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The quicker play rules that can be found on board game geek tries to reform Zombies!!! into something fun.

I used to play (read?) an interactive book/game that simulated WWI air combat: Ace of Aces. Totally weird but fun! The book had pictures of the planes from various angles, firing, etc. You would declare a maneuver, and then turn to the correct page showing the outcome. Your opponent had his own book.

In terms of Lord of the Rings games specifically some very good choices are:

Lord of the Rings (the cooperative game) -- you play across different scenarios to try to throw the ring into mount doom. an expansion lets someone play as sauron and try to kill everyone else, even though the game is pretty good at doing that already (2-5 players in the base game, can be easily adapted for solo play, if you're into that)

Lord of the Rings -- the Confrontation this game is Stratego-like, where one player plays the light side, the other plays dark, and has the appropriate characters and victory conditions. I haven't played this one, but it's supposed to be very good. (2 players)

There are a lot of amazingly good games out there. I was stunned when I found out just how much better games could be than what I was playing. There are funny ones, chaotic ones, deep-thought ones, cooperative ones, ones where you build your own empire, abstract ones, beautiful ones... fun ones!

Lea

In terms of Lord of the Rings games specifically some very good choices are:

Lord of the Rings (the cooperative game) -- you play across different scenarios to try to throw the ring into mount doom. an expansion lets someone play as sauron and try to kill everyone else, even though the game is pretty good at doing that already (2-5 players in the base game, can be easily adapted for solo play, if you're into that)

Lord of the Rings -- the Confrontation this game is Stratego-like, where one player plays the light side, the other plays dark, and has the appropriate characters and victory conditions. I haven't played this one, but it's supposed to be very good. (2 players)

There are a lot of amazingly good games out there. I was stunned when I found out just how much better games could be than what I was playing. There are funny ones, chaotic ones, deep-thought ones, cooperative ones, ones where you build your own empire, abstract ones, beautiful ones... fun ones!

Lea

it's news because Settlers of Catan is one of the more popular board games out there (i.e., it's got geek appeal). It's the third highest rated game at boardgamegeek.com.

I recently picked it up at one of those christmas/calendar stores that was closing for 25% off. Haven't played it yet though...

The game I'm waiting for an online version of is Stratego. Found a java version a while back that was buggy, but I wish zone/yahoo/someone would license it (or at least put up a nice ripoff-ware version)

A mediocre, luck-heavy game in which you can almost buy your way into winning (I say almost: there are some quite powerful common cards, and a winning deck can definitely be crafted entirely from commons) gets all the attention while true mind games like Ricochet Robot languish in relative obscurity, at least, here in the states.

Bear in mind, not all collectible card games suffer from "rich kid wins" syndrome. Speicifically, there was a truly strategic (and tactical) CCG which was introduced in 2001: Z-G, created by White Wolf alumni Mark Rein*Hagen (Yes, he puts an asterisk in his name) and Josh Timbrook. Sort of a free-range, tabletop version of Squaresoft's wonderful Front Mission series, which never suffered from "rich kid wins."

Sometimes, I'll mention how much I enjoy board and card games to someone, and they'll say something like "Oh, yeah, I really like Magic," or "Monopoly's my favorite."

I find this roughly analogous to discussing the virtues of classical music, and having someone say, "Oh, yeah, I really like Pop Goes the Weasel."

Only one of the other posts isn't completely offtopic.

Anywho, if you're still hankering for heaping helping of free boardgames, Invisible City Press, home of Zombie Rancher, has plenty. If that's not enough for you, you can always print up a Piecepack or two.

If you're willing to spend a little money, James Ernest makes an unpleasantly large number of really pleasant games, most of which sell for less than $10.00. In fact, one of the best sells for $5.00, while my current favorite comes in at a paltry $7.50, with all the heavy-duty fun of your average German game.

Only one of the other posts isn't completely offtopic.

