In case you’re new to Medium Cool, BGinCHI is here once a week to offer a thread on culture, mainly film & books, with some TV thrown in. We’re here at 7 pm on Sunday nights.
In this week’s Medium Cool, let’s talk about board games.
I’m trying to start a game night with some friends, and we need a few good games. We’ve played Cards Against Humanity a few times, but it’s not my favorite. I’d like a game with strategy, that’s challenging and fun, but can be played in a single 3-4 hour period by 6-8 people.
But I’d also like to hear what other games you play in addition (cards, etc.). Let’s keep this old fashioned and leave out video games, which are an entirely different subject.
WaterGirl
It was Colonel Mustard, in the Conservatory, with the knife.
gene108
If you like cooperative games, you might like Arkham Horror.
rekoob
Hard to beat Settlers of Catan, although it may not expand enough to 6-8 players. Wil Wheaton, in his excellent series Tabletop, explored a number of games and played them with his friends.
HarlequinGnoll
A board game I’ve played that sounds like that and fits this sites quirkiness is Illuminati the Game of Conspiracy. Play as a secret society and try to control the most “groups” like the Fnord Motor co, the Boy Sprouts, or Congressional Housewives.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
I have no clue what you’re talking about.
dexwood
You can’t go wrong with Candyland. Ok, I’ll see myself out……
Craig
Monopoly
Spanish Moss
Hmm, we play a lot of board/card games, but 6-8 people with strategy is a tough one.
Letter Jam is a lot of fun. It is a word construction/guessing game for 2-6 people. There are several rounds per game and it is cooperative, so the strategy happens at the group level.
We like Catan, and an extension will get you up to 6 players. It might take a while the first time if people are not familiar with it.
We have a couple of favorites for larger groups, but they don’t really involve strategy:
TheOtherHank
A couple years ago we had been playing Cards Against Humanity, but were staying somewhere without internet or TV and hadn’t brought any games with us. So we made up our own <FamilyName> Against Humanity cards and played with all our family in-jokes. When we got home we wrote up a bunch more and I printed them on pre-perforated business card stock so we had a real game set. Writing the cards was fun and playing them was super fun too.
WaterGirl
@Craig: I liked monopoly as a kid. But i never win when I play Monopoly, and at some point in my 20s or 30s i realized it wasn’t fun to play a game where I was usually broke since I was broke in real life.
FelonyGovt
I like Rummikub. A good blend of luck and strategy.
I hate Monopoly and feel like I’ve gotten stuck playing it too often during my life. My Monopoly strategy is to go to jail, stay there, and let the other players go around the board, land on my properties and pay me rent.
dmsilev
Wingspan is pretty neat, and has gorgeous artwork.
BGinCHI
@rekoob: I’ve looked at this game many times, but never tried it.
Hmm. Will check out the Will Wheaton thing. Is it a TV show?
BGinCHI
@HarlequinGnoll: Will check it out. Sounds devious, therefore fun.
Spanish Moss
Azul is our very favorite board game. It is a 3-4 person game (though technically you can play with 2), and your strategy will vary depending on the number of players. It is strategic, but you can play a game in less than an hour. During the course of the game you populate a grid with Portuguese style tiles that are both attractive and pleasant to handle. You can interfere with the strategy of the players coming after you, so a game always involves a lot of ribbing and mock outrage.
WaterGirl
@FelonyGovt: I love Rummikub! You play that with tiles, right? I don’t even know if there is a card game version of it.
WaterGirl
My favorite game is canasta.
MagdaInBlack
I haven’t played board games since the days of Trivial Pursuit, which dates me, I know. I simply have not met the type of people who enjoy board games. Kinda sad people don’t seem to gather and do that anymore. At least in the suburbs I have not met them, altho I imagine they do exist
Eta: Thom Hartmann talks about a game called “Evolution” that his family enjoys. I also saw a card game called ” Exploding Kittens.” Not sure how I feel about that one.
BGinCHI
@Spanish Moss: Maybe I’ve used the wrong word. I just want something beyond all-too-clever guessing games, like Cards Against Humanity, or anything with trivia or sophisticated Mad Libs.
I’ll check out your suggestions. Thanks!
BGinCHI
@dmsilev: Have heard GREAT things about it.
BGinCHI
@Spanish Moss:
I’ve seen this game and wondered about it. It looks really cool. On my list.
swbarnes2
Ticket to Ride has been a classic standard for years now. Wingspan has been the new popular game for a year or so.
piratedan
still fond of the classics, Yahtzee and Uno….. also Oh Hell, which is kind of like Hearts or Bridge or the like.
lowtechcyclist
Diplomacy is ideally played by 7 people, but rarely gets finished in 3-4 hours. It’s a good game to play by email.
cope
Risk might be an option but I think it is limited to six players max. Also, your time limit might be exceeded if you play the kind of games we played in college. Oh yeah, once you’re out, it’s not much fun watching others play. Forget Risk.
Leto
We have a friend who’s a board game… freak. Just gonna call him a freak. Last time we spoke he had well over 250 board games. Played every one of them multiple times, went to board game conventions all the time, just loved them. Regarding your request, might I suggest Die Macher.
Personally I think this should be the official BJ board game.
Almost Retired
At Christmas, we played “Mind the Gap,” which is sort of an updated Trivial Pursuit that sorts its pop cultural questions into four generational categories: Boomers, GenX, Millenials and Gen Z. Ideally, you play with mixed-generation teams.
It worked for us, because the eight players’ ages ranged from my 88 year old mother (and her 83 year old boy-toy) to my 22 year old youngest son. Not sure if it would work without a wide age range of participants. Or without alcohol.
Craig
@WaterGirl: I feel you. I also like The Game of Life, love the spinner. Honestly I don’t do a lot of board games anymore, more dice games for dollar bills these days.
dmsilev
@BGinCHI: Haven’t tried it myself, but I’ve heard that the iPad app version is a pretty faithful adaptation of the board game, so that’d be an easy way to test-drive, so to speak, the game.
FelonyGovt
@WaterGirl: Yes, Rummikub is like Gin Rummy with tiles.
Avalune
Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan are usually my board game gateway drug. If those go well, Seven Wonders, Power Grid, Small World, Agricola, Lords of Waterdeep are pretty good. Camel Cup is pretty good even for people not deep into board game culture. Luchador is One of Leto’s favorite quicker games. I like Fluxx for a quick game where the rules are constantly changing. I hear Race to Galaxy is great but I wouldn’t know because someone hasn’t played it with me yet >.> We have Azul also but it’s another haven’t played. I want to break out some Twilight Struggle but that’s def not a quick easy.
