I think it’s a given that if you are here, on this web site, reading these words, you probably enjoy the occasional game. If not, then you have probably stumbled in here by mistake through some bizarre combination of pornographic search terms. In either case, many of you probably know that gaming is not necessarily exclusively limited to console and computer, and as such my discourse today shall be on the subject of games which do not require power, a screen, or an internet connection to play, but will, conversely, require people to actually be in the same physical location as you. As such, they’re not for everyone; but fun is as fun does, as they apparently say, and I hope that showing you a few of my personal board game favourites will perhaps lead to some of them being your favourites too.
And so, in no particular order, and with no real need for the foregoing rambling preamble, here are some of my favourite board (or, perhaps more accurately, tabletop) games. Some of these have also shown up on gaming systems in one form or another, but I tend to feel that they usually lose something in the translation.
Days of Wonder
Available in USA, Europe, Germany, and Nordic Country flavours, this game is often recommended as being the soft introduction, the “gateway drug” if you will, to get people who don’t currently play board games to start playing them. It is simple enough in concept; collect train cards, earn points for collecting railway routes by spending the train cards, get bonus points by making particularly long routes, and win the game by having the most points when one of the players is unable to make any more routes. The strategy lies in blocking off key routes to prevent other players being able to make connections, while also making side routes to prevent your opponents from guessing your bonus routes and blocking you. Easy to play, no complex turn mechanics, no dice, only takes an hour or two for a full game. I greatly enjoy it.
Mwahahaha: A Card Game of Mad Scientists and Global Domination
White Wolf Games
At pretty much the far end of the complexity scale from Ticket To Ride lies Mwahahaha, a game I loved immediately on seeing the title and continue to adore to this day. It is not an easy game to play, as there are a lot of mechanics to master on the way to constructing your chosen Doomsday Device and holding the world to ransom.
It’s a long game (plan on spending several hours the first time you play), and not without its flaws; the rules are complex and should have been explained more clearly, and the production values could do with being a touch higher. On the other hand, I can’t think of any other game where you get to be Hitler’s brain in the body of an ape.
Cheapass Games / Titanic Games
While Cluedo is about working out whodunnit, Kill Doctor Lucky is about making sure the one what dun it is you. Not as easy as one might think; as the good Doctor’s name implies, he’s imbued with almost supernatural amounts of good fortune, and the other players will constantly thwart you as you attempt to off him with such diverse weaponry as a Civil War Sabre and a Tight Hat. Fun and easy to play.
All of these should be available in any decent board game emporium; failing that, there are any number of web-based retailers catering to the board game enthusiast.
Enjoy.
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April 6th, 2010 at 8:09 am
What… no BattleTech!
April 6th, 2010 at 9:55 am
…and no Talisman. >:C
Has this guy lived in a cupboard all his life? A cupboard that was already inside another cupboard?
:D
April 6th, 2010 at 10:16 am
If anyone has the oppertunity to, buy Apples to Apples! It’s a very simple, very awesome, card based party game :)
April 6th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Well I came across this by accident while googling the Lucky Doctor Rides Hitler On Tabletop porno. Doh!
April 6th, 2010 at 11:30 am
Great list! Ticket To Ride is a blast, and exactly how I love boardgames to be- easy rules, very quick to learn, great to play. Might I also put in a vote for Dominion (boardgame/cardgame combo thing), and the incredible BattleStar Galactica game. I’ve played that with enough people who have never seen the series to know that it’s just a stunning game regardless of license. While you may not get the references if you haven’t seen the series, you’ll still love the back-stabbing and political maneuvering. Great fun.
April 6th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
It’s not meant to be an exhaustive list. We’d be here for a long old time if I did that.
April 6th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Interesting, I will have to look into these as I’ve never encountered them before.
April 6th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
@Simes: We have all the time in the world! We need to put together a crack team to record and collate a copy of every board game in the world. And when we have them all, we’ll start making more! >:D
April 6th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
Hold the phone… we’re not a pornsite?
The second entry there looks cool. I was always a ‘Mousy Mousy’ kinda girl myself though.