Showerthought: Picking between a co-op game and a competitive one for game night

Last Saturday I had to decide between hosting a round of Pandemic Legacy or a cutthroat game of Catan for my group of five. I went with Pandemic because I wanted everyone to work together after a long week. Turns out three people hated the pressure of a shared loss and wished we'd done the competitive option. Anyone else get stuck in that tug-of-war between co-op and competitive for their group?

3 comments

3 Comments

robin6281mo agoMost Upvoted

Wait, but did you actually ask your group what they wanted before you picked? Like, a quick poll or even just a casual heads up? I've learned the hard way that assuming everyone wants the same vibe is a fast track to a bad night. Some people genuinely cannot handle the shared failure in co-op games, it makes them anxious or frustrated. Others live for the backstabbing in Catan. So my question for you is, how do you usually make that call for your group? Are you just guessing based on the week you had, or do you have a system for reading the room?

lindag331mo agoMost Upvoted

Just ask. Takes 30 seconds. I usually say "anyone got strong feelings or should I just pick something?" before I even grab a box. Gets the loud opinions out fast and saves everyone from a boring night.

jana_jones1mo ago

Oh man, I feel this so hard. I once picked a co-op horror game for Halloween and two people practically checked out because they couldn't handle losing together. It really does feel like a coin flip sometimes.