The Board Game Thread

[Jennerstein]

My family likes board games. My parents liked to have FHE's where the activity was some type of word game, like Scrabble or Boggle. They felt it was a great way to secretly prepare us for the SAT.

After I got back from my mission, in those interim few months before Fall Semester rolled around, my younger brother and I got hooked on online Boggle. One day, I challenged my parents to a boardgame match. The result was glorious. The final score for the first round was something like: Children (average score) - 70, Parents - 2. Absolute destruction. We played a second round where my parents merged their word lists. Children (average score) 77, Parents (combined score) - 7. My parents have never played Boggle with us again. What sweet redemption/revenge for all those years of "constructive" word games.

They don't play scrabble with my brother and I either.

One game we still play together is Set:



From boardgamegeek here is the description:

Each card contains 1-3 matching objects, in one of three colors, shapes, and shadings. Twelve cards are laid out, and the first person to spot a set of three collects those cards. The cards are replaced from the deck and play continues.

A set consists of three cards that are either all alike or all different in each attribute: for instance, if all three cards have the same number of objects, but different shapes, shadings, and colors, then they're a set. If two of the cards have a common attribute that is not shared by the third, they are not a set.

1991 Mensa Select

Basically, it's a pattern recognition game. My brain always has to get warmed up to the game, but once we all get going, it's extremely fast paced, with people yelling "SET" and madly grabbing sets (3 cards with the same attributes). We like to play this occasionally at family gatherings. I don't know if it helps train my brain for anything other than recognizing squiggly patterns and colors, but it makes me feel like I'm getting smart or something.

[DU Ute]

These games are so much better I can't bring myself to play it anymore

http://www.diamond-mind.com

http://www.us.playstation.com/PS3/Games/MLB_09_The_Show

I think Strat has adapted pretty well. If you play the more advanced versions it is a pretty realistic simulation. I do wish I had a PS3 to play MLB09.

[Indy Coug]

Does anyone else here still play Strat-o-matic?

These games are so much better I can't bring myself to play it anymore

http://www.diamond-mind.com

http://www.us.playstation.com/PS3/Games/MLB_09_The_Show

[DU Ute]

I loved "Stratomatic Baseball" fun game.

Does anyone else here still play Strat-o-matic?

[Jarid in Cedar]

I loved "Stratomatic Baseball" fun game.

[Indy Coug]

[MartyFunkhouser]

If you add 'camping equipment' to the list, all of my materialistic bases are covered. Photography, computers and software for art making, camping, motorcycling, and elitist board games (though in this last category we typically play other people's games, and only own a couple dozen ourselves).

Eventually I hope to add 'millionaire day-trader' to the list, but I still have a long way to go on that one.

On the trivia front, I certainly didn't mean to suggest that trivia games are any better or worse than any other games. In general, any excuse to get together and engage in some group mental activity is a good use of an evening.

In light of recent threads, I believe you left off pornography.

[BlueHair]

Enough said.

[MartyFunkhouser]

Mrs. Funk and I have started to play some board games and enjoyed some of the recommendations on this site.

We have picked up Ticket to Ride: Europe, Bohnanza, Lost Cities, and Mr. Jack. I really enjoy the TTR, Bohnanza, and Lost Cities. Bohnanza is particularly fun in a larger group, but still plays well as a 2 player game. We have been too busy to play Mr. Jack yet, but it looks very fun.

I am very interested in picking up Pandemic to try a cooperative game.

[ERCougar]

Whoa now, let's not get carried away here.

Seriously though, I wouldn't mind smaller games like this one.

Lost Cities is a great game. Quick to explain, quick to play, not a brainburner, but not mindnumbingly boring like other card games can be (Uno). Congrats--you've now played your first Knizia creation. You're a gamer.

There are others in the Kosmos line of two-player card games. I hear they're fun but don't have any of them.

[Surfah]

That is great news! I'm glad you like it, and it is a nifty little example of the kind of thinking that goes into these kinds of games. Good for Gidget for kicking your ass!

These days Faith mostly only pick up these smaller games because they are fun to play in coffee shops and don't look too ostentatious (if you have ever witnessed Magic The Gathering geeks nerding it up in a coffee shop, you might know what I mean.) But if you ever want to step up to a full BOARD game, I suggest Ticket to Ride. It is easy for beginners and lots of fun!

Whoa now, let's not get carried away here.

Seriously though, I wouldn't mind smaller games like this one.

[RobinFinderson]

So for Christmas I bought this for Gidget in an attempt to try and do something with her that she enjoys. I have to admit that this is a fun, quick card game with enough strategy to keep this from becoming a mindless game like Uno. We have already played several rounds since Christmas and she keeps kicking my ass.

That is great news! I'm glad you like it, and it is a nifty little example of the kind of thinking that goes into these kinds of games. Good for Gidget for kicking your ass!

These days Faith mostly only pick up these smaller games because they are fun to play in coffee shops and don't look too ostentatious (if you have ever witnessed Magic The Gathering geeks nerding it up in a coffee shop, you might know what I mean.) But if you ever want to step up to a full BOARD game, I suggest Ticket to Ride. It is easy for beginners and lots of fun!

[Surfah]

Gidget,

Here is a great simple two-player game that might get Surfah interested:

Lost Cities:

Very fun card game, packs light for camping trips, a fun short game (twenty minutes) with a lot of depth and cool graphics. Players conduct archeological expeditions through exotic locals. The players that conduct the most elaborate journeys score the most points. Very fun!

So for Christmas I bought this for Gidget in an attempt to try and do something with her that she enjoys. I have to admit that this is a fun, quick card game with enough strategy to keep this from becoming a mindless game like Uno. We have already played several rounds since Christmas and she keeps kicking my ass.

[ERCougar]

But have any of you played Dogs in the Vineyard?



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogs_in_the_Vineyard

That's pretty funny--a good one to pull out at the next meeting of the in-laws. My MIL already spends a good deal of time praying for my soul.

[UtahDan]

But have any of you played Dogs in the Vineyard?

The game is set in "a West that never quite was" - loosely based on the Mormon State of Deseret in pre-statehood Utah. Players are "God's Watchdogs" (Dogs), who travel from town to town delivering mail, helping out the community and enforcing the judgments of the True Faith of the King of Life. This may involve anything from delivering new interpretations to the town's Steward to executing heretics. Dogs have absolute authority within the Faith, but not within the laws of the Territorial Authority, and so their actions can lead to conflict with the government in the East.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogs_in_the_Vineyard