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Sure sounds like a predecessor to the Game of Life.

The game of risk is not that terrible, but it does suck in comparison to real board games. If you've ever played the likes of Puerto Rico or El Grande you will realize the lack of strategy in risk. American board games are too much based on luck. Sure, you can calculate the odds and make better decisions, but european board games have almost no luck involved in deciding the winner.

After a game of risk the winner can not safely say they are strategically superior to the losers. In a game of Puerto Rico there is no doubt who is a better person.

"Christian" kiddies aren't allowed to play mainstream games, so we'll make games they are allowed to play

"Christian" kiddies aren't allowed to play mainstream games, so we'll make games they are allowed to play

As I said the first time around, they usually are fun for a few plays, but not a lot more, so it largely depends upon how many times through a given game you travel.

That said, Bitin' Off Hedz is pretty lousy. It scales badly, being dull with few and taking far too long with a big group. Few decisions, simple interaction, and plodding pacing add up to a dud. Don't take my word for it though, Plenty of other people think it's terrible too. Scroll down to see the schocking large number of 1 votes, which are normally unheard of on that site.

I find Girl Genius dissatisfying because there's nothing really to be clever about. It's just trying to think further down the tree than your opponents so as to set things up for yourself, but the mechanics aren't very interesting. Lots of brain burn but not much entertainment. Some people like it fine though, so if those don't sound like flaws to you, enjoy!

Kill Dr. Lucky has two major problems. One: it seems like a very casual game, but if you don't take it seriously, it's quite possible to go for exceedingly long periods, perhaps large sections of the entire game, without being entitled to even take a turn. There are stories of people leaving the room and cooking dinner for the rest all the while never having a single turn, and they aren't terribly hard to believe. The 'get a turn when the Doctor enters your room' is essential to making the game interesting, but can lead to a very unpleasant experience for new or casual gamers.

The other problem with Kill Dr. Lucky is that with the provided original rules, there isn't sufficient ability or incentive to attempt to kill the doctor early in the game as opposed to acquiring more cards, and the game frequently has to wait until the deck has been exhausted before the doctor takes the big sleep. This makes the early part of the game lack tension, and the entire game take too long. Various suggested 'fixes' included in the director's cut edition of the game such as "spite tokens" go a fair way to addressing this, but it's clear the game was flawed out of the gate when the revised edition comes with five or more concrete suggestions to 'fix' the game in the words of the author.

That said, I own and love Kill Dr. Lucky. I play it with new gamers somewhat frequently, but with some slight modifications and with a great deal of advance warning about the possibility of turn loss, and that jockeying for turn theft should be of paramount importance. The game works, it's fun, it's one of the good ones.

Some real runts include: Before I Kill you Mr. Bond, Landyland (perhaps unfair to criticize due to the 25 cent cost), swag, and Parts Unknown.

I agree, Monopoly is not a great game by any means, it's just THE game that most Americans have been exposed to.

Here in the US, board gaming seems to be something mostly done by hobbyists and bored couples, but in Germany (from what I understand) it's considered something to do with the whole family. As such, there are a TON of great German designers designing some incredible games that are making their way over into the states. Don't worry, the majority of them have domestic versions, so you don't have to read German to play.

I would HIGHLY recommend:
The Settlers of Catan
Carcassone
Bohnanza
Puerto Rico

Two player games are a little harder to come by, but there are quite a few good ones out there. You might consider:
Lost Cities
Zeus and Hera
Odin's Ravens
Hammer of the Scots

Once you play any of these games, you'll never want to play Monopoly again. You can find more information on them at Board Game Geek, and you can buy them at FunAgain.com or GameSurplus.

Carcassonne is a great game for 2-5 players $20

Lost Cities is a good two player game for $20 (in fact, Kosmos imports a whole line of two player games for $20, including the very good Hera and Zeus)

Mystery Rummy 1: Jack the Ripper and Mystery Rummy 2: Murders in the Rue Morgue are both very good (I prefer Jack the Ripper) and only $10

Set is a great visual perception game for 1-n players (where n is the number of people that can see the cards) $12

Gods is a free download. Print it out and cut out the tiles. 2-4 players. less than $5

Go is a classic game for two players. I made my own board and got glass stones for less than $5.

Yeah, a lot of board games cost more than $30, but there are a number of good options that are less expensive, you just have to look for them.