I like Canasta too @watergirl
I enjoy Parcheesi is as a fun classic game also.
oldgold
Pro tip: avoid Jumanji.
Leto
Also for people wanting to maybe delve a bit deeper into the world of board games, might I suggest the website Board Game Geek. Reviews on just about every game available, tutorials, interviews with the creators, and so much more.
Tehanu
@MagdaInBlack:
Me either. We still have a game a friend gave us that he found at Goodwill or someplace like that, the Spiro T. Agnew American History Game. You win not by knowing the answer, but by convincing the other players that your answer is right. It’s actually a pretty good game! but, like you, we haven’t played it or any other board games for a long time.
Ruviana
@dexwood: chutes and ladders!
Leto
@Avalune: second Camel Cup as one of those quick games that can turn into multiple repeats. I don’t think we’ve ever played a game where people weren’t laughing and having a good time.
Power Grid is a good one, but I think it’s max 4 players. On my final deployment, to Qatar, me and three of my airmen were delayed from leaving for about 2 weeks. Just about every day we played this and always had fun.
mrmoshpotato
SORRY! And then you smash the other player’s piece across the room. What? Just a tradition in my family?
Avalune
Dead of Winter was fun – zombie stuff. Suburbia was fun.
MagdaInBlack
@piratedan: We always played Yahtzee and Uno at Christmas. Also some Yahtzee-like game with little pigs instead of dice. Something about how they landed counted points. It was silly and fun.
mrmoshpotato
@dexwood:
Damn right. Chutes and Ladders is a close second.
Almost Retired
@MagdaInBlack: You brought back memories! I think it was called “Pass the Pigs,” and it seemed like I spent most of my free time in the mid-1990’s playing it with my pre-school aged oldest son, who was obsessed with it.
mrmoshpotato
@Craig:
Do you think we all have a month for a single game?
stinger
I like Pit and Touring (aka Mille Bornes). Both games take special decks of cards. Pit is for something like 3-8 players, but is more fun the closer to 8 you can get, and is very loud. People shouting “Wheat, Wheat!” and “Barley, Barley!” as they try to trade cards they don’t want for cards they do want. Touring is quieter, good with I think 3-4 players, would have to get out my deck and the instructions as I haven’t played it for years.
dexwood
@Ruviana:
@mrmoshpotato:
My second choice.
Sure Lurkalot
@WaterGirl: Clue was the last board game I played!
Leto
@MagdaInBlack: Pass the Pigs!!!! We have that. Amazingly fun game that’s really simple, easy to carry anywhere, and good to have if you’re stuck someplace like an airport for a few hours. Good for people of all ages. That’s an easy recommendation.
edit: Almost Retired is correct, Pass the Pigs.
Avalune
@Almost Retired: We played a lot of Pass the Pigs when we were young marrieds. I bought a German version from the pig museum in Germany.
We played a lot of rummy and zilch (I think zilch is also called bones and bunko or some such?). Always a fan of chicken foot dominoes. Boggle.
Growing up it was mostly euchre.
Rusty
Wise and Otherwise. You are given half a saying from a country, and you have to guess the other half. The guesses are then read with the correct half and you pick. You get points for guessing the right one, and points when you fake other players out and they pick yours. Being clever to fake out the other players is fun, and the sayings are typically weirdly obscure and entertaining themselves.
MagdaInBlack
@stinger: My parents had a very old Pit game, in a special plastic case. I never saw them play it, but I suspect it got a lot of play on camping trips and long winter farm nights, before my time.
Avalune
We played a game that was kind of like telephone and Pictionary that was pretty hilarious – telestrations I think? This might be fun for your 6-8.
Gretchen
@cope: my grandson is 8 and loves maps. Is he too young? Can you play with two players? My brother had it but he wouldn’t let girls play.
HumboldtBlue
Probe — the word guessing game — is a family favorite.
mrmoshpotato
@MagdaInBlack:
Throw Throw Burrito
BGinCHI
@Avalune: I got Cribbage for Xmas but haven’t played it yet!
This is a great list, and I should have guessed yous two would have a lot of good suggestions.
MagdaInBlack
@Avalune: I had forgotten Boggle, we played that too. Euchre was big in the high school student lounge, and all the bars had Euchre tournaments.
Avalune
Bad Medicine was funny.
Castles of Mad King Ludwig is a favorite of mine.
BGinCHI
@Leto: Thank you. I’ll def use that.
Medicine Man
My wife and I have been playing the heck out of Wingspan.
It is a bit fiddly; a point-scoring game with some moderately deep rules to learn. Probably helps if you like birds a lot. Like dmsilev says above, the board(s) and card art is all gorgeous.
mrmoshpotato
Do you like real estate? Well, do ya, punk?
Acquire
BGinCHI
@mrmoshpotato: This sounds like my family game, Sorry About Your Balls.
Old Man Scythe
7 wonders is a great game with lots of replay value that scales up well. Same with Betrayal At House of The Hill, scales well whether 4–6 player. If you have the same crew showing up, I recommend the legacy version, it has the best rules set and you get a customized game to your table at the end.
Terraforming Mars is a game I keep coming back to because it has a lot of variability and paths forward, especially when you add in some of the expansions – Preludes and Colonies are my two favorite.
Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Cataan are consider entry way drugs for a reason – I generally prefer TtR: Europe.
Pre-COVID – my friends and I would host a monthly potluck and board gaming day – somewhere between 10-30 of us would show up to socialize, so we have a lot of games.
Suzanne
We enjoy games a lot! Less so while Youngest is little and wants to mess around with the pieces. But favorites include Wingspan, Machi Koro, Bang!, and the Forbidden series (Island, Desert, et al).
BGinCHI
Anyone played Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza?
Avalune
@Gretchen: An 8 year old might be ok with risk. But if people are competitive – well I know a lot of family fights have occurred over this game but maybe that persons family is the problem not the game *cough cough
Avalune
@Suzanne: Forbidden is good! Castle Panic is kind of in that line of cooperative games too.
Pandemic is another well reviewed I have but haven’t cracked open yet. Might be too on the nose atm though.
zhena gogolia
Just reading these comments is filling me with anxiety. Strategy does not equal fun for me
Leto
@Gretchen: 8 might be too young, plus it’s meant for more players. 4 is a good number to have. For two, maybe Ticket to Ride because you play on the map of the US, it’s easy/quick to pick up, and the expansions for it add on more maps from all over the world. Same game, different boards.
WaterGirl
@Almost Retired: I love that your 88-year-old mom has a boyfriend.
