The SIX Levels of Board Game ASYMMETRY

hey do you feel different than everyone else well in board games they call that a symmetry and it's a Kickstarter stretch goal and I've been ruminating on my arc's review for months but my focus kept shifting onto an analysis of asymmetry so instead of spending 20 minutes of that video on a tangent let's cut through the noise and discuss the six levels of asymmetry together round one what is game asymmetry so just before we get started we need to find some even foot in let's quickly Define what asymmetry is asymmetry is The Game's capacity to encourage and force different decisions from players by creating unique advantages or disadvantages between them put simply a game with no asymmetry will have the same capabilities between players since there are no differences between players to force unique decisions that doesn't mean unique moves can't happen but the game itself doesn't create a internal mechanism or motivation to do so on the the other hand a game with high asymmetry will force players to make unique decisions from one another due to whatever advantage or disadvantage is employed think about a mirror match and a fighting game these two are exactly symmetrical with the exact same power and capabilities but it doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to make the same choices it just means that the capabilities between the two players are identical but by changing the character of one of the two players the game has created unique advantages and disadvantages which will completely change the decision of the players by an internal game mechanism and it is now an asymmetrical game the thing is board games have been using asymmetry for Millennia so I wanted to take a look at how it's developed and what kind of asymmetry exists and it isn't always obvious subtle differences that exist between players still creates a form of asymmetry as we'll shortly see so yeah with that groundwork placed let's begin and let's climb these wobbly stairs to the peak of asymmetric games level zero We're Not So Different you and I look we need to start at an even playing field a game that is perfectly symmetrical and you might think well just find a game without factions or player abilities or whatever and there you go but it's not that simple you need a game that's even and balanced like a katana folded 50,000 times perfectly symmetrical in all facets for this Welcome 2 is a truly symmetrical game between players the core of the game is trying to make an ideal neighborhood you fill out this sheet of paper strategically to score the most points this singular piece of paper is your neighborhood and how you develop it with fences Landscaping pools it's up to you but the goal is to make the perfect 50s themed Suburban Haven now the mechanism of play is utilizing these three separate piles of cards that let you conduct certain actions and through these actions you will be modifying your own personal sheet and since each turn has three potential unique actions and the utilization of each action can be entirely different you will quickly differentiate yourself just by making one different decision than any other player the thing is this game is bingo with a lot more player agency in the sense that you're all receiving the same input but you're deciding the way to Output your own little neighborhood sheet independent of all the players there isn't a direct mechanism to influence one another but you're still all in competition for points it's entirely possible that two players create the exact same neighborhood you can place the same fences you can landscape the same areas you can build the exact same pools and you can end up with the exact same sheet even the city plans which give bonus points for people who claim first can be claimed by multiple players during the same turn so even those additional bonus points can be accessed by two or three or four players who all play the exact same game the reality is you can even have a 100 People Play Welcome 2 and everyone could potentially have the exact same neighborhood and the same points at the end of the game you aren't stealing cards or abilities or even having a different set of RNG there isn't anything stopping someone from just going to the exact same actions and there is no form of any asymmetry between players that forces unique decisions the unique decisions just become natural and for this reason Welcome 2 is kind of like a mirr match in a fighting game yeah sure you could copy the exact same inputs and reach some state of equilibrium or a draw but it's much much much more likely that a single difference will create a Cascade of changes that dramatically changes the play style and strategy between each player all it takes is one player to lean ever so slightly towards making pools or someone just numbers a house slightly to the left it can completely change the outcome of the entire sheet and all the future decisions to come in other words Welcome 2 doesn't have a symmetry but it's not much of a problem because all it takes is that single deviation and that entire neighborhood plan and the strategy just changes between players just like how a mirror match in a fighting game will almost always deviate just because the player inputs are different even though there isn't any asymmetry between them so yeah the game is perfectly symmetrical everyone starts at the exact same position there aren't any unique powers there isn't even turn order it's just a pure unfiltered symmetrical game and it's a perfect example for our base level mom said it's my turn now we're on to the first level of asymmetry and for this we need to consider the fundamental asymmetry of most games and that is turn order turn order is the plague the kill is heal of so many otherwise symmetrical games it's easy to see why this kind of asymmetry is handwaved away but I don't really think that's fair since asymmetry is the result of creating unique advantages or disadvantages between players it is absolutely applicable to