Carcassonne is a great game for 2-5 players $20

Lost Cities is a good two player game for $20 (in fact, Kosmos imports a whole line of two player games for $20, including the very good Hera and Zeus)

Mystery Rummy 1: Jack the Ripper and Mystery Rummy 2: Murders in the Rue Morgue are both very good (I prefer Jack the Ripper) and only $10

Set is a great visual perception game for 1-n players (where n is the number of people that can see the cards) $12

Gods is a free download. Print it out and cut out the tiles. 2-4 players. less than $5

Go is a classic game for two players. I made my own board and got glass stones for less than $5.

Yeah, a lot of board games cost more than $30, but there are a number of good options that are less expensive, you just have to look for them.

Carcassonne is a great game for 2-5 players $20

Lost Cities is a good two player game for $20 (in fact, Kosmos imports a whole line of two player games for $20, including the very good Hera and Zeus)

Mystery Rummy 1: Jack the Ripper and Mystery Rummy 2: Murders in the Rue Morgue are both very good (I prefer Jack the Ripper) and only $10

Set is a great visual perception game for 1-n players (where n is the number of people that can see the cards) $12

Gods is a free download. Print it out and cut out the tiles. 2-4 players. less than $5

Go is a classic game for two players. I made my own board and got glass stones for less than $5.

Yeah, a lot of board games cost more than $30, but there are a number of good options that are less expensive, you just have to look for them.

Carcassonne is a great game for 2-5 players $20

Lost Cities is a good two player game for $20 (in fact, Kosmos imports a whole line of two player games for $20, including the very good Hera and Zeus)

Mystery Rummy 1: Jack the Ripper and Mystery Rummy 2: Murders in the Rue Morgue are both very good (I prefer Jack the Ripper) and only $10

Set is a great visual perception game for 1-n players (where n is the number of people that can see the cards) $12

Gods is a free download. Print it out and cut out the tiles. 2-4 players. less than $5

Go is a classic game for two players. I made my own board and got glass stones for less than $5.

Yeah, a lot of board games cost more than $30, but there are a number of good options that are less expensive, you just have to look for them.

Carcassonne is a great game for 2-5 players $20

Lost Cities is a good two player game for $20 (in fact, Kosmos imports a whole line of two player games for $20, including the very good Hera and Zeus)

Mystery Rummy 1: Jack the Ripper and Mystery Rummy 2: Murders in the Rue Morgue are both very good (I prefer Jack the Ripper) and only $10

Set is a great visual perception game for 1-n players (where n is the number of people that can see the cards) $12

Gods is a free download. Print it out and cut out the tiles. 2-4 players. less than $5

Go is a classic game for two players. I made my own board and got glass stones for less than $5.

Yeah, a lot of board games cost more than $30, but there are a number of good options that are less expensive, you just have to look for them.

Carcassonne is a great game for 2-5 players $20

Lost Cities is a good two player game for $20 (in fact, Kosmos imports a whole line of two player games for $20, including the very good Hera and Zeus)

Mystery Rummy 1: Jack the Ripper and Mystery Rummy 2: Murders in the Rue Morgue are both very good (I prefer Jack the Ripper) and only $10

Set is a great visual perception game for 1-n players (where n is the number of people that can see the cards) $12

Gods is a free download. Print it out and cut out the tiles. 2-4 players. less than $5

Go is a classic game for two players. I made my own board and got glass stones for less than $5.

Yeah, a lot of board games cost more than $30, but there are a number of good options that are less expensive, you just have to look for them.

Carcassonne is a great game for 2-5 players $20

Lost Cities is a good two player game for $20 (in fact, Kosmos imports a whole line of two player games for $20, including the very good Hera and Zeus)

Mystery Rummy 1: Jack the Ripper and Mystery Rummy 2: Murders in the Rue Morgue are both very good (I prefer Jack the Ripper) and only $10

Set is a great visual perception game for 1-n players (where n is the number of people that can see the cards) $12

Gods is a free download. Print it out and cut out the tiles. 2-4 players. less than $5

Go is a classic game for two players. I made my own board and got glass stones for less than $5.

Yeah, a lot of board games cost more than $30, but there are a number of good options that are less expensive, you just have to look for them.