Scout211
My grandkids have a whole closet full of board games but they always want to play Monopoly. That is not a favorite of mine, but they love it. Also Uno.
I’ve been in a book group since 1983. For the past 20+ years, we all rent a house at the coast every summer and have a retreat together. (Sadly, not during these COVID years).
Board games are a must for these weekends. The last few times, we played a game called You’ve Been Sentenced in which you create sentences with the cards you draw that have various words on them with different point levels.
It’s a game for pedants (which many here would enjoy) because you have to have correct sentence structure and grammar, etc. to get your points. The book group members loved it.
ETA: yes, pedants like it but is is fun, too.
Avalune
@Old Man Scythe: Agree 100% with Europe version :)
Fair Economist
Hoo boy, is this ever in my wheelhouse.
The current state of board games is absolutely fantastic for anybody with an interest in moderately (but not necessarily extremely) complex games. I run a board game day at my house almost every Saturday and there is just no end of great games to play. Some of the many standards we play over and over, roughly ranked by complexity:
Seven Wonders
Carcassonne
Alhambra
Quacks of Quedlinburg
Century Spice Road series (3 related games that can be freely combined)
Wingspan
Pursuit of Happiness
Roll for the Galaxy
Terraforming Mars
Scythe
Concordia
Sidereal Confluence
Eclipse
but nothing hits the table often because there are SO MANY FABULOUS GAMES! I played 9 hours almost straight through yesterday and was still sorry when the last people left.
A fantastic site to explore games is BoardGameGeek. It has crowdsourced quality and complexity ratings, plus a blackboxed “Geek Rating” which does some kind of bayesian analysis on the crowdsourced quality ratings (roughly, fewer ratings mean the rating is adjusted back to average). There are also estimates on game time (warning; I find they are often severe underestimates) and both official and crowdsourced player count recommendations. There’s also extensive player-contributed reviews and often incredibly deep and informative forums.
Generally speaking, the traditional kid’s games are not very good, except for quite young children. Modern board games are way, way better, with lots of opportunity for strategy and lively themes. Game design continues to improve, especially for more complex games, and even Settlers, which was an absolute revelation when it came out, has been largely surpassed.
WaterGirl
@FelonyGovt: I like Rummikub so much that I own the special padded faux-leather carrying case. :-)
BGinCHI
@Avalune: First MC to end up with someone sleeping on the couch?
Could be tonight.
cope
@Gretchen: As I recall, you really need four or five players, it’s been a long time since I played.
Like your grandson, I love maps as well. When I was about twelve, I got a bedroom to myself after sharing with two brothers. My mom wallpapered it with National Geographic maps. I loved that room.
Suzanne
@Avalune: I bought Pandemic for Mr. Suzanne shortly before the, uh, you know, the plague, and we have no desire to play it now. We have played it at a friend’s.
Other ones we’ve gotten recently are Azul and Sagrada.
WaterGirl
@Avalune: I keep trying to figure out if there’s a way to play games over zoom. I LOVE games but you kinda need another person, and covid is kind of messing with that part.
WaterGirl
@mrmoshpotato: thanks for the laugh
BGinCHI
@Fair Economist: Where do you live I want to come to your house on Saturdays!
WaterGirl
@Avalune: I am now having pig museum flashbacks!
One of the most memorable On the Roads ever!
mrmoshpotato
@BGinCHI: I was talking about the board game. Not sure if I want details on that other game.
Abnormal Hiker
@Tehanu: the last board game I remember playing ( other than snakes and ladders with my children) is Women’s Lib around 1970. boardgamesgeek.com has a description
Scout211
@WaterGirl:
Christmas of 2020, our whole family played Uno over zoom. It was fun and so easy because everyone just needed an Uno deck. We had 9 of us and it worked well, even for the school-aged grandkids.
MagdaInBlack
@WaterGirl: I have 2 backgammon sets like that, I love it that much.
Avalune
@WaterGirl: There are things like Table Top Simulator that assist with that kind of play.
Leto
@Avalune: DISCLAIMER FOR EVERYONE: family fights only occur when you convince your gullible son to attack his dad, with whom he had a non-aggression pact treaty.
@zhena gogolia: I agree. Some of the games don’t appeal to us for that reason. Camel Cup is a good one. You’re basically racing camels via rolling dice. Players then make bets on where they think they’ll finish. Not so much strategy, more luck. Some of the games like Ticket to Ride or Settlers of Catan are a bit more strategy, but nothing to like go big brain on that’ll cause anxiety. Like Avalune said, these are the gateway board games that help people into the bigger world. They’re quick, easy, and most importantly, fun.
The game I recommended above, Die Macher, yeah, that’s more a big brain game. Mainly because it deals with exactly what we talk about so much here on the blog: building political alliances and winning seats in
Bernie’s Magic CastleParliament.Avalune
@BGinCHI: I will let Leto explain to you why Risk is banned. Lol Oh I see he did.
Listen – it wasn’t my fault it was mighty suspicious you were amassing your troops at his border like certain Russians.
BGinCHI
@mrmoshpotato: What happens in Sorry stays in Sorry.
Fair Economist
If you liked Game of Life as a kid, try to find Pursuit of Happiness. It’s a game about having a good life, but you actually make decisions! It’s not all luck! And the stories that come out are very entertaining, like one of my “lives” where after retiring from a high paying job I bribed my way into a motorcycle club with access to my liquor collection…
(There wasn’t actually any game connection there other than synchronicity, but the storyline was obvious and amusing. Well, the job *had* allowed me to afford the liquor collection.)
BGinCHI
@Leto: Agree, the fights in Risk games were pretty legendary, and very dumb.
Thanks for the suggestions here. Def looking for fun and not anxiety. Am full up on the latter.
WaterGirl
@Avalune:@Leto:
Accusations like that aren’t to be taken lightly!
I’ve had some training in counseling and personal intervention, so don’t hesitate to call if things get ugly tonight. :-)
cc: @BGinCHI:
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl: Only with the original plastic game pieces. Not allowed with the blue Christmas light or Coke bottle cap.
What happened to one of the red and one of the blue pieces? Good question.
Suzanne
@WaterGirl: I have a nice Rummikub set, too!
I am also a jigsaw puzzle person! Again, I have taken a bit of a break because TODDLER, but I love them.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: So everyone had their own deck? You play on one big (virtual) pile and everybody draws cards from their own deck?
prostratedragon
The mention of canasta takes me back. One of my aunts was a whiz at it, so when we visited her for an afternoon she’d get me and my mother to play. I think I was pretty good for a kid (10-12 years old), as Aunt was more the type to win graciously against a kid and then explain about winning and losing, yet sometimes I did win. But in truth I have no recall of how to play the game. I’d have to start from scratch.
