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Emails between myself and friends usually have the subject line 'Build?' I've been playing these great rail games for about 6 years now and have several of them. Iron Dragon is available for computers, but the AI is pretty crummy as it strands itself, can't manage bankloans well and doesn't adapt to different goals (i.e. 8 cities, 350 to win)

Basically you build rail between cities and towns, and draw demand cards which have a certain payoff based somewhat on distance and difficulty. Good logistical skills help avoid costly dead-heading (running without any loads.) They're great games for 3-4 players, although 4 or more players on Iron Dragon can take 6 hours!

You can view all the Empire Build games here.

Latest purchases were Lunar Rails and Russian Rails. Fun!

Rabid Empire Builder (and Euro Rails, British Rails, Russian Rails, Iron Dragon, Lunar Rails, India Rails, Australia Rails, Nippon Rails, etc.) fan that I am, I saw the title and thought immediately that Ruby Rails was the next game from MayFair which would somehow bridge programming and empire building at the same time. Alas..

you rolled a 1, ha!, didn't compile!

Settlers of Catan is a German Board game created by Mayfair Games. In it, you use cardboard tiles to randomly assemble an island (Catan). You then begin the game by placing two settlements on the board. Each tile on the island represents a resource, with a number between 1 and 12. You roll a pair of dice, and the number that shows up dictates what resources "appear" for that round. Resources are used to purchase roads, settlements, and cultural improvements.

It's very simple to learn, but *very* hard to master, and is possibly one of the best board games ever made.

At least there's Russian Rails (scheduled) to come out this year, Comrade(!)

Settlers of Catan and it's siblings/children are all worthy of family battle - er -gaming time.

We play them as a family (a wide range of ages) and it's great fun. At times, it can get fairly heated, but overall it's great, especially with the expansions.

My group just started playing some games from Steve Jackson Games.
Our favorites are Munchkin, and Chez Geek. I haven't tried it yet, but Hacker is supposed to be really cool as well.

Finally Settlers of Catan from Mayfair Games is a really neat game for 4 players.
I played this past weekend, and can't wait to play again!

This is a German board game that is less well known in the states, but is distributed here by Mayfair games.

This game is very well designed. The board is composed of hexagons that are shuffled each time. You have to aquire resources to build settlements, which in turn allows to build more. It has been dubbed a cross between simCity and monopoly, but is more entertaining than either of those.

I'm not quite sure whether Settlers of Catan is what you're looking for. Trade usually benefits both, if you don't trade, you won't win.
It's incredible successful hereabouts, the US edition is actually prettier than the original. Very fun.

electronics make fine gifts, but the above reads more like a list of cool concepts than a list of things people would actually want to get. i mean, i love the empeg and drool over the idea of a personal beowulf, but for a christmas gift i would much rather get some cool games, no matter whether or not they're computer-based.

speaking of games, i can't believe nobody mentioned companies like cheapass games, who make really cool and relatively inexpensive card, board, and dice games. make sure to check out 'brawl' and 'button men' - i'd take those over a thinkgeek gift in an eyeblink. :)

another good place for gifts is mayfair games, publishers of such fine products as settlers of catan or the original edition of cosmic encounter. and if you're into small/indie game makers, there's also the wizard's attic, who sell such twisted little games as black death, in which you play the plague trying to wipe out europe, or the non-verbal role-playing game the land of og.

is anybody else on slashdot a fan of non-computer games? if so, post your favorites! the more gift ideas, the better... :)

electronics make fine gifts, but the above reads more like a list of cool concepts than a list of things people would actually want to get. i mean, i love the empeg and drool over the idea of a personal beowulf, but for a christmas gift i would much rather get some cool games, no matter whether or not they're computer-based.

speaking of games, i can't believe nobody mentioned companies like cheapass games, who make really cool and relatively inexpensive card, board, and dice games. make sure to check out 'brawl' and 'button men' - i'd take those over a thinkgeek gift in an eyeblink. :)

another good place for gifts is mayfair games, publishers of such fine products as settlers of catan or the original edition of cosmic encounter. and if you're into small/indie game makers, there's also the wizard's attic, who sell such twisted little games as black death, in which you play the plague trying to wipe out europe, or the non-verbal role-playing game the land of og.

is anybody else on slashdot a fan of non-computer games? if so, post your favorites! the more gift ideas, the better... :)