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No, really. Check it out...:-)

For the record, there are already some good brief games out there that kids can enjoy. Two games in my closet that come to mind are TransAmerica (for 2-6 players) and Balloon Cup (2 players). Each of these take about 30 minutes to play, even with kids. And both are the types of games that can be played "just for fun" by younger kids (ages ~5-8), or with a little bit of strategy as their minds develop strategic thinking.

Fun for adults too! They're good gateway games to more strategic stuff as the kids get older. Alhambra is another great choice for kids 8+, but it takes more than an hour to play when you play with kids.

I also find that more traditional Hasbro games like Parcheesi and Sorry only take about 30-45 minutes to play, even with 5-year-olds, and are far more entertaining for everyone than mindless Candyland.

Also - IMHO - Kids under 12 should not be playing Monopoly, even if it is a Disney-scented theme. What a bad product idea that is!

For the record, there are already some good brief games out there that kids can enjoy. Two games in my closet that come to mind are TransAmerica (for 2-6 players) and Balloon Cup (2 players). Each of these take about 30 minutes to play, even with kids. And both are the types of games that can be played "just for fun" by younger kids (ages ~5-8), or with a little bit of strategy as their minds develop strategic thinking.

Fun for adults too! They're good gateway games to more strategic stuff as the kids get older. Alhambra is another great choice for kids 8+, but it takes more than an hour to play when you play with kids.

I also find that more traditional Hasbro games like Parcheesi and Sorry only take about 30-45 minutes to play, even with 5-year-olds, and are far more entertaining for everyone than mindless Candyland.

Also - IMHO - Kids under 12 should not be playing Monopoly, even if it is a Disney-scented theme. What a bad product idea that is!

For the record, there are already some good brief games out there that kids can enjoy. Two games in my closet that come to mind are TransAmerica (for 2-6 players) and Balloon Cup (2 players). Each of these take about 30 minutes to play, even with kids. And both are the types of games that can be played "just for fun" by younger kids (ages ~5-8), or with a little bit of strategy as their minds develop strategic thinking.

Fun for adults too! They're good gateway games to more strategic stuff as the kids get older. Alhambra is another great choice for kids 8+, but it takes more than an hour to play when you play with kids.

I also find that more traditional Hasbro games like Parcheesi and Sorry only take about 30-45 minutes to play, even with 5-year-olds, and are far more entertaining for everyone than mindless Candyland.

Also - IMHO - Kids under 12 should not be playing Monopoly, even if it is a Disney-scented theme. What a bad product idea that is!

For all your Zombie defense simulation needs.

Zombies!!!

Any other Puerto Rico players in the house thinking "man, and I thought having my 3 tobacco eaten by rats was bad, but internet, oh yeah".

You can't buy Civilization new anymore because the owners of Sid Meirs Civilization bought it's rights to discontinue it (they didn't want the competition). http://funagain.com/ is a god online store for boardgames. "Vinci" is an excellent game for people who want to battle each other. "Evo" is a fun game enjoyed by most people. "Guillotine" is a quick to play game absolutely everyone enjoys. "Citadels" scales very well for three to nine players (with the extensions) if you have a large group of people.

http://funagain.com/control/product/~product_id=00 4487

Many a lunch over this game.

But you can't buy it new anymore - the rights were bought so it could be discontinued as thge makers of Sid Meirs Civilization don't want the competition. http://funagain.com/ is a good online store for boardgames. "Vinci" is a great game for people who like to battle one another. "Evo" is a fun game that appeals to a broad audience. Everyone enjoys "Guillotine". And if you want to play with more than five people "Citadels" is a game that scales superbly from three to nine (using expansions) players.

Along the same line: I recently bought Carcassone from http://www.funagain.com/ and I chose them for their good prices.

If you were concerned this might be an ad, it's not: I was genuinely pleased with their service and I'm just recommending them.

Fun Again Games is a great site to buy this stuff.

Recommended games: Loco, Princes of Florence, Puerto Rico, Tigris and Euphrates, and RoboRally.

http://funagain.com/

use this link: http://www.funagain.com/control/bestsellerlist and then you can get to the home page by clicking on their logo.

