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Carcassonne Castle is a 2-player-only game, it's self-contained (it's not an extension and there's no extensions for it).

It's similar to Carcassone, except you play inside city walls, you score paths (1), houses (1) and keeps (2) and at the end, markets (3) and the biggest empty space for the player with the biggest house. The most interesting element is the score board, where some special tiles are placed at predefined spaces. So sometimes you want to score less than you could, so that you get one of those special tiles.

I like it a lot, the special tiles give it the strategy that is missing in a 2-player H&G.

Hunters and Gatherers is my next choice for 3 to 5 players. Never even played the original one, because I read that H&G was better anyway :-)

I played Ark of the Covenant once, didn't find it as good as H&G, but it's probably the right choice for X fanatics. :-)

Carcassonne Castle is a 2-player-only game, it's self-contained (it's not an extension and there's no extensions for it).

It's similar to Carcassone, except you play inside city walls, you score paths (1), houses (1) and keeps (2) and at the end, markets (3) and the biggest empty space for the player with the biggest house. The most interesting element is the score board, where some special tiles are placed at predefined spaces. So sometimes you want to score less than you could, so that you get one of those special tiles.

I like it a lot, the special tiles give it the strategy that is missing in a 2-player H&G.

Hunters and Gatherers is my next choice for 3 to 5 players. Never even played the original one, because I read that H&G was better anyway :-)

I played Ark of the Covenant once, didn't find it as good as H&G, but it's probably the right choice for X fanatics. :-)

Dog Eat Dog is a game where you control one company or a conglomerate trying to embezzle enough money to win the game. The big problem? Embezzling is against the rules. If you're caught the company has to pay a fine. You pollute to set up defensive strategies and in the end return to the 1980's. Ain't it great? Who can leave out Steve Jackson's game that caused so many problems with the government? Illuminati is a tried and true Geek Game. Formula De was introduced to me last spring. I hear it's popular, but I don't know anyone else who plays. I don't like watching racing, but this game really makes it interesting. I highly recommend getting it out if you have any NASCAR fans in the family.

Puero Rico is the #1 ranked game on boardgamegeek.com. That's why I bought it.

Then, I discovered why. Every person that I've introduced Puerto Rico to gets hooked. Here's a list of reasons why I'm a fanboy about it...

--) No waiting: When other people take their turns, all players must make decisions.

--) Creepily well-balanced. There is no (to my knowledge) "power move" or "race for a certain card" that lames out the game.

--) Incredible replayability: each time you play is different

--) Minimized randomness: Randomness exists in only a SINGLE aspect of the game. Everything is else is based on seating and "what are my opponents likely to do".

--) Fast games: You can play it three times in an evening. Crucial.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/rankbrowse.php3?ranki ng=45#45

Pretty much lists everything you won't find at a local wal-mart.

Discovered this one over the summer and played with some friends online. Would love an actual board game version. Great strategy game, especially since you're forced to barter with other players to succeed, there's lots of strategy involved.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/viewitem.php3?gameid= 13

What I want for Christmas is some HeroScape expansion packs!

can be found here. fury of the dracula is a better-received (but woefully out of print) game in the same class.

can be found here. fury of the dracula is a better-received (but woefully out of print) game in the same class.

What's truly weird about this spoof site (yes, it is a joke) is this: Cthulhu Karts (Cthulhu 500) is an actual card game, and a fairly decent one, at that.

Not to nitpick, but "-1, Inaccurate."

Settlers of Catan is the English edition of Die Siedler von Catan, a German Board game created by Klaus Teuber, and published by Kosmos verlag GmbH in Germany, and Mayfair Games in most of the English-speaking world.

In it, you randomly build a hexagonal island out of smaller, hexagonal tiles. Each tile represends a resource (wool/sheep, lumber/wood, brick/clay, ore/stone, grain/food: These are some of the names that the five resources are known by), each with a number from 2-12. Etc, etc, etc. You know what, just look here, or here.

