End Game

I've been kicking around this idea ever since I played Middle Earth Quest and Barnes reviewed the game.  One of the things I wrote was that MEQ was a great game but many people would be disappointed with the end game.   So what makes a great end game? Personally, I love game that come down to a final dice roll.  My favorite games of BSG have come down to a dice roll to see if the humans could jump without losing -3 population.  Some people I've played with have hated this type of ending.  They've said "We've been playing for 2 1/2 hours and the game comes down to a dice roll.  We could have just rolled the dice 2 1/2 hours ago."   

Being a sports fan, I've heard this argument before.  The 1986 World Series wasn't just about the ball going through Bill Buckner legs.  There was other games and plays that led up to that play.  The Bills losing the Super Bowl to Giants wasn't just about Norwood's missed Field Goal.  The Giants controlled the clock which set up the last Field Goal attempt.  

Some people feel games should be all about player elimination.  I don't know, many times it's very anti-climatic to finish off somebody in Risk or Monopoly or some other game.  In most games with player elimination, the final outcome is know before the last dice is rolled.  

So I was to think of my favorite end game and the first game that came to mind was Buffy the Vampire Slayer.    This game almost always ends with the roll of a single dice but there is a lot of little tactics and dice rolls that lead up to fall blow.    Some other examples of games with great endings are Fury of Dracula, Space Hulk, BSG, sometimes the Command and Colors type games.  

Here's some of the thing I like and dislike about the endings in game:

1. I LIKE when the game ends with cheers and groans from the winners and losers.  I want the game to end with rush of emotions.

2. I DON'T like when the end game is separate or different from the main game.  This is a problem for me in Monsters Menace America, Arkham Horror (when the ancient one awakens) and MEQ.

3. I LIKE when there's a build up to the end game but you're not exactly sure when the game is going to end.   Twilight Imperium,  StarCraft, Nexus Ops and Chaos do a great job with this for me.  In most games you may have 2 or 3 players close to winning but your not exactly sure if the game will end this turn or next turn so there is a lot of jocking for possition.

4. I DON'T like counting up hidden money or victory points at the end of game. 

5.  I LIKE games where the ending is perment or decisive.  I want somebody to die at the end of the game.   I don't want somebody to have 2 more VPs.

6.  I LIKE knowing exactly how many turns or how long a short Euro filler going to take.  If I know a Euro games has 4 turns and each turn is 10 minutes, I know I only have to put up with this bull shit for 40 minutes.  I don't want to sit down to short Eurogame that drags on way past its stay.

7. I LIKE to be able to control how fast a crappy Euro games is going to take.  Ever time I've been force to play Ticket to Ride, Stone Age or Dominion I've been able to burn through my trains or piles of cards quickly to shorten the game.

8. I DON'T like games that the end game is all about Kingmaking.  I'd rather roll a dice to decide who going to win rather than make it all about Kingmaking.   I won a game of Age of Steam last night because the guy who was in 4th place decided to deliever over my track which gave me enough points to win. 

9. I LIKE end games when I can plan my big winning move but...

10. I HATE hearing people drone on about how they planned out their big winning move.

11.  I LIKE games where it's possible to make a big comeback whether by luck or skill.  It's possible to dust the Master or Dracula even if you're losing badly in Buffy or Fury if you get lucky. 

12. I LIKE the end game in family games like UNO where as a dad I can play a card that will help my daughter defeat me.