Episode 73 How many players should a game include?

How many players should a game include?

Hi and welcome to Experience Points by University XP. On Experience Points we explore different ways we can learn from games. I’m your host Dave Eng from games-based learning by University XP. Find out more at www.universityxp.com

On today’s episode we’ll answer the question “How many players should a game include?”

Playing games often means playing with other people. That means that we often take into account how many players a game accommodates before we begin. But what kind of impact does the player count have in games? How many players should a game include?

This episode will examine game play; player experience; and game design focused around the player count for games. Games will be divided up and examined by player count in this episode which includes single player games; two player games; four player games; small group games of 5-8 players; big group games of 8+ players; mega games; and massive multiplayer online games.

Game size and the player experience will be examined in addition to how to integrate player count in game design. Games sometimes include “dummy” player mechanics. These dummy players mimic or replicate other players in the game. These mechanics and how they are reflected in the player experience will also be examined.

Single players games are games that are - as you guessed it - supposed to be played alone. These can be solitaire or solo games in board games and table top games.

One of the most popular solo games is Solitaire the card game otherwise known as Klondike as well as a host of other names. You can even consider many digital, console, computer, and mobile games as single player games.

Single player games lack social interaction because there is just one player playing: you. Therefore, single player games may not be the best in terms of connection and socialization compared to what other games have to offer. 

Structurally, these games are meant to be played with the player against the game itself. Friday is a good example of a single player game. The objective of Friday is to survive as the lone player against the island that you’re marooned on rather than against other players. Therefore, single player games usually concentrate on players playing for a goal or an objective against the game.

Cooperatives games such as Pandemic, Forbidden Island, Forbidden Desert, and Forbidden Sky are not meant to played as single player games. However, as a cooperative game with open information, one player could potentially play alone against the game while taking on the role of different active players.

Some players may enjoy repurposing these cooperative games by playing solo. Otherwise, games such as Scythe include a solo variant through the use of an Automa that recreates the actions of another player.

These solo variants provide an opportunity for solo gamers to play a game when they cannot - or choose not - to play with other players.

The original Rouge game, and the succession of Rogue-like games that have spawned from it, are also solo undertakings where the objectives is to beat one’s own high score or progress through the game.

A series of random effects in Slay the Spire provide the player challenges to surmount while also providing rewards and other feedback that influences the player journey and thus the player experience.

Single player games are resolute, in that -  as the only player - you have the ultimate agency in the decisions of the game.  So, if anything, single player games are great places to test different strategies against the game or AI.  As such, including a solo mode for a game makes it much more accessible for gamers and players at all player counts.

Solo games also provide individual players with a different focus on the player experience. Rather than prioritizing the socialization aspects of the game;  Yomi or the ability to discern opponents’ strategies; single player games provide experiences and avenues for players to demonstrate their own mastery.

Single player games often provide objectives and puzzles for players to solve. Of which, the focus lies on the single player and the game: leaving everything else out.

The kinds of puzzles and challenges that the game provides could be completely randomized or procedurally generated. The results of which provide a gaming experience as close to unique to each player as possible.

Single player games may not get as much attention in venues such as table top games or massive multiplayer online games – otherwise known as MMO’s - because of their focus on socialization; community; and interactions with other players. 

However, single player games excel in what they focus on: the single player and their individual experience within the game.

Two player games form the basis of strategy games against opponents. In this context, there are two willing parties playing the game - usually playing against each other. We often think about classic table top games of strategy such as Chess and Checkers that are based around the interaction of two players.

Modern table top games such as Carcassonne and Ticket to Ride were not meant exclusively as two player table top games; however both do well to accommodate this basic player count.  Other modern entries include Jaipur; Patchwork; and Targi exist as modern table top games that were designed from the ground up to be two player experiences.

Like single player games; two player games are great places to test strategies against a single opponent. Especially if both players are of the same approximate skill set or handicap. 

Additionally, strategy in two players that are zero-sum - meaning that an action that has a positive outcome for one player has a negative outcome for the opponent - means that misplays or poor strategies end up affecting not only the game but also data for testing and research purposes. 

