How do you decide who goes first?  Do you roll dice?  Do you just let whoever wants to go first?  Does the person explaining the rules go first?  Do you just do whatever the rules say?  These are all legitimate ways to choose a starting player, but they're kind of boring.  This expansion seeks to get you thinking about some new ways to pick a start player.

I'm not the first to explore this concept.  Tom Vasel of The Dice Tower did a video on the subject, which you can view here.  He explores some interesting methods, and it really goes to show you that you can be completely creative.  I don't think I'd want to try that Shocking Roulette game.

One of the methods Tom mentions is a game called Start Player.


(BGG image by user Duane Abrames)

Start Player is a game by Ted Allspach, who does the webcomic "Board 2 Pieces", which you can read at Boardgamenews.com.  (And yes, those are meeples on the cover.)  In the game, you flip over a card, and that card will tell you who the start payer is.  The card could be "The tallest player goes first" or "The player who has the biggest ears goes first" or "The player who has most recently eaten ice cream goes first".  This is all well and good, but why buy a start player deck when you can make your own?

My suggestion - print out some business cards with a start player condition on them, and come up with your own.  I suggest throwing in little games, some pre-game competitions that will make the process more interesting.  Here are some suggestions:

1. The player who can go the longest without smiling goes first.
2. The first player to touch a doorknob goes first.
3. The youngest player may choose the first player.
4. The first player to shout "OLÉ!" goes first.
5. Whoever can hold their breath the longest without passing out goes first.
6. Without looking at a clock, the player who guesses closest to the current time goes first.
7. The player with the most loose change on them goes first.

But, again, be creative.  Come up with a whole bunch of different things.  Some can be permanent (the oldest player), ever changing (the player with the next birthday), competitive (the fastest player to drink a cup of water), or anything you want.  Make up your deck, and use them when starting games.  Flip a card, and fulfill that condition.  In case of a tie, or an impossible to complete challenge, draw a new card.  The most important thing is to make it fun.  It is only a game, after all.

The next series is going to look at games you can play if there's only two players.  Happy gaming!
-Jesse