Part of the appeal of Settlers is its scalability: For beginners starting out for the first time, there's the basic set, which remains fun several plays later. More advanced players, or those craving a bit more variety, can snap in the Seafarers expansion, which adds the option for larger maps, alternate victory conditions, and scenario-specific points and goals, while those wanting a more micromanaged approach can try the Cities & Knights expansion, which allows players to build up their specific cities with improvements, and generally mess with the core game.

The popularity curve tends to favor Seafarers over the basic set and Cities & Knights, but they all have a pretty strong following.

Also of note are the other Catan games, including:

Starfarers of Catan
Starship Catan
Settlers of Catan Card Game
Candamir: The First Settlers (which is not yet released or even translated).

Then there's the novel, the computer games, and the whiskey bottle edition. No, seriously.

Not to nitpick, but "-1, Inaccurate."

Settlers of Catan is the English edition of Die Siedler von Catan, a German Board game created by Klaus Teuber, and published by Kosmos verlag GmbH in Germany, and Mayfair Games in most of the English-speaking world.

In it, you randomly build a hexagonal island out of smaller, hexagonal tiles. Each tile represends a resource (wool/sheep, lumber/wood, brick/clay, ore/stone, grain/food: These are some of the names that the five resources are known by), each with a number from 2-12. Etc, etc, etc. You know what, just look here, or here.

Part of the appeal of Settlers is its scalability: For beginners starting out for the first time, there's the basic set, which remains fun several plays later. More advanced players, or those craving a bit more variety, can snap in the Seafarers expansion, which adds the option for larger maps, alternate victory conditions, and scenario-specific points and goals, while those wanting a more micromanaged approach can try the Cities & Knights expansion, which allows players to build up their specific cities with improvements, and generally mess with the core game.

The popularity curve tends to favor Seafarers over the basic set and Cities & Knights, but they all have a pretty strong following.

Also of note are the other Catan games, including:

Starfarers of Catan
Starship Catan
Settlers of Catan Card Game
Candamir: The First Settlers (which is not yet released or even translated).

Then there's the novel, the computer games, and the whiskey bottle edition. No, seriously.

Not to nitpick, but "-1, Inaccurate."

Settlers of Catan is the English edition of Die Siedler von Catan, a German Board game created by Klaus Teuber, and published by Kosmos verlag GmbH in Germany, and Mayfair Games in most of the English-speaking world.

In it, you randomly build a hexagonal island out of smaller, hexagonal tiles. Each tile represends a resource (wool/sheep, lumber/wood, brick/clay, ore/stone, grain/food: These are some of the names that the five resources are known by), each with a number from 2-12. Etc, etc, etc. You know what, just look here, or here.

Part of the appeal of Settlers is its scalability: For beginners starting out for the first time, there's the basic set, which remains fun several plays later. More advanced players, or those craving a bit more variety, can snap in the Seafarers expansion, which adds the option for larger maps, alternate victory conditions, and scenario-specific points and goals, while those wanting a more micromanaged approach can try the Cities & Knights expansion, which allows players to build up their specific cities with improvements, and generally mess with the core game.

The popularity curve tends to favor Seafarers over the basic set and Cities & Knights, but they all have a pretty strong following.

Also of note are the other Catan games, including:

Starfarers of Catan
Starship Catan
Settlers of Catan Card Game
Candamir: The First Settlers (which is not yet released or even translated).

Then there's the novel, the computer games, and the whiskey bottle edition. No, seriously.

Not to nitpick, but "-1, Inaccurate."

Settlers of Catan is the English edition of Die Siedler von Catan, a German Board game created by Klaus Teuber, and published by Kosmos verlag GmbH in Germany, and Mayfair Games in most of the English-speaking world.

In it, you randomly build a hexagonal island out of smaller, hexagonal tiles. Each tile represends a resource (wool/sheep, lumber/wood, brick/clay, ore/stone, grain/food: These are some of the names that the five resources are known by), each with a number from 2-12. Etc, etc, etc. You know what, just look here, or here.

