Fun Tabletop Games? 583
Mr. Ghost asks: "My friends and I have recently been in the market for a good new boardgame or other tabletop game. We have worked through the gamut of games like Axis & Allies, Supremacy, and War! Age of Imperialism. More recently we have been playing tile based games like Carcasonne and Settlers of Catan. I am looking for some suggestions on some new games we could get into."
civilization (Score:4, Informative)
Re:civilization (Score:3, Informative)
Re:civilization (Score:5, Informative)
- Almost no luck at all involved, yes this is important
- It is not exponential: the more you lose, the more the game mechanics makes you win, the more you win, the more the game makes you lose. So you have to be wise in balancing your civilization and adapt yourself to other player's styles
-You can win without fighting, playing peacefully, you can win through religion, of course you can with with force, etc. There is plenty ways to manage your civilization and they can all be good.
Only cons is that it is a long game, 7-10 hours. It almost can't be found anymore. Like another poster said, Civ Adv is 200$+ on eBay!!
Also: bu sure to play Civilization Advanced, since the "advanced" fixes important flaws of the game and is way improved. ...happy gaming ! :-)
Age of Renaissance (Score:5, Interesting)
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/26 [boardgamegeek.com]
Re:Age of Renaissance (Score:2, Informative)
Re:civilization (Score:3, Funny)
Must ask yourself this: Do I want to win more than I want the other guy to lose?
See civproject.net and other Avalon Hill games (Score:5, Informative)
Even before you buy the game if you manage to find it, the above site will give you an idea about it and help out with expansions and rule changes for the better of the game. They have done a HECK of a lot of work on continuing the development of the game, adding comodities, calamities, technologies, expanding the board, adding more players, rule changes, etc., which all create an even more interesting game.
I will say this, if you can not get the Advanced Civilization expansion set, the game is not NEARLY as good. But this is what makes it so hard to find. The regular Civilization game shows up on Ebay about 1-2 times a week and usually goes for around $80 depending on condition. However, Advanced Civ only shows up 1-2 times a month and goes for between $100-200 depending on condition. That is a lot of money to spend on a game if you are not sure you like it. I was lucky enough to play it about a year after it stopped being in production and absolutly loved the game. I was also lucky enough to actually find a store which still had it in stock (I called up every game store I could find, and found a place 80 miles away which still had it, they held it for me and I bought them, if I recall for their retail price of between $35-40 each, which is an absolute bargain now).
Another GREAT game is Republic of Rome also by Avalon Hill. Again, this is also no longer being made and is fairly rare to find. I didn't want to pay more then $150 for it and it took me 7 months to win an auction on Ebay for that price. Yes, there were several that went for less then that, but those were games that the sellers did not know if all the pieces existed anymore.
I would also check out other great Avalon Hill games like "Merchants of Venus" and "Blackbeard". Not everyone likes Blackbeard, but we do. We made some rules changes to add another player, it also seems to balance the game better (basically you do not really go in "turns", the person who's current turn it is pulls a card at the end of the turn to find out who goes next (the cards have a place on them for the number of players in the game and either a "blank", "player 1", "player 2", "player 3", or "player 4"). The game was designed for 4 people max, and if the blank come up, it remains that person's turn OR if it come up with your number (say player 3), it is also your turn. The blanks are there for the single player version of the game... Anyway, we changed the rules so you use the line for the number of players that you have minus 1 (i.e. if you have 4 players you use the 3 player game line), and if a blank shows up, it remains your turn, but if a certain player shows up, it is the player who is that many from the left of the person who drew the card (i.e. if player 2 is shown on the card, the person 2 people to the left of the current player now has a turn). I really helps balance the game more as well as give all the people at the table more turns instead of it being the same players turn 3 or 4 times in a row while everyone else does nothing but sit there...
Again, civilization is probably one of the greated board games ever created, especially if you have a large number of people (8-19 or more with the civproject.net expanded rules). Now it will take some time for you to get/make the board, pieces, cards, etc., if you use the civproject.net's expanded board and rules, but it is worth it to do. The regular Advanced Civ game is for 2-8 players and is really good as well (we play this the most, we only use the extra board/rules when we have more players).
