.