Leto
@Avalune: BUMPESESS!!!
@BGinCHI: Yes and yes.
sab
Scrabble is still my favorite. Quantoids and the literate can both enjoy it.
BGinCHI
My sister and I loved board games when we were kids (rural, not much parenting).
The one I remember was called King Oil, and we played the crap out of it. I wish I could remember all the others…..
WaterGirl
@Avalune: I looked at it. You might need to give me some tips on that off-line because I can’t really fathom how that works.
Kirk Spencer
Mysterium
Nefarius
Betrayal at House on the Hill
Paranoia – one good session.
Avalune
I was “skip Bo queen” in high school. :)
most of the games I like are best with 2-4 generally. Can eek out six sometimes but more than that limits you to things like codenames and no one wants that.
p.a.
Haven’t played board games in decades, but still have my Pente game in the “why do I still have this?” vault; really enjoyed it at the time.
Think I’ll dust it off!
Scout211
@WaterGirl:
Yes. It was so much fun.
lowtechcyclist
Yeppers. Neither one involves a single decision by any of the players. Chutes and Ladders has a more interesting board, though.
Candyland is an unintentional metaphor for Calvinism. Once the deck is shuffled and it’s decided who’s going first, second, etc., the outcome is predetermined.
Avalune
Always thought Munchkin was fun. Pretty quick. Lots of varieties. Easily found for purchase. The artist is funny and clever. Trying to remember the name of another we liked… Keyflower maybe?
Leto
@WaterGirl: god, that game is now 11 years old and we can both recount the way the situation played out. How Avalune was like, “Man, that’s mighty suspicious he’s moving his troops near your border”, with me responding, “You have to move pieces on your turn. I’m just moving pieces”, with her then countering, “Idk… I think he might attack”, and me going, “No… we have a treaty!”
And that, kids, is how we never played Risk again.
mrmoshpotato
@Avalune: I’ve played Ski-Bo! Do you know 5 Alive?
WaterGirl
@Suzanne: It’s all fun and games
until someone loses and eyeuntil the toddler runs off with the pieces, or chokes on one.WaterGirl
@Avalune: I love skip bo!
okay, not as much as Rummikub or Canasta, but it’s still very fun.
Avalune
@mrmoshpotato: I do not!
The Dangerman
@BGinCHI: Cribbage is a great game. Fairly straightforward with several weird rules that take some getting used to in the game. My parents were hardcore. My mom was demure as hell but when it came to cribbage she was a quiet killer. I remember my Grandfather played. Wonderful game.
My Family also loved Phase 10 since it can be played by all. Mostly easy but gets damn hard later in the play.
The Dangerman
lowtechcyclist
An inherent problem with that is that most game boards are of a size where it’s hard to get 6-8 people close to the board at the same time.
Avalune
@WaterGirl: We have rummikub also but haven’t played in ages. I did break out Yahtzee and chickenfoot over Christmas break. I may force him to play something tomorrow :)
WaterGirl
@The Dangerman: Russian rummy! Which also has about a dozen more different names. Great game.
zhena gogolia
These are the last games I enjoyed: Clue, Mystery Date, Parcheesi and Authors
Leto
@WaterGirl: you’re telling me the Trivial Pursuit pieces aren’t actually pie? /le gasp!
Sure Lurkalot
A favorite old game (but for 2) is Mastermind. Wordle-ish, you have to guess the opponent’s arrangement of colored pegs within a certain amount of tries with the opponent showing after each guess whether you have the correct color and/or position. I think it could be played as a round robin because it’s point based.
Suzanne
@WaterGirl: Choking, yes, bad…. but I also cannot abide pieces getting lost or cards bent or whatever.
Avalune
@Leto: Never even said you were gonna attack. That was the glory of it for me – just cast enough suspicion for him to make all the assumptions and I could just sit back and watch you destroy each other.
BGinCHI
@The Dangerman: Looking forward to learning.
Scout211
@HumboldtBlue:
I loved Probe! I still have my game from when we used to play it as a family. I can’t get anyone interested in playing it these days. :(
Wapiti
We recently played “Mystery of the Abbey” with my sister and BIL, it was a lot of fun, if logic heavy. It only goes up to 6 players, though. They said they played it with their kids years ago – the youngest seriously loved logic puzzles so could play above her age with this one.
At family gatherings we often end the evening with Bananagrams, which is a tile game. We’ve got 4 sibling families in Seattle and each household has a copy. We also play this over zoom sometimes (convenient that every household has a copy of the game). We played around with the rules a little to do that and I think there are some rule ideas online.
BGinCHI
Remember the TV commercial for the game “Operation”?
Suzanne
Threads like this remind me how boring I am. I just like to be home, eat simple food, hang out and do silly things like games and puzzles, read, snuggle under blankets.
lowtechcyclist
@The Dangerman:
I love cribbage, but it’s not really a board game. The board is just where the score is kept, not where the game is played.
Here in Maryland, most of the license plates have 5 numbers. Back in the Before Times, I used to amuse myself while commuting by scoring the license plates of the cars in front of me as if they were cribbage hands.
Sure Lurkalot
@WaterGirl: My ex SIL had a wonderful and witty aunt Jessie who was a frequent invitee to dinners at my parents’ house. She was in her late 70’s and had a different boyfriend every time she came over. I just loved her!
Avalune
There’s a game called Curses that is pretty funny for a larger number of people. You have to complete these tasks – like pretend to call the police about a giant frog – while you are suffering various stackable curses. I have some coworkers who still think a friend of Letos was a little mental because he had to keep slapping himself.
The Dangerman
@BGinCHI: There are several good apps. I suggest going right to the pro level and watch the strategy. You’ll probably get skunked if not double skunked at first play but you’ll be competitive in a few hours of play.
MagdaInBlack
One of my friends as a kid has a game called “Mystery Date.” I can’t remember much about it except “ew” at the loser and a lot of giggling.
Leto
@Suzanne: it’s a good thing they sell card sleeves for cheap.
Also welcome to the boring club. We have good food, good games, and we’re pretty chill about it all. Also check out the library in the back.
Scamp Dog
@MagdaInBlack: You might want to check on Meetup.com for board game groups near you. I know there are several in metro Denver, and the one I used to go to in person now meets via zoom.
Betsy
Apples to Apples is a favorite.
Also Code Names.