There is a little bit of leeway here in two player games that have a random element such as a card draw in Mandala where neither player has full knowledge of how a game may play out.

Perhaps, one of the most well known aspects of popular two player games are the symmetry between players. Both players  begin with the same pieces in the same positions that have the same abilities.

Often, one of the most common mitigating factors is the start player for turn based games. Hearthstone mitigates this by providing the second player the “coin” card which grants them an extra manna to offset the disadvantages of playing second.

However, games such as Blitzkrieg!: World War Two in 20 Minutes create an asymmetric play environment that is different based on the side each player selects. Often, designing two player games with this asymmetry can be difficult to balance and curate the experience of - especially as popular strategies emerge as the dominant ones.

Other games such as The Primary can be played with two players - but the setup is not ideal. There must be some inclusion of a “dummy player” or neutral elements on the game board in the form of a non-player third color meant to serve as a buffer between opponents.

Risk includes this as part of the setup for two player only games which help to mitigate - at least for the meantime - any early game contention between players.

Compared to two player games; three player games often involve more interaction with one another.  This can often arise from zero sum actions taken against one player - making them weaker - where a third player can capitalize further on a reduced adversary.

Conversely; three player games also introduce game dynamics not seen in two player or single player games. Puerto Rico stands as a modern day table top example of a game that both requires - and plays well - at a three player count.

Three player games also play well when there is some element of stock trading or currency manipulation.  Any form of trading with other players usually requires at least a third party; especially in games with much contention and open information. After all, why would you ever agree to a trade that helps your adversary?

Likewise, Ticket to Ride games involving three players often include strategic blocking of routes to prevent advantageous moves of opponents. Sometimes, this blocking occurs inadvertently in higher player count games.

Three player games on the other hand provide a structure where alliances between two players often negatively affect the third. Such a case happens in Chicago Express when two players hold the same stock for the same company who work together to improve it. The player without that stock is only half as effective and would fall behind.

Three player games are where strategy for multiple opponents becomes more apparent. No longer can players plan and play against a single adversary. Players must now also be aware of how actions could affect the game state as a whole and how it may favor themselves and others in the future…

This dynamic gives rise to a problem in certain games: kingmaking. Kingmaking is the result of actions taken by player where they are put in a position where they cannot win. However, their actions could help another player win or lose the game.

This situation provides little individual agency for the player and instead provides them with the responsibility of determining which of their opponents will become the victor.

Lastly, three player games are where trading and negotiation mechanics begin to develop interesting game dynamics and strategies. Negotiation games often require at least three players in order for them to work. Everything from The Sheriff of Nottingham and Empires require at least three players for these elements to take practical effect.

Four player games often involve a significant mix of both social player interaction and strategic player interaction. Games such as Bridge and Mahjong require four players for their most popular formats. Settlers of Catan may not require four players but often provides the best player experience at four.

Majong and Bridge require four players because of its game structure. Bridge especially because of partnerships with teammates. Note that not all four player games have to be team based. However, four players is the minimum number required for the smallest possible even numbered teams.

In addition, four players games introduce additional forms and layers of strategy when it comes to trading and negotiation. There is often the minimum number of players required for any negotiation; but often tactics and strategies emerge with at least four players involved in game mechanics.

Often, negotiation and diplomacy form some of the core learning outcomes for serious games based on these mechanics. Learning the subtleties of conflict resolution are one of the best applications of real world negotiation when addressing simulation and serious game development.

Small group games of 5-8 players involve some changes compared to games that fell into the previous categories. Some hobby table top gamers categorize these as “party games.”

This often means that these games often rely less on skillful play and more on the player experience and the socialization element that comes from playing with more players.  Games such as Cards Against Humanity, Charades, and Taboo fit into this category.

With greater numbers of players comes a greater amount of interaction with each other. This can be said in games like Wavelength and Codenames where players engage with each other as teams rather than as individuals. Likewise, games such as Empires and 7 Wonders scale this type of interaction with players who either can provide you resources in trade and/or serve as your opponents.

However, there are some modern table top euro games that can accommodate this upper level player count. While not advised; Scythe can accommodate up to 7 players. However, the increased player count also requires a greater amount of time taken through actions which results in more down time.

