spooooooorts!

I don’t play a lot of sports games. I have Pizza Box Football (and like it) and I would love to try Moto Grand Prix and maybe a cycling game, but that’s about it. And then there’s one sports game which I don’t own as such, but really like to play: Knizia’s Decathlon.

I recently played it again, and it’s a brilliant push your luck dice game. And whats's better is: you only need a handful of dice, a piece of paper to track scores, and maybe a print of the rules in order to play it. Each discipline – from 100 meter dash over shot put to long jump and so on – is a mini game requiring nerves of steel and a fair bit of luck. And just like each classic discipline is in its essence fast and simple, so are the mini games.

In long jump, for instance – on of my favourites – you roll five dice for the run-up. Every time you roll you have to freeze a minimum of one die. The dice you freeze will later be rolled for your jump. However, should your frozen dice ever equal nine or more, you are disqualified. Add in that you get three jumps, and suddenly you don’t just have to think about making a good jump, but also about the metagame.. Do you play it safe for your first jump, hoping that your opponents screw up? Or do you gamble, hoping to force them into taking a stupid chance?