posted
Give us your list of favorites and newly discovered games. I've found some gems lately and I'm sure you know of some goodies. (Shawshank's thread about Diplomacy reminded me of this.)
Here are mine:
Settlers of Catan: There are two expansion sets called "Cities and Knights" and "Seafarers." My personal favorite is Cities and knights. The game is really fun, relies on some luck and some skill. The only drawback, only 6 people can play at a time. You can always do doubles. It's rather expensive, but if you poke around the internet, you can get all the sets for cheaper than you can in a game store.
Curses: We played this at a recent gathering of incredibly smart people (also known as Jatraqueros) and laughed like crazy. The great thing about this game is that as many people can play as you want. It's funniest with at least four people playing. The play is ridiculously simple, and the consequences are a kick in the pants.
Apples to Apples: Duh. Most of you have played this. It's really easy and ends up being really funny. The only drawback is that if you play it with boring people, it will be boring.
Liebrary: This one is for all you aspiring or very successful writers out there. It's like Balderdash, except that instead of words and definitions, it's books. You're given a synopsis and genre of a book and everyone writes the opening sentence of the book. The object is to guess which is the real opening sentence and to try to fool everyone with yours!
Carcassonne: This looks like settlers, but it isn't as complex. It does require strategy and the opposing players actually end up working together to make sure cities and roads and stuff all fit together right as you build them. I've only played this once, but it was really fun.
Set: I can't even explain how this goes, but it's a brain teasing game for 2-4 players. It involves finding sets of three cards relying on shading, shape, color, and number on the cards. More fun than it sounds. Here's the daily practice game.
posted
Set is a lot of fun. It's also supposed to be useful for kids with perceptual issues.
Looney Labs makes a whole slew of fun card (and other) games. And they're all small, which makes packing 'em easy.
Fluxx, where the rules keep changing, and any card could win it all.
Chrononauts and Early American Chrononauts, where the "board" is made up of 64 cards, and you are a time traveller. Your goal is to save the universe -- YOUR version of it. Too bad everyone else is going for a different version . . .
Aquarius, which is sort of like 2-d dominoes. And which you can try out online (although it's rather confusing if you've never played it with actual cards).
posted
My votes would be Apples to Apples, Balderdash, and Cranium. With all of these, the more zany and creative the people, the better the games.
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I like Malarky, which is Balderdash with facts rather than definitions. Problem in my family is that someone knows the answer about 2/3 of the time.
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See Dag, I've played Malarky and I'm dense enough that it was great fun.
Sniglets is another good game. It's Balderdash backwards. You make up the word instead of the definition. Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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Cranium is a good game for a group, quick moving and fun, even when it's not your turn. Kind of like the opposite of Trivial Pursuit, which, if it ever does get finished during a party, pretty much ensures that it was the dullest party ever.
Depending on the crowd, break out Twister. Left foot green!
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Apples to Apples Pictionary Cranium Tsuro Hex Once Upon A Time Chez Geek Guillotine
These are not necessarily (at least IMO) the best games in the world. But they're great games for parties, as they play quickly, are simple to explain, and include a good mix of creativity/strategy, chance, and "screw your neighbor" opportunities.
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quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: Kind of like the opposite of Trivial Pursuit, which, if it ever does get finished during a party, pretty much ensures that it was the dullest party ever.
posted
Perhaps your party experience is different. When I've been to parties where the evening was devoted to Trivial Pursuit, I have felt the desire to gnaw off my own leg in order to escape.
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quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: Perhaps your party experience is different. When I've been to parties where the evening was devoted to Trivial Pursuit, I have felt the desire to gnaw off my own leg in order to escape.
Well, it wasn't the evening. It was midday. And it was a multi-day party/get-together. Oh, and it was the Booklovers Edition.
But I've spend other parties playing Trivial Pursuit, and enjoyed those as well. Maybe you need more interesting people to play with. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Depends how many you got. We always paired off an even four to play 42
But my folks are out of Texas, and I understand the game isn't played everywhere. Teaching a new player can take a little effort.
If you have a Nintendo sitting around, Mario Party is pretty kewl. If not... "crappy job stories" do seem to be terribly popular.
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quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: I feel the same way about Risk. Risk is the mind-killer.
