Alternatives To Targeted Attacks

In many multiplayer games, players must decide who to cooperate with and who to attack. This makes politics important, as players try to convince others that they are not a threat. Some people find this fun. But it is also work of the sort that can be frustrating when others don't share your assessment of the game state. Attacks can hurt feelings if you don't do a good enough job of justifying them. And the desire to avoid retaliation can lead players to avoid these mechanics altogether.

You can always design attacks that don't target a specific player. Dominion's attack cards do this. Play a Militia card, and everybody else must discard down to three cards. Play a Witch, and they gain a curse. Untargeted attacks scratch the "take that" itch without the social effort. Their main downside is that they scale poorly. In high player count games, their compounded effects become oppressive. Some of Dominion's attacks mitigate this; a second Militia has no effect because it is "discard down to," for example. Others, like the Witch, trigger agonizingly frequently at high player counts.

Another approach is to let the game pick your targets. Cosmic Encounter takes a unique approach to combat by randomly selecting who you attack. At the start of your turn, you draw a "destiny" card that names a player, and you must attack one of their planets. Other players can join in on either side of combat. I'm not sure why this mechanic is not more common; it may be too weird and distinctive. It creates effortlessly interesting conflicts, highlighting interactions between various pairs of aliens.

Making attack decisions indirect also helps a lot. In Robo Rally, your robot automatically shoots its laser in the direction it faces. If you want to target somebody, you do it by predicting where they are going to move. Sometimes you don't even mean to shoot them; they just happen to get in your way. Making attacks automatic and dependent on other actions makes them feel accidental. This removes the need for justification and makes negotiation unnecessary.

For some players, choosing attack targets can be a barrier to enjoying a game. To address this, restrict or remove the choice.