2020年经济学人 自制游戏(2)（在线收听）

Tasks that require some collaboration can be satisfying, as when players in “Pandemic” work together to stop a deadly virus spreading, or when rivals trade resources in “Settlers of Catan”.

需要一些合作的任务可能会令人满意，比如“流行病”爆发时的玩家需要共同阻止致命病毒的传播，或者竞争对手在“卡坦岛”交易资源。

But vicious competition can be relished, too, especially if it means putting your annoying relatives in their place.

但是恶性竞争也可以获得乐趣，特别是如果它意味着把你讨厌的亲戚放在他们的位置上。

On Planet Ozerdale, the different astronauts work together to display a range of talents.

在奥泽代尔星球星球上，不同的宇航员在一起展示了一系列的才能。

Some, if lucky, can outperform the others.

有些人，如果幸运的话，可以胜过其他人。

Is it more rewarding to create a new game, calibrate sometimes complicated rules, make hexagonal tiles for the board, set up a website to share the idea and anticipate how others will be entertained

这样是不是更有收获呢，你可以创造一个新游戏，校准一些复杂的规则，为棋盘制作六边形的棋子，建立一个分享想法的网站，并预想如何娱乐他人

—or to get down to the absorbing business of rolling the dice, defeating monsters and dodging asteroids?

——或者开展滚动筛子、击败怪物和躲避小行星等一些有吸引力的业务？

In your correspondent’s household, the most intense excitement seems to come in the early stages of crafting a new thing.

在记者家里，最激动人心的似乎是在制作新东西的早期阶段。

For the inventor the pleasure is from being a storyteller of sorts, one who introduces a cast of characters, bestows each with attributes (a scientist able to invent new technology; the miner with geological nous) and then dreams up novel scenarios for them.

对于发明者来说，快乐来自于成为某种类型的讲故事者，一个介绍角色的人，赋予每个角色属性（一个能够发明新技术的科学家；一个具有地质常识的矿工），然后为他们梦想新的场景。

For those who lead others in roleplaying games, such as “Dungeons and Dragons”, it may be a small step to put a game on a board.

对于那些在角色扮演游戏，如“地牢和龙”中领导别人的人来说，把游戏放到棋盘上可能是一小步。

For their audience—especially parents, who are prone to being baffled by many intricate rules—having cardboard tokens in hand helps to keep things simple.

对于他们的观众——尤其是父母，他们很容易被许多复杂的规则所迷惑——手里拿着纸板代币有助于保持事情的简单。

The real goal, whether for those trapped at home during lockdown, or astronauts stranded on a planet of wolf aliens, is to have a chance to escape.

真正的目标，无论是在隔离时被困在家里的人，还是被困在有狼外星人的星球上的宇航员，都是有机会逃脱。