Ah, the Litany Against Risk: I must not play Risk. Risk is the mind-killer. Risk is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face the game of Risk. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the game has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Heh. I agree with Tom about Risk. Not only is it a mind killer but, like Monopoly, it brings out the worst in people. I love Monopoly, don't get me wrong. I guess I just shouldn't play either of those games with my father.
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We always played Mafia at parties, if there were enough people.
Scattergories, Uno, and Boggle are the games that get played the most in my family. Occassionally we'll play Phase-10, but that game can get really ugly and lead to family grudges. I imagine those games are all old enough that most people know them, though.
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I happen to love Trivial Pursuit, but my two absolute favorites are Taboo and Guesstures. Cranium is good too.
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The only two new board games I've played recently are Taboo and Scattergories. I love Taboo. Me and one of my cousins can get a ridiculously high amount of points in one round because we each understand the way the other thinks so well. Scattergories is ok, but it gets boring after awhile. I really want to try all these games that you guys said. I love board games.
I love games that require you to understand the way other people think. Those are the kind I'm best at.
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Munchkin is a fun one. Kwea and JenniK introduced us to that game and it's spread rapidly through our contingent of friends.
My family (well, my sister and those whom she's close to, as well as Nathan and myself) plays some knock-down drag-out games of dominos.
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Yeah, I liked that one a lot. We played it when TomD came down to visit, along with Chris and others. It was a lot of fun....I negotiated a three way win for me.
It is very tongue-in-cheek, sort of like the comic Order of the Stick.
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We found Guillotine to be really dull. It might have just been because the whole group was unfamiliar with it, or maybe we were doing something wrong. But it was boring.
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I like Set as well, although I am not good at it yet. I have only played it once, even though we own it. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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ooh, I've never had the chance to play any of the scene its and I think i'd totally rock. Drat, I'll have to put one on my Christmas list this year. Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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If Guillotine is dull, you're doing it wrong. It's actually one of the more vicious "screw your neighbor" games out there when played with adults.
Now, Munchkin can be excruciatingly dull in long stretches, once you've seen all the cards. But Guillotine? Never.
Out of interest, Dana, how did you play it?
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I love Munchkin but my wife can't stand it. She was also very reluctant to play Starfarers of Catan but after getting used to the rules ended up loving it. I'm also a sucker for Axis and Allies but can rarely find an opponent since it's such a long game.
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So this includes a few card games, but meh: Set Phase 10 Tripolee aka Michigan Rummy Canasta Rummikub Balderdash (I prefer the original as the best party game ever, given the right crowd) Apples to Apples oh, and don't forget the cheesy joy that is: Mall Madness (Try again later!... how I long to find the pimply teenager that voice was from and throttle him while longing to luck out with $100 from the bank)
and for those not faint of heart: Axis and Allies, and let me tell you, invading England with Germany on the first turn and holding it through the second, while it does invalidate 30 minutes of setup in 5 min is rediculously satisfying.
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I was going to mention Cranium, but since it's already been mentioned..
A great game to play is PIG, a variation of Pit. I have never played Pit the way the directions say--I'm not even sure that they're that different. In PIG, you deal out the pit cards to everyone, making sure that you have 1 commodity for each person playing--all shuffled, of course. You place spoons in the center of the table, one less spoon than people playing. When everyone is ready, the trading starts, everyone yelling out how many cards they want to trade. 2! 2! 4! 3! It's very loud and hectic.
When the first person has a complete commodity set, they quietly grab a spoon. The trading continues as other players gradually realize that someone took a spoon, and they take a spoon, too. This usually results in about 3 people diving for the last two spoons very violently. The last person, who doesn't get a spoon, gets a P. If they don't get a spoon again, they get an I, and then a G. Once someone gets PIG, they're out of the game. The catch is, nobody is allowed to speak to someone who has PIG, so they spend the game trying to get people to talk to them. If they do, they're out, too. It's fun.
I also enjoy Rook and Uno--very simple card games, but I like them anyway.
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So what is the best way to win with the Allies in Axis and Allies? I always have such difficulty handling the Russians very effectively.
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I played Curses, you really need a group of people who are comfortable doing odd things around each other.
Last game I played I got a horrible combination of curses imo. I think the worst is when you get multi accent curses, so your supposed to only speak in an Austrailian witch count dracula voice.