We're sorry, but the awards lists are temporarily unavailable due to drastically increased traffic. The lists should be available again shortly, but in the meantime please feel free to browse our site to find the World's Best Selection of Board and Card Games. http://www.funagain.com/control/productaward?award _year=2005&award_type=GMMAG

Modern Art is a great game link. Players represent competing art galleries and buy and sell art. Depending on what is purchased and what is sold the value of the art varies dramatically. Buying a piece can turn out to be a waste or turn a huge profit but you have to keep in mind how the money will add up in your competitors hand later as well as how the piece shifts the value of the other art in everyone's collections. It's endlessly fascinating with usually very close games that differ radically with different mixes of players.

Note: the original is in German though it's also available in Enlgish.

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.

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.

It's a pure delight for Type-A GM's, too. Any kind of sadistic streak is wholeheartedly reinforced and encouraged. If the GM knows enough about the rules to effectively GM, he's going to be killing players left and right (whether they're Type-A or newbies) unless they are the specific kind of player who gets into the Paranoia mindset.

From at least one of the posted responses here, it appears that the developers are aware of this issue, and have made every effort to correct it in this new version. Bully for them. I probably still won't play it, as nothing in the system appeals to me (totalitarian distopia future? According to liberal media, I already live there!), and I have a lot more fun playing Catan, Tigris & Euphrates, Reiner Knizia's Samurai or any number of other Designer board/card games. Plus, table talk doesn't get us killed.

It's a pure delight for Type-A GM's, too. Any kind of sadistic streak is wholeheartedly reinforced and encouraged. If the GM knows enough about the rules to effectively GM, he's going to be killing players left and right (whether they're Type-A or newbies) unless they are the specific kind of player who gets into the Paranoia mindset.

From at least one of the posted responses here, it appears that the developers are aware of this issue, and have made every effort to correct it in this new version. Bully for them. I probably still won't play it, as nothing in the system appeals to me (totalitarian distopia future? According to liberal media, I already live there!), and I have a lot more fun playing Catan, Tigris & Euphrates, Reiner Knizia's Samurai or any number of other Designer board/card games. Plus, table talk doesn't get us killed.

It's a pure delight for Type-A GM's, too. Any kind of sadistic streak is wholeheartedly reinforced and encouraged. If the GM knows enough about the rules to effectively GM, he's going to be killing players left and right (whether they're Type-A or newbies) unless they are the specific kind of player who gets into the Paranoia mindset.

From at least one of the posted responses here, it appears that the developers are aware of this issue, and have made every effort to correct it in this new version. Bully for them. I probably still won't play it, as nothing in the system appeals to me (totalitarian distopia future? According to liberal media, I already live there!), and I have a lot more fun playing Catan, Tigris & Euphrates, Reiner Knizia's Samurai or any number of other Designer board/card games. Plus, table talk doesn't get us killed.

There's an awful lot of extraordinary games being mentioned, but also some surprising omissions:

El Grade, an easy to learn game which ostensibly centers around players vying for political dominance in 16th centruy Spain. This one will be coming back in print later this year, supposedly, but most gaming stores still have or can get it. While you're at it, get the Expansions, although King and Intrigue is the only one you'll be using with any regularity. Cost hovers around $45 retail.

Babel is an out of print gem from Uwe Rosenburg, creator of the popular Bohnanza series. The game is in Kosmos's Spiele für zwei (Games for two) series. In this game, players command groups of middle-Eastern peoples trying to build towers, but the beauty of the game lies in the simplicity of the design and the strategic possibilities. Cost is about $22.00 retail.

El Caballero is the brain-burning sequel to El Grande, but shares very little gameplay-wise. The idea in this game is that players now control groups of explorers who are trying to claim land masses in the "New World." This game resembles the already mentioned Carcassonne in some superficial ways, but it is to Carcassonne what Axis and Allies is to Risk. Cost is usually $20.00 retail.

There's an awful lot of extraordinary games being mentioned, but also some surprising omissions:

El Grade, an easy to learn game which ostensibly centers around players vying for political dominance in 16th centruy Spain. This one will be coming back in print later this year, supposedly, but most gaming stores still have or can get it. While you're at it, get the Expansions, although King and Intrigue is the only one you'll be using with any regularity. Cost hovers around $45 retail.

Babel is an out of print gem from Uwe Rosenburg, creator of the popular Bohnanza series. The game is in Kosmos's Spiele für zwei (Games for two) series. In this game, players command groups of middle-Eastern peoples trying to build towers, but the beauty of the game lies in the simplicity of the design and the strategic possibilities. Cost is about $22.00 retail.