I like apples to apples because a mixed-age group can play – kids to oldsters – and learning the personalities around the game table helps you score better, so that there’s a nice element of feeling that you’re really there together (i.e. it’s not impersonal, so it’s great for a get-together where you want to interact, say if a nephew or a grandparent is there that folks don’t see very often, and you want to do something that connects).
mrmoshpotato
@mrmoshpotato: *Skip-Bo
MagdaInBlack
@Suzanne: Right there with you. Always have been that way.
TheOtherHank
Poetry for Neanderthals (by the same guy who designed Exploding Kittens and Throw Throw Burrito) is a fun game. You play in teams and one person is given a word (eg dinosaur) and has to get their teammates to guess the word, but the person who knows the word can only use 1 syllable words (eg, big, roar, old, dead thing). The silly part is that someone on the opposing team has an inflatable caveman club (think long, skinny beach ball) and if the word-knower says a word with more than one syllable, the club wielder gets to hit them with the club.
Starfish
@Baud: This is how I feel about most medium-cool posts. But I really like board games.
Splendor is one that is not too hard that could be played with three or four people. You collect resources to gain the favor of your nobles.
For card games, I like Bohnanza. You collect beans and prevent other people from collecting beans. You can also trade your beans for other people’s beans.
A coworker really likes Wingspan. I have yet to play it, but it is about birds, so I would assume people here might like it. Oh, it is a card game too.
There are numerous sushi themed games like Sushi Go and Wasabi.
Carcassonne is fun and not too hard. You are trying to build little walled cities and roads.
Quiltingfool
Does backgammon count? When I worked at Missouri Probation and Parole eons ago, two probation officers showed me how to play a variation of backgammon that they called Acey Deucy; they were Navy veterans and I guess they played the game A LOT. I like that version better than classic backgammon. The pieces are not set up before playing, dice roll determines where the pieces start. I haven’t played for years, but I still have my backgammon set (it’s over 40 years old – man, I’m old!)
JML
@Fair Economist: 100% there’s no better time to be playing board games than now: there’s literally something good for every type of gamer.
Big fan of your list.
7 Wonders is one of the most brilliant board game designs I’ve ever seen, and scale incredible well. Plays as well a 4 players as 7 players, and doesn’t substantially increase the time to play. I do think the Leaders expansion improves the game quite a bit.
T’zolkin is another personal favorite, with some really clever and fun mechanics. (my friend even painted his gears) Lot of depth and replayability.
Terraforming Mars is great, and with Preludes the game took another leap forward in creasing the speed of the game but also the replayability.
Space Base is a good one that scales up well too, and is on the lighter end for more casual gamers. The command box expands it up to 8 players and it works well at high player counts.
There’s also some great co-ops out there now: Castle Panic is a fun one, especially with kids. Marvel Legendary is a bit fiddly in set-up, but it’s also fun and easy to play, and embraces its theme well. (Galactus literally eats the City you’re trying to protect)
DC Heroes United (aka Red Box) is still one of the best deck builders out there: fast and interesting, multiple paths to victory.
Agricola is still an excellent one from the earlier flood of Euro-games, and the different decks of occupations & improvements can refresh the game nicely. Personally, I say stick with Rosenburg’s early designs (At the Gates of Loyang is one of my favorite 3-player Euros); I’m not a fan of his later work, which I think tends to be unbalanced.
Tapestry is a really impressive design for a big civilization game that actually ends in a reasonable time.
Really like Azul & Sagrada; a bit more abstract than some, but really nice puzzlers.
Hansa Teutonica is another brilliant Euro design…but thematically it’s a little more thin. But I love how balanced it is, the good player interaction, and multiple paths to victory.
I could go on. and on. and on. and probably will if you let me. :)
MagdaInBlack
@Scamp Dog: Thank you for the suggestion !
Starboard Tack
El Stupido. I don’t know if that’s a real card game or one a friend’s family made up.
mrmoshpotato
Bananagrams!
Drdavechemist
Ever since the spring 2020 shelter in place phase of the pandemic, we have been playing the online version of Codenames that can be found at horsepaste.com. Everyone joins a Zoom meeting on one device and has the game board on a second device. We have played with as many as 14, but usually 8-12, and having uneven numbers isn’t a problem. Each round of the game is short, but playing multiple games provides a good evening’s entertainment.
Another one we have tried occasionally is Decryptr. This one divides the Zoom into two breakout rooms and is difficult to explain, but it’s another game that involves trying to match words, but this time trying to fool your opponents as well as helping your own team.
We have played almost every week over the last two years, and become friends with people we had never met before the pandemic.
Leto
@BGinCHI: 70/80’s or 90’s? I remember them both. 90’s one was wacky.
trnc
Another vote here for Betrayal at House on the Hill, which I’ve played several times. Shadows Over Camelot is another great one for up to seven players. It’s cooperative, but there’s the possibility of a traitor that may be working against you the whole game.
One I haven’t played but have heard great things about is Gloomhaven.
mrmoshpotato
@lowtechcyclist:
Which would be the cut card?
lowtechcyclist
We’ve played it a fair amount. It’s hilarious. I almost always lose, but I still have a great time playing it. And our cats don’t seem to be offended by our playing it.
Suzanne
@Leto: I think I had an easier time during this pandemic than many because I am genuinely very homey. I am able to make food for myself. I do not need to return to 2019.
Benw
We play a TON of games. Here’s a bunch I highly suggest.
Board: Catan, Splendor, Forbidden Island (cooperative), Betrayal at House on the Hill, Biblios, Azul
Cards: Fluxx, Rage (lives up to its name), Red 7, The Mind
For high-speed, uncomplicated card fun: Cheating Moth, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, Exploding Kittens, Ruckus
eversor
Mostly tabletop stuff, war gaming really. Skirmish games as well. They also make pretty good board game versions of some video games like Dark Souls or even Resident Evil and Doom.
Starfish
@Scamp Dog: There have been several board game bars in Denver. I was sad to see that one that I went to a few years ago had closed.
JML
Scythe with the expansion can get you there, but you’ll probably be pressing on time. Getting past 6 players is a) tough, and b) fitting in the time span gets tight. Lords of Waterdeep tops out at 6, but it’s very good and fits the time frame. Carcassonne in kind of in the same boat (tops out at 6). RoboRally goes up to 8 and might fit the time frame? Lots of fun, especially when people are tired/drunk and can’t remember their left & right…
HumboldtBlue
@Scout211:
My sister had her adult children at home for Xmas and sent the family thread of her family playing the game. So many good memories of playing that game.