Tonight my wife and I are going to pickup a box of Monopoly from Toys R Us and/or a jigsaw puzzle.

NOOOOOOOOOO!

What is it with you Americans and Monopoly? Each year, hundreds of new board gamesare hoping for a little exposure, a little space on store shelves, and you keep buying Monopoly simpsons edition, Monopoly star wars edition, Monopoly yourcity edition, monopoly golf... Stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it! It's not even a good game, for crying out loud! Please just stop it! Or would you rather give Hasbro more money for domain disputes?

My nontechnical hobbies tend to be things that have a certain geeky following themselves.

I juggle every week or so with the local club.

I do a lot of origami. There can be a lot of math here, if you want to look for it, but it's not necessary to think about the math to enjoy it. There are also different kinds of origami ranging from unit/modular to traditional models to more modern animals, plants, and other objects. There are lots of good books on the subject published by Dover and Japan Publications.

I play a lot of board games with a local group. Not many of the standard American board games; we usually play German board games like The Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, and Ricochet Robot. I also enjoy the game of Go. I think Go is interesting because computers have yet to match good human players.

My nontechnical hobbies tend to be things that have a certain geeky following themselves.

I juggle every week or so with the local club.

I do a lot of origami. There can be a lot of math here, if you want to look for it, but it's not necessary to think about the math to enjoy it. There are also different kinds of origami ranging from unit/modular to traditional models to more modern animals, plants, and other objects. There are lots of good books on the subject published by Dover and Japan Publications.

I play a lot of board games with a local group. Not many of the standard American board games; we usually play German board games like The Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, and Ricochet Robot. I also enjoy the game of Go. I think Go is interesting because computers have yet to match good human players.

My nontechnical hobbies tend to be things that have a certain geeky following themselves.

I juggle every week or so with the local club.

I do a lot of origami. There can be a lot of math here, if you want to look for it, but it's not necessary to think about the math to enjoy it. There are also different kinds of origami ranging from unit/modular to traditional models to more modern animals, plants, and other objects. There are lots of good books on the subject published by Dover and Japan Publications.

I play a lot of board games with a local group. Not many of the standard American board games; we usually play German board games like The Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, and Ricochet Robot. I also enjoy the game of Go. I think Go is interesting because computers have yet to match good human players.

My nontechnical hobbies tend to be things that have a certain geeky following themselves.

I juggle every week or so with the local club.

I do a lot of origami. There can be a lot of math here, if you want to look for it, but it's not necessary to think about the math to enjoy it. There are also different kinds of origami ranging from unit/modular to traditional models to more modern animals, plants, and other objects. There are lots of good books on the subject published by Dover and Japan Publications.

I play a lot of board games with a local group. Not many of the standard American board games; we usually play German board games like The Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, and Ricochet Robot. I also enjoy the game of Go. I think Go is interesting because computers have yet to match good human players.

I have an Atari 800 (you know, the one with the 4 joystick ports) in my cube at work set up specifically to play one game: 4-Player M.U.L.E.

To keep things fair, I have 4 identical Wico "The Boss" joysticks so there can't be any whining after I kick everyone's ass.

We play every now and then... usually on Fridays after work. It's a total blast. One day, David Crane came in(you know who I'm talking about, he designed that game called Pitfall! and I guess some of the OS for the Atari) He was nice enough to autograph my Atari. Very cool. He works at Skyworks now. http://www.skyworks.com.

MULE is the perfect game... simple rules, challenging, complex and dynamic interactions and it wraps up in little over an hour. 4-player is the best and the hardest to master because the computer players tend to get a little predictable.

Overall, I'm a Crystite player... but Smithore can be fun if Mules get scarce. I also like to be self-sufficient, so I always have a least one River Valley food plot and extra energy to keep me going. Also, I buy all the land I can get my hands on! 9-12 plots of Crystite almost always maxes out! I will also screw you on energy and food if it betters my position. I stay in 2nd or 3rd place until the end to avoid "dickage"(the game's way of artifically leveling everybody out.)

I've been playing the board game Settlers of Catan lately, and there are a lot of similarities. check it out here. It's great!

Well, just wanted to confess my love for M.U.L.E. It was quite revolutionary for it's time, and I don't think there have been many games quite like it since.

If you haven't tried it, emulators might be ok, but the best in on the Atari 800. That was the way it was meant to be played!

Lusso62