by Vittek
Yes,there seems to be a bit of confusion in this thread.
It think we should differentiate between the alpha gamer as a person, and the alpha gamer as a mechanic problem.
The alpha person tries to force its will on others, and that's a problem, but it's not something I want to address here (as I don't really know psychology and group dynamics, so maybe someone else has the tools to discuss it, and actually some already did in previous posts).
On the other hand, some games (especially coop) have the alpha gamer problem, that is, someone is telling someone else what to do. It could be because this person is an alpha person, or he's just more focused on the game, more experienced, or more interested in keeping the game going fast without downtimes and analysis paralysis. Maybe he's already managing the mechanic stuff for the game (for example, he's executing Mythos cards, moving and spawning monsters in Arkham Horror) while others check their phones etc. So when the current player emerges from his phone, he looks around to see what has changed on the board in the meantime and what he needs to do. After a few minutes, his face won't even give a hint if he knows what game he's playing, so the alpha gamer will start proposing possible actions for the turn.
So I've been very pro-alpha player in this description, but you see this can go both ways. Maybe he's an alpha person, or maybe he's just doing his best to keep the game moving and interesting for everyone.
Sadly this is a problem ingrained in most coop games, a few (like Space Alert) avoid but most do have it.
The best precaution you can take, I believe, is: choose your gaming group carefully. No one should play the alpha gamer, and no one should play the omega player either.
There is a girl in my group who, after we give her a lot of options for the turn, often uses this sentence: so what do you want me to do?
I don't know, I gave you options, choose one! And if you refuse to tell her, she'll just stand there and wait for someone willing to decide in her stead. So this the other face of the coin.
Everyone should be focused on the game as much as anyone else. If there is no balance in that, it will be a problem.