What is a game? There's some argument about what exactly
constitutes a "game" in academic and design circles. Going by
Salen and Zimmerman's definition from Rules of Play: A game is a
system in which players engage in an artificial conflict,
defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome.
Cooperative games still have rules and definite win/loss
outcomes. "Artificial conflict" does not prescribe that the
conflict be between players, or that it be focused on strategic
competition per se. Strategy vs. algorithm The operative
assumption in the original question is that play vs. a sentient
actor requires on-the-fly decision-making, whereas cooperative
play vs. random game events can necessarily be reduced to a
script you can follow to win. I think this is an error. Even
when the adversity they face in the game is tied to something as
simple and unthinking as the luck of the draw, the human players
may still have to adjust their actions to the unpredictably
changing game state. To use your Dominion exampl