You're too fast!
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
I love speed games - mainly because I'm very quick, which makes me good at them. But there's a problem - I find it hard to find opponents to play speed games with, as people just don't enjoy a game where one player is that much faster than the rest - and in some games it just breaks the game for everyone. This is a geeklist discussing which real-time games work and which don't. Have I missed out on any real gems that would be just what I'm looking for?
-
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
If one person always builds their ship fastest they start every race out in front and in later rounds especially this can be a major advantage. In addition the faster player gets the best choice of tiles, so often also has the best ship as well as being first to finish.
Our solution:
We've changed the rules slightly so that even in later rounds there's only one arrow between each ship at the start of the race, giving the other players a look in at some of the planets as the first player loses days by taking actions. We also never use the timer, as it adds too much pressure to the slower players, who already have the disadvantage of weaker tiles.
Verdict:
Although there are a few players who still refuse to play this game due to the speed element, with our modified rules it does come out regularly and we all enjoy it.
-
-
2.
Board Game: Ubongo
[Average Rating:6.92 Overall Rank:383]
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
If one person always finishes the puzzle first or second they will win, because they have an early choice of the gems every time.
Our solution:
We have stopped playing with the board and instead use the Ubongo Extreme scoring instead, which is mildly better.
Verdict:
Although the fastest player will win, it doesn't actually ruin the game for everyone else, as they still have to try and beat the other players in the game, so the fun and time pressure is still on. It just means they're always playing for second - unless they get lucky and get better gems from the bag.
-
-
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
If one player always sees where the robot goes first, the other players don't get a look in.
Our solution:
None.
Verdict:
We didn't enjoy this game much anyway, especially with the speed issue, so we'll play other games.
-
-
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
Fast player always take the best power plants first, leaving the junk ones for the slower players.
Our solution:
We have tried giving new player a few seconds thinking time before we all grab, but that didn't work too well either.
Verdict:
A game best played with players of roughly equal skill/experience. Beginners and very slow players just don't have fun.
-
-
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
If one player always finishes first, they win. In fact the problems are so hard that we found many players couldn't finish ANY puzzles in the timer, while I had no problem doing most of them in half the time.
Our solution:
None.
Verdict:
Like Ubongo, the fact that one player is better doens't actually ruin the game for the other players. However, the game is sufficiently tricky that it should only be pulled out with players who are familiar with, and fairly good at, Ubongo.
-
-
6.
Board Game: Set
[Average Rating:6.50 Overall Rank:829]
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
If one player is quickest at finding sets, the others don't get a look in.
Our solution:
None.
Verdict:
A fun game, but does suffer from the speed issue. Quick enough filler that people don't mind, as they do usually get to spot a few sets at least.
-
-
7.
Board Game: Boggle
[Average Rating:6.24 Overall Rank:1278]
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
I don't think there is one. Although being fast allows one player to find more words, especially 3 and 4 letter ones, a player finding longer words will still score more points.
Our solution:
None needed. Playing without 3 letter words is one way i know players get round it.
Verdict:
Although a speed game, there is enough skill in spotting words that it outweighs the speed element.
-
-
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
One player always finds the solution first.
Our solution:
None
Verdict:
I only played one game, and the speed element didn't come in too much, as it took a while for everyone to get the hang of the game, but it was still obvious that in a future game one fast player could ruin the game.
-
-
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
Fast players can leave the other players far behind and with massive scores at the end as they can't get their letters in quick enough.
Our solution:
None.
Verdict:
Although if a fast player is able to race away it can be a problem, as a rule they do get stuck unable to place a letter and the others get a chance to catch up. New players do struggle a bit their first game or two, but on subsequent games are more aware of the speed required, and the large scores happen less.
-
-
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
A fast player will always be first to spot 5 and so will win all the cards. In extreme cases they can win before other players have even won a card, just playing out the ones they started with.
Our solution:
None, but with experience you learn to spot patterns that indicate when 5 might be likely, which helps.
Verdict:
It's short and silly, so it doesn't really matter. And there's added fun when you bet the fast player 10 pounds that he wouldn't win in the one game all year that he lost (must have jinxed him)!!
Surprisingly, although I'm the master of speed games as a rule, I'm no good at this one - it's another member of our group who always wins!
-
-
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
If one person is much quicker than the rest their piles grow a LOT larger.
Our solution:
None.
Verdict:
The spotting three of the same type rule gives a chance for slower players to catch up, as they're paying more attention to the game as a whole, whereas the faster player tends to just be grabbing cards as fast as possible. Plus, it's only 2 minutes long, so not very painful for slower players to sit through. And children love it!
-
-
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
One person always finishes the puzzle first.
Our solution:
None.
Verdict:
This game is like Ubongo in that a fast player is likely to win, but the scoring system does allow a slightly slower player a chance to catch them if they're lucky, and the fast player doesn't ruin the actual gameplay for everyone else (just can make the game rather short if they're lucky!).
-
-
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
A quicker moulder will make a recognisable item quicker.