I know I didn't talk much about Republic of Rome. It is too hard to describe. Basically I will give you this paraphrased quote from the rule book "The complexity of this game will make games such as 'Diplomacy' seem like 'Shoots and Ladders'". And to give you a hint, "Diplomacy" is a complex game.... You will proba
Might I suggest Dominoes? (Score:3, Funny)
Or work up to dice. Shake em up shake em up shake em up shake em. Nothing beats that shit.
Re:Might I suggest Dominoes? (Score:4, Insightful)
A few years ago, my family used to play Romoli every weekend. Plastic tiles, make straights and triples to get rid of your hand. There's probably other names for the game.
One game I'd like to play live is Mahjong.
It's fun, but it's noisy.
RISK (Score:2, Funny)
Don't forget... (Score:2)
eric
Great Board Games! (Score:4, Informative)
about cosmic encounters (Score:2)
there are two other versions, one by gdw (i think) and one by avalon hill. i don't know much about the gdw version but the avalon hill version doesn't have all the options.
eric
Re:Great Board Games! (Score:3, Informative)
Go, really (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Go, really (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Pente (Score:3, Informative)
Warhammer (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Warhammer (Score:5, Insightful)
If you live anywhere near Lancaster, PA, you can get your game on at Cold Wars [coldwars.org] from April 8-10. Run by the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society, but there is also fansasy/sci-fi gaming.
I like Risk (Score:5, Funny)
There's Lord of the Rings version! (Score:2)
Re:I like Risk (Score:5, Funny)
Like Risk? Try Diplomacy. (Score:4, Informative)
- The Diplomatic Pouch [diplom.org]
- The Stabbed [brinkster.com]
- diplomacy-archive.com [diplomacy-archive.com]
I've played with people all over the world at Diplomacy 2000 [demon.co.uk], and I've never even owned a board. There are quite a few open source boards/adjucators (they do the logic behind the moves to determine movement success/failure). Of those, I recommend jDip [sf.net], a feature-rich cross-platform java version.The game can get a bit involved, and there's a slight learning curve (very slight, especially if you've done Axis & Allies). Not for everyone, but it's worth a try if you like Risk.
Yes, Diplomacy rocks (Score:4, Informative)
I remember a game I played where one of the people involved was completely honest and open with everybody. However, when he talked to them, he always sounded like he was just about to stab them in the back. So of course people would betray him before he got the chance.
Of the tabletop style games, this is the only game that my wife will actually play. She can't stand Axis and Allies, etc, but with this game she has had quite a bit of fun.
One word of caution: NEVER EVER DRINK WHILE PLAYING DIPLOMACY. A game that is primarily based on back stabbing can get people really cranky when they've had a few.
Re:Like Risk? Try Diplomacy. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I like Risk (Score:5, Interesting)
Robo Rally (Score:4, Informative)
Puerto Rico (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Puerto Rico (Score:3, Informative)
I enjoy both becuase although the rules are rather simple, the interatcions to actually win are quite complex. And they are both very balanced, so there are many strageties that can win.
I would say that Puerto Rico is the more balanced of the two; however Settlers relies on some social engineering skills as there is alot of player to player trading nessesary to win.
Another ma
Re:Puerto Rico (Score:2)
As far as availability goes, El Grande will be reprinted this year, while the other two can be found in most online boardgame stores.
Many choices (Score:2)
IceHouse! Lots of Games in one! (Score:3, Informative)
Looney Labs [looneylabs.com] has lots of other neat games too, Fluxx, Aquarius, many more.
Go (Score:2, Interesting)
http://igs.joyjoy.net/ [joyjoy.net]
simple rules, yet computers have no chance against any decent human. addictive.
Re:Go (Score:3, Informative)
Speaking of cheap, my other recommendation is for cheap-ass games. You can buy about half a dozen of these games for the price of a single "normal" game. In my experience, we get about as much fun out of one cheap-ass game as we do out of a regular game. So that's six times the total fun! Heck of a deal.
My current favourites: Unexploded Cow and Kill Dr. Lucky. Maybe the C-A games are
Settlers Expansions (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Settlers Expansions (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Settlers Expansions (Score:3, Informative)
I agree on both Settlers and Puerto Rico being great games. The minor beef I have with Settlers is that the game, at least in the standard version, too strongly depends on the initial choice of settlements (which in turn depends on the tile distribution and numbering, and the order in which players get to place their settlements). But it's only a minor problem, the game is still excellent.