Part of the appeal of Settlers is its scalability: For beginners starting out for the first time, there's the basic set, which remains fun several plays later. More advanced players, or those craving a bit more variety, can snap in the Seafarers expansion, which adds the option for larger maps, alternate victory conditions, and scenario-specific points and goals, while those wanting a more micromanaged approach can try the Cities & Knights expansion, which allows players to build up their specific cities with improvements, and generally mess with the core game.

The popularity curve tends to favor Seafarers over the basic set and Cities & Knights, but they all have a pretty strong following.

Also of note are the other Catan games, including:

Starfarers of Catan
Starship Catan
Settlers of Catan Card Game
Candamir: The First Settlers (which is not yet released or even translated).

Then there's the novel, the computer games, and the whiskey bottle edition. No, seriously.

Not to nitpick, but "-1, Inaccurate."

Settlers of Catan is the English edition of Die Siedler von Catan, a German Board game created by Klaus Teuber, and published by Kosmos verlag GmbH in Germany, and Mayfair Games in most of the English-speaking world.

In it, you randomly build a hexagonal island out of smaller, hexagonal tiles. Each tile represends a resource (wool/sheep, lumber/wood, brick/clay, ore/stone, grain/food: These are some of the names that the five resources are known by), each with a number from 2-12. Etc, etc, etc. You know what, just look here, or here.

Part of the appeal of Settlers is its scalability: For beginners starting out for the first time, there's the basic set, which remains fun several plays later. More advanced players, or those craving a bit more variety, can snap in the Seafarers expansion, which adds the option for larger maps, alternate victory conditions, and scenario-specific points and goals, while those wanting a more micromanaged approach can try the Cities & Knights expansion, which allows players to build up their specific cities with improvements, and generally mess with the core game.

The popularity curve tends to favor Seafarers over the basic set and Cities & Knights, but they all have a pretty strong following.

Also of note are the other Catan games, including:

Starfarers of Catan
Starship Catan
Settlers of Catan Card Game
Candamir: The First Settlers (which is not yet released or even translated).

Then there's the novel, the computer games, and the whiskey bottle edition. No, seriously.

Not to nitpick, but "-1, Inaccurate."

Settlers of Catan is the English edition of Die Siedler von Catan, a German Board game created by Klaus Teuber, and published by Kosmos verlag GmbH in Germany, and Mayfair Games in most of the English-speaking world.

In it, you randomly build a hexagonal island out of smaller, hexagonal tiles. Each tile represends a resource (wool/sheep, lumber/wood, brick/clay, ore/stone, grain/food: These are some of the names that the five resources are known by), each with a number from 2-12. Etc, etc, etc. You know what, just look here, or here.

Part of the appeal of Settlers is its scalability: For beginners starting out for the first time, there's the basic set, which remains fun several plays later. More advanced players, or those craving a bit more variety, can snap in the Seafarers expansion, which adds the option for larger maps, alternate victory conditions, and scenario-specific points and goals, while those wanting a more micromanaged approach can try the Cities & Knights expansion, which allows players to build up their specific cities with improvements, and generally mess with the core game.

The popularity curve tends to favor Seafarers over the basic set and Cities & Knights, but they all have a pretty strong following.

Also of note are the other Catan games, including:

Starfarers of Catan
Starship Catan
Settlers of Catan Card Game
Candamir: The First Settlers (which is not yet released or even translated).

Then there's the novel, the computer games, and the whiskey bottle edition. No, seriously.

Not to nitpick, but "-1, Inaccurate."

Settlers of Catan is the English edition of Die Siedler von Catan, a German Board game created by Klaus Teuber, and published by Kosmos verlag GmbH in Germany, and Mayfair Games in most of the English-speaking world.

In it, you randomly build a hexagonal island out of smaller, hexagonal tiles. Each tile represends a resource (wool/sheep, lumber/wood, brick/clay, ore/stone, grain/food: These are some of the names that the five resources are known by), each with a number from 2-12. Etc, etc, etc. You know what, just look here, or here.