I remember trying to sell somebody a cell phone service in a witches voice, it was interesting to say the least I endorse curses though its a solid game and its fun to play.
Settlers is a solid choice, if you play with expansions you need to dig in for the long haul.
I played some scrabble yesterday and I realized that I am obnoxious to play with. I take FOREVER sometimes to place my word, incidentally I won last nights game "Vexed" on a triple word score can be quite point enhancing, and it "vexes" other players as a bonus
On a side note I just looked over and saw a book entitled, "The PDR Pocket Guide to Prescription Drugs." If you've got pockets that could carry around 1.5 bricks then it truely is a pocket guide for you, and I am not exagerating. When did prescription drugs outnumber foreign language dictionaries in terms of volume?
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I, personally, am a huge fan of improv games. Freeze, Questions Only, Celebrity... They are all tremendous fun at parties (as long as you party with fun people. And especially if it's late at night.)
I have enjoyed Fluxx and Chrononauts when I played them (both at Hatrack get-togethers.) I have wanted to play 1000 Blank White Cards since I saw this website, preferably also at a Hatrack gathering, but never had the chance...
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Oh I forgot Jenga! Great game, doesn't require brains, good opportunity for sabotage, and can be rowdy. House rules are always fun to make, too.
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quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: Out of interest, Dana, how did you play it?
Dana's on vacation now.
We followed the instructions, I don't know how else to say we played it. It was a couple of years ago, when we were down at Dana's for a holiday. I don't remember if it was just our family or if a couple of her friends were there, too, but I do remember it being really dull, and everyone pretty much agreeing it was a bust when we were done.
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Yep, KPC, the Princess, and I are all real. Her Royal Heinzness isn't real yet, but only for lack of being old enough to want to post on Hatrack. You meet my family, instant Real.
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quote: We followed the instructions, I don't know how else to say we played it.
Hm. Does this sound familiar?
1) Each game consists of three rounds, called "days." Each day, twelve cards ("nobles") worth various point totals are dealt from the "noble" deck in a face-up line. All players start with three "action" cards, which are kept in a second deck.
2) Play begins with the youngest player on the first day and the player with the fewest points on the other two days. (Note that in groups of more than five, you'll need to form teams.)
3) Each player begins his turn by drawing one action card from the deck. He may then choose to play one action card. Action cards usually alter the order of the nobles arranged on the table (the "line"), but can also change hand size, affect the point totals of certain nobles, reverse the order of play, add more nobles to the line, etc.
4) After the player has decided to play (or not play) an action card, he collects the last noble in line and places that noble in his scoring pile. Some nobles are beloved of the people and are worth negative points; some, like the king and queen, are especially prestigious and are worth quite a lot. Many nobles have special abilities that either affect play while they're in line or confer a benefit (or curse) on the executioner who "collects" them. Once the player finishes collecting from the line, play continues with the player to his left.
5) When all nobles are removed from the line, or when certain effects or action cards decree it, the day ends and all remaining nobles in line are discarded. If it's not the third day, a new day begins and 12 more nobles are dealt into a new line. If it is the third day, play ends.
6) When play ends, the player with the most points -- usually coming from nobles, but often augmented by some action cards -- wins.
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If players don't think ahead more than one step and just play action cards as they draw them, I suppose the game could be really dull, perhaps even as dull as something like Fluxx. The point of Guillotine is to anticipate not only the current day's line but the potential lines over the next few days. Several nobles encourage "sets" -- like the Palace Guards and the Count and Countess -- and many action cards also reward players for specializing in a certain "type" of noble.
The biggest challenge of the game, IMO, lies in the difficulty of anticipating action cards. While it's possible to predict the line, it's very difficult to guarantee that an opponent doesn't have just the one card needed to jeopardize your careful line arrangement.
The whimsical art ameliorates what can be a pretty competitive gameplay mechanic, and often makes the game an easier sell to teens and pre-teens in mixed groups.
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posted
Ooh I forgot about Jenga! That's a great game!
I had a friend who was really into Settlers of Catan. It's a really neat game. Unfortunately I never really got caught up in it. I did buy him an expansions set that I never gave him because I realized that it's the 2-player card game version and he played the full version. So if anyone can make good use of this, I'd be more than happy to send it over.
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