@Quiltingfool:
My sisters and I played acey-deucy regularly when we were children, it was definitely a summertime game for us and one great feature is that it was portable.
rosalind
my favorite game is “Khet”: a chess-like board, egyptian-themed mirrored pieces and lasers! strategy, working out angles, firing that laser to reflect between the pieces until a direct hit.
lowtechcyclist
Some things you’ve gotta give up in the license plate variant. Face cards too (though I count zeroes as tens).
Cacti
Risk
Suzanne
It would be really fun to have BJ Game Night some time.
lowtechcyclist
Just the name makes me want to learn to play it.
prostratedragon
There’s a card game called either Pounce (the name I knew) or Nertz. Though I haven’t played it in years, I recall that it was fun when there are more than 4 people. During my gameplaying days, we mostly played bidding card games, especially whist, or spades, hearts, or pinochle, so everyone had lots of card decks. You need a deck of distinct design for each player. Spit, on the other hand, which is similar to Pounce, is fun when there are just two.
Benw
@BGinCHI: Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza rules. It’s very silly and fast and fun.
Leto
@Suzanne: agreed.
@JML: Roborally! Second this one, for the same reasons :)
JML
@lowtechcyclist: Castles of Mad King Ludwig is a very good game, especially with players that embrace the theme and laugh about the ridiculousness of their designs.
Avalune
@JML: oh man forgot about Robo Rally – that was a lot of fun. There’s another… with dragons.. Ts- something that we played a lot then too. [edit Tsuro of the seas]
MagdaInBlack
@lowtechcyclist: My friends back home and I are planning a slumber party game night, once we feel comfortable getting together for a weekend. That’s on our list.
The planning was spurred by this post, so thank you WG and BG. ?
mrmoshpotato
Go on a mysterious haunted journey with friends and family with the Betrayal at House on the Hill Board Game from Wizards of the Coast. This fun and suspenseful board game is a hauntingly new experience every time you play. Explore “that creepy old place on Avalon Hill” until one too many mysterious misadventures and omens befall you and one player betrays the other. This board game features multiple scenarios, a different lay-out with every game, and enough chills to freeze and keep those monster and horror fans gripped with every tile and turn.
This has murder written all over it!
JML
@Avalune: Tsuro? dragon on the cover. good puzzle game
Avalune
@JML: Yeah that one! I’d just found it. We played the seas version – don’t think we ever played the og version
NotMax
You might give the board game Talismana test drive.
Thinking back on card games, an at the time close friend in high school and I, neither of whom ate lunch, played Casino nearly every school day for the entire span of years there. In college I occasionally pocketed beer money playing pinochle. Sometimes cribbage. Countless hours spent when worked at a summer camp in cutthroat tournaments of Hearts.
Also have played my share of Magic: The Gathering, well before it ballooned into thousands of cards.
Before I forget (and because haven’t linked to it since start of COVID), rules for just about any card games you can name:
By name of game
By number of players
.
Smattering of board game memories:
Kiddy years: Easy Money, Mouse Trap, Shmo.
Teen (more or less) years: Scrabble, Diplomacy.
College age to present: Backgammon addiction. Some others – besides the aforementioned Talisman, Sanctuary, Dune, Shogun, Dark Tower.
.
@WaterGirl
Ever played any of the variations of Canasta which require multiple decks (as many as four of ’em in some cases)?
Old Dan and Little Ann
Clue Jr. Is fun for kids 5 and up.
km
We’ve been playing a ton of Wingspan and Scythe lately. I like Wingspan so much that I’ll play it solo. Betrayal at House on the Hill was our favorite before that. Love them all so much, we built organizers for them over the holidays. But I haven’t played anything with 6-8 people in a long time.
The game that leads to the most fights in our house is Pandemic – cannot manage to get through it without a fight unless there are only 2 of us playing. Spirit Island is also problematic, another game that we can play in pairs but have trouble with for more than that.
MomSense
Over thanksgiving we played a Jack box game called Quiplash and I don’t think I have ever laughed harder in my life. It’s not a video game but you do use your smart phones and a computer or tv.
A fun game for two people, especially if one is a child, is Chung Toi. It’s a tic tax toe game but you keep moving the pieces.
JML
Citadels plays up to 8, but can drag on a bit long, IMHO. (and there’s direct player interaction, which doesn’t work for everyone)
Welcome To…Your Perfect Home is my favorite “write and play” game; go can legitimately play it with as many players as you have sheets for and can see the cards when you flip them. Lots of fun and a neat design.
I’m less of fan of the “party game” style games, but if you get a lot of people who want to play a game like that I recommend Two Rooms and a Boom as being one of the best ones of that type. (I hate Werewolf)
prostratedragon
[email protected]: Oh my, that’s funny! Sounds like a DIY Pigmeat Markham routine.
BGinCHI
@Leto: 70s/80s….super cheese.
MomSense
@NotMax:
Pennies from Heaven is my favorite version of canasta (canasty in my house). That game requires one more deck than players. 10 players means 11 decks. We’ve played it many times with more than 10 people.
JML
@NotMax: Shogun! I have the Samurai Swords reprint. great game, loads of fun, frustrating as hell. (I have a reputation for rolling poorly)
Played Taverns of Tiefenthal, Terraforming Mars, Steam, and Space Base this weekend. All good games.
mrmoshpotato
@Old Dan and Little Ann:
Is that Clue without all the murder?
stinger
@Almost Retired: There was also a game called Pig Mania, where you tossed two little pigs as if they were dice, and got points depending on if they landed upright, snout down, on their sides, touching each other (Pig Out), etc. Hilarious. Might be what MagdaInBlack was thinking of.
Scott P.
Codenames, Sidereal Confluence. Secret Hitler.
NotMax
@MagdaInBlack
Here ya go.
:)
Benw
A lot of the games in my comment have already been mentioned (which is great!) so I’m going to bat for Rage: a trick-taking-based card game for up to 8, where the conditions during each round can be changed by the players, so it’s a bit like whist played while scrambling on the fly. Each full game for my usual group of 4 takes about an hour. But fair warning, a common joke here is to ask, “are we all emotionally well-adjusted to play Rage right now?”
Also: how did I forget Mille Bornes in my list of card games!
gene108
@MagdaInBlack:
“Exploding Kittens” is a fun strategy card game. Played it a lot with my niece and nephew. Kind of like “Uno”, but you need more complex strategies to ultimately win.