Part of the appeal of Settlers is its scalability: For beginners starting out for the first time, there's the basic set, which remains fun several plays later. More advanced players, or those craving a bit more variety, can snap in the Seafarers expansion, which adds the option for larger maps, alternate victory conditions, and scenario-specific points and goals, while those wanting a more micromanaged approach can try the Cities & Knights expansion, which allows players to build up their specific cities with improvements, and generally mess with the core game.

The popularity curve tends to favor Seafarers over the basic set and Cities & Knights, but they all have a pretty strong following.

Also of note are the other Catan games, including:

Starfarers of Catan
Starship Catan
Settlers of Catan Card Game
Candamir: The First Settlers (which is not yet released or even translated).

Then there's the novel, the computer games, and the whiskey bottle edition. No, seriously.

Not to nitpick, but "-1, Inaccurate."

Settlers of Catan is the English edition of Die Siedler von Catan, a German Board game created by Klaus Teuber, and published by Kosmos verlag GmbH in Germany, and Mayfair Games in most of the English-speaking world.

In it, you randomly build a hexagonal island out of smaller, hexagonal tiles. Each tile represends a resource (wool/sheep, lumber/wood, brick/clay, ore/stone, grain/food: These are some of the names that the five resources are known by), each with a number from 2-12. Etc, etc, etc. You know what, just look here, or here.

Part of the appeal of Settlers is its scalability: For beginners starting out for the first time, there's the basic set, which remains fun several plays later. More advanced players, or those craving a bit more variety, can snap in the Seafarers expansion, which adds the option for larger maps, alternate victory conditions, and scenario-specific points and goals, while those wanting a more micromanaged approach can try the Cities & Knights expansion, which allows players to build up their specific cities with improvements, and generally mess with the core game.

The popularity curve tends to favor Seafarers over the basic set and Cities & Knights, but they all have a pretty strong following.

Also of note are the other Catan games, including:

Starfarers of Catan
Starship Catan
Settlers of Catan Card Game
Candamir: The First Settlers (which is not yet released or even translated).

Then there's the novel, the computer games, and the whiskey bottle edition. No, seriously.

Indeed. My group of gamers played Settlers regularly for years. Recently we stopped playing because we figured out "best" stratgedies for common situations. After that, the die rolls became too big a factor.

However, that was with the basic game. I'm still always up for a game of Settlers with the Cities and Knights expansion. That expansion adds so much more depth that it is still a very enjoyable game.

I still break out the basic game with new gamers though. It's a great intro to the world of germanesque stratgedy games.

Side note: see how Settlers has game ID 13 in boardgamegeek? It's a classic :)

Indeed. My group of gamers played Settlers regularly for years. Recently we stopped playing because we figured out "best" stratgedies for common situations. After that, the die rolls became too big a factor.

However, that was with the basic game. I'm still always up for a game of Settlers with the Cities and Knights expansion. That expansion adds so much more depth that it is still a very enjoyable game.

I still break out the basic game with new gamers though. It's a great intro to the world of germanesque stratgedy games.

Side note: see how Settlers has game ID 13 in boardgamegeek? It's a classic :)

Indeed. My group of gamers played Settlers regularly for years. Recently we stopped playing because we figured out "best" stratgedies for common situations. After that, the die rolls became too big a factor.

However, that was with the basic game. I'm still always up for a game of Settlers with the Cities and Knights expansion. That expansion adds so much more depth that it is still a very enjoyable game.

I still break out the basic game with new gamers though. It's a great intro to the world of germanesque stratgedy games.

Side note: see how Settlers has game ID 13 in boardgamegeek? It's a classic :)

Is there an online version?

It's a board game.

Click here for info.

