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$400? What is that in Elektro?

• Kill Doctor Lucky - the award winning game of what happens right before Clue begins. I happen to own and love the Cheapass version as well.
• Battlelore - the best light wargame I've ever played
• Mystery of the Abbey - Clue for fans of The Name of the Rose and Brother Cadfael
• Puerto Rico - a classic eurogame and, for my money, the best "gateway game" there is. I'll play this over Catan any day of the week.
• Warrior Knights - an updated version of the '85 classic, and a terrific American-style boardgame (which is to say, there's direct player vs. player conflict). Where else can you be made Ambassador to the Orient and a Traitor to the Crown on the same turn?

Days of Wonder and Looney Labs got plugs here, so I thought I would also mention Rio Grande. Their business model, so to speak, has been to keep an eye on what's published, popular, and prize-winning in Germany (and let's face it, until very recently Germany was "who's who" in game publishing, with everyone else in a distant second place). Much of what RG has published was first printed in Germany, was nominated for or won an award there, and then was translated into English.

My favorites include some of the Cheap Ass games (http://www.cheap-ass.com/). They are wacky, usually have an interesting play dynamic, and cheap ($10 or less usually). My favorites include:

Falling - Awesome, fast card game based around the idea that everyone is falling, and fighting. The winner is the last person to hit the ground (so in effect, everyone is eventually a loser, because everyone eventually hits the ground). Games usually take less than 5 minutes, so you don't feel so bad if you lose.

Spree - Another really fun one. The theme is a competitive shopping spree in a mall, with guns and cars. It gives you lots of opportunities to screw over your opponents. It's one that I always request at parties.

Kill Dr. Lucky - This one is a bit like reverse Clue. You try to get into the room alone with Dr. Lucky, and out of sight of other players (via windows and doors into adjacent rooms), and try to kill him. It has an interesting psychological component, because other players may have cards to stop you, but they don't have to use them, and can pressure other players to use up their stopper cards instead. If there is too much manipulation going on, they might actually lose the game for themselves. I like this one a lot, too, but it's not as hectic as the previous two mentioned (which is one reason why I like them).

I have one other favorite that I always request, too, but it's not a Cheap Ass game. It is called Ricochet Robot, and it is basically a competitive pathfinding game in which you try to get one of four colored robots to a particular square on the game board. Each round is timed, and the person who bids the best path first (better paths have less steps), and proves it after the time runs out, gets a point for that round.

Here's a link to what appears to be the product website: http://www.riograndegames.com/games/rio122.html, but the description isn't that much better than the one I gave above. There is a picture, however. Here's a link to an online Java applet that appears to have the same game dynamic: http://www.braunston.com/kevin/rrobot/rrobot.html. I really enjoy this game, but it could be because I win often among my friends. :)

I believe Ricochet Robot is out of print, however, so it may be difficult to find. I've seen a used copy in one of my local hobby shops, and my friend has a copy, so maybe it's not -that- hard to locate. I think I also heard a rumor that it was going to be reprinted, but I haven't checked up on that.

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.

There's an excellent game called Tikal from Rio Grande Games that is non-zero-sum while still competitive. The game is complex enough for adults and requires multiple layers of meta-strategy.

The object of the game is to get as many points as possible. This is done by uncovering sections of an archaeological dig (Tikal) and assigning people to discover as much as they can. Resources and time are both limited, but it's possible to gain points from other players' sites without taking the points away from them. This is made possible by a stepped scoring system that allows each player to maximize points before they're tallied.

To me, the strongest aspect of this game is the Othello-like possibility of turning a competitor's points to your advantage without necessarily "robbing" them. It makes it possible to win the game by a comfortable margin even after trailing behind for most of the game.

In the educational realm, the best one of these is Maptitude (amazon sells it), and while you compete with other people, it's all chance and knowledge instead of resources. I'm an adult, and it's challenging for me. My niece and nephew play it with their parents and like it, so it must be possible for kids to play. I've only played with other adults.

Try University Games and Rio Grande Games, and choose carefully! If you focus on games that either require some knowledge or that have larger chance factors (as opposed to strategy), you'll find that they're less limited by resources. The Game of the Year is one of the best ones, with not too much prior knowledge needed, lots of chance components (and reversals of fortune), and with most of the exchange coming from the bank instead of between players.

I suppose the other thing you could do that would increase the entertainment value of a competitive game is to choose a short game, so many rounds could be played. This works especially well among equal players, but that makes it good for adults after a casual dinner party. Set Games has a couple of really great games. Set for pattern matching, Five Crowns for sequences and number matching, and Quiddler for a "gin rummy" where you have to make words from your letters.

I can't promise that these aren't "zero sum" games, but there are more options, things with better odds for a friendly game. Games you can play with friends and still be friends with them afterwards, even if they lose.