Blog for 3/23

Today, I once again played Smallworld. However, this time, we played with five players, as opposed to the previous game, which only included 3 players. This actually massively changed the dynamic of the game. For me, the most noticeable change was that alliances now became much more feasible, as their could be more than one alliance at time, and the higher player count meant that a more complex web of alliances and betrayals could be woven than with just 3 players. As well, the board was much more contested, as the larger amount of players meant that there were more people to fight over a more limited space. This forced players into more wars with each other than the smaller game did, which made the game feel much more like a competitive experience. As well, this tied back into the aspect of alliances, as in the previous game, there was less incentive to make alliances as players din't directly fight each other as much. However, with the increased conflict that came with 5 players, making alliances was necessary in order to keep from being quickly crushed by invading players.