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Laconic: A game mechanic where players have different abilities
In a multiplayer game, the players have different abilities, but work towards the same goal. However, while they don't outright have Variable Player Goals, it's common for the abilities to nudge a player towards a certain playstyle.
Video games tend to either let the player choose their character freely or just give them one designated for story reasons. In contrast, a board game with Variable Player Powers will often assign the roles randomly or semi-randomly. This is intended to keep the game interesting as you figure out how to properly use the different abilities. Of course, it also makes the existence of a Low-Tier Letdown more irritating, as "just pick someone else" may not be an option.
Compare Variable Player Goals and and Asymmetric Multiplayer for more extreme differences between players. Contrast PVP Balanced.
- mcgrew: Everyone Has a Special Move has been used as a synonym for this trope on a number of game pages.
Examples
Board Games
- 7 Wonders:
- In the original game, each player is randomly assigned a wonder board with (usually) three abilities, some of which encourage certain playstyles.
- In 7 Wonders Duel, eight single-use wonders are draft at the start of the game.
- Everdell: The Bellfaire Expansion Pack adds unique powers for different types of workers.
- In the Pandemic games, each player is dealt a random role who provides a special ability such as "you need 4 cards to Discover a Cure instead of 5", "you may give away cards that don't match the city you're in" or just "You may take an additional action per turn". A major part of the game is figuring out how to leverage these abilities properly.
- In Res Arcana, each player is dealt two random Mages and chooses which one they want to use for the game, so that they can pick the one who's the best for the setup.
Video Games
- In the multiplayer mode of Super Mario 3D World, you may play as characters with various abilities — Mario is well-rounded, Luigi jumps higher at the cost of speed while Toad is the other way around, Peach can float in mid-air, and Rosalina can perform a Spin Attack.
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