turn order even if the game itself is balanced the fact that an advantage or disadvantage is present is enough to make a stink turn order is like a fly in a bowl of soup yeah you probably won't notice it but once you bite into it you'll realize how much something so small can make you change the way you look at it and for this first level I'm going to use the alltime classic of chess the game itself is perfectly symmetrical in terms of initial board State pieces and object Ive but once you add in turn order it is now tainted and becomes asymmetric and let's go into just a bit of theory in chess there's a general consensus that the white player who begins with the initiative has the first move advantage over the second player who plays the Black pieces and sure you can argue back and forth that white doesn't really have that much of an advantage and if chess is played perfectly it's a draw game you can even argue that high level players try to draw when they play Black and try to win when they play White there's all kinds of points to be made and there has been so many caffeine fuel debates already about the merits and pros and cons of each side but for the context of asymmetry it doesn't really matter if the game is balanced or not a balanced game does not mean it's symmetrical and let me put it this way even if the advantages and disadvantages are designed in a way to create a perfectly fair and balanced game as long as there exist those advantages and disadvantages that are unique between players the game is still asymmetrical so even if you say Well Mr YouTuber you're dumb chess is balanced and you're just bad at playing Black the reality is that if you acknowledge that there is a different approach to play on black you're agreeing that chess is asymmetrical what matters is does one side have potential for different strategies because they go first do you approach the game strategically different based on what side you're on and the answer to that for chess is yes absolutely and look I'm pathetic at chess but it doesn't take much skill to know that each side has a different play style with white usually setting the pace for the opening while black is more responsive and has knowledge on what strategy white might be going for from a win loss from which side is better perspective it doesn't really matter for a discussion of asymmetry what matters is that turn order is a fundamental brick in the wall that separates asymmetrical games from symmetrical and a game like chess has books and theories and openings all discussed ad nauseum about the difference in strategy because white moves first and black moves second there's a hefty set of literature for both black and white openings in chess and the optimal approach from either side the existence of this Theory just the truth that there is a different strategy for each side is full evidence that chess is asymmetrical due to the single factor of turn order this fundamental asymmetry of turn order is the reason why there exist these countless theories and this discussion and openings for each side of the board chess is spacially symmetric but the turn order adds an element of temporal asymmetry turn order forces different strategies between players and that's it I don't really care what side is stronger I don't really care if it's a draw when you play perfectly I only care that people will need to make different moves to play optimally because of the existence of turn order so even if there isn't any unique chest powers or special rules that apply to one side the game is still asymmetrical in a way it's beautiful a thing as simple as turn order an initiative is one of the core tenants of asymmetry which creates a whole unique theory of the game depending on what side you're playing as and this isn't unique to chess other games also recognize the advantages due to turn order and use other ways to address this asymmetry go for example rewards points to the white play player who goes second at the end of the game via their Comey system when we look at the big picture A lot of games struggle with the turn order while trying to create a balanced experience think about a game like Twilight Imperium where the speaker token and the initiative of turn order is a key component of the game itself and is meant to be a barter and Chip within the game or games can set up some form of balance mechanism like radlands where the second player begins with a full water supply relative to the first player there can be entire encyclopedias written about the methods of mitigation for turn order but it is a known issue or potentially a feature for otherwise symmetrical games anyways turn order really matters a lot in games and it is right away the fundamental base of asymmetry in thousands of board games and whether that's something the designer addresses is besides the point just the existence of turn order is a strategical modifier even if the game is balanced it's can still be asymmetrical and turn order is the fundamental form of asymmetry in almost all turn-based games so yeah don't feel bad I think you can still call a game like chess symmetrical it's just symmetrical from a spatial perspective which is good enough for most people few okay let's keep moving level two ah $20 I wanted a peanut so what's after the first turn well let's take a step back and talk about the setup and the asymmetry of positions and resources and I couldn't talk about asymmetry without bringing up ARS arxs is new it's hot and like a reced in hairline arxs is revealing what the future board games will look like arcs really has three separate levels of asymmetry that are modular depending on what expansion you play with but the base game arcs without any extras is actually quite symmetrical everyone has the same number of units the same kind of buildings there aren't any inherent unique character powers to Jazz things up and everything seems to be pretty symmetrical when the game begins but is it the thing is that arcs has each player start at a different set of planets