The 10 Meanest Board Games Ever Created

 3. Lifeboats

Lifeboats is kind of a cross between Survive: Escape from Atlantis and City of Horror; you’re in boats trying to make it to shore, and also voting yourself into some broken friendships. There’s a number of boats, and all the players mix up the sailors of their colour between them. Every turn one of these boats is going to spring a leak, decided by all the players voting with their cards, starting player breaks ties. Any boat that springs a leak has to throw one of the occupants overboard to make room, how do you decide who gets thrown overboard, that’s right, a vote, starting to see where the meanness comes in? Then one of the boats moves closer towards the islands, decided by, yup, another vote. That’s the core of the game, meaning that the whole thing is a constant stream of bargaining, threats, teaming up on one poor player, and muttered oaths of revenge. Each player has 3 of these captain cards, which means if they’re the only one playing it in a certain vote, they automatically win that vote, which is a nice way for outnumbered players to even the odds, but otherwise this is an utterly cut-throat game of alliances, arguments and tension. Certain game groups will absolutely love it, and I fear those game groups.