benlehman

Catan--which I don't play either--has at least a set of mechanics with which one can interact, in theory. But in Mafia the only way to play the game is through social engineering on real human beings, who are punished in the real world (by boredom) for failure to play well.

I think the effect is overstated for many board games, like Monopoly and Catan. In my experience, a winning player simply accelerates faster than other players can build up drag. There's only so much withholding you can do in these games, since trading is useful but not always necessary. Risk, on the other hand, seems like an elemental example.

For Catan, and Risk, there can be a breakpoint; identifying and decapitating leaders isn't sufficient as a winning strategy, after all, so you can move past that as a phase, if the game is fun enough that you want to bother with hit. I mean, the culture can progress, if it's worth the bother (and players are reflective).