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Board games

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Like others have said, dominion is great, though it isn't a board game but a card game.
I love power grid, fantastic game and the market system is brilliant. Small world, aquire, all really fun. Imperial and diplomacy is fun, but they take forever to play.
I hate games like agricola, I find them boring and unexciting.
 
zinfamous said:
We've been playing Dominion/D Intrigue quite a bit recently. It's probably the first board game (well, guess it's a card game) I've played in some time, that I can recall, and have thoroughly enjoyed.
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Most of the friends we have over regularly are women. All of them, plus my wife, plus several men I know, all really enjoy dominion. I like to think that it has wide appeal because it the gameplay kind of resembles shopping every turn but still getting to keep your money once you finish shopping.
 
Forbidden Island is another great co-op. Designed by the same guy that did Pandemic, so it is similar. Good cheap game to intro someone to the co-op thing before Pandemic.
 
Pheran said:
I will second Pandemic, it's pretty fun. It's also one of those rare co-op games where all the players work together against the game.
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I think the game can go either way. I've played where I (or someone else) has had to basically make all of the decisions. Still, I think it's a game worth owning and trying.
 
Carcassonne; I love the fact that it's easy enough a game where I can bring it to parties and everyone can get the hang of it fairly easily - not too much into boardgames as my wife hates them and don't know too much about them but would love to get some more recommendations along the lines of easy to play + set up like Carcassonne - this makes me sound like an ignoramus, but it intimidates/annoys me when setup takes 20 mins even before playing, takes us an hour to figure out what's going on, etc.
 
Schadenfreude said:
Carcassonne; I love the fact that it's easy enough a game where I can bring it to parties and everyone can get the hang of it fairly easily - not too much into boardgames as my wife hates them and don't know too much about them but would love to get some more recommendations along the lines of easy to play + set up like Carcassonne - this makes me sound like an ignoramus, but it intimidates/annoys me when setup takes 20 mins even before playing, takes us an hour to figure out what's going on, etc.
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There aren't a lot of games as easy to set up as Carcassonne. I think Ticket to Ride is easy to grasp and explain and relatively quick to set up, though. Avoid Agricola at all costs - the instructions are truly terrible, it takes forever to set up and tear down, and the duration is about 30 minutes per player playing.
 
Schadenfreude said:
Carcassonne; I love the fact that it's easy enough a game where I can bring it to parties and everyone can get the hang of it fairly easily - not too much into boardgames as my wife hates them and don't know too much about them but would love to get some more recommendations along the lines of easy to play + set up like Carcassonne - this makes me sound like an ignoramus, but it intimidates/annoys me when setup takes 20 mins even before playing, takes us an hour to figure out what's going on, etc.
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My parents are not gamers by any stretch of the imagination, but I've introduced them to all of the following which they've liked:

Apples to Apples (greaty party game if you have lots of people)
Bohnanza
Ra (scoring is a little complex but gameplay is super easy)
San Juan
Ticket to Ride
 
torpid said:
There aren't a lot of games as easy to set up as Carcassonne. I think Ticket to Ride is easy to grasp and explain and relatively quick to set up, though. Avoid Agricola at all costs - the instructions are truly terrible, it takes forever to set up and tear down, and the duration is about 30 minutes per player playing.
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The problem with ticket to ride is there is very little strategy in it other then to build the longest line of trains in most cases.
 
Newbian said:
The problem with ticket to ride is there is very little strategy in it other then to build the longest line of trains in most cases.
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Ticket to Ride Europe actually improved upon this. Ticket to Ride is kind of unbalanced depending on who gets long routes.
 
Pheran said:
Ticket to Ride Europe actually improved upon this. Ticket to Ride is kind of unbalanced depending on who gets long routes.
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TtR: Europe is my favorite train game. Wife likes to play it too. We play carcassonne mostly. i have dominion but havent had a chance to play it much.

my all time favorite game is HeroQuest. shame i never really had anyone to play it with when i was 11. 🙁
 
Betrayal at the House on Haunted Hill

I love it because every time you play the board changes (you have a main hallway but as you explore the house you place down different room tiles that are picked randomly from a stack).

The entire premise of the game, exploring a haunted house, is great. Eventually one person gets caught in traps or goes insane and the "betrayal" occurs. And depending on who started the "betrayal" event and what room etc they were in a different scenario plays out (there are over 50).

One of the players is the "betrayer" and has to leave the room and read about what their goal is in the scenario while the remaining players get a different set of goals. Then the game continues with the the "betrayer" being the bad guy playing against the rest of the players until either side completes their goals.

Also throughout the game there are different events that occur that are randomized and players can pick up items etc that can help later on. Last time I played we were all strapped with explosives by the betrayer and I ended up blowing two of us up while trying to disarm them.
 
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Newbian said:
The problem with ticket to ride is there is very little strategy in it other then to build the longest line of trains in most cases.
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That could be seen as a benefit for casual players. I think that's why Catan is so popular among casual board game players.
 
The classics? Risk and monopoly for sure.

The best boardgaming experience of my life was an unbelievable Risk game that went on over three days.

We also played some epic games of Diplomacy; you need a good crowd (and a good host) for that. The guy who set up those games did it right: We all got a manilla envelope with supplies when we arrived, he set up tables and chairs around the board like a UN conference, and had designated meeting areas. Plus refreshments, of course.

If you could get a patsy drunk it made your job easier.

I liked Aquire, but I either sucked at it or was always unlucky; I never won.

Modern? I like Settlers, Tikal, Bootleggers. I've always wanted to play the one with the steamboats going down the Mississippi, but I've never had the chance.
 
Glitchny said:
Betrayal at the House on Haunted Hill

I love it because every time you play the board changes (you have a main hallway but as you explore the house you place down different room tiles that are picked randomly from a stack).

The entire premise of the game, exploring a haunted house, is great. Eventually one person gets caught in traps or goes insane and the "betrayal" occurs. And depending on who started the "betrayal" event and what room etc they were in a different scenario plays out (there are over 50).

One of the players is the "betrayer" and has to leave the room and read about what their goal is in the scenario while the remaining players get a different set of goals. Then the game continues with the the "betrayer" being the bad guy playing against the rest of the players until either side completes their goals.

Also throughout the game there are different events that occur that are randomized and players can pick up items etc that can help later on. Last time I played we were all strapped with explosives by the betrayer and I ended up blowing two of us up while trying to disarm them.
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Dammit, you guys are making me want to buy new board games after I just got 4 new ones about two months ago!!!
 
Man, this thread reminded me of a game I loved when I was a little kid. Does anyone remember that game wher everyone moved their pieces trying to get on certain spots, and when the spots were filled you lifted the "level" off of the base; whoever wasn't on a "safe" spot was out of the game?

That game fascinated me whe I was little.
 
If you guys like Pandemic, there is another co-op game coming that involves firefighters putting out a burning house while rescuing people. I played the beta of it at WBC and it is REALLY fun. The "oh shit" factor is great when new fires start and you realize you have to give up on rescuing certain people. It should be out sometime later this year.

Mugs: Union Pacific is a fun game, but for whatever reason I don't prefer it over Santa Fe Rails which still did not make my railroad list!? If you end up getting Rails of New England, understand the rulebook is messy and full of errors (you should get a correction sheet). The game play is very unique which is why it made my list.
 
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