My 6 Favorite Board Games
I’ve always been a big fan of board games. In particular, I love strategy board games, but I’m always happy to sit down with my family or a group of friends and break out just about any board game. Board games are a great way to hang out together without just sitting around. They give you something to do while still allowing you to spend time together. Depending on your group, board games can be incredibly competitive, or they can just be relaxing fun. I doubt this list will be new information for any very serious board games, but it covers my list of the greatest board games.
Note: The list isn’t in any particular order.
1) Diplomacy:
Diplomacy is a game that takes a little while to learn and a long time to play. There’s no such thing as a quick game of Diplomacy. The time it takes to play the game is worth it, however. In Diplomacy, you control one of seven imperial European powers in the time leading up to World War I. As you play the game, you quickly learn the reason for the name. No player can win the game by themselves. The game requires forming alliances with your neighbors in order to prevail. The game has two phases: the diplomacy phase, in which all players talk amongst themselves and write down their orders for the turn, and the order phase, in which all of the turns orders are resolved simultaneously for all players. The game takes strategy, cunning, and great sense of diplomacy to master.
2) Axis & Allies:
Axis & Allies is a World War II board game for 2-5 players. Players compete on two sides: the Axis, including Germany and Japan, and the Allies, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.S.R. Each side is attempting to capture two capitals from the other. Both sides have infantry, tanks, and array of naval and air units at their disposal. The games rules are slightly complicated, and games can take a while to play, but each game is an interesting struggle between the two opposing teams. The Axis have an initial advantage in military strength over the Allies, but the Allies begin with a greater economic strength. To prevail, the Axis have to use their military might gain an advantage before the allies can pump out enough units to stop them. The game requires a great deal of strategy, but it’s always fun to match off against your friends.
3) Wise and Otherwise:
Wise and Otherwise isn’t really a strategy game. It’s similar to Balderdash. The game has numerous cards with the first part of an obscure saying on the front. Each player writes down their guess for the correct saying, while the reader of the card writes down the actual saying from the back of the card. The reader then reads all of the guesses, and players choose which they think is the true saying. A player gets points for guessing the correct saying, and also for having other players guess the saying that they wrote. It’s a great game to play with a large group, and some of the things people write down are hilarious. Of course, the sayings on the cards are so strange and obscure that the strangest answer could easily be the right one.
4) Settlers of Catan:
Settlers of Catan has been one of the most popular strategy games for the last few years. There are several good reasons for this. For a strategy game, Settlers is easy to learn, and quick to play. The board is dealt out randomly at the beginning of each game, meaning that every game is played on a different board. This keeps every game from being a repeat of the one before it. Another interesting aspect is that the game does not revolve around combat, but rather upon expanding an economic empire. This makes the game appeal to a lot of people who would not otherwise be interested in the game.
5) Apples to Apples:
Apples to Apples is a great party game. It works for pretty much any large group. Each player has a hand of cards with various nouns. These nouns can be anything from household objects to well known celebrities. Each turn, a judge turns over a card that has an adjective on it. Players must put in the noun that they think best exemplifies that adjective. The judge then looks at all the cards and decides which card they think fits the best. It’s simple, fun, and interesting. What more could you want in a party game.
6) A Game of Thrones: The Boardgame:
Based on the popular book of the same name by George R.R. Martin, this strategy board game captures the feel of the novel on which it is based. The game focuses on the chaos that ensues after the death of the former king. Five major houses each make their own play for their throne. The game has its own, very interesting system for resolving turns, and provides a number of interesting strategies for each of the houses. While the game centers around combat, several times in games I’ve played, the player who was least involved in combat was the person who ended up winning.
These are only some of the great games out there. What other games do you like? What games do you think I should try out? Let me know in the comments.
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