EP8: Why asymmetric games hit different

So what does asymmetry mean? Well, to me, there's kind of like three layers to it or three different areas.

And I'm no authority on asymmetric games or asymmetry in games.

I'll just kind of tell it how I kind of feel or how it is.

So you've kind of got powers or asymmetrical powers.

And in games, you know, for example, SETI with the Space Agency's expansion and Terraforming Mars is probably another good example.

You've got like, you play a corporation, which has a power, has a thing, has something that interacts with the game slightly differently than everyone else.

But fundamentally, you are playing the same game with the same rule set.

It's just, you know, if you go to that worker placement space, And instead of getting wood, you get this extra thing on top because you have this ability.

And playing like the corporations in SETI and in Terraforming Mars, you've just got a little thing that does something better than someone else.

And everyone kind of has these different player powers.

So you've kind of got the player powers aspect there, which is in many, many games.

A lot of expansions to games will kind of add in this asymmetrical player powers as an expansion.

as a way to kind of inject a lot of variety in the game um so you kind of got that you've also got um kind of role asymmetry which kind of blends into a little bit of power and a little bit the next one i'll talk about but role asymmetry is kind of like you're playing the same game world but not necessarily the the same objective or even win conditions as each other and So, you know, things like Captain Sonar might be a good example where you're all playing different roles and fundamentally you're all playing kind of different aspects of the game, but in the same world as in you're all on a submarine.

So one will be the radio operator, one's the captain, one's the engineer, etc.

So you've all got your own kind of mini game, but all working together.

to do what you need to and and kind of any um one versus many's fall into this so fury of dracula where dracula is playing one game he's got one condition and you know the the hunters have got theirs and again you're kind of assuming a role which had adds a asymmetry into the mix as it does um And then you've kind of got faction kind of asymmetry where it can kind of blend into, you know, you play in a full faction like Twilight Imperium, where fundamentally you are playing, you know, a quite similar game, but your faction might be more aggressive.

So you're going to be playing a completely different play style in this game as you would if you like the space turtles and you've been very turtley and peace.

So you kind of got those kind of games.

But you've also got a completely different asymmetric where you go to the other end of the scale where you're playing games like Root or Hegemony or Vast.

which are very heavy asymmetric games.

Root, you are playing as a faction of animals in a woodland forest, and you're at war with other kind of factions.

And the way that you play the games is completely different to the way that other players will play the games.

So if you're playing the Marquidi cat, which is the cat faction versus the birds, you're playing a completely different game.

One's programming cards.

One is literally trying to generate resources and operate sawmills and things like that.