Our solution:
None
Verdict:
Although there are some cards where speed is the crucial factor, most of them are sufficiently tricky that the accuracy of the moulding (and guessing) is more important than the speed.
-
-
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
A faster player will spot the pattern on their cards quickest, gaining most points, and getting an advantage in coloured cubes - the player to their right can rapidly find themselves short of a colour.
Our solution:
None.
Verdict:
The luck of the cards helps a bit, and the fast player getting bad cards can help, but the player to the right of the fastest player does tend to suffer.
-
-
15.
Board Game: Gawp
[Average Rating:4.27 Unranked]
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
One player always finds the pattern first.
Our solution:
None - the game has gone on the trade pile.
Verdict:
In our games I would generally get all the cards bar maybe six, as I was so much faster at spotting the patterns than the rest. The same problem as in Set, but far more extreme, and breaks the game.
-
-
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
One person always manages to grab a banana.
Our solution:
Sit them slightly further away from the bananas, with the slowest player nearest them.
Verdict:
Due to the set collecting nature of the game, random bluff fake grabs, and the fun of the game in a large group, it doesn't really matter if one player is slightly faster than the rest of the group - they may win, but everyone has the same amount of fun!
-
-
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
A faster player will manage most of the speed challenges first, and generally without dropping eggs, until we run out of eggs in the box.
Our solution:
Play with two boxes of eggs.
Verdict:
Played with two boxes of eggs rather than just one a fast player will often find themselves with more eggs than they can handle and be the first to drop, or have to stop going for more eggs, which lets others catch up. Also, with two boxes of eggs, we have the option of playing with more than 4, for added collision factor.
-
-
18.
Board Game: Blue
[Average Rating:4.33 Unranked]
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
One player can finish their jigsaw puzzle way ahead of the others, and often still be fairly accurate too.
Our solution:
None.
Verdict:
We had issues with the game rules anyway, as it was very hard to tell when your puzzle had turned into someone else's and you were going wrong, so sadly (for me) the game went on the trade pile.
-
-
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
It's a slam variant, and a fast player will win every tile.
Our solution:
None.
Verdict:
A fun game, but does definitely suffer from the speed problem.
-
-
Sharon Khan
United Kingdom
Shefford
Bedfordshire
Games, games and more games!
-
The problem:
A faster player will finish almost every puzzle first.
Our solution:
None, other than sometimes playing to second after the first player has won.
Verdict:
A fun game, but suffers from the speed problem which stops it coming out too often.
-
-
21.
Board Game: Pit
[Average Rating:6.42 Overall Rank:911]
David Bohnenberger
United States
Swarthmore
Pennsylvania
-
Here is an oldy-but-goodie that might work. Skills needed include not only speed but the ability to yell. In addition, no player can really make trades faster than the others, since they always need to find another player to trade with.
-
-
Marco Marandola
Canada
Montreal
Quebec
-
Can play up to twelve people one you yell Banzai and can get pretty caotic
-
-
David Gibbs
United States
Ypsilanti
Michigan
-
This is a game of forming a crossword/scrabble type grid from a set of letters.
The problem: New letters are given to all players at the speed of the fastest player(s). This can leave slower players with huge piles of letters and spending (it seems) most of their time taking letters rather than doing anything.
Our Solution: Handicapping. You can apply various different rules on how the faster players can form words: every letter must be in a three letter or longer word; or every word must be 3 letters or longer; only use "ordinary" words (i.e. not those words that you memorized from the scrabble players dictionary only for the purpose of word games), etc.
Verdict: This actually does work out pretty well between players of varying strength. And, in fact, we'll sometimes even play with handicap rules between players of the same strength just because we like the change in how the challenge works.
-
-
24.
Board Game: Blink
[Average Rating:6.02 Overall Rank:2070]
Dan Rivera
United States
Fountain
Colorado
-
Problem: If one person is considerably faster they will always win.
Solution: instead of dividing the cards equally give the other player less cards.
This allows uneven players to play and still enjoy it. I play it this way with my 5 year old. and played that way it is a fair and fun race.
-
-
United States
Ithaca
New York
-
Two tiles drop from the chutes, and you have to name a word (or the most words) that begin with one letter and end with the other.
-
-
|
|
Posted Thu Jan 29, 2009 10:12 am
(Obviously, just pick another card if you draw a card that would only work when it effects all players.)
Swarthmore
Pennsylvania
If these types of games don't work for your group, you should play other types of games. As you have discovered, it's tough to fix the main game mechanic.
I also like these types of games and I know it's tough to pass up games you truly enjoy. Nobody will play Factory Fun with me anymore.
Shefford
Bedfordshire
New York
New York
Shefford
Bedfordshire
I do play a lot of party games, and really enjoy them, but I find "gamers" tend to not like them because they're mostly word oriented, but yes, they do have that sense of speed and urgency that I love - Articulate and Time's Up being my two favourites. Games like Ubongo, Factory Fun and Galaxy Trucker however see a lot of play even with "gamers", but have that speed element too, and that's what I'd love to find more of.
Oakland
California
No Dutch Blitz.
Those are fast games.