I can also recommend Tikal [gamesinabox.com], which also uses hexagonal tiles and is turn-based, but has practically no random elements
How can you get tired of Settlers? (Score:3, Interesting)
Try getting one of the expansion, Knights of Cattan or Seafarers of Cattan.
Another good strategy game thats fairly quick is Sequence.
Re:How can you get tired of Settlers? (Score:2, Interesting)
It is true there are random elements in the game, but success _is_ well-linked to skill, IMO. But maybe not the skills you think a good board game should require. As another poster mentioned, and I commented on, Seilder is largely about managing your relations with other players.
My main beef with it (the original, non-expanded, version) is that is a little short. It often seems to end towards what should be the end of the middle game.
Modern Art (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Modern Art (Score:4, Insightful)
Avalon Hill publishes a game called Diplomacy which I highly recommend -- it's rather like Risk, but without the dice. It is a rather long play though. They've got another interesting game called Wizard's Quest but I'm not sure how hard it is to find a copy these days.
Re:Modern Art (Score:2)
Re:Modern Art (Score:3, Informative)
There used to be an automatic Diplomacy adjudicator by email -- this would let folks take hours or days to run each round. This worked out well for a group of friends at work at lunch time. We'd get the new board layout from the adjudica
Board games (Score:5, Informative)
Recommended games: Loco, Princes of Florence, Puerto Rico, Tigris and Euphrates, and RoboRally.
Re:Board games (Score:3, Informative)
Funagain has probably the larges selection in the US, but it's also the most expensive of the 'popular' online stores. If you're not looking for a simulation of the political situation of germany, or something of that caliber, you'll do better of at Time Well Spent [timewellspent.org], Fair Play Games [fairplaygames.org] or Cardhaus [cardhaus.com],just to name a few that will save you some bucks.
Illuminati card game! (Score:5, Funny)
Ogre and G.E.V. (Score:4, Insightful)
-chris
Re:Ogre and G.E.V. (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.sjgames.com/ourgames/board.html
Metagaming may have died with Mr. Thompson, but Mr. Jackson rescued a few gems.
More athletic is ... (Score:2)
BoardGameGeek (Score:2)
Chris Mattern
Invent your own. (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.sjbaker.org/paper_and_pencil_games/k
(The URL is poorly chosen - it's not actually a paper and pencil game).
Gotta agree with the earlier post about the old Avalon Hill games - there were hundreds of them and 95% of them were really good. You should be able to find a zillion of them on eBay.
For something fairly simple, we've had a lot of fun with 'HeroScape' (from Milton Bradley) - but complexifying the game no end by adding our own rules. Also 'Pirates of the Spanish Main' from Wizkids (buy at least 10 packs to maximise the fun).
No list would be complete without mentioning Dungeons and Dragons - which is as much fun as the people you play it with - and is quite compatible with large quantities of alcohol.
Re:Invent your own. (Score:2)
Go (Score:2, Interesting)
Monopoly or Snakes and Ladders ? (Score:2)
Other options are the classic Cluedo, or if you really want a blast the exciting Trivial Pursuit is always a crowd pleaser.
Personally, sometimes I find many of the above games just a little over complicated and confusing and tend to stick with the all time family favourite, Tiddlywinks !
Hooo Boy, there's a bucket load of fun to be had with those bright little plastic disks !
Illuminati, Ticket To Ride... (Score:2, Insightful)
And, TTR won the 2004 Spiel Des Jahres!
Re:Illuminati, Ticket To Ride... (Score:2)
The goal of this game is to get the most trains, with other points coming from meeting certain destinations. I think it is kind of like settlers crossed with something more simple.
Ticket to Ride (Score:3, Interesting)
-russ
Fluxx (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.wunderland.com/LooneyLabs/Fluxx/Defaul
it's only a simple card game, but then it rapidly becomes a complex card game...
Re:Fluxx (Score:2)
Re:Fluxx (Score:3, Insightful)
Tikal (Score:2)
Szo
This post is easily answered (Score:5, Informative)
Divine Right of Kings (Score:2)
It's an oldie, but grab it if you can find it. It's a fantasy strategy game, played on a hex map but with card draws to keep it unpredictable. Very fun when several people are playing.
Re:Divine Right of Kings (Score:2)
An oldie but a goodie... (Score:5, Funny)
But don't play it by yourself. That's depressing. And a little creepy.
