What games are you currently playing?

[Pirez]

Started a Diamond Nuzlocke. So far, it's not looking well. Also I hate grinding.

[Keane]

That's true, and, yeah, boils down to what Mario Party is at that point. I just like feeling that there's a way for me to tackle the randomness of the game.

Although whoever came up with the idea of being able to win 2 stars off a duel while including luck based minigames was out for blood.

[NyaNyaLily]

Such skillOk I'll admit it he's playing against easy CPU's

[Haruka]

Such skillOk I'll admit it he's playing against easy CPU's

The CPU we pick is Luigi and you can't imagine the ammount of times he wooped us.

Mario Party 3 is my personal favourite from the ones I've played so far. I also played this along with my friends and I had the unfortunate luck to have to give away all my stars to Luigi CPU in the near end of game in a Chance Time space. The pain, the paaaaain!

[NyaNyaLily]

Such skillOk I'll admit it he's playing against easy CPU's

The CPU we pick is Luigi and you can't imagine the ammount of times he wooped us.

Mario Party 3 is my personal favourite from the ones I've played so far. I also played this along with my friends and I had the unfortunate luck to have to give away all my stars to Luigi CPU in the near end of game in a Chance Time space. The pain, the paaaaain!

Same goes with peach, she ALWAYS plays dirty.
That's why I never choose peach as a CPU.

[Itooh]

There's more to a game than skills vs luck !

Indeed, randomness is a great part of a Mario Party game. That's what makes it interesting to play again in the first time. Like a board game that would relay on dices or cards. Random events are a big part of the game.
Does it makes it all random though? No, because players have the power to react to these events, to make decision, and even to test their agility in mini-games. It's not only rolling dices until somebody win, it's handling events that can be in our favor or not. Shadow Hunters is close to that concept.
I know people though that are literally unable to enjoy anything else than dices and simple card games in term of board games. Anything more complex, and they're bored. Can't argue with tastes but, uuurgh, games where player actions never matter are as boring as, dunno, watching sports on TV.

But it isn't skills either! You're never good at Mario Party, you never train to be unbeatable in a mini-game (for a few exceptions). Not because it's only luck, but because these games are accessible enough that anyone able to press buttons and react quickly (or in rhythm) can success! You don't win because you're trained, or because you got lucky… You win because this time you played well, or because you've tricked your opponent(s), or they have been distracted, etc… It's still arcade, with a but part of random, but where player actions matter a lot.

It's almost comparable to Mario Kart, in a casual context. Sure, there are talented players and competition in these one, but there's also a large part of the public that isn't particularly skilled. And (unfortunately :p), I'm definitely in this second one. But Mario Kart is a game cleverly designed in order to make everyone have fun. With players around my level (which actually mean a lot, including even good players), I sometimes lose and sometimes win according to the circumstances. And while objects are a big part of the game, it would be lying to say that only luck mattered. But is it's skill? No. When nobody play perceptibly better than anyone else, the victory depends on the performances of each other.

That's what defines good party-games: games where everyone is naturally good. Not because it's only based on luck, but because it rely on rules that everyone understand immediately, capacity that everyone has, and strategies that can be creative (you can make mistakes and smart moves in MP, but there's not really any winning strat). It's games about the instant.
And thus they are indeed very different from competition games like Street Fighter or even Smash Bros. Those really are games about skills, and get richer and richer the more we train on them! But party-game aren't about skills. There is no skills indeed in Mario Party, and you don't win by being stronger or smarter. It's mostly interactions between the players, and that's what matters the more!

Sure, luck always play a part, like a lot of multiplayer games. But great casual and party games are those that, while putting every player on the same level, make their actions always relevant.

[Rayfist]

Of course, I was never disagreeing that Mario Party being more reliant on luck than skill was a bad thing, I'm ACTUALLY really in the mood for Mario Party but unfortunately a great deal of my friends no longer play Nintendo, and Adsolution is back in Canada right now.

[Haruka]

I finished Gruntz a few days ago. I stopped two levels before the end some years ago but recently I decided to start from scratch and finish this, and that's what I did. I just did not go for the WARP letters since they aren't obligatory to conclude the game and they only unlock cheat codes anyway. Finding all the secret areas by yourself is really really difficult without a guide. Challenging (sometimes a bit too much) and fun as I used to remember.

And today I finished Valiant Hearts: The Great War. I wrote a review on STEAM: http://steamcommunity.com/id/Haruka_Tav ... ded/260230

[NyaNyaLily]

I've been playing TF2 and Gmod lately

[Thebananacrafter!]

I played wrath of cortex last night

[Master]

I want to carry on with Twinsanity, but PCSX2 has this odd graphical glitch which ruins it.

[Ambidextroid]

I'm playing R3 for a Let'sPlay on my YouTube

[Serza5]

I've been playing KH1, its great but hard

[Bradandez]

I'm playing the game of life and love. No one loves me so I lost that part.

[stan423321]

I have recently finished Broforce with a friend. It's a nice game, honestly, and it's apparently not even finished?

[Bradandez]

I would be playing Ocarina on the 3DS but I lost the game. Literally. I can't find it.

[Itooh]

La-Mulana.
That game is MEAN.
Not only it's hard as hell, and the puzzle and riddles are tedious… But there's also a ton of area, secrets, power-ups… It's INSANE ! T.T
Yet, I can't get away. Must. continue. the. journey. I'm afraid I'll have to draw a map.

[Pirez]

Binding of Isaac Rebirth.

Still waiting for dat sweet DLC

[Serza5]

I'm thinking about playing more tales of games

[Master]

The game of posting, it kills the wrist but satisfies the statistician.