Anywho, if you're still hankering for heaping helping of free boardgames, Invisible City Press, home of Zombie Rancher, has plenty. If that's not enough for you, you can always print up a Piecepack or two.

If you're willing to spend a little money, James Ernest makes an unpleasantly large number of really pleasant games, most of which sell for less than $10.00. In fact, one of the best sells for $5.00, while my current favorite comes in at a paltry $7.50, with all the heavy-duty fun of your average German game.

Only one of the other posts isn't completely offtopic.

Anywho, if you're still hankering for heaping helping of free boardgames, Invisible City Press, home of Zombie Rancher, has plenty. If that's not enough for you, you can always print up a Piecepack or two.

If you're willing to spend a little money, James Ernest makes an unpleasantly large number of really pleasant games, most of which sell for less than $10.00. In fact, one of the best sells for $5.00, while my current favorite comes in at a paltry $7.50, with all the heavy-duty fun of your average German game.

Only one of the other posts isn't completely offtopic.

Anywho, if you're still hankering for heaping helping of free boardgames, Invisible City Press, home of Zombie Rancher, has plenty. If that's not enough for you, you can always print up a Piecepack or two.

If you're willing to spend a little money, James Ernest makes an unpleasantly large number of really pleasant games, most of which sell for less than $10.00. In fact, one of the best sells for $5.00, while my current favorite comes in at a paltry $7.50, with all the heavy-duty fun of your average German game.

Only one of the other posts isn't completely offtopic.

Anywho, if you're still hankering for heaping helping of free boardgames, Invisible City Press, home of Zombie Rancher, has plenty. If that's not enough for you, you can always print up a Piecepack or two.

If you're willing to spend a little money, James Ernest makes an unpleasantly large number of really pleasant games, most of which sell for less than $10.00. In fact, one of the best sells for $5.00, while my current favorite comes in at a paltry $7.50, with all the heavy-duty fun of your average German game.

Once people made millions off of homemade board games that became outrageously popular, and many people tried to emulate the success. Now a hundred years of free market evolution has filtered out only the best board games, but guess what : people are still making millions off of them, and people are still loving games made even before the depression. Even still, if you have a bright idea you can easily enter the market (Think about the very popular new-comer "Cranium")

Look at today's most popular board games: Monopoly and Risk. You could argue that Risk isn't a bad game, but Monopoly certainly is. People don't buy them because they're good; rather, because they achieved critical market share and recognition. Monopoly is a popular present (Bob likes golf, let's buy him the Monopoly Golf edition for his birthday).

Cranium was successful because of the business skills of its creators (who by the way are ex-microsoft employees).

Meanwhile hundreds of games which would be much more fun to play are not known to anybody who doesn't check boardgamegeek.com.

P.S.
www.antimonopoly.com.

I hit submit a wee bit too early, it seems.

Regarding Diskwars and Rangewars, I meant to say: "Check ebay, or the Boardgamegeek marketplace for the best deals."

Wouldn't it make more sense to ask this question on BoardGameGeek?

One of the games I have had most success getting other non-gamer types to play is Naval War by Avalon Hill. Although technically it's a card game.It's rated a 1 on AH's skill level so anyone can learn it in about 5 minutes, even kids.I had some trouble buying it a few years back at local shops when a friend wanted a copy, but he found one on ebay immediately. I bought the Lord of the Rings game for our last family New Years eve party and it was a big success. I was debating between it and Settlers of Catan, but chose LOTR since 5 people could play without expansion packs. This year I'm taking Settlers since I have aquired the expansion pack. The people at this gathering are never hard core gamers, and this may be the only time all year they get to play what I would consider to be a real board game. We have also been playing Puerto Rico lately which is very fun, especially because of the huge number of ways to win. I have to put in a plug for one of my all time favorites Axis and Allies. Although you need to be somewhat hard core to play this, but not as much as a serious wargame. The person who described it as Risk plus is about right, although it may be slightly more comples than that implies. I hear Carccassone is great, and that will be my next purchase.

