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The group I play with prefers Carcassonne: The Discovery. Is has a different spin on managing your meeples, and is a shorter but more strategic game. The other Carcassonne games are good too, though.

Check out http://www.meeplepeople.com/. I'll also team up with the previous posters regarding Settlers, Puerto Rico and especially Power Grid. PG is our group's favorite right now, and we often talk about how the various aspects of the game could be modelled in code.

We also like

Ticket to Ride: Europe
Category 5
Citadels
Seafarers of Catan
We think we might like Twilight Imperium (3rd Ed.) but it takes like 8 hours to play (the box says 240 minutes...HA!), and we've only managed
to play once ;-)

Everyone should be part of a gaming group, even if it is just casual fun.
When you are 80, your brain will thank you.

lillian

For deep, engrossing, widely variable strategy, try Puerto Rico. It's different every time you play it. For more of a "get in your opponents' way" kind of experience, I'd recommend Power Grid (yes, there's an English version). Finally, if you're into path-building but want a bit more ramdomness in your game, try Settlers of Catan. All good, all German. We used to play these games all the time at lunch at a place I worked a while back, and it's one of the things I miss most about my time there.

For deep, engrossing, widely variable strategy, try Puerto Rico. It's different every time you play it. For more of a "get in your opponents' way" kind of experience, I'd recommend Power Grid (yes, there's an English version). Finally, if you're into path-building but want a bit more ramdomness in your game, try Settlers of Catan. All good, all German. We used to play these games all the time at lunch at a place I worked a while back, and it's one of the things I miss most about my time there.

For deep, engrossing, widely variable strategy, try Puerto Rico. It's different every time you play it. For more of a "get in your opponents' way" kind of experience, I'd recommend Power Grid (yes, there's an English version). Finally, if you're into path-building but want a bit more ramdomness in your game, try Settlers of Catan. All good, all German. We used to play these games all the time at lunch at a place I worked a while back, and it's one of the things I miss most about my time there.

EVE: http://boardgamegeek.com/game/24085

WOW: http://boardgamegeek.com/game/19643

EVE: http://boardgamegeek.com/game/24085

WOW: http://boardgamegeek.com/game/19643

Love that game.

Some crazy people

Some crazy people

Personally, I'd rather have my family curl up around a good game of Carcassonne :-)

I grew up playing Monopoly, but I've come to realize that Monopoly is a terrible board game. It is sad that it is still played so widely when there are so many great boards games to come out just recently. Monopoly changing the names and adding an electronic gimmick won't save itself from poor mechanics.

At bare minimum families should be playing Settlers of Catan these days. *Maybe* Carcassonne. Puerto Rico and Reiner Knizia games for families that claim to know something about board games.

A good site for other games, review, and community check out Board Game Geek

Someone has already posted that it was Columbus and not Edison who did this trick, but, used as an argument for the non-obviousness of certain patents, this example is terrible. A more modern variant might be to challenge people to come up with a better compression algorithm, then you presenting your "better" compression algorithm by smashing the HDD flat with a sledgehammer. Outside-the-box thinking!

It's a clever trick that belongs in a Mind Trap game; nothing more. If Edison really had used that egg trick as a patent defense, he would've been a complete asshat for doing so (although, from what I've heard of him, he was a complete asshat nonetheless).

While the theory is sound, I don't think this analogy actually holds for geeky types. Most boardgaming fanatics seem to have have moved on to German strategy games and US block games. Interestingly, go is the only older game to make it into the boardgamegeek.com top 50: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/browser.php?itemtype= game&sortby=rank Chess comes in at a respectable 190, Risk at 2445, and Monopoly at 2914.

Is this in any way related to "Bang!" the card game, from mayfair games?

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/3955

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/ - every question you ever had about board games is answered here, and then some. Many forum threads on questions like "what games would my wife/girlfriend enjoy if she likes _____?". Lots of resources - it really is the #1 board game resource on Earth.

This is why my group of friends has switched over to boardgames. We all really like playing D&D but it is too hard to get everyone together regularly to keep a campaign up and running.

Therefore we switched to boardgames, there is no carry over from one session to the next and is doesn't matter which subset of the group shows up to play.

Our current selection of games we play are Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico and for a little extra fun Betrayal at House on the Hill

We are planning on adding Ticket to Ride and Amun-Re to our selection, these will likely replace Puerto Rico on an ongoing basis because although we all like the premise and strategy of Puerto Rico the visual feedback is a little low.

This is why my group of friends has switched over to boardgames. We all really like playing D&D but it is too hard to get everyone together regularly to keep a campaign up and running.

Therefore we switched to boardgames, there is no carry over from one session to the next and is doesn't matter which subset of the group shows up to play.

Our current selection of games we play are Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico and for a little extra fun Betrayal at House on the Hill

We are planning on adding Ticket to Ride and Amun-Re to our selection, these will likely replace Puerto Rico on an ongoing basis because although we all like the premise and strategy of Puerto Rico the visual feedback is a little low.

