Boardgames?

[Cassia Randall]

I'm a big fan of boardgames. It's an excuse to get together with friends and chat without spending a mint at a restaurant or bar. However, given that my friends tend to be video-game min-maxing fanatics, we have to go switch games up a LOT or someone will figure out how to hack the system and face-stomp the rest of us.

Thus... I'm always in the market for good games. Anyone know any good ones?

I've enjoyed the following:

Apples to Apples - 4-6 people. I can't even describe it to make it sound cool, but it's hilarious if you have a creative group.

Settlers of Catan - 2-6 people without expansions, though 6 gets pretty cramped. Solid game, though if you're good at figuring odds and grabbing the best starting positions, you'll definitely win. Lots of expansions to play with.

Red November - 2-8 people. Quirky. You're gnomes on a sinking submarine and you're working with the other players to keep it floating long enough to be rescued. Neat in that everyone wins, or everyone loses.

Last Night on Earth - 2-6 people. Zombie boardgame. Fun artifacts. Someone has to play Zombie Master, which is less fun. If you're hosting, get used to it.

Zombies! - 2-8 people. Another zombie boardgame. I like it better than Last Night, but you can seriously get vendettas going so if your group is vengeful, this is maybe not for you.

Lego Pictionary - As many people as you want, really. Pure win. Every geek should own this game.

Seven Wonders - 3-7 people. My current favorite. Games take 30 minutes, very intuitive playing, equal mix of strategy and luck.

Anyone else like boardgames?

[fire.eagle]

A group of people at my work have been playing Dominion over lunch lately. Games can take between 30 minutes to an hour. Might be good for your group and their game hacking ways. You have the base set of rules, then you take a subset of cards to play with each time which drastically effects strategy. I think there's something like 25 card types in the base set, and you choose something like 7 or 8 groups to play with per game.

[Maria]

I love them! You've got some great ones there. I second Dominion. Also Puerto Rico, El Grande and Carcassonne seems like it would suit your group well. Small World is next on my list to try out, heard great things about it. If you can find Race/Top Race from Kramer something, then you can play with board game novices too, and the nerds usually enjoy it still. For something to really bite into try Agricola, Caylus or Talisman.

[Hrunter]

Carcassone is really good, as is small world haha!

Good to hear a review of 7 wonders - been looking at it for a while.

What about... Ascension? This is card based, but runs pretty quickly once players get used to it.

Re-reading your list... what about Arkham Horror?

[leadchipmunk]

Have you heard of Kingsburg? Really fun game, doesn't last too long though.

[SusieBlu]

If you are looking for new games and/or want to watch celebrity geeks play games, check out the Geek and Sundry's TableTop hosted by Wil Wheaton. It is fantastic. Check out the rest of the Geek and Sundry channel too.

I personal enjoy playing Talisman. The fact you can add on extensions to the game from extra characters to extra dungeons allows you to make a whole new game if you want.

[Benjsec]

More cards than board game but Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot.

Games last anything from half an hour up, depending on number of players, expansions, etc...

Nice and simple, plus lots of fun! And there's about a dozen expansions too.

[Ocelot]

Backgammon?! Seriously, it's awesome if you play the Russian rules. I can't play it any other way and its my favourite game. Ooh, and I know a good paper game! I don't know if this game has a real name, I call it Tom and Tiger because someone I know called Tom got turned into a tiger while playing it. It's a paper game and it's the best game ever (well, maybe on a level with Settlers of Catan) You need 5+ people though. The first person writes a random phrase or word on their piece of paper without showing anyone then passes it to the next person. They have to draw a picture to illustrate the word or phrase as best they can. Then they fold the paper over the first person's writing, so the next person just gets the picture. Then they have to write, beneath the picture, a caption that best fits the drawing. Then they fold the paper over the drawing and the next person draws their caption. Etc. It sounds complicated but it's hilarious.

[leadchipmunk]

Backgammon?! Seriously, it's awesome if you play the Russian rules. I can't play it any other way and its my favourite game. Ooh, and I know a good paper game! I don't know if this game has a real name, I call it Tom and Tiger because someone I know called Tom got turned into a tiger while playing it. It's a paper game and it's the best game ever (well, maybe on a level with Settlers of Catan) You need 5+ people though. The first person writes a random phrase or word on their piece of paper without showing anyone then passes it to the next person. They have to draw a picture to illustrate the word or phrase as best they can. Then they fold the paper over the first person's writing, so the next person just gets the picture. Then they have to write, beneath the picture, a caption that best fits the drawing. Then they fold the paper over the drawing and the next person draws their caption. Etc. It sounds complicated but it's hilarious.

So, it is kinda like the old telephone game where one person whispers in the next's ear and it continues in a big circle, but alternating drawing and captions? Sounds fun.

If you are cool with card games, try Fluxx or Mao. They are both so great and so random.

[Siferiax]

I don't play much board games, but I like them.

Settlers of Catan I like a lot. Played it often with my parents.

Brain fail for thinking of others.

[msuroo]

A group of people at my work have been playing Dominion over lunch lately. Games can take between 30 minutes to an hour. Might be good for your group and their game hacking ways. You have the base set of rules, then you take a subset of cards to play with each time which drastically effects strategy. I think there's something like 25 card types in the base set, and you choose something like 7 or 8 groups to play with per game.

This game is freaking amazing. I played a looooot of Dominion before my son was born. Unfortunately, as more of the expansions got introduced, it became increasingly impractical to play with the actual cards (not that it stopped me from buying them all). Setup/teardown took too long, and with more and more card interactions, even the gameplay took too long. Thankfully you can play online here.

[Elastigirl]

Ninja Burger is a fun card game for about 6 people. It's a funny role playing type game. The premise is you are a Ninja who works at a burger joint and each turn you have a mission to complete - in stealth -since you are a Ninja. Things like delver to Elvis (get past barking guard dogs, not be heard going in back door) The cards and missions are very funny and the game is fun.

Of course, this all makes me sad as we seem to have lost our game(I'm blaming my son who probably left it at someone's house)So unti we buy an ew one, no Ninja missions for us.

[Atalan]

Go http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_(game)

It's a 2 player game that take some time to play as you get better, but pretty much is 'unhackable'.

I also recommend Battlestar: Galactica the board game. It's like the old psychological game "Werewolf," but with a board game added in.