One of the games I have had most success getting other non-gamer types to play is Naval War by Avalon Hill. Although technically it's a card game.It's rated a 1 on AH's skill level so anyone can learn it in about 5 minutes, even kids.I had some trouble buying it a few years back at local shops when a friend wanted a copy, but he found one on ebay immediately. I bought the Lord of the Rings game for our last family New Years eve party and it was a big success. I was debating between it and Settlers of Catan, but chose LOTR since 5 people could play without expansion packs. This year I'm taking Settlers since I have aquired the expansion pack. The people at this gathering are never hard core gamers, and this may be the only time all year they get to play what I would consider to be a real board game. We have also been playing Puerto Rico lately which is very fun, especially because of the huge number of ways to win. I have to put in a plug for one of my all time favorites Axis and Allies. Although you need to be somewhat hard core to play this, but not as much as a serious wargame. The person who described it as Risk plus is about right, although it may be slightly more comples than that implies. I hear Carccassone is great, and that will be my next purchase.

One of the games I have had most success getting other non-gamer types to play is Naval War by Avalon Hill. Although technically it's a card game.It's rated a 1 on AH's skill level so anyone can learn it in about 5 minutes, even kids.I had some trouble buying it a few years back at local shops when a friend wanted a copy, but he found one on ebay immediately. I bought the Lord of the Rings game for our last family New Years eve party and it was a big success. I was debating between it and Settlers of Catan, but chose LOTR since 5 people could play without expansion packs. This year I'm taking Settlers since I have aquired the expansion pack. The people at this gathering are never hard core gamers, and this may be the only time all year they get to play what I would consider to be a real board game. We have also been playing Puerto Rico lately which is very fun, especially because of the huge number of ways to win. I have to put in a plug for one of my all time favorites Axis and Allies. Although you need to be somewhat hard core to play this, but not as much as a serious wargame. The person who described it as Risk plus is about right, although it may be slightly more comples than that implies. I hear Carccassone is great, and that will be my next purchase.

One of the games I have had most success getting other non-gamer types to play is Naval War by Avalon Hill. Although technically it's a card game.It's rated a 1 on AH's skill level so anyone can learn it in about 5 minutes, even kids.I had some trouble buying it a few years back at local shops when a friend wanted a copy, but he found one on ebay immediately. I bought the Lord of the Rings game for our last family New Years eve party and it was a big success. I was debating between it and Settlers of Catan, but chose LOTR since 5 people could play without expansion packs. This year I'm taking Settlers since I have aquired the expansion pack. The people at this gathering are never hard core gamers, and this may be the only time all year they get to play what I would consider to be a real board game. We have also been playing Puerto Rico lately which is very fun, especially because of the huge number of ways to win. I have to put in a plug for one of my all time favorites Axis and Allies. Although you need to be somewhat hard core to play this, but not as much as a serious wargame. The person who described it as Risk plus is about right, although it may be slightly more comples than that implies. I hear Carccassone is great, and that will be my next purchase.

One of the games I have had most success getting other non-gamer types to play is Naval War by Avalon Hill. Although technically it's a card game.It's rated a 1 on AH's skill level so anyone can learn it in about 5 minutes, even kids.I had some trouble buying it a few years back at local shops when a friend wanted a copy, but he found one on ebay immediately. I bought the Lord of the Rings game for our last family New Years eve party and it was a big success. I was debating between it and Settlers of Catan, but chose LOTR since 5 people could play without expansion packs. This year I'm taking Settlers since I have aquired the expansion pack. The people at this gathering are never hard core gamers, and this may be the only time all year they get to play what I would consider to be a real board game. We have also been playing Puerto Rico lately which is very fun, especially because of the huge number of ways to win. I have to put in a plug for one of my all time favorites Axis and Allies. Although you need to be somewhat hard core to play this, but not as much as a serious wargame. The person who described it as Risk plus is about right, although it may be slightly more comples than that implies. I hear Carccassone is great, and that will be my next purchase.