Looney Labs (Score:5, Informative)
Looney Labs [looneylabs.com] (and their weekly blog [wunderland.com]) make some excellent games that might fit your audience. They are perhaps best known for their card game Fluxx [wunderland.com] (my personal favorite), but also have a number of other games which are more board-game like.
The one that sounds most similar to what you're looking for is Chrononauts [wunderland.com], the card game of time travel, which involves a time line that you build and control on the table. It also has an "Early American" version.
As already noted, they make the Icehouse pyramids [wunderland.com] which are most noted for games like Zendo [wunderland.com] and Ice Towers [wunderland.com], but are also used for quite a few others [icehousegames.com].
Enjoy!
One of my favorites is "Scotland Yard" (Score:4, Interesting)
In Scotland Yard [boardgamegeek.com], one player takes the role of "Mr X" and attempts to evade the detectives. The playing area is a map of London, with routes marked in taxi, bus, underground, and ferry routes. Each player has a set of tickets they can use for each type of route. There are x of taxi tickets, y of bus tickets, and z of underground. Mr X is less limited. Mr X moves in secret, but every few turns, he must show himself.
I always liked this game, when I played it as a kid. As an adult, I found a copy of it in the game store. I told Chris, the owner, that I had played it as a kid, but forgotten about it. When I saw it on the shelf, I had to have it. It didn't matter that it cost around $30 at the time.
Chris informed me that this was a standard story. The game was rarely, if ever, advertised. Everyone who bought it did so because they had played it somewhere else, and found it hard to balk at the price. He said they had trouble keeping the game on the shelves. I believe it.
The beauty of the game is that every person who plays Mr X will do so differently. Inspectors are individuals. Every game is different, though the map stays the same.
Another favorite of mine is Empire Builder, but we're heading out to the truck stop for breakfast, so you'll have to do your own research on that one.
Re:One of my favorites is "Scotland Yard" (Score:5, Interesting)
Owner ran a 30% off sale. Picked up a new copy of Scottland Yard that day. Played it with the family, and they loved it. I wasnt sure if they would. My siblings and I played it for hours as kids.
When I asked the owner why he thought business hadnt worked out, his answer was:
"I wasnt sure why until this week. A lady and her son came in. The boy saw a game, and excitedly asked, 'mom, what about this one?' To which the mother replied, 'will I have to play it with you?' At that moment I knew that it wasn't that kids didn't want to play new games, but that parents didn't want to play with the kids"
I'm going to miss that store. We have an entire closet here at the house full of games. About half of them are the basic games one can find at Toys'r'Us and walmart. The rest are the "what kind of game is that???" stuff that really challange the mind. I love it when my kids bring an "off the wall game" and want to learn how to play it. Cooties are still fun for a 5 year old, but when he drags out Zertz [gipf.com], Apples to Apples [otb-games.com], or Blink [otb-games.com] I know that he is going to grow up with an edge over the nintendo playing couch potatoes. It may not be a financial advantage, but at least he will enjoy the stimulation that comes from trying new things, learning new things.
Days of Wonder, Blogs, and BoardGameGeek (Score:5, Informative)
Buy everything you see here [daysofwonder.com]. I assure that you will NOT be disappointed.
Days of Wonder is a great company who takes brilliant designs the world over and shares them with a geek-like audience. Me and my wife love Mystery of the Abbey. Think of it like a really interesting, deep version of Clue. No candlesticks, no ridiculous characters, and it actually has -strategy- incorporated, and everyone who has played it loves it immediately.
And no, I'm not even getting paid to say that (though of course, it would be nice).
You can also read some (tabletop) gaming blogs:
- BoardGamePlayer.com [boardgameplayer.com]
- BoardGames-To-Go [melankolia.net]
- Chris Farrell's Gaming Blog [mac.com]
- Jeffro @ Mindsay [mindsay.com]
Lastly, I'd like to say that me and my wife's favorite non-boardgame is Bang! [twilightcards.com], an easy-to-learn great mechanic-filled game that anyone over the age of 7 will adore.
Oh, and of course, get all the recommendations you can handle over at the always fantastic BoardGameGeek.com [boardgamegeek.com].
Have fun!
