Questions tagged [luck]

Luck is the part of the game that is derived from chance factors represented by throws of coins, dice, etc.

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Games that have no element of luck.

Most of my favourite games, such as Diplomacy, have little or no element of luck - either via dice rolls, hands dealt, or other methods. What other games can you recommend that rely on 'skill' alone? One game per answer, game name formatted as…
Jon Hadley
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How to Measure Luck vs Skill in Games?

Anyone who has played a wide variety of games knows that some games are almost purely skill (i.e. Chess, Go), while others are 100% luck (i.e. Candyland, War). However, most games are in between. I would find it helpful as a game buyer if there were…
Joe Golton
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Calculating luck as a factor in board games?

I´m hooked on Carcassonne but feel that after you learned the basic tactics it is mostly a game of luck. This has me wondering, when designing board games how would one go about calculating the luck factor? Are there any known good methods?
fluxd
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Removing the Luck from Stone Age

Stone Age is one of my personal favourite games. The game dynamics are excellent and requires plenty of skill and strategy to win, with the only exception of the dice roll when determining resource. Has anyone modified the rules to make the game…
Codemwnci
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What makes a good alternative to flipping a coin for 50/50 randomness?

I'm building a coin-flip themed Commander deck, and I realise I'm going to be flipping potentially dozens of coins every turn deeper into a match. What would be a good alternative to flipping an actual, physical coin that fits the following…
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How to mitigate the intial luck factor in Race For The Galaxy?

Background (feel free to skip): My mom and I often play RFTG together (I am a very fortunate child to have a game-playing parent :), and we've noticed that there usually isn't as much luck in the game as we initially thought; there are few…
Gordon Gustafson
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Is Fluxx a game of skill or luck?

In a recent question, a link was posted to a BGG member that attempted to objectively measure whether skill exists in the game Fluxx. This wasn't published in a peer reviewed journal, but was just a small project by a dedicated Fluxx fan. This got…
user1873
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How can I mitigate the luck factor of drawing destination tickets in Ticket To Ride?

I get the feeling that a big part of how well someone does in Ticket to Ride, is the drawing of their initial destination tickets, and the drawing of subsequent destination tickets, and how well they fit within the player's existing route, etc. Are…
dwjohnston
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Does Monopoly involve skill to a considerable degree?

Many classic children's board games, like Snakes and Ladder and Candyland, are essentially pure games of chance. Is it reasonable to regard Monopoly as a game of this type? How important is player skill (as opposed to luck) in Monopoly?
Labory
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Is there a quantification of how much skill a game requires?

For example, if you play a round of cribbage mathematically perfectly, someone will win because they got better cards on average. But if that difference in scores comes down to 10 points, that could come down to imperfect play or even gambling on a…
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Is the luck factor indeed overwhelming in the Catan Card Game?

I recently bought the Settlers of Catan Card Game, played two partial games, and was very disappointed because of the seemingly huge importance of luck. Just about every action is based on chance: resources are distributed based on dice rolls land…
Dimitri C.
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Board games with random maps not revealed at the beginning of the game and exploration

I am trying to develop a physical board game with the following features (among others): The map is randomly/procedurally generated (square/hex tiles, does not matter) The map is not revealed at the beginning of the game. It needs to be explored…
Silverman
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Ticket to Ride Nordic Countries: endless destination cards harvesting loophole

For the moment we have had fun playing Ticket to Ride Nordic Countries, however, the fun has been spoiled by now due to the following incentive of which I don't know whether it is allowed. Consider the following situation: Two players build a…
saQuist
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Relative amounts of luck in MTG limited formats?

While I haven't played very much, I've noticed there seems to be slightly more luck in sealed than in draft. In draft, skill can prevail by recognizing bombs/archetypes, observing what colors are available, stealing good cards from your opponents,…
Gordon Gustafson
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Is there skill in rolling a spinner?

Several board games, particularly those made for young children, use a spinner instead of a die to control movement. A spinner is harder to lose, less likely to choke a younger sibling, and easier to manufacture with odd probabilities. There are…
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