Fair Economist
6-8 for a single “heavy” game (one that needs a 3-4 hour playtime) is actually hard to find. Modern board games mostly aim for 3-4 players, because if you have sequential turns you have to wait until it gets back to you and if there are too many other players that’s not so fun. The only heavy game I know that can handle more than 6 players with aplomb is Sidereal Confluence, because it has a simultaneous play mechanic so everybody is playing almost continually. I’ve played that multiple times with 7 players and it was a blast. It’s my favorite game, mostly because of that simultaneous continuous play mechanic.
Normally with 6-8 people we would split into two tables, making any of the literally thousands of excellent games available.
There are some heavy games that work with 6 players *if* everybody can play briskly. Viticulture and Scythe (with the 6-7 player expansion) are two I remember. Glorantha: Gods War can do up to 8, but it’s hard to find. Cthulhu Wars is a similar game from the same company, and could do up to 8 but would need several expansions.
Now if you *don’t* need just one game for all three hours there are a fair number of lighter games that take an hour or less and can readily accommodate 6 or sometimes more players. I have Seven Wonders, Treasure Hunter, Evolution: Climate, Junta Las Cartas, Secret Hitler, and Sushi Go Party. There are many more; you could search on Board Game Geek for games allowing 7 players.
Benw
@MomSense: Quiplash rules. Jackbox games are a lot of fun, if you’re okay with using a game console and smartphones. And if we’re talking smartphone games, a group of 6-8 is PERFECT for a night of Among Us
NotMax
@Benw
Wow. Haven’t thought about that one for nigh on sixty years.
Fair Economist
@km:
Maybe co-op games aren’t good for your group? I’ve never had a fight over either of those, although I don’t play a lot of co-op.
Old Dan and Little Ann
@mrmoshpotato: The kid version is murder free.
Suzanne
So if you find yourself in Pittsburgh and want to check out an amazing game store, go to Games Unlimited. They happen to be on Forbes Avenue, just down the road from the collapsed bridge.
NotMax
@km
Memo to self:
Claim back problems if ever invited to pay Twister at km’s house.
;)
Kropacetic
A couple staples at family gatherings are Concept, where you take turns giving clues for people to guess words or phrases. The clues are abstract things like colors, shapes, classes of objects, etc. given by placing tokens on a board of pictures. The clue giver can only say yes or no.
Also there’s Snake Oil, where you pair compound words to make a product you pitch to different types of customers, like you may pitch an “invasion machine” or “language book” to an alien, for example.
Anyway
Enjoy Qwirkle or Las Vegas on the deck (in summer) with 2-4 friends. Perfect pandemic activity.
Kirk Spencer
So nobody bit on Mysterium. (Lots of Betrayal at House on the Hill players, though.) So I’m going to push it a little bit because i think a lot of folk here would like it.
The clue like element: you ultimately want to identify who did the murder in what room using what implement. Beyond that, though, oh boy.
See, you’re being guided by the ghost. And the ghost gives you dreams – sets of art cards – with which each player tries to determine who all the suspects are, what locations might be likely, and what implements were available. And in the final round(s) you get the same dream, hopefully letting you all figure out which suspect did the deed, where it was done, and by whom.
The ghost can’t speak, just pass out dreams. You have 13 rounds to be successful. And your clues are, well, surreal. (I have been given all three of these examples as clues to person, place, and weapon. Just for example.)
By the way, in case you didn’t catch the hint, it’s cooperative. You all can help each other try to interpret each others’ dreams. Good luck.
BGinCHI
@Kirk Spencer: This sounds cool.
mrmoshpotato
@Old Dan and Little Ann: So what happens? Slumber party at Colonel Mustard’s in the living room?
zhena gogolia
@NotMax:
Thanks, that’s the one! Of course the comments have, “No confusion about gender back then!” har har har
PaulB
7 Wonders goes to seven, and turns happen simultaneously to make sure there isn’t too much downtime. Card drafting to get a point salad of victory points.
Codenames uses teams to keep people involved. Guess your team’s words but don’t guess the bomb word.
Sidereal Confluence is a pure negotiation game for up to 9 players, with trades that don’t need to be zero-sum.
Libertalia plays up to 6, with pirates claiming booty. Using identical random decks (with tiebreakers), try to grab the best loot tokens.
Dixit is a guessing game where you want to guess the clue-giver’s card and play a card that garners the most wrong guesses from others.
Railroad Ink is a roll-and-write using dry-erase markers where everyone tries to use the same random die rolls to score the best design.
JML
@Kirk Spencer: I’ve played Mysterium. I enjoyed it, and it’s a really pretty game. I think you need to right group of players to enjoy it to it’s fullest extent (some players are too competitive, others won’t dive into the theme, or both). Lovely game, though.
trnc
@mrmoshpotato: Mansions of Madness is another one along the same lines. Have to get at least the 2nd edition that uses the app because it saves setup time and helps the game flow.
Old Dan and Little Ann
@mrmoshpotato: You have to figure out who ate the cake? What time? With what drink? It’s pretty scandalous.
NotMax
Now am idly musing whether there’s an updated name for Chinese Checkers.
;)
NotMax
@Old Dan and Little Ann
“The cake is a lie.”
;)
eversor
There’s also viking chess for a game most people don’t play
mrmoshpotato
@Old Dan and Little Ann: It was the dog! Dun dun dun!
bmoak
Okay the tricky part here is 6-8 players. There are a lot of great games listed here, but almost all of them have a max limit of 4 or 5 players. Some of them might allow six players max, but you need to buy and expansion as well. Also, turn-based games can sometimes drag out with a lot of players.
Some suggestions:
King of Tokyo (7 players): A dice-rolling game. Pick your monster and try to get into Tokyo and fend off the other monsters. The strategy is in allocating your dice. Concentrate on doing damage or healing your own, or scoring points, or storing energy to buy a special power card.
Sushi Go Party! (8 players): The original Sushi Go! is fine, but Party no only allows for more players, but also has a lot more cards. Since only a certain amount of cards go in the deck, you can change the deck every time you play. Build the sushi meal worth the most points, but the catch is, once you play a card, you pass your hand to the left and gets a new hand from the player on your right.
eversor
Puzzle Strike and Yomi are good and I actually know Dave Sirlin from the Street Fighter scene. He’s now in business for himself making games.
bmoak
More:
Between Two Cities (7 players): City building games are nothing new, but in Between Two Cities, you are building TWO cities: one in cooperation with the player on your left and one with the player on your right.
Elder Sign (8 players): The card-and-dice version of the much more complicated Lovecraftian horror game Arkham Horror. A cooperative game where the players are looking the beat the game.
Fair Economist
@bmoak: There is also a Between the Castles of Mad King Ludwig for up to 7 players and a simultaneous play mechanic. On my “next to try” list – the original Castles is fun, would like to see the souped up version.
