Now this is a theme I can get behind! I’m always on the lookout for low-confrontation games, or at least games that are less obviously hostile between players than the famous Diplomacy / Monopoly reputation of holiday-ruiners. So ways to keep interaction but not have players feel they’re singled-out for punishment is always nice to see.
(Disclaimer, 70s Dune is hilariously mean in every direction and I still like that. But you can assume that anyone playing it knows what they’re signing up for).
What are your top 3 recommendations for games that don’t feel mean?
For me I think meanness often takes the form of “you were building a thing, and I have rendered it useless”. That can be hate-drafting but that’s too trivial an action to feel really mean; it’s more “I have the ability to stop you at any time, but I’m going to wait until you’ve almost finished”.
Of course classic “take that” play can be mean - I think especially if it’s always picking on the same player (and they aren’t the leader).
These are often valid tactics of course, but when they aren’t that feels meaner.
I think I’m also drawn to the “I take a big move, everyone else gets a small move” mechanic (most recently for me in Earth).
There’s no downtime, huge player interaction and even if you do block someone they still get a positive benefit. Seems like a nice antidote to “I go here, so you miss your entire turn”.