Simultaneous action selection can serve as a mitigator for this downtime. Games such as On Tour and other roll and write games alleviate this down time by providing a single source of input - such as a dice roll - which leaves other players to determine how they might interpret or use that result to affect their own  game on their own personal board.

However, other modern table top games such as those offered by Façade Games which includes Salem 1692; Tortuga 1667; Deadwood 1876; and Bristol 1350 can regularly accommodate a greater number of players. In fact, these game shine at these higher player counts while also providing a level of strategic interaction with other players.

Games that accommodate 5-8 players also provide fertile territory to explore trading; negotiation; and diplomacy elements which build upon those seen in four player games.

Players’ ability to negotiate and interact with each other at this stage form the basis of games simulating real world negotiation situations which fuel the creation of serious games or simulations for teaching and learning.

Games involving 8 or more players often moves player count discussions into party game territory. Because of the increased player count; these games are often very simple to play and are usually highly engaging with other players.

Titles such as Scattergories, Pictionary, and Cranium excel in this area. While participating in these larger scale games can be fun; organization can be harder for novice hosts who have not lead or taught larger groups of people how to play before.

An interesting facet of the player experience for these larger group games is the concentration of how the different relationships between players and teams work with one another. Captain Sonar represents a great example of this as a highly contentious “war game” that pits one submarine crew against the other in an interesting dynamic of hidden movement.

The basis of these relationships form the structure of larger and more grandiose games such as mega games which apply many of the elements of table top games but at a larger scale. 

Megagames often combine the mechanics of these table top games with the intricacies of negotiation and dialogue between teams and players. This allows these games to model the complex systems of international diplomacy which often forms the basis of training simulations and serious games.

Games at these higher player counts also form the genesis of massive multiplayer online games - MMO’s - as they were developed around the creation of multi-user dungeons -MUD’s - during the infancy of computer gaming.

At this number of players; these games tend to focus more on the communities of players playing the game in addition to the game itself. Community management; organization; and expectations become as much a part of the play experience as any other aspect of the game.

Unlike the other games discussed so far, massive multiplayer online games are not designed to be played alone. The interaction with other players is a critical component to how these games are designed and operate.

Though, this does not mean that all players who come to play these games online do so for the social interaction. Many players engage with these MMO’s on a regular basis to play the game for the same reasons they would play any other single player games.

While the prospect for interaction with others is always present; it is often accompanied by the chance that game play will become drastically different due to intended - or unintended - interactions with other players.

Often, one of the most popular types of games to take advantage of the MMO format are role playing games - RPG’s - to form MMORPG’s  - massive multiplayer online role playing games. These games include World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, The Elder Scrolls Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and EVE Online to name a few.

These role playing games borrow much from the table top role-playing genres of old which include many of the same mechanics; character building; and sometimes even story conventions of their analog counterparts. However, where MMORPG’s often diverge from table top RPG’s is their creation and development of in game - and sometimes out of game -  economies for currency, items, and cosmetic effects.

The number of players a game accommodates highly affects the player experience. Single player games tend to focus on the single player experience: the lone gamer.

The experience is consistently broadened when additional players are added.

Players can be continually added to games until it reaches larger scales - such as in MMO’s - when those player experiences are no longer shared with EVERYONE playing the game. Instead, those experiences are highly personalized to groups of players.

Table top games  - like video games - define multiplayer design when more than one player can play together. This is often intentional for table top games due to the need for an opponent, collaborator, or fellow adventurer.  However, in game design, there is a wide gap in the player experience for games between 2 players and 6 or more players.

The group size matters when either playing or hosting a game. Two players may be manageable in most instances. However, difficulty in hosting and play may increase exponentially as more players join the game.

The difference in player experience stems from some structural considerations. Those include how new information, introduced by players interactions, affect how other players might play their turn. 

Massive changes in game state make it difficult for table top game players to execute their turn when it’s their time to act. This is often a good reason to limit the size of the player count in order to cater to the player experience.

Game designers often create for player counts that they feel best support the player experience; the market demand; or both. However, sometimes that extends to beyond what the game’s rules and structure can best handle. Some games may have an advertised player count that is much larger than might otherwise be accommodated through play.

