Poll of the Day > Board game players.. do you like asymmetrical games?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Games where you play a faction that has either different stats, abilities, or even piece count from the others?

Yeah those are fun. I really enjoyed the Game of Thrones board game(its a card game but not a collectible card thing, its all in the box unless you want expansions)

Each faction had totally different abilities and card types/win conditions plus players take on roles like the master of the coin, hand of the king, etc

its a fun game

Literally warhammer

Lokchan posted...

Literally warhammer

I would classify that as pay to win.

There is a game of thrones board game, that was fairly popular for awhile. What you're describing is the Game of Thrones LCG.

I prefer to go beyond asymmetrical straight to unbalanced.

Basically, something like the video game Evolve or Dead By Daylight, where it's literally four players having to work together to take down one opponent who is more powerful than them individually.

I think I started getting into that style of play when I got HeroQuest (aka Warhammer Fantasy Lite: The Boardgame) as a kid, and just sort of continued as I kind of became a Forever GM in most of the tabletop roleplaying games (like D&D) that I played (where the GM has a radically different role from the other players). Then even later, when Magic: the Gathering came out with their Archenemy sets, which were basically designed to have multiple players (ideally 3) team up in melee against a single overpowered opponent with a special boosting deck that gave them ridiculous advantages each turn. I loved being the villain in those (complete with cheesy overacting and over-the-top threats as I crushed my friends' hopes and dreams). And even later, games like Betrayal at House on the Hill, where you start out on the same team but one of you becomes the Traitor and gets tons of bonuses you use to kill everyone else.

I just find it a fun play style, where a group has to work together to overcome one enemy. And I find it fun regardless of whether or not I'm the one, or part of the group.



__starsnostars posted...

There is a game of thrones board game, that was fairly popular for awhile. What you're describing is the Game of Thrones LCG.

It's a lot of card games. Especially ones that followed in the wake of M:tG's initial success and were looking for a way to differentiate themselves.

There's stuff like Legend of the Five Rings, where each player plays a self-constructed deck but play as different Clans (and each Clan has a different playstyle and advantages), where the deck you're using is generally going to influence how you try to win (Honor, Dishonor, Military, Enlightenment, etc).

In a similar vein you've got stuff like Red Dragon Inn, where each player gets a different deck, and each character has different cards and different ways to interact with the core game mechanics. So one character might be better at gambling, another might win by beating opponents up, a third might be better at resisting damage, and so on.

There's also stuff like the original Star Wars collectible card game (which came in a box set), where one player would play as the Light Side/Rebels and the other player took the Dark Side/Empire, and you'd play against each other with completely different cards (and some were specifically designed to interact/counter other cards your opponent had).

Card games in general are way more likely to have that sort of "each player plays differently" sort of gameplay than board games are.

__starsnostars posted...

There is a game of thrones board game, that was fairly popular for awhile. What you're describing is the Game of Thrones LCG.

LCG had to look that up to see what it meant

thanks though

That is literally Axis & Allies. Each side starts off with different advantages and disadvantages. The Russians start off with the lowest income and they must fight on two fronts between the Germans and Japanese, but all their initial territory is on land allowing for fast movement of reinforcements, and they get to move first. The Americans start off with the highest income and most of their territory is isolated by oceans so it's safe from attack initially, but that isolation means it's difficult to deploy troops to Europe or Asia without first building a large fleet and the Allied China territory is nearly impossible to reinforce.

Yeah, you can't have a really complicated (fun) game without some asymmetry, usually. Or historic war game.

My favorites: Twilight Struggle, Paths of Glory, Washington's War, maybe the more recent A&As.