El Caballero is the brain-burning sequel to El Grande, but shares very little gameplay-wise. The idea in this game is that players now control groups of explorers who are trying to claim land masses in the "New World." This game resembles the already mentioned Carcassonne in some superficial ways, but it is to Carcassonne what Axis and Allies is to Risk. Cost is usually $20.00 retail.

There's an awful lot of extraordinary games being mentioned, but also some surprising omissions:

El Grade, an easy to learn game which ostensibly centers around players vying for political dominance in 16th centruy Spain. This one will be coming back in print later this year, supposedly, but most gaming stores still have or can get it. While you're at it, get the Expansions, although King and Intrigue is the only one you'll be using with any regularity. Cost hovers around $45 retail.

Babel is an out of print gem from Uwe Rosenburg, creator of the popular Bohnanza series. The game is in Kosmos's Spiele für zwei (Games for two) series. In this game, players command groups of middle-Eastern peoples trying to build towers, but the beauty of the game lies in the simplicity of the design and the strategic possibilities. Cost is about $22.00 retail.

El Caballero is the brain-burning sequel to El Grande, but shares very little gameplay-wise. The idea in this game is that players now control groups of explorers who are trying to claim land masses in the "New World." This game resembles the already mentioned Carcassonne in some superficial ways, but it is to Carcassonne what Axis and Allies is to Risk. Cost is usually $20.00 retail.

There's an awful lot of extraordinary games being mentioned, but also some surprising omissions:

El Grade, an easy to learn game which ostensibly centers around players vying for political dominance in 16th centruy Spain. This one will be coming back in print later this year, supposedly, but most gaming stores still have or can get it. While you're at it, get the Expansions, although King and Intrigue is the only one you'll be using with any regularity. Cost hovers around $45 retail.

Babel is an out of print gem from Uwe Rosenburg, creator of the popular Bohnanza series. The game is in Kosmos's Spiele für zwei (Games for two) series. In this game, players command groups of middle-Eastern peoples trying to build towers, but the beauty of the game lies in the simplicity of the design and the strategic possibilities. Cost is about $22.00 retail.

El Caballero is the brain-burning sequel to El Grande, but shares very little gameplay-wise. The idea in this game is that players now control groups of explorers who are trying to claim land masses in the "New World." This game resembles the already mentioned Carcassonne in some superficial ways, but it is to Carcassonne what Axis and Allies is to Risk. Cost is usually $20.00 retail.

There's an awful lot of extraordinary games being mentioned, but also some surprising omissions:

El Grade, an easy to learn game which ostensibly centers around players vying for political dominance in 16th centruy Spain. This one will be coming back in print later this year, supposedly, but most gaming stores still have or can get it. While you're at it, get the Expansions, although King and Intrigue is the only one you'll be using with any regularity. Cost hovers around $45 retail.

Babel is an out of print gem from Uwe Rosenburg, creator of the popular Bohnanza series. The game is in Kosmos's Spiele für zwei (Games for two) series. In this game, players command groups of middle-Eastern peoples trying to build towers, but the beauty of the game lies in the simplicity of the design and the strategic possibilities. Cost is about $22.00 retail.

El Caballero is the brain-burning sequel to El Grande, but shares very little gameplay-wise. The idea in this game is that players now control groups of explorers who are trying to claim land masses in the "New World." This game resembles the already mentioned Carcassonne in some superficial ways, but it is to Carcassonne what Axis and Allies is to Risk. Cost is usually $20.00 retail.

1. Modern Art. Excellent abstract game for 3-5. Plays well with 3, 4 or 5 players. Players are running modern art galleries. The art has no inherent value, only it's future value based on how it sells now. Nonetheless, you have to bid on each piece. Very nice.
2. Titan: The Arena. Eight monsters battle in an arena over five rounds. Players bet on which ones will survive. The earlier the bet, the more its value.
3. funagain.com more games than you shake a stick at. Used and out of print, too.

There is, actually. Check out the "Hip Pocket Games" link on the right hand side.

Alternatively, if you're buying several games at once, you might want to give Funagain a try, since they discount everything. You have to buy multiple games to show any savings, largely because of shipping costs.

I highly recommend Clans, which is a strategy game for 2-4 players that takes about 30 minutes to play.