Evan
CCGBlog.com [ccgblog.com] - CCG Design, Theory, and Commentary
Puerto Rico + The Castle (Score:2, Insightful)
Flip cup? (Score:2)
Pirates of the Spanish Main (Score:2)
Each baseball card-sized pack comes with everything needed to play the simple game (my 7 year old loves this version) and lots of on-line expansions are available to add new scenarios, rules, etc. to make more complicated
MWDA Twighlight Imperium (Score:3, Informative)
Of course you can play Classic BattleTech - though this requires a longer investment of time. Things are quite detailed and it can take quite some time to resolve rounds.
I play more MWDA now because although I miss the detail of classic BattleTech, being able to fight a company vs company level engagement in 2-3 hours (versus 2-3 days) is a big plus.
There is a new edition of Twilight Imperium [fantasyflightgames.com] out. Highly complex and takes a while to play - but a deep and rewarding experience.
The "future" version of Risk is quite fun as well.
Zombies and Filthy Rich (Score:3, Informative)
A game we've been playing lately is Filty Rich [wizards.com], a "3D" board game by Richard Garfield (creator of, amongst other things, Magic: The Gathering). The idea is you open shops, and then collect income from them, with the objective being to be the first one to buy three luxuries (trophy spouse, patent of nobility, private jet, etc...). The "game board" is a binder with four 3x3 plastic card-protector sheets [ultra-pro.com] inside. When you open a shop you place it's "sign" into the card-pockets on the sheet (a sign could span multiple pockets), then you roll some dice to see which pockets get visited, and collect income, and then there's a 50% chance you'll move to a new random page.
The game is "3d" since on a given page you can "see through" to pages underneath. It's quite a clever and fun little game. You can see the rule-book at the link above, if you're curious.
Where to find info (and some personal favs) (Score:5, Informative)
The newsgroup rec.games.board is a great source of info on enthusiasts' opinions on board games. Someone maintains a database of ratings of games, as rated (mostly, or originally) by readers of the newsgroup. Search for "INTERNET TOP 100 GAMES LIST" (posted to the newsgroup every 2 weeks). Here's the current top 10, along with rating (1-10 scale) -- here's the link: http://scv.bu.edu/~aarondf/Top100
1 8.494 Puerto Rico
2 7.865 Euphrat & Tigris
3 7.756 Die Siedler von Catan
4 7.742 Die Fursten von Florenz
5 7.504 Modern Art
6 7.503 El Grande
7 7.451 Carcassonne
8 7.409 Ohne Furcht und Adel
9 7.399 Goa
10 7.387 Vinci
You'll see two of the games you mentioned on the list - Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan (note that the bulk of the best boardgames are German in origin -- the original German names are used in the list). I would guess that if you liked Carc and Settlers, that you match the taste profile of the contributors to the list fairly well, so you'd probably like many of the games on the list.
I've played maybe half the games on the top 10. Personally, I like Settlers, Euphrat & Tigris, and Modern Art particularly well.
One important question is: how many players do you have? 4 seems to be considered to be the optimal number for multi-player games (which are the most fun). If you have a different number, then there are specialized lists you should refer to. However, from your post, it sounds like you have several players, so the above list should be suitable.
Another question is: what type of games do you like? There are economics-style (e.g. Settlers), bidding-style (e.g. Modern Art), deal-making (e.g. Chinatown), path-connection style (e.g. Streetcar), war games (e.g. Axis & Allies), race games (e.g. Detroit-Cleveland Grand Prix), etc. etc. I guess you'd call this the genre.
Another thing to look for is the game designer. If you like a book by a certain author, you're likely to like other books by the same author. It's the same with games. Settlers was designed by Klaus Teuber -- a prolific game designer. So, you might look for other Teuber games. Many of the top-rated games were designed by Reiner Knizia -- I like just about every game of his which I've tried.
Another consideration is the complication of the game. You've mentioned Axis&Allies, which is relatively simple, and Settlers & Carc, which are moderately complex. Some of the games on the Top 100 list are fairly complex -- generally, at least as complex as Settlers and Carc.
Then there's game duration. If you like Axis & Allies, then you're probably not turned off by long-playing games. I'd think most games on the list would be OK.
There's a great website for boardgame enthusiasts, which you'd probably find useful in looking for new games: Boardgame Geek -- http://www.boardgamegeek.com
Finally, bearing all the above in mind, and considering the little scraps of information I have about you and your group, my tenuous suggestions:
I think you have maybe 4-6 people in your group. You have a taste for long games, and war and deal-making are appealing themes for you. Two classic games stand out in this category: Civilization (the board game which inspired the computer game), and Diplomacy. These are games which I would _most_ love to play, if I had a large enuf group of like-minded people available, and an unlimited amount of time. If you try Civilization, I recommend Advanced Civ over Civ.