One of the games I have had most success getting other non-gamer types to play is Naval War by Avalon Hill. Although technically it's a card game.It's rated a 1 on AH's skill level so anyone can learn it in about 5 minutes, even kids.I had some trouble buying it a few years back at local shops when a friend wanted a copy, but he found one on ebay immediately. I bought the Lord of the Rings game for our last family New Years eve party and it was a big success. I was debating between it and Settlers of Catan, but chose LOTR since 5 people could play without expansion packs. This year I'm taking Settlers since I have aquired the expansion pack. The people at this gathering are never hard core gamers, and this may be the only time all year they get to play what I would consider to be a real board game. We have also been playing Puerto Rico lately which is very fun, especially because of the huge number of ways to win. I have to put in a plug for one of my all time favorites Axis and Allies. Although you need to be somewhat hard core to play this, but not as much as a serious wargame. The person who described it as Risk plus is about right, although it may be slightly more comples than that implies. I hear Carccassone is great, and that will be my next purchase.

I can thoroughly recommend the following games...
Any GIPF project game... These are abstract strategy games for two players... The games link into one megagame, and individually and collectively they are extremely compelling...
I recommend trying them in this order...

Zertz
Yinsh
Dvonn
Gipf
Tamsk

each game is based around a different core mechanic. For example, Gipf is sliding, Zertz is jumping, Dvonn is stacking, Tamsk is time, and Yinsh is... well I'm not sure, but it's different.
The linked megagame uses Gipf as a hub, and introduces characteristics from the other games (e.g. jumping from Zertz) to augment the rules.

Other highly recommended games are Bohnanza and Mamma Mia!, although the rules of the latter are hard to follow from the printed documentation. There are plenty of explanations available on the web though.

These (and of course the classic Settlers of Catan, are games that our gaming group play repeatedly, and have stood up well to the test of time.

We used to play monopoly all the time, it was almost a tradition. Then, our gaming group tried settlers and fell in love. The reasons I like it so much are as follows:

*It's not really a cut-throat game like monopoly where your main sorce of income is from making other players pay. Instead, the game is heavily focused on trading with other players for mutual benefit.

* It's also fairly simple. Most people learn the game about halfway through their first game though learning to master it is a different story.

* Close games. The game is played to points and games are usually close until the end. I dislike lots of games, both computer and boardgames, because there comes a point when a player's really lost and the game's over but it goes on anyway because some player still thinks he has a shot or always plays until the end.

* Expansions. Though I don't like seafarers so much, Cities and Knights is a great expansion which adds complexity and additional levels of strategy.

* Staying power. This game was released almost 10 years ago. It's still very popular (see here). That's the sign of a classic.

10. Hacker the deluxe edition (until recently oop)
9. Wizwar
8. Nuclear War (which someone made into a silly computer game of a similar name.)
7. Settlers of Catan/Seafarers of Catan (you can find this at nearly every game store)
6. Eurorails/Empire Builder
5. Family Business
4. Risk and/or the NEW risk (of course)
3. Chess
2. Checkers
1. A set of these

I find that head-to-head video gaming outside the realm of sports is extremely limited. Sure, there's multiplayer, but generally it's going to be lots of people rather than just two. Which is fine, if that's what you're going for, but it sounds like you're wanting something more personal.

There are a slew of really great non-electronic games available which work quite well with two players, and which don't favor a particular gender. For something nicely strategic, why not try The Settlers of Catan Card Game and its expansions? Or, for something a bit lighter, Carcassonne is quite good. Lastly, Hera & Zeus often gets reccommended for couples.

There are many others, and some lists have been compiled here and here.

I find that head-to-head video gaming outside the realm of sports is extremely limited. Sure, there's multiplayer, but generally it's going to be lots of people rather than just two. Which is fine, if that's what you're going for, but it sounds like you're wanting something more personal.

