by Dan Moren
The worst board game ever
FiveThirtyEight’s Oliver Roeder tries to divine—statistically, of course—the worst board game.
The worst games, for the most part, have one thing in common: luck. They’re driven by it, often exclusively. Candy Land, Snakes and Ladders (also called Chutes and Ladders) and War are driven purely by chance. The Game of Life is close. It’s heavily chance-based, but one can make some decisions.4 Overreliance on luck makes a game boring or frustrating or both. Good games are driven by skill, or, like Twilight Struggle, a healthy mix of skill and luck.
I played Candy Land a couple years ago with my cousin’s kids and they either cheated or disregarded the rules, which I can’t help but feel like is encouraged by a game that requires no skill. Really, why bother when there are so many better games?
[via Ged Maheux]