This is why my group of friends has switched over to boardgames. We all really like playing D&D but it is too hard to get everyone together regularly to keep a campaign up and running.

Therefore we switched to boardgames, there is no carry over from one session to the next and is doesn't matter which subset of the group shows up to play.

Our current selection of games we play are Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico and for a little extra fun Betrayal at House on the Hill

We are planning on adding Ticket to Ride and Amun-Re to our selection, these will likely replace Puerto Rico on an ongoing basis because although we all like the premise and strategy of Puerto Rico the visual feedback is a little low.

This is why my group of friends has switched over to boardgames. We all really like playing D&D but it is too hard to get everyone together regularly to keep a campaign up and running.

Therefore we switched to boardgames, there is no carry over from one session to the next and is doesn't matter which subset of the group shows up to play.

Our current selection of games we play are Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico and for a little extra fun Betrayal at House on the Hill

We are planning on adding Ticket to Ride and Amun-Re to our selection, these will likely replace Puerto Rico on an ongoing basis because although we all like the premise and strategy of Puerto Rico the visual feedback is a little low.

This is why my group of friends has switched over to boardgames. We all really like playing D&D but it is too hard to get everyone together regularly to keep a campaign up and running.

Therefore we switched to boardgames, there is no carry over from one session to the next and is doesn't matter which subset of the group shows up to play.

Our current selection of games we play are Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico and for a little extra fun Betrayal at House on the Hill

We are planning on adding Ticket to Ride and Amun-Re to our selection, these will likely replace Puerto Rico on an ongoing basis because although we all like the premise and strategy of Puerto Rico the visual feedback is a little low.

Heh. You've got me there (and if I had mod points, you'd get a +1 Funny).

But if you think Magic is dorky, check out Cthulhu 500. They've managed to combine Cthulhu, a card game, and racing into one little package!

Cthulhu Karts racing game? Sweet.

The I suggest you look at Cthulhu 500. Fun card based racing game, with all the evil you'd expect out of Cthulhu.

Anm

Dammit. For a minute there, I thought you were referring to an old board game called Hero Quest, and I was going to be all nostalgic.

Maybe the kids were working on an ad for the monthly geek boardgame day and were going to play the new Zombie game called School's Out Forever....

though if I were the police, I'd be worried about underage drinking. I know for a fact that beer makes the Zombie game better.

but then again what doesn't beer make better?

Thank you for reminding me of Crossbows & Catapults. I hadn't thought of that game in *years*. I loved that thing! Geez, between that and stumbling across a M.U.S.C.L.E. link the other day, I'm not going to get anything done at work!

There's thousands of board games out there that most people (at least in the US) have never heard of that are far and beyond the standard Monopoly knockoffs. I recommend Settlers of Catan and Carcassonne as good entry points into this world, but there's many to choose from and a large, helpful community to interact with.

But there are none that are masterpieces. None that will still be enjoyed by our grandchildren, and mentioned in schoolbooks. And until there are, he's right. I'm not saying it's _impossible_ that there could be such a thing, just that there isn't right now.

If you look at a close cousin to video games, i.e. board games, we already have a few that span more generations than film, games such as Go and Chess. We even have some modern board games that have been played by generations like Monopoly.

I'd be willing to bet there well be some video games that will be played for generations to come, but they may not be classics. Games like Tetris or Bejeweled (or clones) or who knows, maybe The Sims 843 with add-on packs! :p

- Chad

But there are none that are masterpieces. None that will still be enjoyed by our grandchildren, and mentioned in schoolbooks. And until there are, he's right. I'm not saying it's _impossible_ that there could be such a thing, just that there isn't right now.

If you look at a close cousin to video games, i.e. board games, we already have a few that span more generations than film, games such as Go and Chess. We even have some modern board games that have been played by generations like Monopoly.

I'd be willing to bet there well be some video games that will be played for generations to come, but they may not be classics. Games like Tetris or Bejeweled (or clones) or who knows, maybe The Sims 843 with add-on packs! :p

- Chad

But there are none that are masterpieces. None that will still be enjoyed by our grandchildren, and mentioned in schoolbooks. And until there are, he's right. I'm not saying it's _impossible_ that there could be such a thing, just that there isn't right now.

If you look at a close cousin to video games, i.e. board games, we already have a few that span more generations than film, games such as Go and Chess. We even have some modern board games that have been played by generations like Monopoly.

