A good board game with good people can be a blast. For this Top-7 list, I'm counting down from 7 to 1 and only including games that are played on a board. Some of the games involve building your own board to some extent, while others have a more established playing field. I've excluded games that are really more card and dice games, such as Skull and and the Catan dice game.
Enjoy!
7. Monopoly
Monopoly really works on a fundamental level. It's fun to buy properties, take risks, save up money, and rake in the big bucks through houses and hotels. A game with a good mix of luck and strategy, Monopoly has such good staying power because it's an engaging and entertaining board game.
6. Heroscape
Heroscape would have taken the top spot on my list for a long time, and it still remains one of my favorite games. It's incredible cool to have total freedom in literally building a physical battlefield, and then fighting on it with beautifully painted and well-thought-out characters. This discontinued game didn't have the staying power financially, but retains a significant following among geeks everywhere.
5. Pandemic
One of the new era of 21st century games, Pandemic set the standard for cooperative gaming, just as Catan (coming soon) set the standard for "Euro games". Pandemic is extremely engaging and challenging (at least for me), with a fun premise executed beautifully. It's satisfying to try to find the most efficient moves, and see swathes of cubes wiped off the board, just as it's terrifying to see a double outbreak shatter your best-laid plans.
4. Chess
The oldest, the purest, and the most challenging. There's a reason that millions of people still play, learn, and study chess worldwide. This is one of those rare games where the element of chance is all but removed, and two minds must strain against one another on an equal playing field. I would probably rank it higher if I was any good at it.
3. Parks
Here's one you may not have heard of, but absolutely should try out. This game brings together fun and engaging gameplay with an absolutely beautiful artistic design, from the box itself down to each individual card. Parks spares no expense in creating a truly marvelous gameplay experience as players hike along the trail, visiting national parks, taking pictures, collecting items, and collecting resources along the way.
2. Risk
The original game of world domination. Risk is very well-known at this point, but had its beginning decades ago as a unique and unusual board game experience. The game, with some evolution, is still alive and well today, because who doesn't want to take over the world? The sense of possibility in the opening stages, the heartbreaking losses and epic victories, so many aspects of the Risk experience shine. This is a truly engrossing and classic game that evokes memories of last stands in Madagascar and pivotal battles for Venezuela. It has weaknesses in game mechanics compared to some modern games, but is still offers a fun time, every time. I always want to play Risk - the only problem is finding people who love the game as much as I do!
1. The Settlers of Catan
This one has become a modern classic. Despite the avalanche of strategic Euro games surging forward in its wake, Catan leads the way. The base game is just so fundamentally well-designed, with the resource system, changeable board, and combination of luck with layers of strategy. The expansions are excellent, with the two that I've used (Seafarers and Cities and Knights) really enriching the game and adding new strategic dimensions to keep things fresh and fun. With these two expansions, a nice big board, a compelling scenario such as discovery of new land, and 3 or 4 experienced players, no board game I've tried yet can compete. I never say no to a game of Settlers of Catan.
No comments:
Post a Comment