That’s the kind of mashup and cross over that makes board games design so lively today.
Tim Ellis
My partner and I love Everdell – a great resource management/worker placement game with very cute animal designs, pleasant textures to the pieces, and an engaging game mechanic with high replay value. It’s our top recommendation for folks who like board games and are ready for something a little more gamer-y than monopoly but aren’t yet full-blown board gamers.
Spirit Island is also really good. It’s an inversion of the classic colonizer trope, in that you play guardian spirits on an island and the goal is to chase the colonizers out and protect the Indigenous people. It is cooperative, so the colonizers operate on a clock-like mechanic. It’s very well done and well balanced, but also WILDLY complicated and lengthy. Not for the faint of heart, but so much fun once you get the hang of it.
Leto
Similar to @Suzanne:’s post, if you find yourself in Philly check out The Philly Game Shop. Really nice place, friendly staff, and they usually have gaming sessions going on.
columbusqueen
Sorry to be late to this. Boardgaming is in fact my main hobby now, & I own 300+ games, much to my husband’s despair. I’m on BGG under the same handle as here, so everyone can check out my collection there.
Also, Origins Game Fair is the second biggest gaming convention in the US, & it’s in June here in Columbus.
Z. Mulls
I am late to the party here, but this is a very interesting question. And yes, Boardgamegeek would be a good place to search for “good games for 7-8 players” or post in the forums and get suggestions.
I see that a couple people recommended Seven Wonders, and I second/third/whatever that. It is the rare game that is *better* with 6 or 7 players (but alas, cannot be scaled to 8).
My absolute favorite game of all time is Cosmic Encounter, which I have played, in various versions, since 1980. The latest version from Fantasy Flight is great. It will cost some money to scale up, as the base game goes to 5 players. The expansions Cosmic Conflict, Cosmic Incursion and Cosmic Alliance add a new player each, so you can scale up to 8. It is the most fun and most social “strategy game” I have played, and derives a lot of look/feel from poker. There is constant byplay. However the game can get gnarly with overlapping rules (since the rules change every time you play!), so be prepared for joint wins, as with 8 players it is highly unlikely a single player can cross the threshold.
dnfree
@mrmoshpotato: Sorry! Is a version of Parcheesi. In our family we rarely have finished a game because someone upends the whole board.
km
@Fair Economist: yes, cooperative games seem to bring out bossiness in too many people in my house. And the bosses don’t agree on what should be done. Though we do OK with Forbidden (Island/Desert/etc).
Gretchen
@Leto: thank you! I’ll look into it.
billcinsd
@lowtechcyclist: Candyland and Camus
https://existentialcomics.com/comic/58
Fair Economist
@Z. Mulls: We loved Cosmic Encounter when I was in college almost 40 years ago. Would like to try it again.
One of the other old games that holds up to modern standards is Acquire. #221 on the Strategy Games rankings, which might not sound too good until you notice there’s 3,000 games on the list! Can handle up to 6.
Gretchen
@mrmoshpotato: yes. It’s something like who ate the last cupcake?
Fake Irishman
@Leto:
Thread is dead, but in Houston we have a great board game cafe called “Tea and Victory.” Walk in, plop down five bucks a head and you can play any game in the place for the afternoon. They have guides who can help you pick out games to play and explain the rules.
You can buy pastries, tea, coffee …and beer or wine.
My wife went there with a group of fellow new moms + infants when she was on parental leave with our first. The guide asked them what sorts of games they wanted to play and they all answered “something we can play with one hand!” He came back with something called NMBR9, which involves stacking oddly shaped numerals to maximize your score. Plays quick, stays fresh, up to six players.
Great place, been there with adult friends and with a five-year old niece.
BGinCHI
So much great stuff here.
Thanks to all.
James E Powell
@stinger:
Our family of seven kids played both of those games. We especially enjoyed the French, which we had no idea how to pronounce.
HumboldtBlue
Mille Bornes!!!
Thanks for the reminder, what a great card game!
JR
@MagdaInBlack: Exploding Kittens is good with kids. The modern card games in general are (Sleeping Queens and Monopoly Deal are two others that come to mind). We play a lot of board games in our house.
oatler
The Cones of Dunshire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etPLaJWVPY4
Czar Chasm
My time has come.
Steve Jackson Games just released a very robust 6th edition of Car Wars:
Car Wars 6th Edition
Ticket to Ride is a very addictive strategy game involving building railroad empires:
Ticket to Ride
Fireball Island was re-booted a few years ago, with super-cool upgrades:
Fireball Island
David Sirlin is considered a strategy game savant, with his magnum opus being Codex:
Codex
I’m also happy to discuss other tabletop & card game genres.
Alce_e_ardillo
My wife and I are CATAN freaks.The main issue with that game is setting up the board which should be a game in itself.
dlw32
I’m going to suggest Call to Adventure. You build up a character through three acts, like a novel (in fact they have expansions for Stormlight Archive and the Name of the Wind). It’s a pretty simple game but the fun part is describing your character as it grows.
WaterGirl
@Suzanne: I have been trying to figure out how we could do that, what games might work.
Mom Says I*m Handsome
@WaterGirl: A little late to the party, but you can play hundreds of “tabletop” games online at boardgamearena.com. It’s inexpensive (certainly compared to buying the physical games), and you always have someone to play with, from around the world. Feel free to friend me (I’m VenusSalami) & let’s play!
polyorchnid octopunch
Diplomacy. That is all.
Nelson
Does it bother anyone else who thought they new the shape & size of Ukraine based on the Risk board map?
currawong
My son introduced us to a board game called “It’s a Wonderful World” before Christmas.
it’s a board game where you draw and discard cards to build a new world. Completely different to anything I’d played before.
you can try it online (which will give you a good introduction) here:
https://game-park.com/
it was designed or invented in France and has been nominated for quite a few awards. More about it here:
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/271324/its-wonderful-world
Jado
@BGinCHI: It’s on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7atuZxmT956cWFGxqSyRdn6GWhBxiAwE
Original Lee
Very very late to the thread, but Red Dragon Inn works very well with 8 players and usually takes 2-3 hours to play. Concur on Mysterium, Bohnanza, King of Tokyo, 7 Wonders, and Cosmic Encounter.
hw3
My wonderful sister from another mother bought me the game Cartographers:
https://www.thunderworksgames.com/cartographers.html
It’s a wonderful mix between spacial and strategic thinking with some art skills thrown in (colored pencils are a nice add on).
Plus there’s a good mobile version as well if you want to try out the game play.