Playing a Board Game Using Your Color
Do you have a favorite color? I think most people would name one if asked. Mine is green. I even have a second-favorite color. It’s blue.
I play most board games using red.
Yeah, go figure. I remember when I was young thinking it was my least favorite color.
It just sort of happened that, when I started playing Eurogames about four years ago, I found myself often playing with the red bits. After a critical number (no idea what that number is) of games using the red pieces, I found there was no turning back. I just had to use red whenever it was available. The vast majority of board games do use red bits, so it’s usually an option (unless my sister is one of the players).
So what happens when I can’t play with the red pieces – either because there aren’t any (like in Hansa, which is not to be confused with Hansa Teutonica) or because someone else already chose that color? Well, I’ll pick green or blue or black or orange or naked (wood grain or unpainted) or whatever is still there, but it’s almost a sure bet that at some point in the game I’ll pick up or move down the scoring track or take back someone’s red bits by mistake.
What do you do when you can’t play a fun board game with your color? Same as me? Do you pout? Do you throw a hissy fit? (Do you know someone who does?) Do you refuse to play?
Wow. I’ve played thousands of games with you and never actually knew that you didn’t like red. Weird.
My favorite color is green as well. Early on in my Eurogaming career though, I had to put that aside. When we first started playing Eurogames we played Settlers of Catan and the base game there does not include green. So I was then forced to take whatever was left over.
In other games though, where green is an option, it becomes MINE. However, when we have visitors MY color is oft wanted and I will relinquish it. It turns out though that I have the same problem as you and will undoubtedly, at some point in the game, reach to move MY (green) color.
This is why I never pick the same color, I’d worry that I get stuck on a color like this. I will admit that in some games I have to glance at my chits in front of me to remind me of my color, but it isn’t normally a problem.
Red is my color, too. Everyone in my usual gaming group knows it, so its usually not a big deal. There’s another guy who always chooses blue, and then a mad rush over who gets green.
In fact, when I first plopped Genoa down on the table, I was aghast that there was no red option. At the start of the game, I felt a little lost. But, luckily, you don’t move your colored pieces all that often and I soon came to love my new (albeit temporary) color.
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