Straight from the mind of Amber, this is an episode where she and Marc discuss games that are “painful”. Marc prefers the word “tense”. Regardless of what you call it, there’s a reason Agricola is both known as “Misery Farm” and beloved by thousands. What makes a game painful rather than pleasant? What tricks can designers use to adjust the perception of their game? Are all board games simply metaphors about the inevitability of death?
2:15 — The background
6:23 — Game actions and the perception of time
15:00 — Kingmaking tangent
18:53 — Existentialism
27:02 — Other games that cause Amber “pain”
29:53 — Generous and non-generous games
37:17 — Point floors
42:23 — Non-gamers and not wanting to feel incompetent
46:22 — Intermediary goals
49:37 — Games where you can lose on the first turn
59:52 — Is pain good?
Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction
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