This is a much better boardgame portal. You need to configure it to use english instead of german (if that's your language of choice), but it has a great community and lots and lots of german board games. If you aren't familiar with classic titles like Saint Petersburg, Puerto Rico, and Carcassone, you should really check it out. These games have been beautifly adapted to the java interface, so anyone can play with any OS with java support.

The german style of boardgame is interesting. The games are under an hour, you may be down, but you're never out, and it'll be your turn soon. The are easy to learn but hard to master. Unlike the American designers, the germans don't like direct conflict or random chance. Instead, there's a lot of resource denial and bidding strategy.

Brettspeilwelt has a metagame that advances players in rank. Experienced players have more control over games, and can build game rooms of their own. Generally, playing space, in terms of server resources is optimally allocated this way. There's a lot of prestige in offering the new game and so forth. Also, the Germans are very polite gamers. No cussing or racial slurs, just "good luck and have fun" type comments. If you like boardgames like Settlers, this is the place to be.

Settlers of Catan is a German Board game created by Mayfair Games.

As a point of fact, Settlers of Catan was originally published by Kosmos as Die Siedler von Catan and created by Klaus Teuber. See more information Here. Mayfair Games has republished it (3 editions I believe) in English, here in the USA.

The game has some similarities to Monopoly and Risk but is really a completly different kind of game. Most people to like Risk seem to really enjoy settlers.

That's a good way to put it. The recent German board game invasion has brought lots of games that serious gamers can play with non-gamers. (Gamer: n. One who enjoys table-top games including board games, war games, card games, and role-playing games, as a primary hobby.) Several friends who really have no idea what I see in something like Twilight Imperium will enjoy Settlers of Catan.

That said, I eventually grew tired of Catan. A game that does similarlly well with non-gamers and gamers alike is Carcassonne, a tile placing game about building and controlling roads, fields, and cities.

It's like a live-action Scotland Yard!

I suppose that CG has finally come so far as to make the books possible. I hope who ever does it, does it well because the books are fantastic. Many are the days I enjoyed them, and the old SPI game as well. Casting John Carter wouldn't be too tough I don't think - Hugh Jackman comes to mind. But Dejah Thoris? That is a tough one, a young Catherine Zeta-Jones maybe? Wow, this has set my weekend - time to dust off an old campaign I had tried to get together once long ago.

Sera

(Speaking of licensing, I believe only the PlayStation version and the Microsoft version will be "legit."

BUZZ! Incorrect sir!

In Germany and most of non-English speaking Europe, there have been PC versions of Catan for years. For the base set and Seafarers, there's Catan: Die Erste Insel (which was also available on the Playstation 1). If you're itching to play the cardgame online, why not try Catan - Das Kartenspiel, which features many online options, and a robust AI, not to mention an unofficial English translation.

If space is more your thing, you can always try Die Sternenfahrer von Catan, which is a bit of a departure from the cardboard-n-plastic version: It's realtime. Then again, you can always try the 2-player Sternenschiff Catan, which is chock full of scenario goodness. Rockazonga, the developer of the PC version of Sternenschiff, has been making noises of an English version, as well as a PS2 version.

Personally, I'd love for Microsoft to do all the Catan gams (which, by the terms of the agreement they signed, they are allowed to), since I love Starfarers, but have trouble talking people into playing a single game for 2 hours. They'd usually rather play several other games in that same time period.

(Speaking of licensing, I believe only the PlayStation version and the Microsoft version will be "legit."

BUZZ! Incorrect sir!

In Germany and most of non-English speaking Europe, there have been PC versions of Catan for years. For the base set and Seafarers, there's Catan: Die Erste Insel (which was also available on the Playstation 1). If you're itching to play the cardgame online, why not try Catan - Das Kartenspiel, which features many online options, and a robust AI, not to mention an unofficial English translation.

If space is more your thing, you can always try Die Sternenfahrer von Catan, which is a bit of a departure from the cardboard-n-plastic version: It's realtime. Then again, you can always try the 2-player Sternenschiff Catan, which is chock full of scenario goodness. Rockazonga, the developer of the PC version of Sternenschiff, has been making noises of an English version, as well as a PS2 version.