and gets a different set of resources with a different hand of cards every chapter the asymmetry is really created by creating an uneven resource allocation that can sway strategies from the start of the game for example if I get tossed on an empath and Relic starting position I might want to aim quickly to influence and secure a Primo Court card or if I start with fuel IM material I might want to declare for Tycoon and hold on to all my resources or if I drew a seven card I might want to strategically play around steal an Initiative for a key turn then of course the asymmetry continues to expand as players gather new Guild cards or by gain more resources and especially after each chapter when you get a new hand of cards the thing is none of this is mutually exclusive every player can secure the court cards every player can get more fuel or material tokens every player could potentially draw a or mobilization there isn't anything necessarily uniquely given to one player or another it's all communal and all fought over or given randomly in other words even though the mechanics and the capabilities are all symmetrical each player will have their own strategy based on their unique allocation of resources they're position in and what's available to them which Cascades into an entirely different play style and decision tree the key is at the second level of asymmetry there isn't any unique power that is inaccessible to other players players all the asymmetry can be reached by other players but the state of the board and your own unique resources and Position will encourage certain play Styles it's kind of like being in a game of hide-and seek but everyone begins in a different part of the house so some people will be inclined to hide in the laundry machine other people under the bed the base game of arcs leans you towards a pathway that continually differentiates you throughout the game now arcs is a bit chaotic so it's not like your game plan will last very long your hand your star and resources your first two planets the first card you secure this all matters and will guide a player throughout what they might want to accomplish it's rather brilliant but it does create a symmetry even in game that outwardly seem symmetrical and when I was playing arcs it felt eerily similar in the way it treated asymmetry to another massively successful game I couldn't put my finger on it at first but I had an intense feeling of Deja Vu towards brass Birmingham quarks and Brass have a similar Vibe when it comes to deciding some level of strategy based on what cards you draw and their approach for how players battle for initiative brass feels oddly similar in the pace and how the options feel both restricted and flexible simultaneously the way that brass provides you A random assortment of cards and can sway a strategy and dictate your action economy matches ark's hand management and they feel like mechanical siblings plus breasts also subtly adjust the initial setup of the board which can really dictate the entire flow of your decision Tree in a way that is further reflected in arcs brass also differentiates players over time throughout their utilization of staring resources you'll start to naturally gravitate to a unique play style as aan moves to a specific strategy it's a gentle Invisible Hand of game design so yeah arcs and Brass share the same flavor of a symmetry to me and it's more subtle than something like unique faction Powers but more powerful than something like turn order both of these games use a symmetry of resources and starting positions to encourage players to think about what unique Pathways they could go down without actually shoehorning their decision making level three they call me the pepper mill at level three we have the bread and butter of modern a symmetry the main floor with all the water fountains the food court and the nice window offices at this level unique player abilities and Powers get Center Stage it doesn't matter if it's under the guise of a specific leader faction species or whatever it's kind of a symetry where each player has their own unique thing but the core game Remains the Same for everyone this is where players unique abilities stack on top of a core set of rules and add some Pizzazz to the game for this I think a game like Dune Imperium handles it pretty evenly like having meatballs and spaghetti at a meat and potato household it adds a bit of new flavors while not being too wild and offputting to the Bland pallets Dune Imperium is a very standard safe and somewhat flavorful example of unique player abilities and powers in Dune Imperium each player will pick a leader that has a passive and active ability these range from getting some extra money to draw extra cards to get some extra starting resources or messing around with things like faction influences or their power of troops but it's all on the same scaffolding that holds up the game but at the most complex the game still maintains the same rules and robust structure for all players in other words the core parts of the game how turn Works what actions players can take the flow of the game is identical for each player but using their leaders abilities can sway their play style into a certain direction for example some characters can get some extra spice and be a bit more motivated to hit certain areas of the board while someone who plays e c might go heavier on the deck building even with all of these unique advantages the actual potential game actions available and the method to score points Remains the Same for everyone I find this level of asymmetry to be very agreeable to the general audience it adds enough variety and flavor to each game and mixes up play cells but since you just need to know the base rules it's easy to pick up a new character and just roll with it and playing against other people's abilities it isn't confusing or much of a surprise it just all flows nicely and makes sense it's all additive and loads and loads of games use this kind of a Sim it doesn't matter if