A closer look
Nothing destroys friendships faster than realizing you cannot win, but you can definitely choose who loses. In epic board games like Twilight Imperium, the "kingmaking" dynamic occurs when a player is mathematically eliminated from winning but retains enough resources to dictate the victor. Instead of conceding gracefully, human psychology kicks in, and players often weaponize trade deals and orbital bombardments purely out of spite to ruin the leader's day. It turns a tactical space opera into a petty popularity contest.