Personally, I'd love for Microsoft to do all the Catan gams (which, by the terms of the agreement they signed, they are allowed to), since I love Starfarers, but have trouble talking people into playing a single game for 2 hours. They'd usually rather play several other games in that same time period.

(Speaking of licensing, I believe only the PlayStation version and the Microsoft version will be "legit."

BUZZ! Incorrect sir!

In Germany and most of non-English speaking Europe, there have been PC versions of Catan for years. For the base set and Seafarers, there's Catan: Die Erste Insel (which was also available on the Playstation 1). If you're itching to play the cardgame online, why not try Catan - Das Kartenspiel, which features many online options, and a robust AI, not to mention an unofficial English translation.

If space is more your thing, you can always try Die Sternenfahrer von Catan, which is a bit of a departure from the cardboard-n-plastic version: It's realtime. Then again, you can always try the 2-player Sternenschiff Catan, which is chock full of scenario goodness. Rockazonga, the developer of the PC version of Sternenschiff, has been making noises of an English version, as well as a PS2 version.

Personally, I'd love for Microsoft to do all the Catan gams (which, by the terms of the agreement they signed, they are allowed to), since I love Starfarers, but have trouble talking people into playing a single game for 2 hours. They'd usually rather play several other games in that same time period.

(Speaking of licensing, I believe only the PlayStation version and the Microsoft version will be "legit."

BUZZ! Incorrect sir!

In Germany and most of non-English speaking Europe, there have been PC versions of Catan for years. For the base set and Seafarers, there's Catan: Die Erste Insel (which was also available on the Playstation 1). If you're itching to play the cardgame online, why not try Catan - Das Kartenspiel, which features many online options, and a robust AI, not to mention an unofficial English translation.

If space is more your thing, you can always try Die Sternenfahrer von Catan, which is a bit of a departure from the cardboard-n-plastic version: It's realtime. Then again, you can always try the 2-player Sternenschiff Catan, which is chock full of scenario goodness. Rockazonga, the developer of the PC version of Sternenschiff, has been making noises of an English version, as well as a PS2 version.

Personally, I'd love for Microsoft to do all the Catan gams (which, by the terms of the agreement they signed, they are allowed to), since I love Starfarers, but have trouble talking people into playing a single game for 2 hours. They'd usually rather play several other games in that same time period.

I'll just remind you that Ultima Online is a skill based game. I've heard they've altered the formula to add prestige classes (gasp! classes), but even then there're plenty of free shards that use the 100% skill based system. On a side note, I've also heard some changes to UO are quite good so the pay service is still worth looking into.

I by no means think UO is the end-all to MMORPGs, though. I also think you're right in saying we could all do without levels. Back when Bioware was designing Neverwinter Nights I was part of a big debate on whether the engine should be real time or turn based (that long ago). My argument was that the rules (2nd edition) had tables for the time duration of movement and combat phases and there's no reason not to let a computer handle all the conversions. At the time I didn't think about it, but now I think the same can be said for leveling and character progression. There is much the computer can handle without the interaction of the player and I think character progression is no exception.

But, I don't play MMORPG's and don't plan to ever so all this discussion is moot. If I cared so much about the genre I would be working on my own game right now because I could. But I think MMORGPs and internet games in general are dull in comparison to games in meat-space. Tabletop role playing, board games , card games, multiplayer console games, LAN games. Oh yeah, they're fun. MMORPGs and Yahoo chess? Like playing my pocket calculator but less interactive. At least it makes moves in a timely manner and doesn't disconnect in the middle of the game or act like an ass hat or a 3D animated screen saver of "roots" "nuke" "nuke" "heal" "sit". No thanks. I'll have the guys and girls over at my house on Fridays and we'll have a better time the old fasioned way.