I envy you, just starting to really delve into boardgames, with a group of enthusiastic players. You have some really great gaming to look forward to!
Good luck!
Risk 2210 (Score:4, Informative)
Risk 2210 is actually a lot of fun. I was sceptical when all the new variants of Risk started coming out, one for everyone and their uncle, but having played this one extensively I must say that it's very satisfying, and going back to the original on the occassions that, for whatever reason, we had to go back to the original, was met with a lot of grumbling.
It's way more complicated than the original Risk so it takes a while to get into, but some of the complexity goes a long way to alleviating the problems that made the original such a pain in the ass to play some times, like exponentially increasing army sizes and the potential for the game to never end. The rest of it is just fun.
If you haven't played this version but played the original, here are some highlights of what's new/different:
Having said all that, there's nothing preventing people from being very very bad losers, throwing pieces, getting whiny... I hope the next version comes with a tazer.
Fireball Island (Score:2)
Ok, maybe it's not hat great, and maybe I hav
Re:Fireball Island (Score:2)
It was like Mousetrap on crack. FIREBAAAAAL!!
2 suggestions... (Score:2)
For 3+ players, or those not wanting a game they have to study to get good at, I recommend Cosmic Encounter [boardgamegeek.com]. Think Risk where each player is allowed to cheat differently. No game is ever the same. I have the original with 9 expansion sets, and prefer playing with 2 "alien p
A Few Suggestions (Score:3, Informative)
Here are some other games that I have played and enjoyed -
Tikal [rainydaygames.ca]: One of a set of three board games published by Rio Grande Games, the other two being Mexica and Java. Having played all three, Tikal is probably my favorite. In it you play an archeological team unearning mayan-esque ruins for the win. Lots of fun, 2-4 players and about an hour and a half or so needed. Family Friendly.
Cosmic Encounter [rainydaygames.ca]: Definately a more "hardcore" title, the best way to think of this is like Pax Imperia or Galactic Civilization in boardgame format. Requires a large table and has *lots* of little pieces, but it's incredibly fun if you have the time and patience. 2-4 players and about 3 hours (or more, depending).
Dos Rios [boardgamegeek.com]: An incredibly fun game about diverting a pair of rivers such that you have the most plentiful harvest, while avoiding the bandits and your fellow players. Family friendly fun, 2-4 players and about an hour and a half or so.
221-B Baker Street [purcifuls-toys.com]: An oldey, but a good game nonetheless. Each time you play you're solving a different case. You travel from location to location finding clues and trying to stop your fellow players from doing the same. Family Friendly, 2-4 players, 60 minutes or less.
Shogun (Score:3, Informative)
Many a sunrise-too-early crept over the blood stained fields of feudal japan when we dug out that game. Good times!
Uno Extreme (Score:2)
Cheapass Games (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Cheapass Games (Score:4, Informative)
A few of my favorites are:
Devil Bunny Needs a Ham
Spree! Hong Kong Edition
The Great Brain Robbery
Unexploded Cow
Captain Park's Imaginary Polar Expedition
There's a number of their games I haven't played, and more that I have that I haven't listed. However, there hasn't been one that I've played that I didn't really care for. Fun, often quick, always amusing.
Warhammer (Score:2)
Necromunda is cyber punk and you control (and level up) a gang.
Bloodbowl is Rugby only the aim is to hurt the other team as you play.. it's quite fun and again you gain levels on players and such.
Battlefield gothic is a space ship based game, it's got alot of races but will cost more then the two above.
Modernheim is a game set in a destroyed city where you control
Cranium! (Score:3, Informative)
Monopoply (Score:2)
Good discussion on this last December (Score:5, Informative)
First, I decided I should really get into Go. Some links from that Slashdot story: here [bigpond.net.au], The Second Book of Go here [pandanet.co.jp], here [kiseido.com], here [dragongoserver.net], here [samarkand.net], and here [usgo.org].
Other games:
Apples to Apples - got this for my cousin, they liked it.
