In class this past week we began playing the board game T.I.M.E. stories. This game has far exceeded my expectations, and while it is at first difficult to grasp, it does become easier to understand as you play. The most difficult part of T.I.M.E. Stories so far (we are continuing the game next week, and the box is designed to allow players to save their game, which is an extremely cool feature) has been the limited amount of time you receive when starting your mission. This is not something you can really avoid or strategize around because the amount of time you lose each turn is determined by chance via a dice roll. However instead of losing the game once you run out of time, the game simply re-sets and forces your team to go back through previous steps with clues in your mind as to how to complete the mission more efficiently. Overall it has a really unique take, but is incredibly frustrating, since the group loses so much progress.

The leadership topics covered in this game are attention to detail, conveying information/collaboration, and ambiguity, amongst others. The attention to detail aspects come up in the game play. Players must pay close attention the clues they are provided and the details within each clue because once time runs out you lose a lot of the information you learned. Additionally only the players on the designated spaces are able to read the clues in their entirety, and as a result they must be able to convey that information to other players so that the team stays on the same page. Lastly, the game is extremely ambiguous because each destination/room you choose has its own set of unknown outcomes. Each player has to make choices on their own and ultimately each choice can have a major impact on the team. The qualities are important in leadership, because good leaders must pay attention to cues from their team members, and be extremely organized and detail oriented in order to ensure success for their teams. Additionally leaders have to be able to convey their ideas to others, so that people can join and understand the groups overall goals. Lastly, a good leader must be comfortable with ambiguity and change; leaders often prepare for one thing and end up dealing with something entirely different, so they must be able to adapt.

I would recommend this game to anyone who loves escape rooms or adventure/mystery stories. It has a really similar feel to an escape room in that you are trying to piece together clues, it can only be played once per story, and that there are a lot of unknown components that reveal themselves to players as they go. The game also does a great job of immersing players in the story and theme, similarly to an escape room. I would recommend this game to my friend Brooke, she is my escape room buddy and we have done over 30 rooms together. The game has a lot of elements that I explained above that she would definitely enjoy!

In week #10 we played the game Captain Sonar. This has by far been one of my favorite games this semester, simply for the game play variety it offers. We were able to play this game three times, and in each game I played a different role. In game #1 I played as the Engineer, in game #2 the Captain/First Mate and game #3 the radio operator. Captain Sonar is interesting because each player has a different task which has major implications on the team. The game lends itself very well to the inner working of an organization or business because each team member has an important role to play.

Additionally the game has a unique approach to leadership, and incorporates a system of checks and balances. While the Captain is the ultimate leader (deciding which direction the submarine will travel), the engineer has the ability to tell the captain that they cannot go in a certain direction. This balance of power creates a really unique element in this game. At the same time, the engineer, first mate and captain have to communicate about which systems are operational, while the radio operator has to listen to the opposition to determine the location of the opposing team’s sub. As a result you have a real time game with lots of communication, checks and balances, chaos and fun!

The most difficult part of the game depends on which role you are playing; but ultimately boils down to not being entirely in control of your own role. As the engineer you are relying on the captain, who is likewise relying on the instruction of the first mate, engineer and radio operator. The game is dependent on clear communication, guidance and teamwork. Each of these topics is important in leadership, because a good leader has to communicate with their team members and work together, but also needs to guide their team in the right direction and rely on the help of others too. Captain Sonar is an amazing game to use if you want to teach people that leadership can be found within each member of a team, even if it is not overtly clear upon first look!

I would recommend this game to my uncle. He enjoys playing games that are fast paced and revolve around communication. Captain Sonar offers a lot of variety in its set up and is definitely a game you want to play with people who can handle pressure and stress well!

In week #9 the class played Ultimate Werewolf. Ultimate Werewolf is a role playing card game similar to Mafia, in which players are randomly assigned a role on the team of the villagers or the werewolves. The goal of each team is to eliminate the opposing team via killing players during the night or voting to kill players during the day. In this game I was a member of the villager’s team and had the role of Witch, and had the special ability to save one player and kill one player at any time during the game. The most difficult part of playing the role of the witch was deciding when to use my extra power. I ultimately chose to save a player in the night following the killing of the wolf cub (during this night the werewolves can kill two players). However, overall the most difficult part of this game is determining who is on your side, who is telling the truth and who to nominate to kill. This is particularly tricky because people can choose to say whatever they want, and no one ever gives much of a reason to trust them.

The topics surrounding leadership that are present in this game are definitely teamwork and trust. In the game it is vital that you determine who is on your side and that you share appropriate information to figure out who the werewolves are. Due to the nature of the game, trust is also extremely important, because you often are taking peoples word to heart. A leader needs to have trust in others around them and believe in the team that surround them, as well as work together well with others to accomplish their goals.