it's a unique faction or leader or whatever the key is that the base rules still exist and then asymmetry from the uniquely designed whatever modifies the approach someone will play the game with this asymmetry is stackable onto a strong base game and even if you remove the asymmetry there is still a functional core that could be played and circling back to arcs when you add on the leaders and lower expansion it pretty much does exactly this the base game is the structure and it's perfectly playable but then you add on these stackable leader and lower abilities to each player these leaders each have a unique setup and traits while the lore cards add further customization and weird abilities it's a very flexible System since picking the combination of leaders and lore is done via a draft the actual choices of what asymmetrical Powers you get is part of the overall strategy to build a combination that synergizes or denies enemies of an overwhelming combination it's very neat very cool very hype the leader and lore arcs experience can be modified depending on how much a symmetry you like in your game and it just Stacks onto that base game we talked about without modifying any of the actual base game rules anyways this level of asymmetry is generally well regarded and accepted in the game in world I would say it's almost become the standard for Mid or heavyweight board games to incorporate some level of player asymmetry and this is the most recognizable form of asymmetry and of course at this level it does range quite a bit a game that adds one unique power per player and a game that has multiple unique traits passive actives abilities all still fall within this level three for example a super light form of level 3A symmetry would be something like zuus where each player has a unique barter and Chip ability but your ability can't even be used on yourself so your overall strategy isn't tied to your ability but instead how well you can sell and utilize other players abilities it's still a level three form of asymmetry because if you remove all of these tokens the game still works and functions properly on the other hand a game like Twilight Imperium with 25 factions multiple passives actives unique Technologies unique troops unique promisory notes different staring planets and staring Fleet would also still fall on this level three asymmetry because while it adds a ton a top of those base rules there is still a functional game that exists in full even without all of this asymmetry in other words you could ignore all of that asymmetry all of it and still play a functional game it is perfectly feasible to remove all of the faction abilities and just play the game with the same faction Powers the same flak ship the same Mech and just roll with it because the structure of the game is still so robust the asymmetry is all additional stuff on top of the base of the rules which is meant to create unique advantages and disadvantages for all those unique player experiences and strategies now the largest point of contention that people have with this levely symmetry is balance when a unique player power exists it can give access to over helming strategies to some players which just feels bad playing a character that feels weak can be frustrating but so can playing someone who just feels busted and broken you want to create a fair and balanced game but asymmetry adds more complexity on how to create balance so yeah it's a bit of an art form you need to create incentive to use character's abilities but you want the incentives to be even across all possible options to create what feels like a fair chance for all players there are thousands of variations Within this level of asymmetry and it's easy to talk about 50 different games that all employ this level three asymmetry as it is the most frequently used but the key is to recognize that these specific powers or disadvantages for each player do not fundamentally change the rules of the game but are in addition to the rule set there'll be scenarios where it might be a little gray or a bit experimental but for the most part when people talk about a symmetry they reference in this level level four role and goal here at level four we have games with unique roles and goals within the game itself now factors like the win condition and unique player roles this kind of asymmetry deals with the functions and objectives of each player and how we all have to come to terms with our sometimes conflicting sometimes mutually beneficial purposes a fantastic example of this is a hidden Trader game of unfathomable this game is all about trying to make it through a journey across the Atlantic on a ship but some players are humans who want want to actually cross the ocean successfully while other players are weird fishermen hybrids who want to sink the ship into the abyss and feed their fish Gods like dun Imperium each player also has a specific power and a specific item and a Trader power and a one-time feed ability all of this good stuff is still in that level three friendly asymmetry but unfathomable unlocks a higher level of asymmetry because on top of all of that stuff the character specific stuff each player also has a hidden loyalty and with the Loyalty comes a specific objective and wi condition now you have to deal with asymmetrical wind conditions and since these win conditions are at odds each player has a completely different approach to the game now the goal isn't just to reach x amount of points or reach the end of the board first but now there's asymmetry in the goal itself sinking the ship is a very different goal than trying to safely reach Boston it creates an entirely new puzzle and play style to approach within the game unfathomable thrives off this form of asymmetry because the shared board state is interpreted differently depend on your loyalty for example if there's a few deep ones or horror on board and mother Hydra is banging on the ship it's an absolutely horrible state to be in as a human and your strategy is completely different