The Empress of Dorfromantik


When you win a board game there is a feeling of relief and success. Through a combination of skills and luck (you hope it's skill) you have beat out your opponents. But you still feel a little bad. Your friends and loved ones have lost- an hour of their life resulted in failure instead of success. I guess that's the appeal of cooperative games. You and your compadres can succeed or fail together. Therefore the dopamine rush when you win a cooperative game is untainted.

How can I describe the dopamine hit when hitting 400 points in Dorfromantik? Cathy and I worked together to learn and master this game. We unlocked new tiles and abilities. Our scores and skills improved in tandem. And yet, I didn't think we would achieve the coveted 400 point game. I read a lot of tales of other gamers pursuing this grail and coming up short, or only reaching the target after hundreds of games. Cathy and I achieved this together, truly working as a team.

At first I thought we had crossed the 400 point barrier only by the way of the Great Mill, an expansion piece we had recently unlocked. This would have soured our achievement because the Great Mill is not included in the original box. It is extra. It is supplementary. It is a cheat. But then I noticed that our score was 406. We had only scored 6 points with the Great Mill. The other 400 were pure. The other 400 points would have been achieved regardless.

And so...

...This would be a perfect spot to end our Dorfromantik journey. And yet, I have a few more plans up my sleeve. Exciting things. Until next time...

... Leg Godt!



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