There are a slew of really great non-electronic games available which work quite well with two players, and which don't favor a particular gender. For something nicely strategic, why not try The Settlers of Catan Card Game and its expansions? Or, for something a bit lighter, Carcassonne is quite good. Lastly, Hera & Zeus often gets reccommended for couples.

There are many others, and some lists have been compiled here and here.

I find that head-to-head video gaming outside the realm of sports is extremely limited. Sure, there's multiplayer, but generally it's going to be lots of people rather than just two. Which is fine, if that's what you're going for, but it sounds like you're wanting something more personal.

There are a slew of really great non-electronic games available which work quite well with two players, and which don't favor a particular gender. For something nicely strategic, why not try The Settlers of Catan Card Game and its expansions? Or, for something a bit lighter, Carcassonne is quite good. Lastly, Hera & Zeus often gets reccommended for couples.

There are many others, and some lists have been compiled here and here.

I find that head-to-head video gaming outside the realm of sports is extremely limited. Sure, there's multiplayer, but generally it's going to be lots of people rather than just two. Which is fine, if that's what you're going for, but it sounds like you're wanting something more personal.

There are a slew of really great non-electronic games available which work quite well with two players, and which don't favor a particular gender. For something nicely strategic, why not try The Settlers of Catan Card Game and its expansions? Or, for something a bit lighter, Carcassonne is quite good. Lastly, Hera & Zeus often gets reccommended for couples.

There are many others, and some lists have been compiled here and here.

I find that head-to-head video gaming outside the realm of sports is extremely limited. Sure, there's multiplayer, but generally it's going to be lots of people rather than just two. Which is fine, if that's what you're going for, but it sounds like you're wanting something more personal.

There are a slew of really great non-electronic games available which work quite well with two players, and which don't favor a particular gender. For something nicely strategic, why not try The Settlers of Catan Card Game and its expansions? Or, for something a bit lighter, Carcassonne is quite good. Lastly, Hera & Zeus often gets reccommended for couples.

There are many others, and some lists have been compiled here and here.

I find that head-to-head video gaming outside the realm of sports is extremely limited. Sure, there's multiplayer, but generally it's going to be lots of people rather than just two. Which is fine, if that's what you're going for, but it sounds like you're wanting something more personal.

There are a slew of really great non-electronic games available which work quite well with two players, and which don't favor a particular gender. For something nicely strategic, why not try The Settlers of Catan Card Game and its expansions? Or, for something a bit lighter, Carcassonne is quite good. Lastly, Hera & Zeus often gets reccommended for couples.

There are many others, and some lists have been compiled here and here.

Are you slow, son?

You think Risk was first?

Oh man... If I wasn't too busy playing El Grande, I'll tell you all about how wrong you are.

Here, start at the 'geek.

BoardGameGeek

Actually the best games are "Carboard and wooden pieces". Get the family hooked on a game like Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico or Pirate's Cove and then ask yourself why you are watching so much television.

Actually the best games are "Carboard and wooden pieces". Get the family hooked on a game like Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico or Pirate's Cove and then ask yourself why you are watching so much television.

Actually the best games are "Carboard and wooden pieces". Get the family hooked on a game like Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico or Pirate's Cove and then ask yourself why you are watching so much television.

arrrg... a REALLY great game community site (darn html...)

C'mon, you're at BYU - aren't you tired of Uno by now? :) You obviously shop in the wrong stores. Let me recommend Settlers of Catan (and the many variants), Tikal, Lost Cities (a card game), ummm...Age of Mythology board game has received excellent reviews.

All the games I mentioned (except maybe AoM) are wife-friendly, and kid friendly for older kids.

Read more about the great games you've probably never heard of at BoardGameGeek and get great prices and service at the spartan Boulder Games.