Settlers of Catan - got this for myself, very nice game, try a local hobby shop or here [mayfairgames.com] or try Amazon.com
Others: Puerto Rico (Similar to Settlers of Catan), Lord of the Rings board game was mentioned, Kill Dr. Lucky, Deadwood, Give me the Brain, Lightspeed Games [cheapass.com], Fluxx [wunderland.com] is fun, very random and quirky.
There's more! Mind Trap [mindtrapgames.com]
Munchkin [sjgames.com], Heroscape [hasbro.com], Ticket to Ride, Mystery of the Abbey, Memoir '44, Queen's Necklace at Days of Wonder [daysofwonder.com], Bang! [twilightcards.com], Betrayal at House on the Hill [wizards.com], Articulate [peedeetoys.com.au]
Killer Bunnies (and Quest for the Magic Carrot) [killerbunnies.com], Illuminati [sjgames.com], Acquire
Some other reviews/top game lists here:
here [bu.edu]
here [boardgamegeek.com]
here [gamerdad.com]
Happy gaming!
Bork Hasbro (Score:3, Informative)
Hasbro spent the 80s and 90s buying up everything. They were even smart enough to buy The Avalon Hill Game Company. AH held the copyrights to a huge stack of games. I mean hundreds and hundreds of games. AH had in the early 80s bought the rights to all the old SPI games. James Dunnigan had created and edited hundreds of games and simulations for SPI.
Yet Hasbro has not rereleased ANY of these games in their original forms. And apparently plans not to.
Junta (Score:3, Informative)
You are the ruling families of a banana republic (it sounds so eighties!) and the aim of the game is diverting the most foreign aid funds possible in your swiss account.
Hours of fun, for people with a sense of humour!
Acquire (Score:3, Insightful)
Still, it was great fun, far better than Monopoly, and we would play it maybe twice a month for years.
One I used to see folks having a great deal of fun with at a coffee shop I used to frequent is Cults Across America. (For reference, these same folks loved to play the stuff put out by Cheapass Games.)
The Late Great Sidney Sackson (Score:3, Informative)
We have worked through the gamut of games...
And wonder if you are aware of Sid's wonderful book, A Gamut of Games which contains protoypical versions of many of his best games, including Focus and Solitaire Dice, as well as some great discussions on gaming from a gamers POV, from a collector's POV, and from a designer's POV. The book is sadly out of print, but used copies can be found in all the old familiar places.
Next, you'll likely want to pick up a copy of Sid's answer to Clue, that being Sleuth. I find it superior to even Mystery of the Abbey (Which I would probably like better if I could figure out a way to keep track of where stuff is after mass), and it only costs $15 retail.
Another really interesting game by Sid (and currently being published by Face2Face games, who publishes the current versions of Sleuth and Buyword as well) is I'm the Boss, which is purely a dealmaking game, with plenty of cutthroat action.
I'd recommend Buyword too, except I've never played it.
On Carcasonne, Settlers, etc. (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.brettspielwelt.de/ is a website that has many official web/internet variants of these types of games with english versions aswell. It's main gaming client runs with java and gives a chance to test games that you might want to purchase as hardcopy. If you find a game that you like I can strongly recommend getting the german version and a seperate translation of the rules, as german boradgames, especially the new generation, are of an impressive quality.
Villa Paletti!!! (Score:3, Informative)
Game of the year for Germany in 2002.
More info via wikipedia [wikipedia.org].
Sorry, didn't add as a link in my post... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Tabletop games (Score:2)
I thought the throne belongs to Junta... http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/242 [boardgamegeek.com] other back-stabbing favourites:
Diplomacy: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/483 [boardgamegeek.com]
Kremlin: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/196 [boardgamegeek.com]
(although it seems to have lost much of the minijokes in the english translation)
Re: grognard-level wargames (Score:2)
Re:A few odd ones come to mind... (Score:2)
Diplomacy (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Betrayal at House on the Hill (Score:3, Insightful)
Without the game's 36 page FAQ, IMO the game is forribly unplayable. It seems that NOBODY playtested most of the scenarios, and it shows.
I've played that game a dozen times, but I can't really recommend it. It's 20-40 minutes of almost random movement, followed by 5 minutes of reading incomplete special scenario rules, and then 1 or 2 turns of completely imbalanced gaming. There are two 'sides' and by the time everyone read the part of the rules that they are allowed to read, It's pretty clear who is winn