Co-op Case Study: Oar Else!

When is a co-op not a co-op? When it subverts its own framing. Nonetheless, there are lessons to be learned in this competitive game.

This case study originally appeared on the Meeples Together blog.


Oar Else! by Jason Fleming, Bob Heubel & Julia Huff

Publisher: Flatcar6 Studios (2013)
Cooperative Style: Faux Cooperative
Play Style: Card Management, Take That

Overview

Oar Else! is a competitive game overlaid by the façade of cooperation. Players are marooned on a lifeboat. They can play paddle cards to get the lifeboat to shore, bid for food in auctions, and play attack cards on other players; if the lifeboat is rowed to shore, the player with the most oars and food wins. However, a player can also go overboard to strike out on his own and then wins based on his own personal goals. Continue reading

New to Me: Fall 2014 — The Season of the Mediocre

Sadly, Fall 2014 just wasn’t a great season for gaming for me — and especially not for new gaming. A few plays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas kept some gaming nights from occurring, while rain and rioting cut other game nights short. Even when I did play there were six plays of current obsession Pathfinder Adventure Card Game (more on that next year!), six plays of prototypes, and three plays of Kickstarter prereleases. I’m actually pretty surprised I managed ten totally new games, which I’ve detailed here (plus one that was only new in my mind).

Also sadly, the games that I played weren’t (on average) that great. This wasn’t another season of the very good … but instead a season of the mediocre. Ah well. Maybe winter will be better. Continue reading