4 ms·

Indeed, I prefer to openly display information that, were it kept nominally secret, could be determined anyway via lots of tedious bookkeeping.

stevage 2y ago
Makes sense. I don't find the idea of mentally tracking everyone's resources a particularly interesting or fun aspect of a game.
dylan604 2y ago
Forensic accountants everywhere just let out a collective sigh
vikingerik 2y ago
For standard Catan, the resources aren't quite perfectly determinable - when one player robs another, any players besides those two don't know which resource changed hands. There is a valid argument from that that resources should be fully concealed. Everybody can track how many of each resource currently exists in total, but they don't always know who holds which ones.
nimih 2y ago
This was my staunch opinion for a long time, but I've actually come around to the idea that many games are improved by having some degree of hidden information which is in-theory trackable by players, since it allows a certain sort of player to take their turn much more rapidly (i.e. it mitigates "analysis paralysis"). I don't think it's true for every game, obviously, (IMO it would be a poor house rule to make in 1830, for instance), but I've become a lot more willing to trust designers' decisions on what information should be public vs. hidden as my taste in board games has developed over time. (For the record, I have no opinion on the value of hidden vs public information as a design decision in Catan.)
- vanderZwan 2y ago
  I wonder how much you would enjoy (or hate) Bruno Faidutti's games, they are all about hidden information, scheming and bluffing. "Maskerade" especially, because there you often don't even know for certain which character you are yourself. Everyone is just pretending, scheming and bluffing the time. Which I suppose really captures the idea of scheaming at Renaissance courts.
  - nimih 2y ago
    I've actually played a lot of Citadels (which I think is great fun these days, although I'll admit I disliked it when I first played it many years ago). I'll have to give Mascarade a shot, it looks like it would be engaging in the same sort of way.

stevage 2y ago

Makes sense. I don't find the idea of mentally tracking everyone's resources a particularly interesting or fun aspect of a game.

dylan604 2y ago

Forensic accountants everywhere just let out a collective sigh

vikingerik 2y ago

For standard Catan, the resources aren't quite perfectly determinable - when one player robs another, any players besides those two don't know which resource changed hands. There is a valid argument from that that resources should be fully concealed. Everybody can track how many of each resource currently exists in total, but they don't always know who holds which ones.

nimih 2y ago

This was my staunch opinion for a long time, but I've actually come around to the idea that many games are improved by having some degree of hidden information which is in-theory trackable by players, since it allows a certain sort of player to take their turn much more rapidly (i.e. it mitigates "analysis paralysis"). I don't think it's true for every game, obviously, (IMO it would be a poor house rule to make in 1830, for instance), but I've become a lot more willing to trust designers' decisions on what information should be public vs. hidden as my taste in board games has developed over time. (For the record, I have no opinion on the value of hidden vs public information as a design decision in Catan.)

vanderZwan 2y ago
I wonder how much you would enjoy (or hate) Bruno Faidutti's games, they are all about hidden information, scheming and bluffing. "Maskerade" especially, because there you often don't even know for certain which character you are yourself. Everyone is just pretending, scheming and bluffing the time. Which I suppose really captures the idea of scheaming at Renaissance courts.
- nimih 2y ago
  I've actually played a lot of Citadels (which I think is great fun these days, although I'll admit I disliked it when I first played it many years ago). I'll have to give Mascarade a shot, it looks like it would be engaging in the same sort of way.