It's fast moving, the game has a clear ending, all players are in the game until the end, and best of all, you don't let the other players know what your color is, so part of the fun is trying to figure out what everyone else is.

You can buy it from Fun Again Games

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

>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.

Games Magzine does not sell these games. Funagain, the online vendor of games, however is hosting a copy of the Games 100 list, with links to their own database.

If I wasn't personal friends with the owner of a local board game store I would buy all my games from Funagain. They've got a fantastic selection, and since Games's top 100 list is only listing games that are in print, there's no reason Funagain should not carry each and every one of them.

I don't mean to sound like a shill, but one great site for buying games is www.funagain.com. An awesome site. They even have some pretty good review and give suggestions like "best party games for three people", "best kid's games", etc.

This is something I've noticed from several of the articles here on /.: We seem to be carrying around two definitions of the word "Adult". On one hand, you have the "mature, sophisticated, intellectual" definition, and on the other, you have the "porn, alcohol, and other age-restricted materials" definition.

Tragic though it may be, it seems that the latter definition is the more common one, even here on /., and we're supposed to be the intellectual crowd.

Enough maudlin, back to games.

On the American side of things, there's Cheapass games, Looney Labs, Out of the Box publishing, and for you linux/opensource/get-it-for-free-fans, Piecepack.

On the German side of the coin, you've got a bit of a quandry. Most German game manufacturers are GmbH, which is an abbreviation for something or another, but basically boils down to the fact that the company isn't allowed to export their products themselves. So, in order for German games to reach other shores, they must go through other companies. Among them, Mayfair Games, importers of the Catan series (pronounced cuh-tahn'), Rio Grande Games (Bohnanza is a good gateway game, while Peurto Rico and TransAmerica have been getting good attention from less casual gamers.), and on some occasions, Fantasy Flight Games, current makers of most Lord of the Rings board games.

For actually buying the games, I would suggest Funagain or Boulder Games.

Enjoy.

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

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

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

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

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

What are you looking for? A game that is not about limited resources? A game that is about sharing and cooperation rather than competition?

There are plenty of board games that sort of fit into the first category. Torres is an interesting mix - the you get points by having your knights high up in big castles. So everyone's trying to build at the same time, and pretty much everything you do will help someone else. But to do well, you have to choose things which help you more than other players, which violates the spirit of the second criterion. Carcassonne is another game which has a vaguely similar building mechanic. These games don't really emphasize scarsity (though there is of course some scarcity of space, and you have a limited number of turns, so those are scarce in a sense), but they can be fiercly competitive.

If you're looking for cooperative board games, there aren't very many. However, Reiner Knizia's Lord Of The Rings is a fantastic example of one. You're still trying to manage a bunch of limited resources, but if you don't share them well, you'll all lose. It's really a fun game, if somewhat complicated, and unless you have more than three players, it's really hard to win. I wouldn't recommend this one for real small children.

In between is Bohnanza, which is a bean trading card game. The goal is to grow enough beans of a certain type that you can harvest them for money. But you only have two bean fields, and each field can only hold one type of bean. If you draw the wrong kind of bean, you might have to harvest your crop prematurely - unless you can trade it away (or even give it away!). Great game, not real complicated, not very competitive (you can at the end count up who has more money, but nobody really cares), encourages a high degree of cooperation.

Depending on the age of the kids, you might try playing scrabble, but not keep track of the scores. On the note of "victorian parlor games", are a lot of modern party games. Apples To Apples is a good one. If you can't find these locally, Fun Again Games will sell them over the net.

One of the best positive sum games I"ve ever played is Lord of the Rings by world class game designer Reiner Knizia. (You can buy a copy at Funagain games.) The box says ages 12 and up; I think it's appropriate for kids in 4th grade or higher. It does not require familiarity with the books. In America, it's produced by Hasbro, where it has received basically no advertising.

In the game, each player is a Hobbit on a Corruption scale from 1-15. So is the Eye of Sauron. Various game events move individual Hobbits towards Darkness, and various events move the Eye of Sauron towards the Hobbits. If Sauron finds you, you lose. If you're the Ringbearer, everyone loses.

Play proceeds through Bag End, Rivendell, Moria, Lothlorien, Helm's Deep, Shelob's Lair, and finally Mordor, where, if the Hobbits are quick enough, they destroy the One Ring and win the game together.

I'm a college student and *I've* had a lot of fun playing this game. I highly recommend it for your students.