Honestly, I've not really made the switch myself. The main reason is actually kind of petty, hotkeys. I've become very used to things like shift-clicking a link to bring up extra pages or hitting ctrl-enter after typing in a word to add the http://www. and .com to it. I've been working with IE for long enough that it's second nature to use those keys. Yes, I'm sure that other browsers have ways to do these things, but one gets used to not having to think browsing the web, so learning new keys feels like a fair burden.

My second problem is games. ^_^ I play Robo Runner, an online game similar to Robo Rally. Yes, there are some browser modifications to run this via Mozilla, but it doesn't work straight out of the box, something which is probably even more inexplicable to the average user who never messes with their settings.

Good ones at least. Check out board game geek if you are a player and board game designers forum if you are a designer.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/rankbrowse.php3?ranki ng=1
I recently got Puerto Rico, and it is great indeed!

Run Yourself Ragged

Like Perfection, it's not strictly the sort of thing the article asks about (although I suppose you need to be good at spatial relationships when blindly going through the maze), but it's an entertaining variant on the timed 1-player game.

I will never play Risk again.

Every person I've ever played with relies on a different obscure house rule which they insist is necessary "for balance" (curiously, I have never even come close to winning a game of Risk in which its "imbalance" had been corrected). If I refuse to allow the rule, I'm setting myself up for six to eight hours of pissing and moaning, and attempts by that opponent to use the rule surreptitiously, as if it were a game of Cosmic Encounter or Illuminati.

Maybe I just have bad luck finding people to play Risk with, but that's just the final straw. The larger problem is that I simply can't afford to burn through such a large block of time: Risk, Axis & Allies, Diplomacy,... The games are good, but it takes longer to get these things set up than most of my friends are willing to spend playing.

I played Settlers of Catan for the first time this weekend; that seemed like a lot of fun (we only played to 10 points, though). The hex-map island suddenly reminded me of Survive! They otherwise have nothing in common, but I realized I hadn't even thought of that game in years.

Just one of Reiner Knizia's several award winning games .

Probably the most prolific designer alive.

Carcassonne is the game that bumped the excellent Settlers of Cataan from the top spot for me.

Carcassonne is incredibly elegant. You place new tiles to expand the world, optionally claiming them for your side. Play is simultaneously competitive and cooperative between players as temporary aliances are formed and broken based on mutual interest. There are several ways to earn points, leading to vastly different strategies (like in an RTS on a computer), and enough expansion packs to keep the game ever fresh.

-m

First of all, there is a whole class of Board Game Geeks.

It should also be noted that Scotland Yard is still available as a game called N.Y. Chase, but with a different map.

With those points out of the way, I think the appeal of board games depends greatly on the type of board game. There are several board categories that each appeal to a different group of people. Logic games that involve deduction like Scotland Yard probably appeal to technology geeks more than they do to the general population.

Some people play games as a way to relax, and they do not like to spend as much time thinking about things as it takes to play a deduction game. Some of those people prefer "party" games like trivia games and more social offerings.

You could try to create a Venn diagram of different demographics and the type of board games that they prefer, but I don't know that it would be that useful. It is better, in my experience, to just try to find games that the people you plan to play with like and have fun.

Here is a partial list of some broad categories of games (off the top of my head):

Party games that revolve around social interation like Cranium, Apples to Apples, most trivia games, and most board games that are mass marketed for adults in the USA.

Deduction games that involve eliminating possibilities and figuring out the answer like Scotland Yard, Master Mind, Coda, and Clue.

Induction games that involve formulating a theory based on observed evidence like Zendo and Eluesis.

Programming games where the moves are all set up and then executed like RAMBots and RoboRally (Diplomacy uses this mechanic, but it's really a different kind of game).

Abstract strategy games where the players pit their mental abilities against one another. Many of these are limited to two players and frequently have perfect information. Examples include Chess, Go, Dvonn, Zertz, Tigris and Euphrates, Blokus, and Through the Desert.

Dexterity games were players have to use physical ability to achieve an objective, like Pitchcar, Jenga, and Crokinole.

