Unpopular take: I stopped organizing game nights by player count

Used to split my friends into groups of 4 exactly. Thought it made games run smoother. But last year at a con in Austin, someone ran a 7-player game of Cosmic Encounter and it was chaos in the best way. Now I just throw the invite out to 12 people and let the table sort itself. Half the time we end up with 5 or 6 and someone spectates. Way more fun than rigid planning. Anyone else ditch strict player counts and just roll with who shows up?

3 comments

3 Comments

sethm586d agoTop Commenter

I started doing that after a 9-player game of Bohnanza went surprisingly well.

perry.jesse6d ago

Heard on a podcast that Bohnanza actually started as a design for larger groups (you know, before they settled on the usual smaller count). Makes me wonder if that 9-player round was just the game working exactly as intended. I've only played it with 4 or 5, but now I'm tempted to test the upper limits myself. Hard to imagine keeping track of all those bean trades though.

perry.jesse6d ago

You ever had a game night that just clicks like that? Nothing better than when a big group somehow doesn't turn into a chaotic mess.