#600: What Board Games Teach Us About Life

Cooperation Issues

Cooperative board games like Pandemic require players to work together towards a common goal, either winning or losing as a team. Jonathan Kay explains that these games often face the 'alpha player problem,' where one dominant player dictates actions, reducing others' engagement 1. To counter this, modern game designers implement strategies like time limits to ensure everyone participates equally 2.

You give that boss more actual work to do and you find the micromanagement stops.

--- Jonathan Kay

   

Balancing Goals

Balancing group objectives with personal goals is a key challenge in cooperative games. In Dead of Winter, players have both public and private objectives, preventing any single player from dominating the game 3. This dynamic mirrors real-life scenarios where individuals balance team goals with personal agendas. Jonathan Kay highlights how these games provide insights into organizational behavior and conflict management 1.

Cooperative board games teach us that a lot of the dissatisfaction that people experience in organizations is not really the result of outwardly expressed conflict.

--- Jonathan Kay