than the hidden traiter who wants to watch the ship fall into the ocean like a cat pushing a burrito bowl off the table and then circling back to player roles while unfathomable forces unique strategies through loyalties and the hidden role of each player it also has a secondary player role set by each character's trait for example some characters will be higher up the chain to be the captain and guide the ship through key moments or some characters have a much higher strength are capable of using that Boiler Room more often in a way unfathomable perfectly demonstrates another strength of asymmetry and that's that some players will be better at some things than others which encourages a sense of teamwork players who are better at fighting monsters will be on the ship's deck blasting away while players who are more familiar with lore can be preparing for the next nuke some characters can heal others While others can use the ship allies more effectively it all creates a functional form of teamwork by encouraging using your own asymmetrical Powers there's an uneasy sense of Teamwork because at any time your captain might reveal as a secret fish man or your strongest Ally might be sabotaging all their dice rolls and skill checks it's a great mix of teamwork and unease with everyone on the ship and your role and goal can sometimes be at odds with each other this form of asymmetry involves thinking of a given scenario in ways that are not as straightforward as a more traditional game and how you decide to maximize a board state is entirely different in a game like unfathomable depending on where your loyalties lie and what your best function on the ship is this role and goal type of asymmetry is found in almost all social deduction games whether that's Avalon werewolf feed the Kraken or my favorite of Blood on the Clock Tower the hidden roll you're given completely changes your play style and your thought process to the game being on the evil team is a holy different experience than being on the towns folk even though the state of the game is identical for all players to put this all differently there isn't just one kind of player each player has their own objective or goal or role in mind and sometimes those functions are the antithesis of other players it creates an asymmetry that's beyond just unique powers but instead presents a new way to look at the puzzle of each game by flipping the script of what it means to succeed in the game level five informational asymmetry if you're a fan of my other videos you might have noticed that we're mostly talking about pretty complicated games but the thing is asymmetry isn't correlated with complexity and the reality is that a very simple game can have an insane amount of asymmetry and that's right here at level five we're talking about asymmetry of information these games use information to create asymmetrical methods of play which mostly falls under the domain of party games games you play with your non-gaming friends these are the games that love informational asymmetry and use it to create those highly novel playing experiences between players and it's paradoxical in a way you'd expect more asymmetry would result in a more complex game but it's actually fairly easy to think of an incredibly complex game where everyone has the same capabilities likewise there very simple games that have extreme levels of asymmetry if we go back to what asymmetry is the capacity to encourage and force different decisions from players by creating unique advantages or disadvantages you'll realize how dramatically different the game is depending on what information you're given Within These party games when you think about code names or wavelength or any game where there is a hint giver and hint receivers these games give a lot of information to one player but then restrict the output of that player to the rest of the team in other words the advantage is knowledge but the disadvantage is whatever restriction exists in communication this hint Giver role is essentially a translator of information and they have to follow the rules and restrictions are given to them for example playing as the Spy master in code names you as a player have the asymmetrical knowledge of what word needs to be found but you're restricted in what hint can be given in a single word and a single number in the exact same way a game like wavelength has a player know exactly where the bullseye is but needs to translate that location of the bullseye through this opposing concept card on the other hand as a team member these players have limited information but act as a communal brain to translate the information into what they think the solution can be these players have a significant disadvantage of information but that's why it's a game and that's why it's asymmetrical the information isn't is meant to be even between all players so yeah when you're playing code names everyone on the team has the same goal in mind make those connections but being the person who has to come up with the word and the number is a totally different experience than the players who have to solve the puzzle you give them it's entirely possible someone can be an excellent clue giver but a terrible clue receiver other party games like monikers poetry for neander trolls taboo the aformentioned wavelength they all have the same type of asymmetry where information needs to be translated to a player and then interpreted by others which creates a highly asymmetrical game experience the caveat is that most of these games involve teams so the teams themselves are mostly symmetrical so there does exist a tier of asymmetry that's still higher anyways using information as a form of asymmetry is a clever way to create unique experiences between players and party games have really utilized all kinds of translation of information mechanisms to create these fun and novel experien es this asymmetry is actually quite high and it really does force different ways to think about the game and how to strategize but yet the games