I'd be willing to bet there well be some video games that will be played for generations to come, but they may not be classics. Games like Tetris or Bejeweled (or clones) or who knows, maybe The Sims 843 with add-on packs! :p

- Chad

The variation you speak of is called 'Risk 2210 A.D.' made by Avalon Hill - which i think was once Hasbro but now is WotC? I worked for a startup a few years ago and we would play or continue games of risk on our lunchbreak in the conf room [Before i started working there they were playing HalfLife]. After a while it became routine and we looked for a new game. I found this online and it became a new hit at lunch -- before we knew it we had 3 sets and multiple games going [and had to laminate the cards]. It was a fun updated version of risk and much more interesting than any of us thought it would be before we bought it. you can read more about it: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/prod/risk2 210 or view pictures: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/imagegallery.php3?gam eid=1829 . fun game

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/27

Very good game. You can't buy it anymore (which makes the one in my attic a collectors item :)

When I was a teenager we played risk....and then graduated to Risk with Nukes! The game is called Supremacy, basically risk style with Nukes, navies, ect...

The great thing about Supremacy was that you could play it with simple rules, or you could load it down with all sorts of upgradable options.

The bad thing was that the game almost always ended up in Nuclear Armegeddon....

Enjoy!

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/27

I'd suggest, for those of you who enjoy boardgames, that you check out the BoardGameGeek site. There's a lot of games out there to enjoy, and that site has more information than you probably want about boardgames.

Meh. Played it. Extensively (former GF loved it).

The idea there wasn't so much bullying as 12-year-old schoolgirls in an all-out brawl.

But seriously, the anti-gaming press seems to have completely lost interest in non-electronic gaming. Some of the games on BGG are outright obscene.

Meh. Played it. Extensively (former GF loved it).

The idea there wasn't so much bullying as 12-year-old schoolgirls in an all-out brawl.

But seriously, the anti-gaming press seems to have completely lost interest in non-electronic gaming. Some of the games on BGG are outright obscene.

Sid Meyer's Civilization isn't like Avalon Hill's Civilization. But it is a lot like Walter Bright's Empire.

No, he is not joking.

The game you are thinking of is
Sid Meier's Civilization - The Boardgame which arrived 20 years after Civilization.

I'd be saying something like, "Are you seriously asking me what I think of people who take my ideas and produce half-assed clones of them that they distribute for free while I'm trying to run a company that feeds six dozen developer's families?"

There are few things that the half-assed clones and Sid Meier's Civilization have in common that is not already in this:
Civilization
And that one was designed by Francis Tresham, so yes, I it makes me sore, if Sid bitches about "his" IP.
Also the half-assed clones have features that are missing in the Civ games, or have been implemented there much later (useable networked gaming, hex tilesets, etc.)

Which of these boardgames do you prefer, and why?

Civilization(with or without Advanced Civilization)
or
Sid Meier's Civilization - The Boardgame

Which of these boardgames do you prefer, and why?

Civilization(with or without Advanced Civilization)
or
Sid Meier's Civilization - The Boardgame

Which of these boardgames do you prefer, and why?

Civilization(with or without Advanced Civilization)
or
Sid Meier's Civilization - The Boardgame

This doesn't look like much of a game to me. It is more like an exercise with a random element. It is 'chutes and ladders', which also is not really a game. The players never have to make a decision. 'Chutes and Ladders' is fun when you are 6, but not 11. I think the kids are going to figure out that the outcome is basicly random, and they have been tricked into doing math. Why the HELL did it take this guy 6 years to come up with this game anyway. A real programming game would allow players to invent their own syntax. Heck, a game like Drakon teaches better programming skills, even though it has nothing to do with programming.

A fairly obscure Italian boardgame from 1994.

Check more about it here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/7580

Here's a game you may take a liking to. Tons of fun. Called Lunch Money.

Crush, Crumble and Chomp! came out in '81 (it was based on an earlier board-game, The Creature that Ate Sheboygan). And, of course, many early fantasy games allowed you to choose whether to be good or evil, e.g. Nethack. And, of course, in non-computer games, there's a long tradition of games where you can be the bad guy. When I was a kid, we still played Cowboys-and-Indians, and someone had to be the Indian. I suspect kids from earlier centuries played crusaders-and-paynim or han-and-mongols or whatever the local equivalent might be....

And, of course, there's always Leisure Suit Larry.... :)

You find much more info, photos and independent reviews of board games by geeks at...um...boardgamegeek.com - Here's Shadows Over Camelot (by 2 french designers) http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/15062 It has an avaerage rating of 7.78 out of 10, pretty good. and here's Arkham Horror (a re-issue) http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/15987 Rated 7.81 so far.

You find much more info, photos and independent reviews of board games by geeks at...um...boardgamegeek.com - Here's Shadows Over Camelot (by 2 french designers) http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/15062 It has an avaerage rating of 7.78 out of 10, pretty good. and here's Arkham Horror (a re-issue) http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/15987 Rated 7.81 so far.

Try http://www.boardgamegeek.com/ if you're looking fun games. I mean gaming isn't just about computers.

The new version has quite a few favorable reviews at Board Game Geek".

More german games on /., excellent. There are two versions of Scotland Yard. The original: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/438 and a New York version, now out of print: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/534 If you think board games haven't changed much since you were a child, check out the geeks' Top 50: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/top50.htm Modern german games are soooo much better than Hasbro.