Who Goes First, Gamers' Choice!

I recently posted about how games determine who goes first. Of course, this doesn't account for the myriad ways that players can decide that all-important question.

I mentioned that rules for some games say "roll to see who goes first," but players can decide to use something other than six-siders. In the world of randomization, rolling dice, flipping coins, or rock-paper-scissors are obvious choices. For those who prefer high-tech variations, there are any number of randomizer apps on your device of choice. Chooser! seems to be a quick and fun option where each player puts a finger (presumably one of their own) on the device's screen, and the app will select the "winner." Chooser! can even pick multiple winners . . . perfect (for example) to determine which two out of four players are on the same team.

If you would rather not rely on a randomizer to decide who has the first turn, it's not like the Game Police are going to arrest you if you do something other than "roll dice." Rotate first player throughout the get-together, have whoever lost (or won!) the last game go first, or whoever brought the best snacks . . . the possibilities are endless.

Should you have specific options your game group enjoys, tell us about them!

-- Steven Marsh