In week 3 we played the cooperative turn competitive strategy board game, Betrayal at the House on the Hill. This game was one of my favorites of the class so far, as it encompassed a lot of the components I look for in a game. Betrayal was unique to me because the game changes each time it is played. Due to the nature of the game, the board is placed one tile at a time and each tile while assigned a certain floor can be attached to any room. Part way through the game, a haunt scenario takes place which offers many further variations for the game, making it extremely versatile and potentially offer a new experience to players every time. Unfortunately my group ended up with a haunt scenario in which there was no traitor, which was disappointing because I felt as though I missed out on half of the fun of Betrayal. Overall I thought the most difficult and deterring part of the game is the complicated rules. The game comes with multiple books of rules, each applying to different portions or scenarios in the game and it can get quite confusing. Luckily a member of our group had previously played and we also had our teacher and TA who were able to explain any issues that arose. As a result of this challenge, I would recommend playing the game for the first time with someone who has played before, which makes Betrayal in my opinion a difficult game for the casual board game player to pick up and enjoy. I think my friend Mike would really enjoy Betrayal, he plays a lot of strategy board games like Catan and Ticket to Ride, which require more time and are a bit more complex then the games your casual board game player might pick up. Mike enjoys strategy and complex thinking (he is a math major) and I think Betrayal encompasses elements a person who likes to think strategize and enjoys board games would definitely enjoy.

As for the leadership topics covered in Betrayal, I would say that collaboration and comfortability with ambiguity are the two most prevalent topics. For the first half of the game collaboration is key, as you definitely want to try and assist other players on your team to increase their abilities so you all have a better chance of survival (collaboration goes out the door partly once a player becomes a traitor, but in my haunt scenario we played the entire game collaboratively). Further I would add that comfortability with ambiguity is important in this game because it deals entirely with the unknown, new rooms, a traitor in the middle of the game, and creepy/dangerous (for your character” scenarios. These topics are important in leadership because in order to be a successful leader, you must collaborate with other leaders and members of your team. Additionally a leader has to be comfortable with the unknown and recognize that a lot of growth can come from situations in which you are not entirely comfortable. When a leader is unsure about things that can also be a time when they can look for support from others in their team to collaborate and determine a solution