Although I love Whist and Hearts, one of my favoriate card games is Mu, a trick-taking game (like Whist or Bridge) which uses a modified deck:

• 5 suites
• Numbered 0 - 9
• Cards are worth 0 - 2 points
• Two trumps per round, decided by bidding
• Variable (each round) teams
• Plays best with five

It looks like a kitchen sink game, but in reality every aspect of it is wonderfully balanced and there's room for devious bidding and strategy.

Although I love Whist and Hearts, one of my favoriate card games is Mu, a trick-taking game (like Whist or Bridge) which uses a modified deck:

• 5 suites
• Numbered 0 - 9
• Cards are worth 0 - 2 points
• Two trumps per round, decided by bidding
• Variable (each round) teams
• Plays best with five

It looks like a kitchen sink game, but in reality every aspect of it is wonderfully balanced and there's room for devious bidding and strategy.

Yes, Settlers of Catan is a very good game. If you're interested, you can research it as well as hundreds of other board games (including all of the wonderful new European board games) at BoardGameGeek.com

You can buy these games at:

Funagain
Games Surplus
Fair Play Games
Boulder Games

You can also sometimes find them on Ebay (a good place to look for out of print ones) and The BoardGameGeek marketplace

I board game at least one day every weekend with various friends. I round up 3 or 4 of them, and we generally eat snacks and board game for somewhere between 3 and 6 hours. I'd classify most of my friends as semi-geeky (eg. they're science majors). Regardless of sex, I have not introduced one to board gaming who hasn't asked to be reinvited for another session. The great thing about board gaming is that _everyone_ can relate to it, and the only people who aren't likely to enjoy it are those who simply aren't competitive in any way. That doesn't exclude many.

We've all played monopoly and life and a ton of other American roll-the-dice-and-move games. It's no wonder we're all turned off by the time we're adults. Many of those games were written 30 or 40 years ago. As with so many things, board game "theory" (for lack of a better word) has come a long way since then, and the board games have gotten remarkably more innovative since then.

There's a great list at board game geek that shows the top 50 user-rated board games. I've played probably half of them on the list and it's exceedingly accurate in general.

Among my personal favorites are:
Settlers of Catan
Puerto Rico
El Grande

Throw out everything you think you know about board games. These are _fun_, for both adults and kids alike.

I board game at least one day every weekend with various friends. I round up 3 or 4 of them, and we generally eat snacks and board game for somewhere between 3 and 6 hours. I'd classify most of my friends as semi-geeky (eg. they're science majors). Regardless of sex, I have not introduced one to board gaming who hasn't asked to be reinvited for another session. The great thing about board gaming is that _everyone_ can relate to it, and the only people who aren't likely to enjoy it are those who simply aren't competitive in any way. That doesn't exclude many.

We've all played monopoly and life and a ton of other American roll-the-dice-and-move games. It's no wonder we're all turned off by the time we're adults. Many of those games were written 30 or 40 years ago. As with so many things, board game "theory" (for lack of a better word) has come a long way since then, and the board games have gotten remarkably more innovative since then.

There's a great list at board game geek that shows the top 50 user-rated board games. I've played probably half of them on the list and it's exceedingly accurate in general.

Among my personal favorites are:
Settlers of Catan
Puerto Rico
El Grande

Throw out everything you think you know about board games. These are _fun_, for both adults and kids alike.

I board game at least one day every weekend with various friends. I round up 3 or 4 of them, and we generally eat snacks and board game for somewhere between 3 and 6 hours. I'd classify most of my friends as semi-geeky (eg. they're science majors). Regardless of sex, I have not introduced one to board gaming who hasn't asked to be reinvited for another session. The great thing about board gaming is that _everyone_ can relate to it, and the only people who aren't likely to enjoy it are those who simply aren't competitive in any way. That doesn't exclude many.

We've all played monopoly and life and a ton of other American roll-the-dice-and-move games. It's no wonder we're all turned off by the time we're adults. Many of those games were written 30 or 40 years ago. As with so many things, board game "theory" (for lack of a better word) has come a long way since then, and the board games have gotten remarkably more innovative since then.