themselves are rather simple to learn and play it's no different than someone playing 20 questions or I spy literal toddler games but those games are still based off that same informational base asymmetry it's all intuitive and it's something where condition to understand is repr progressed through life even though it's a highly asymmetric form of gameplay level six rules for thee but not for me okay here we go the ultimate level of asymmetry this is where everyone plays their own game with their own rule set that structures the game at an individual level the core rules of the game are all asymmetrical it's where everyone has dramatically different actions available dramatically different goals and the rules are at best a scaffolding that holds up all of the asymmetry it has everything of the lower levels but it's created by restructuring the rules of the game uniquely for each player I would say the best example of this kind of asymmetry is undoubtedly root and I've talked about root a lot before but I think the reason why it's such a good example is that the game itself the core rules the flower in this cake a symmetry is that the base rules are all just so generic and flavorless the rules without any faction specific stuff is like 20 lines the factions take these Bare Bones and spin them into their own crazy asymmetrical circus of funny little woodland animals so how does this work well because the core of the game is so simple the factions themselves are the rules that create the flow for each player in comparison to level three where everyone has their own unique powers on top of a community shared rule set this six level of asymmetry is that everyone has their own rules entirely which gives them completely different unique decision trees for example when you're playing as the Marquee to cat You're Building lines of industrialization through workshops recruiters and your own Sawmills you have a massive board presence and yet your action economy is limited your objective is to build baby build until the forest is an industrial Haven on the other hand when you're playe as the Corvette conspiracy you spawn from thin air and transform your troops into tricky little plots you can move freely through the forest but you're more of a strike force than a war machine your objective is to sew chaos by revealing your plots Time After Time and the over lap of rules for these factions is is this narrow and sure they have cards they have troops but the actual similarities are a small fraction of the total gam playay the actual rules of these factions are on their player boards which sets their structure and flow for each turn and this same process applies to every single of the 10 factions soon to be 13 and learning one won't suddenly teach you another you really need to relearn the game every single time you pick up a new faction sure some factions will fall within the same um um of militant or Insurgent but they don't play similarly at all and it's truly like playing a different game but yet everyone is on the same board there are weaknesses to this level of asymmetry though first the problem with this level of asymmetry is that you get a bad mix of factions in the game and it just isn't Fun For example a vagabond lizard cult Corvette conspiracy and Otter game just isn't fun to play there isn't enough interaction the second major weakness is that everyone will need to learn how other factions work to enjoy the game it's not like a game of doe Imperium where even if you don't fully understand other characters Powers you can still interact and play the game properly in route knowing what each faction does is key to the enjoyment of the game itself which means you need to learn potentially 13 different games just to really have a grasp on route now to bring it all together another game with the same level of asymmetry is arcs with the blighted reach expansion the thing is blighted reach does it so much better than anything else at this tier of a symmetry the blighted reach Blends so many different games into something that is extremely hot it has all that good level 3A symmetry through factions and unique character abilities and all the stuff you expect but then throughout the three acts of the campaign you evolve you're going to get some crazy rules for each faction the creation of the Commonwealth or trying to own resource monopolies or adding brand new cards to the action deck or becoming a predicting suits and mimic the wind condition from the Benny jerat become a judge and try to even out the score between players or you're trying to destroy planets or you're trying to have a giant Fleet or you're trying to steal Resource as a pirate and hide your little Hideout there's so many different types of asymmetry and each and every act introduces a boatload of this type of asymmetry it's all variable based on what happens in the past acts and in other words the asymmetry of Rules from act one can carry to act two and then change again in act three and it all modifies the game and impacts each player uniquely in in organic and functional way the sheer variety and options and potential branch and Pathways in the bled reach a symmetry transcend any other game I can think of and the thing is both root and arcs are made by the same designer but root is extremely rigid in its asymmetry it has a unique rule set for every player but you're bound by that rule set the way you win the mechanism of play it's Unique for every player but once you're locked into a faction it's like a stone tablet you're bound by this asymmetry for good and bad on the other hand arcs has a fluidity a liquidity of asymmetry the game changes constantly the way the game operates on a per player basis changes each and every act and some of the shifts can be complete night and day it's like a magic River of asymmetry that carves a neat little story for each player one moment you might be stuck as the Admiral command in the Empire fleets but the very next you might become the pirate with a flag ship who needs to pillage