I would recommend this game to my group of friends that partakes in alternative spring break trips. When we go on these trips we always play Mafia. However, werewolf offers more specific roles and is easier to explain and set up (comes with rules and cards). We all love playing mafia, so Ultimate Werewolf could be a nice change of pace while still allowing us to play the random role playing type game we love!

In week #7 we were given the option of free play. During this class three classmates and I chose to play Survive Escape From Atlantis. Overall, I really enjoyed this game, it was fairly easy to set up and play, but complicated enough to peak my interest. The game reminded me of an early version of Settlers of Catan. Players begin by setting tiles upside down in the middle of the ocean to create the island of Atlantis. Players then place colored meeples, each with different hidden values on the board and take turns trying to get their meeples to safety via boats, while removing land tiles. The most difficult part of this game was strategizing where to place your meeples and which tiles to remove. Since the objective was to get the most points, it was important to protect your high values meeples from being eaten by sharks, or sea monsters. At the same time, the game is a competition and it was necessary to strategize on how to keep other players from saving their highest valued meeples.

As for leadership topics that are covered in this game, I would say the use of planning and strategic thinking are most applicable. The game can be won or lost at the start with poor planning and it is important to continuously manage the board and think ahead. These are both important skills for leaders. A leader must plan, adapt to change and actively manage in order to ensure success!

I would recommend this game to my mom because she prefers games that don’t require a lot of thinking. The game is not as simple as a dice rolling game, but is far less complicated than other strategy games available and can be learned rather quickly.

In week #6 the class played the board game Ladies & Gentlemen. During this game, players are in teams of two, with one player playing as the lady and one as the gentlemen. Each Lady and Gentlemen plays their own “mini-game” versus the other ladies or gentlemen in order to save up enough cash to purchase the most beautiful outfit for the ball. While the game uses Victorian era stereotypes which are somewhat offensive, from a strategy and leadership aspect, it does cover some interesting topics.

The strategy of the game is dependent on which side of the table you play on. In this game I played as a lady and in a nut shell, my job was to decide which store to shop at for the day, which pieces of clothing I would like to buy, and then request from my husband the amount needed to purchase those items. The most difficult part of the game was determining which store to shop at, and strategically choosing which designers to wear (you can only wear two during the game). Sometimes I had to take risks in choosing what to display at my own shop, as well as in what to ask for from my husband. Likewise, it was extremely frustrating to be reliant on another person to determine whether you were able to have the items you requested.

The areas of leadership that are touched on in this game strongly correlate to communication and delegation. In the game it is extremely important to both trust that your partner will do their tasks well, and to communicate with your partner about what you absolutely need. As a leader delegation is important because you won’t always be able to accomplish everything yourself, while communication is important to make sure everyone is on the same page and can work together to complete a task.

I would recommend this game to people who like strategy and want to be a bit goofy. I think my dad would appreciate this game because he enjoys strategy games, and this particular game offers the ability to be goofy while offering a variety of ways to play.

In week #5 we played Two Rooms and a Boom, which is a large role playing party game. To date this has been my least favorite game in the class, not because it is a bad game per say, but more so because it is not the type of game I enjoy playing. The most difficult part of Two Rooms and A Boom is secrecy and communication (also highly dependent on the character cards). I found it challenging to talk to everyone in the game because a lot of players were not willing to openly share information, choosing rather to keep their identities secret, which can be extremely challenging especially if you are a member of the grey team (as I was when I played as the gambler).

While I did not feel like there were many direct leadership concepts in this game, leadership does play a large part in the game. Each room has a leader which is designated by the group and can be voted out at any time, so in that regard leadership is present for that player in making good decisions and communicating with the other people on their team and in the room to make beneficial decisions.

I would recommend this game to party game lovers. I don’t know anyone close to me that would enjoy this game, maybe my friend Emily as the game is pretty social and she does enjoy talking to people and party style games more so than other types of board games. The game is definitely meant to be played with a large group and could function as a fun ice breaker!

During week 4 we played my favorite board game from this class to date: Mysterium. Heading into week #4 our teacher described Mysterium as a sophisticated version of Clue, which is my favorite board game of all time, so I was very excited to see what Mysterium was all about. While the premise of the game is similar to Clue in that the players are working to solve a “Who Dunnit” murder mystery by figuring out who, where and what weapon were used to commit the crime, that ended up being the only resemblance of Mysterium to Clue. Mind you, I asked for Mysterium for my birthday immediately after playing the first time, but it is completely different than clue other than in its basic premise.

