Escape From the Aliens in Outer Space, by Mario Porpora

Spoiler alert: You probably won't. 

Darkness. Echoing, terrifying, darkness. Ten minutes ago your bridge was alive with activity, bustling with the ordered chaos that marks a ship in space. Now, only the chaos remains.

Step through the door quickly, close it silently.  

The pod you beamed in wasn't empty, despite assurances to the contrary. For a brief moment there was struggle, and you saw just enough to understand. Now, all you can do is run. 

Eight steps down the hall, step to starboard, then duck into the maintenance shaft.  

You can navigate this ship by memory easily enough, but the darkness cripples you. They seem to prefer it. 

Pass the first three doors, open the fourth, step into the escape pod. 

You could kill one with a weapon, but the rest will overwhelm you. The escape pods are your only hope. 

Slam the hatch. Strap in. Fire up the pod. 

The pods have failed. For you, there is no Escape From the Aliens in Outer Space.

The Perfect Game #1: Intro and Interesting Choices for Failure.

exactly like this

In celebration of the upcoming 46th annual "Best-Four-Days-of-Gaming" Gencon, I wanted to do something a little special. It's been awhile since I've gotten to flex my RPG chops, and I intend on spending at least 24 solid hours doing just that at the event that has become tabletop gaming's Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Mōdraniht, and Saturnalia all rolled into one.

With that in mind, I'd like to do a couple of articles for the fine patrons of The Nerd's Table, getting into some gritty design concepts that make good games. As a forewarning, I will be naming some games that may or may not be the best at some of these design philosophies, That doesn't mean that they aren't excellent games, it just means that they are lacking in some areas that would make them My Perfect Game.

Most importantly, though, I want you, dear reader, to get in on the conversation. If this series gets talked about enough in the comments, I'll continue to talk your ear off about the hobby I love the most.

With that out of the way, let's get started!

Ghost Stories by Antoine Bauza

oooOOOoooOOOooo

"If your cooperative board game isn't hard enough, then players won't come back and play it."

This is what Antoine Bauza told The Nerd Nighters in an interview. In his Cooperative game Ghost Stories, he's definitely taken the first part of his advice to heart, as Ghost Stories is arguably one of the hardest co-op board games out there. Don't let the difficulty drive you away because, all things considered, it is one of the only pure co-op games that always seems to find its way to the table at my game nights. The challenge adds to the mystique of the game, as the game comes with a score sheet so you can record how close you've come to victory until you finally achieve it.

Devastation of Indines by Level 99 Games

Seriously, Look at it.

Have you ever spent any time in an arcade? Specifically one where there were giant glamorous arcade machines that played things like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat? If that pictures is at all bringing back fond memories, do yourself a favor and buy Devastation of Indines. It will be 100% worth your while.

Devastation of Indines seeks to recreate the look and feel of fighting games, and it does an incredible job. When you first open up the box, Devastation can look a little daunting, but the rulebook explains, and so will I, don't worry about it. A majority of the components you won't even use during your first 40 or so games (And you will play that many games.)