Another good one for this, if you can find it, is Republic of Rome.
In it you have to cooperate or everybody loses as the republic falls. But you also have to backstab your enemies to get ahead to win. Cultivating a good sense of rhythm so that you can backstab someone at just the right moment to prevent them from being able to retaliate is the fine art that wins that game.
It was one of those strange games for me. Usually I’m not a fan of wargames, except the simpler ones (like Battle for Julu B.C. 207) every once in a while (my SO is an avid wargamer), but this game, despite being the kind of game I should hate just had me enjoying myself when I got the time to play it.
Enjoying myself, and hating all my fellow players, mind. 😉
Having the right group of people, with the right temperament is critical to enjoying this game. The backstabs are expected, the only question is how long will a understanding last, rather then will someone betray you.
One of the great parts of this game is even if your not going to win, you can still have a huge influence on the outcome so you are still involved in all the politicking.
Never tried Battle for Julu - I’ll add it to my list of future game ideas!
One of the great parts of this game is even if your not going to win, you can still have a huge influence on the outcome so you are still involved in all the politicking.
That’s one of the things I liked, yes. If you couldn’t be King you could be a Kingmaker.
Never tried Battle for Julu - I’ll add it to my list of future game ideas!
Battle for Julu is, to my knowledge, only published in Chinese, so you might have a hard time playing it:
I Internet-know the designer. She’s made quite a few games, but this one she specifically made for people like me: simple enough that we don’t get bored to tears, intending it to be basically a gateway drug.
Another good one for this, if you can find it, is Republic of Rome.
In it you have to cooperate or everybody loses as the republic falls. But you also have to backstab your enemies to get ahead to win. Cultivating a good sense of rhythm so that you can backstab someone at just the right moment to prevent them from being able to retaliate is the fine art that wins that game.
100%. I had a gaming group and we used to play weekly RoR after work, it was an amazing time. I cannot recommend this enough.
We developed an amazing sense of senatorial politics! Noone was safe! Ever.
It was one of those strange games for me. Usually I’m not a fan of wargames, except the simpler ones (like Battle for Julu B.C. 207) every once in a while (my SO is an avid wargamer), but this game, despite being the kind of game I should hate just had me enjoying myself when I got the time to play it.
Enjoying myself, and hating all my fellow players, mind. 😉
Having the right group of people, with the right temperament is critical to enjoying this game. The backstabs are expected, the only question is how long will a understanding last, rather then will someone betray you.
One of the great parts of this game is even if your not going to win, you can still have a huge influence on the outcome so you are still involved in all the politicking.
Never tried Battle for Julu - I’ll add it to my list of future game ideas!
That’s one of the things I liked, yes. If you couldn’t be King you could be a Kingmaker.
Battle for Julu is, to my knowledge, only published in Chinese, so you might have a hard time playing it:
I Internet-know the designer. She’s made quite a few games, but this one she specifically made for people like me: simple enough that we don’t get bored to tears, intending it to be basically a gateway drug.
Looks neat, Chinese isn’t a problem for me. I’ll try to find a copy