There are many other types of games, and then there are many games that incorporate several of these aspects. There are even games that I refer to as "psychological interation" games because they revolve more around how well you can judge how the other players will act in a given situation (like Citadels and Werewolf).

Many of the Euro/German/Designer games incorporate different elements to create an experience that appeals to many people for different reasons, but a lot of the preference comes down to why people want to play games. I personally like to win, so I tend to dislike games that involve too much luck. I also like to think, so I enjoy games that are "brain burners".

Some of my favorites include:
Go, a classic two player abstract strategy game

Ricochet Robot, a brain burning puzzle game

Zendo, an induction game

Through the Desert, a multi player abstract strategy games similar to Go

Princes of Florence, a complex designer game that incorporates auctions and strategy in an interesting way

Carcassonne, a relativly light tile placement game that still has enough strategy to be enjoyable

Age of Steam and Power Grid, economic simulation games that require tough decisions to try to implement complex plans

However, I own a broad collection of games so I have something that is approprate and enjoyable for almost any situation. It all comes down to having fun, in the end (and winning).

I love Junta, which is a game for 3-7 players where each player is either the president or a member of the cabinet of a corrupt government in a Central American republic. The point of the game is to get as much foreign aid money into your Swiss bank account before it all runs out.

The gameplay is wonderful if you like double-crossing.

I can second the Settlers and Carcassonne nominations. Those both reward skill, though Settlers takes some bargaining craft to really excel.

I didn't like Iron Mountain very much, but Eurorails had the best map for the rail series of games I played. The US (Empire Builder) is too large, and Australia has the same problems of overly wide spaces with no cities. Never played India Rails.

Actually, the board game Civilization dates to 1981 and was a source of inspiration for the computer game.

I hope they have some more board games than the typical handful like chess, checkers, backgammon, and such. It would be nice to get some advanced German board games like Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico, any of Reiner Knizia's games or El Grande since this is coming from Sony Europe. I know Capcom released a network version of Settlers for PS2 in Japan that they gave away. Surely SCEE can arrange to give them a buck or two each copy to include something a little more interesting that can be played with more than just two people.

I hope they have some more board games than the typical handful like chess, checkers, backgammon, and such. It would be nice to get some advanced German board games like Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico, any of Reiner Knizia's games or El Grande since this is coming from Sony Europe. I know Capcom released a network version of Settlers for PS2 in Japan that they gave away. Surely SCEE can arrange to give them a buck or two each copy to include something a little more interesting that can be played with more than just two people.

I hope they have some more board games than the typical handful like chess, checkers, backgammon, and such. It would be nice to get some advanced German board games like Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico, any of Reiner Knizia's games or El Grande since this is coming from Sony Europe. I know Capcom released a network version of Settlers for PS2 in Japan that they gave away. Surely SCEE can arrange to give them a buck or two each copy to include something a little more interesting that can be played with more than just two people.

I hope they have some more board games than the typical handful like chess, checkers, backgammon, and such. It would be nice to get some advanced German board games like Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico, any of Reiner Knizia's games or El Grande since this is coming from Sony Europe. I know Capcom released a network version of Settlers for PS2 in Japan that they gave away. Surely SCEE can arrange to give them a buck or two each copy to include something a little more interesting that can be played with more than just two people.

Wish I could mod this up, as it's one of the most insightful posts in here.

It's interesting psychologically how people associate value with things. As another example, in the board game Monopoly during the frequently misunderstood property auction (see official rules), many players are unwilling to bid higher than the printed value of the property on the board. In reality, the value of the property is based on who has the other properties of that color, expected future income, and general strategy, yet people see the number and think "oh ok that's how much this is worth". Odd, but at least predictable and makes it easy to gain the upper hand...

Have you ever played Zombies!!!?

That pretty much is a tabletop FPS. Fast turns, simple rules and hordes of flesh-eaters out for your brains. Its not exactly a hugely tactical game, but neither are most FPS games.