In the first round of Mysterium, I played as the ghost, a role that I very much prefer in this game. As the ghost the biggest challenge I faced was providing dreams to the psychics that I thought aptly “described” the person, place or thing I was trying to lead them towards. This particular challenge in Mysterium is a matter of perception, (a similar challenge occurs in the board game Code Names), in which the player giving the clues has to think beyond their own interpretations in order to connect with/try to understand how others perceive ideas. This challenge nicely lends itself to an important area of leadership, which is understanding that those you lead may have different learning or thinking styles and that even if you believe you have a great idea, it can be misinterpreted or interpreted differently. A good leader can present information in a variety of ways and is open to others interpretations of problems, and will utilize others opinions/suggestions to create better solutions.

Two people I think that would really enjoy this game are my sister Amanda and my dad. My dad likes strategy games, with clue being one of his favorite board games, and I think he would appreciate this interpretation of a Who-Dunnit board game. I think my sister would like this game because of the similarities it shares with Code Names. She is great at interpreting clues and analyzing how the person providing those clues thinks, which is an important part of the strategy of Mysterium. This is a definitely a game that can be enjoyed by a variety of board game players as it encompasses visual information, with strategy and collaboration.

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

In week #2, we played the card game Hanabi. Hanabi is a cooperative card game played in small groups (I believe we played with four or five), in which players are trying to set off fireworks by placing cards in numerical order based on the color of the cards. Hanabi, unlike typical card games is unique in that the players hold their cards facing towards the group instead of towards themselves. In this particular game, the group than must help each other to recommend to each player which card to play. This is probably the most challenging aspect of the game, because players have to rely only on the information they are provided. In some turns a player may no nothing about their cards, and that can cause them to make decisions which negatively impact the team.

Overall I found the concept of this game to be extremely intriguing. The game relies a lot on trust, which can be difficult with a group of people you have just met, as I somewhat learned playing this early in the course. Unfortunately, we were only able to play one round of Hanabi and I don’t think my group played the game entirely as it was intended. We were so fearful of choosing the wrong card to play that we slowed the game down to where at points it was boring. If you choose to play Hanabi I would recommend that you try to keep decision making to a quick 30 seconds to a minute and try not to worry about making mistakes, after all the game is designed with that challenge in mind. If you worry less about being perfect and more about having fun you will enjoy this game a lot more!

I would definitely recommend Hanabi to strategy game lovers that may be looking for something quick, those who like easy set-up and players that want a challenging non-competitive game. The first person who comes to mind in my family that would really enjoy this game is my sister Samantha. She dislikes long games, prefers games that are not overly taxing on the mind but also require more thinking than a simple dice rolling game, games that involves words, patterns or colors and games that can be explained simply and require minimal set up. I think Hanabi provides just the right amount of challenge to keep players interested, without the stress and time consuming elements that make some people choose not to play a strategy game.

The most important leadership topics in Hanabi are trust and anticipation. In the game trust is most present in the reliance of others to provide you with helpful information and to steer you in the right direction, while anticipation is present in making early decisions that will prepare your team for success in the long run. These are both important concepts in leadership. As a leader you want to build a strong group around you and trust that you can delegate tasks to them and they will be accomplished, while likewise trusting that they will be their for support and share in your passions to achieve a common goal. Anticipation is important in leadership because it is necessary to think about the future of your team, org, or business and not just about its current needs/budget, etc. but also about its long term success and goals!

The first game we played in this course was the Resistance Avalon; a card based game similar to Mafia or Werewolf, combined with the elements of team dynamics/voting, that also has it own unique approach. While I was familiar with the concept of the game, I found Resistance Avalon particularly interesting because of the slight twist it incorporates at the beginning of the game. This twist involves the characters Merlin, Morgana and Mordred. On the first night Merlin is granted the ability to learn about all but one of the Evil Players (Mordred) and is also faced with challenges during the game of a player that can “act” as Merlin with Morgana. In one of my first games, I was randomly given the role of Merlin, in which I had to navigate these challenges, while helping my team. The most difficult part of playing as Merlin definitely arose when it came time to approving missions, as well as whether to reveal the information I knew to other players at the table. While I found trusting others and the decision to disseminate information challenging, I really enjoyed playing this game. I would definitely recommend this game to some of my close friends, as there is a lot of tension that develops and I believe it would be more fun to play with people that I know well and can trust. If I was to play with close friends I would also be able to pick up on queues of times they may have been deceiving me.

As for leadership topics covered in this game, I believe the game does a great job of demonstrating the need for communication and listening skills. It is extremely important in this game to not only voice your opinion but listen to other players verbal suggestions and watch their actions to see who they propose for missions. Doing so can help you determine if they are working in cahoots with other players. These skills are vital for leadership because a good leader should be able to communicate with others, listen to others opinions and use those to help make decisions that are beneficial to the team as a whole!