This is because player experience is most closely linked to player agency: specifically what they can do in the game and how likely they are to succeed at doing it. An increased number of players often undermines individual players’ agency to do what they will in the game.

Of course this experience can be overcome when players are familiar with the game and how the play might change between player counts. This is a result of closer social ties between players and established expectations from others in the “magic circle.”

However, different means of play can be used in order to accommodate different amounts of players.  Board Game Arena addresses this with “play by mail” features where downtime is mitigated by alerting players via email when it is their turn to act.

Often, gamers think about the player count of the game as they are playing them. However, designers often approach the player count early in the design process or create a game entirely around a targeted player count.

There are many considerations to take into account when designing for player count in games. The most obvious of which is that added players often leads to added complexity.  This could come from an increase in needed components such as cards, dice, and pawns.

Additionally, different player counts in games could change winning and losing conditions. Expectations for the end of the game that are set for 3 players might be achieved too quickly when playing with 6 players. Likewise, a 6 player game might drag on if the game was designed with a 2 player resolution in mind.

This is why it’s important for designers to play test their games at multiple player counts. This may be more difficult for games requiring more players. However, determining early on in the design process where the player experience changes  - as a result of the player count - is critical.

This is the case for specific games over others. For instance, games that involve area control typically require that everyone has the opportunity to interact with the global state of the game prior to resolution.

Of course, you can design the game so that these resolutions occur without the input of other players. However, you’ll need to keep that effect in mind as you design for the player experience and the overall feel for your game.

Likewise, game structure should be augmented for the correct player count. Games developed for a greater number of players - but played with a fewer number - can often lack the type of interaction critical to the original design.

This is where limiting areas for worker placement - for instance in Stone Age - makes sense from a design perspective so that player choice - and thus interaction - becomes constrained.

Of course all games include some sort of “dummy” player mechanics that are part of their design. For single player games this includes playing “against” the game itself. For other games, this could include replicating the actions - and sometimes the intent - of a non-existent player.

The first thing to consider is whether or not a dummy player is sufficient enough to warrant a specific player count. A two player game that requires a robust third dummy player may be better marketed as a 3+ player game rather than a 2+ player game.

Otherwise, dummy player interactions can and should be designed to replicate and mimic indirect player interactions. Those include reducing, using, or taking away resources. Otherwise, dummy players could also provide a “game timer” for when the game should end.

Both 7 Wonders and Blokus introduce a dummy player who represents a virtual seat for other players to control. This in turns provides additional agency - at the cost of additional complexity - for how players can mimic the actions of games at a higher player count.

Additionally, other games provide a sense of “randomness” to the dummy player. Randomness has both positive and negative effects when it comes to player interaction, agency, and experience.

Depending on how the random actions of a dummy player are influenced by live players - as well as how they are mitigated - go far in determining if a dummy player makes sense for a particular game design.

Likewise, designers may also include a “decision tree” that indicates different choices that a dummy player might take in the game given choices made by live players. This provides more agency for the players as they can choose exactly “how” these dummy players may play against them given specific set of circumstances and expectations.

Lastly, digital and video games also provide players with the ability to play against a dummy player with recorded “ghost” versions of one’s own performance. This is closely related to racing games such as Mario Kart where players may compete against their past performance or against the performances of others.

This episode covered how player count affects game design and the player experience. Single player games; two player games; three player games; four player games; small group games of 5-8 players; and big group games of 8+ players were discussed in depth.

Additionally, mega games and massive multiplayer online games were included and how player interaction, agency, and experience are structured in these games. The game size and the overall player experience were compared against one another in addition to how designers can take player count into consideration in their process.

Dummy players represent a design choice option to replace live players in games. Examples and opportunities for how to implement them were discussed.

I hope you found this episode useful. If you’d like to learn more, then a great place to start is with my free course on gamification. You can sign up for it at www.universityxp.com/gamification You can also get a full transcript of this episode including links to references in the description or show notes. Thanks for joining me!

Again, I’m your host Dave Eng from games-based learning by University XP. On Experience Points we explore different ways we can learn from games. If you liked this episode please consider commenting, sharing, and subscribing.

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