other players and the thing is the successes and failures you had as the Admiral will carry on to your legacy as a pirate in a tangible asymmetrical way which is honestly mindboggling when you think of all the possible combinations for 24 different Fates by the end of the game you're more asymmetrical than root factions but no matter what the mix of Fates is the game just works it's an honest game design miracle that all of the potential options of how the fates evolve and how many crazy powers and rules get tossed into the mix that the game still holds together together and is a good game no matter what horrible Frankenstein of cards and Fates exist in the blad reach it all works and ties together like a nice little bow and root suffers from needing a certain mix of factions to have an optimal game but in the blighty reach it doesn't seem to matter I never feel like I need to pick a certain fate to create a good mix of of factions and I felt that was a major issue in route secondly the blighted reach incrementally employs a symmetry throughout each Act and wraps up as each fate evolves for the players it's much easier to follow along at what the goals of each player are and what rules are broken and created for each player I think it's partly because it's enticing to follow each person's personal objective and how they're achieving it is a big part of the game story but I also like how when the rules do change it prompts players to sit down and actually listen to what's going on because there's a lot to grasp in the blighted reach but it never really feels beyond comprehension because it is all incremental the thing is arcs with the bed reach is also much more complicated than the core rule set of root ARS does have a fundamental game that's playable and works but the thing is that arcs and the B reach starts to remove that scaff Holden and creates a new functional base as the games progress through each Act the rules are essentially Stripped Away and removed and replaced like a cyborg and creates an entirely different game once you reach that final Act and you're only player abilities mimic that Frankenstein monster ARX is fluid in its asymmetry it creates new rules it creates a new base but it does take a lot of work to get to that craziness and that level and yeah there's a lot of realu funk and I still reference the rule book or check online for interactions that don't make sense but it's the sacrifice that is required for this kind of organic rule Bend and um unique form of asymmetry that is pure pod Rin ultimately I think both root and arcs with the B reach share the same design philosophy but Root's Philosophy for asymmetry is rigid each faction is its own isolated gain own rule set its own Victory condition which is translated into points for understanding where each player is relative to their own success in arcs and the bad reach the same level of asymmetry exists but the complexity of rules in the core system is much more prevalent it's just that the bad reach starts to remove things and replace things that creates a new scaffolding throughout each Act it's twist and tury and carves its own River into many different branches and offers dozens of different forms of asymmetry that always feels fluid and malleable it's a beautiful thing when asymmetry is done right and root is still the standard Bearer for asymmetry at its conceptual limit but I think arcs and blighted reach is a Monumental step forward in what asymmetrical game design can do for a game conclusion so there we go all the levels of asymmetry and I just wanted to leave with you some of my own thoughts before you jump onto your next K-pop YouTube short bench to me asymmetry is a very human element of game design it's all about creating strengths and weaknesses that are utilized and overcomed in a way it it mimics our own individualism as it's human to have both virtues and vices and that's why certain players will gravitate to a certain asymmetrical play style in short asymmetry lets us express and connect to a very human feeling of having personal strengths and weaknesses there's a reason why people like to play as the the defensive class or the Healer class or the DPS class because there's a certain connection that we feel with them deep down furthermore a symmetry lets us fill a role that creates a team it limits people's capabilities but that isn't a bad thing it gives us strengths and it gives us a chance to fulfill a purpose that other players can't do which is a good way to connect with people and and be human but asymmetry can be ugly as well poor gameplay balance or a lack of enjoyability for specific roles can often lead to a death of a game you need all aspects of asymmetry to work to really ensure A's having fun that said a symmetry is both a hurdle and Tool in game design it isn't inherently good or bad and it can even exist without any intention of creating it it doesn't need to be everywhere and not every game implements asymmetry well but most games do have some form of asymmetry and it can be made unintentionally it's up to the designer to use that asymmetry as a mechanic I or lever to balance the game and create the optimal experience I think as a collective modern Gamers tend to appreciate a symmetry in most game genres it's something I think will continue to be a selling point and I expect more designers to take the lead of Publishers like letter games and push asymmetry to new limits which I'm cool with anyways let me know what you think about asymmetry got any good examples or games that handle a symmetry differently speaking of game design and designers while I was editing this video I received a message from the dude who runs game Market West which is an event in San Jose where Indie designers get a chance to show off their Creations the next event is March 23rd with free entry and you can see more details on their website anyways I think it's a neat little idea so even though I won't be able to attend I hope to hear how it goes as always thank you for watching and bye