We’ve been playing more non-computer games and it’s awesome. Included: Settlers of Catan (pictured above), Catan card game, and Munchkin. I’ve had some other games recommended to me lately but haven’t had a chance to really look into them at all. If you know of some kickass boardgames we should try (2-6 players, with 3-4 being the priority), leave a comment.
Carcassonne: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcassonne_(board_game)
I recommend avoiding the expansion packs until you’ve got the hang of the regular game.
The original works well with 3+ players: for 2 players there’s a “Castle” version.
Carcassonne: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcassonne_(board…)
I recommend avoiding the expansion packs until you’ve got the hang of the regular game.
The original works well with 3+ players: for 2 players there’s a “Castle” version.
I second the recommendation for Carcassonne, and to not start with expansions – excepting perhaps the mini-expansions The River or The River II, as they make for a more interesting start without otherwise affecting the rules.
Puerto Rico – http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/3076 – is also worthwhile – has a long setup time, a slow build up, and far too many tokens – but it all pays off in the end game (much more so than I’d expected).
A two player game which I can highly recommend is Yinsh – http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/7854 . This gets mindbendingly fun (in an “ouch, my brain hurts, but I _think_ that you can’t stop me if I do _this_ *evil laughter*” kind of way) after the first couple of games when you grok some basic strategy. For 4 players, just bring two sets of Yinsh and rotate opponents after each game. (Or try one of the five other Project Gipf games; though imo Yinsh is the most rewarding of them all.)
Oh, and peruse the archives of Hixie’s weblog – he’s the boardgame master, and has many recommendations.
I second the recommendation for Carcassonne, and to not start with expansions – excepting perhaps the mini-expansions The River or The River II, as they make for a more interesting start without otherwise affecting the rules.
Puerto Rico – http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/3076 – is also worthwhile – has a long setup time, a slow build up, and far too many tokens – but it all pays off in the end game (much more so than I’d expected).
A two player game which I can highly recommend is Yinsh – http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/7854 . This gets mindbendingly fun (in an “ouch, my brain hurts, but I _think_ that you can’t stop me if I do _this_ *evil laughter*” kind of way) after the first couple of games when you grok some basic strategy. For 4 players, just bring two sets of Yinsh and rotate opponents after each game. (Or try one of the five other Project Gipf games; though imo Yinsh is the most rewarding of them all.)
Oh, and peruse the archives of Hixie’s weblog – he’s the boardgame master, and has many recommendations.
most of the Steve Jackson games are pretty fun, if silly. I have fond memories of The Awful Green Things from Outer Space and OGRE, but those might be hard to find.
@ben: I’ve played Carcassonne on the Xbox (of all places) and it’s pretty interesting. I can see how the end-game scoring piece could be a bit complicated without a computer, but kind of fun just the same. For me, I’m not sure it has the same social aspect as Settlers — the trading keeps everything interesting, but nonetheless sounds like it’s worth checking out.
@sander: good suggestions!
most of the Steve Jackson games are pretty fun, if silly. I have fond memories of The Awful Green Things from Outer Space and OGRE, but those might be hard to find.
@ben: I’ve played Carcassonne on the Xbox (of all places) and it’s pretty interesting. I can see how the end-game scoring piece could be a bit complicated without a computer, but kind of fun just the same. For me, I’m not sure it has the same social aspect as Settlers — the trading keeps everything interesting, but nonetheless sounds like it’s worth checking out.
@sander: good suggestions!
Settlers rocks. We had fun this evening playing Set (http://www.setgame.com/) which is a great, quick game for any number of players, the only disadvantage being that whatever way you try and describe it, it sounds _really_ geeky. That may not be a problem with your friends, I don’t know.
I also love Roborally, although it’s hard to get hold of. Fluxx is fun for a while, Aquarius is good for novice gamers, Zendo (although it doesn’t come as a boxed set any more) is great too.
Fun fact: with careful packing, the entirety of Settlers plus the 5-6 player expansion can fit in the (much smaller) box for the 5-6 player expansion. :-)
Settlers rocks. We had fun this evening playing Set (http://www.setgame.com/) which is a great, quick game for any number of players, the only disadvantage being that whatever way you try and describe it, it sounds _really_ geeky. That may not be a problem with your friends, I don’t know.
I also love Roborally, although it’s hard to get hold of. Fluxx is fun for a while, Aquarius is good for novice gamers, Zendo (although it doesn’t come as a boxed set any more) is great too.
Fun fact: with careful packing, the entirety of Settlers plus the 5-6 player expansion can fit in the (much smaller) box for the 5-6 player expansion. :-)
All these suggestions sound awesome. Puerto Rico is some dense strategy and resource management. I tend to like those kind of games, but they take a lot of setup and patience. Then the strategery begins!
If you want a deeply demanding data-tracking boardgame challenge, check out Arkham Horror: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkham_Horror
Usually about eighty minutes before all 1-8 players are ready to take their turns. There’s mechanical artificial intelligence, hundreds of cardboard chits, 1920s horror and role-playing. The game is cooperative – everyone is on the same team, facing down terrible eldar gods from the great beyond, etc. It’s a deep hoot.
Also, along those lines, Talisman: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talisman_%28board_game%29 – this is another game that feels so complicated it should have been a computer game. But then you play it for a short while and it’s so rich that you can have these hilarious competitive potion flinging contests with other players, etc.
All these suggestions sound awesome. Puerto Rico is some dense strategy and resource management. I tend to like those kind of games, but they take a lot of setup and patience. Then the strategery begins!
If you want a deeply demanding data-tracking boardgame challenge, check out Arkham Horror: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkham_Horror
Usually about eighty minutes before all 1-8 players are ready to take their turns. There’s mechanical artificial intelligence, hundreds of cardboard chits, 1920s horror and role-playing. The game is cooperative – everyone is on the same team, facing down terrible eldar gods from the great beyond, etc. It’s a deep hoot.
Also, along those lines, Talisman: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talisman_%28board_… – this is another game that feels so complicated it should have been a computer game. But then you play it for a short while and it’s so rich that you can have these hilarious competitive potion flinging contests with other players, etc.
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