There's a great list at board game geek that shows the top 50 user-rated board games. I've played probably half of them on the list and it's exceedingly accurate in general.

Among my personal favorites are:
Settlers of Catan
Puerto Rico
El Grande

Throw out everything you think you know about board games. These are _fun_, for both adults and kids alike.

I board game at least one day every weekend with various friends. I round up 3 or 4 of them, and we generally eat snacks and board game for somewhere between 3 and 6 hours. I'd classify most of my friends as semi-geeky (eg. they're science majors). Regardless of sex, I have not introduced one to board gaming who hasn't asked to be reinvited for another session. The great thing about board gaming is that _everyone_ can relate to it, and the only people who aren't likely to enjoy it are those who simply aren't competitive in any way. That doesn't exclude many.

We've all played monopoly and life and a ton of other American roll-the-dice-and-move games. It's no wonder we're all turned off by the time we're adults. Many of those games were written 30 or 40 years ago. As with so many things, board game "theory" (for lack of a better word) has come a long way since then, and the board games have gotten remarkably more innovative since then.

There's a great list at board game geek that shows the top 50 user-rated board games. I've played probably half of them on the list and it's exceedingly accurate in general.

Among my personal favorites are:
Settlers of Catan
Puerto Rico
El Grande

Throw out everything you think you know about board games. These are _fun_, for both adults and kids alike.

>zero of these games in the stores I visit

Monopoly pales in comparison to the board games on this list.

I joined a weekly boardgame group at my local games and hobby store. I am amazed at the number of people who show up every Thursday night to learn and play obscure (but not always complicated) board games. Try calling your local comic book / d&d / hobby shop and see if they sponser some sort of 'Board Game Night'.

Also you can probably purchass all the games on the list at funagain.

Board Game Geek is a great site to read reviews and tips about all things board games.

If I could recommend one great introductory board game it would Settlers of Catan. Find 3 or 4 geeky friends and give it a try.

Board games rule! If you have other sufficiently geeky board game friends, it can be way more fulfilling than your usual FPS, racing game, etc.

I suggest checking out Board Game Geek, it's truly an awesome site. Of particular interest, the games considered the best by the BGGs are here.

There's also a German board game WORLD of sorts where you can play a heck of a lot of board games online. Check it out here.

Board games rule! If you have other sufficiently geeky board game friends, it can be way more fulfilling than your usual FPS, racing game, etc.

I suggest checking out Board Game Geek, it's truly an awesome site. Of particular interest, the games considered the best by the BGGs are here.

There's also a German board game WORLD of sorts where you can play a heck of a lot of board games online. Check it out here.

than video games are board games. Imagine playing risk with someone who can't tell red from green. Or even something like El Grande. They can't tell the difference between who's pieces are whos and it messes up everything.

Yes, I'm talking about you Colin.

There's not a whole lot of strategy in Monopoly. You buy when you can. If you'd like to play a similar game that has lots of strategy facets, check out Fast Food Franchise.

Don't let Parker Bros. get a monopoly on board games!

I'll second Steve Jackson games. Although I'm probably preaching to the choir here at /.

I'm trying to get my friend to pick up a copy of Munchkin Fu. I mean who doesn't like a Karate Squid

I also highly recommend Carcassonne

-prator

Don't overlook board games. There are many good board games that provide a greater level of human interaction than computer games, which is useful for the stated object of team building.

Check out boardgamegeek.com for a comprehensive database of board and card games.

Ones that I would recommend include:

• Carcassonne/Carcassonne Hunters & Gatherers
• Puerto Rico
• Through the Desert
• Ricochet Robot
• Set
• Apples to Apples
• Nicht die Bohne

Tastes differ, however, so a decent selection would be a good idea (and probably cheaper than one PC).

Most board games also have the added bonus of an intrinsic limit. It's a lot harder to say "just one more round".