Beat the Leader
The one-sentence "definition" that should be in italics.
This pattern is a still a stub.
Contents
Examples
Anti-Examples
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Using the pattern
Beat the Leader can occur both in games with PvP and with TvT since a leader can be either an individual player or a Team. The actual design of Beat the Leader consists of providing to characteristics to a game design: making it possible for players to perceive a leader and giving them means to work together against that perceived leader.
Perfect Information, Predictable Winner, and Score Tracks are all ways to give players possibilities of perceived who is leading (even if this may be an erroneous perception). In contrast, the use of End State Scoring, Secret Goals, and Secret Scoring Mechanisms makes it more difficult or impossible to judge who is the leader.
Players of PvP or TvT games may already have actions available that can be used to directly Beat the Leader, e.g. Aim & Shoot but indirect means can also be considered; Games that have Player-Decided Distributions or Player-Decided Results are for example likely to be used for Beat the Leader if this is possible for players to perceive a possible leader. Interruptible Actions, Trading, and Voting and other examples of actions where players can easily come together to Beat the Leader if they can agree that a leader exists.
Interface Aspects
While Beat the Leader is not a Interface Pattern per se, it does rely on how players can make judgments about who is leading a game instance.
Consequences
Beat the Leader make players enter Temporary and Uncommitted Alliances against perceived leaders, and this can is some cases take the form of Betrayal. Players engage in Beat the Leader activities to perform a Balancing Effect, but this is not necessarily correct if they have misjudged how is the leader (or if some players have successfully intentionally point out somebody as a leader which isn't one). The use of Beat the Leader creates Excluding Groups in that the leader is excluded from the other players.
Relations
Negotiation Bluffing Scapegoat
Can Instantiate
Balancing Effects, Betrayal, Excluding Groups, Temporary Alliances, Uncommitted Alliances
Can Modulate
Can Be Instantiated By
Aim & Shoot, Interruptible Actions, Perfect Information, Player-Decided Distributions, Player-Decided Results, Predictable Winner, Score Tracks, Trading, Voting
Can Be Modulated By
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Possible Closure Effects
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Potentially Conflicting With
End State Scoring, Secret Goals, Secret Scoring Mechanisms
History
New pattern created in this wiki.
References
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Acknowledgements
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