Game design / history question - why four players?

[radiantfracture]

A mistaken text¹ started a conversation about game theory and game design. None of us knew enough about game theory to get very far with that, but my game-loving yet math-phobic friend did ask: is there a reason why (many? most?) tabletop games are designed to include about four players? Specifically, is that a sweet spot for games? for cognition? for social interactions? Is it to do with the size of kitchen tables? Is it magic?

Is there math in there, I guess is what we want to know.

There are lots of one-person games, and maybe two-person games are actually the most common (?), and heaps of games scale in various ways, but it feels like four is the mode social game size.

Is the four-player game model based on the nuclear family? On two couples playing together? Does it come from historical card games like whist?

Cursory web searching did not reveal an answer. Do you have any knowledge or wild speculation to share?


{rf}

^I accidentally texted the bus stop number to our group chat. If you text the bus stop number to 11111, it will tell you the bus schedule. If you text the bus stop number to human beings by mistake (as I have done more than once) it provokes a variety of amused responses.

Comments

[radiantfracture]

Oo, I don't know Skat -- how is it played? What's the rationale behind the three-player structure?

Games are usually played while sitting at a table, and a table usually has four sides.

Right, but I wonder which came first -- the social structure, the table, or the game?

[eller]

I always wondered about those tables. From a practical (non-wobbling) standpoint, three legs would make much more sense than four. A question for a historian.

[anne]

IANA woodworker, but my dad was, so here's my guess: cutting on the bias is wicked hard! (See also: cutting fabric and meat in triangles.)

[eller]

That makes sense, thanks! I've also no woodworking experience but some with sewing, and yes, I know what you're talking about there. :3

[radiantfracture]

Thank you! I love the idea of the material constraints behind social arrangements.

[eller]

As to Skat: it's a German game with ridiculously complicated rules.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skat_(card_game)
(I can't play it because my dyscalculia interfered with the bidding phase of the game.)
It's pretty unique in the sense that it's a two-versus-one game that, due to immensely detailed rules, is actually quite balanced. (The side with two players is not necessarily at an advantage!)