Board Game Chat: How to be a Good Co-op Teammate (4k)
12Jesse and Gregg talk about a wide range of issues surrounding being a good teammate when playing cooperative board games. Timestamps:
0:00 - Start of video
2:04 - Co-op games with open-ended communication and planning are special.
2:43 - Treat every decision as life or death -- right up until you disagree.
4:03 - Your true goal is NOT to win, it's to help the other players have fun.
5:00 - Your true goal is NOT to win, it's to have stories to tell afterward.
6:04 - There are an abundance of games; if you don't mesh on a game, skip it.
6:51 - Get your objections on the record and then be willing to let go of them.
8:41 - Enthusiastically look for ways to be convinced.
9:10 - Ask yourself: Will it significantly effect the outcome if I don't get my way?
9:46 - Look for a way to split the difference.
10:00 - Take turns being the one to decide when there has been enough debate.
10:09 - Embrace the chance to experiment with decisions you think are wrong.
10:25 - Disagreements can be a sign that you're facing an interesting decision.
10:45 - Be like Felix: Use your bag of cooperation tricks if you need to.
11:50 - Good friends know when they can cross the line.
12:20 - Be humble in your assertions that you know what’s best.
13:15 - Choose your battles.
13:35 - If you get your way but you poison the well, your victory will be short lived.
14:10 - Being able to put things behind you is a super power.
15:16 - Be generous with praise.
17:47 - Look for opportunities to volunteer that you made a mistake.
20:04 - If the goal is a team win, avoid getting overly protective of "your" pieces.
20:26 - But be aware when you are asking someone to sacrifice "their" stuff.
22:04 - Accept that we all have a blind spot when it comes to being selfish.
22:35 - Advanced technique: Hold grudges with humor.
27:13 - Not having to have the last word is a super power.
27:55 - Give everyone a “job” where they can have some sense of purpose and autonomy.
31:00 - Everyone should play the role of the boss occasionally.. Even if they don't want to.
31:31 - When you are the boss..
33:14 - Give people room to figure things out for themselves.
36:41 - Solving the alpha-player problem is the responsibility of your group.
38:03 - Don't hold everyone to the same standard.
40:08 - It’s a GAME -- allow people to occasionally revert to being a little kid.
44:21 - Co-op games demand more inter-personal familiarity and nuance.
45:25 - See if two-player cooperative games are your sweet spot.
46:08 - Be prepared to tell the other player(s) when they are being too pushy.
47:56 - Don't assume someone's politics or religion will make them incompatible gamers.
48:37 - Go slow with a new co-op game partner while you learn if you're compatible.
49:11 - Figure out when you need to take a break. Spend your break walking and talking.
50:18 - Legacy/Campaign/One-shot games will trigger even the best of friends.
52:13 - For the toughest games, rationalize a fall-back rule that settles deadlocks.
53:36 - For those legacy games that mean the most, assemble your best team.
54:35 - Gaming adventures are real life adventures worth celebrating and remembering.