Board Games Click With Adults

Thanks to the Washington Post for their article discussing the rise of sophisticated, adult-aimed board games. According to the piece, "sales of non-electronic specialty games... have nearly quadrupled since 1995, [and] one of the fastest-growing areas, industry experts say, is the adult strategy game." But although "the specialty market is still dwarfed by mass-marketed games", excluding a few break-out specialty titles like Settlers Of Catan, the article claims that "board-game sales have always increased during economic slumps", and, "in a sign of just how hungry people are for smarter board games, adult-education programs in Fairfax and Arlington now offer classes that introduce strategy-oriented [boardgame] titles."

Comments

One Word

[goochman]

Talisman

German Board Games

[Apreche]

I've sait it before, but it's so relevant to this article I gotta say it again.

In Germany, and other parts of Europe, they make board games very unlike we do in America. We have things like Monopoly or Sorry, where the winner is determined mostly by luck. Over there, they have games where luck is a small or non-existant factor. This is why those games are awesome. Me and my friends have been playing German board games for like 2 or 3 years now. Puerto Rico and El Grande are our favorites. Settlers is just the gateway game, so if you like that then come on in. I hope one day these good games will be on the shelf next to Monopoly, rather than in the specialty shop only.

Head to http://www.boardgamegeek.com to see what I mean.

Re:German Board Games

[harrkev]

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.

Re:German Board Games

[Arkhan]

I too love Scotland Yard, but it isn't a very good choice for this particular argument.

It may actually be German, for all I know, but I bought it as a child around 1980 from a mainstream toy store in the U.S. There was no indication that it was an import or remake.

So it looks like the American market at least *used* to get the right games, one way or another.

Some goofy fun..

[p4ul13]

I've been enjoying some of the cheap-ass games for a while. Their games are very bare-bones in their delivery, but some are pleanty involved. The less involved ones are just plain fun as well though because the game premises are so offbeat (Please pass the brain)

CheapAssGames --No it's NOT a p0rn site.

Cheap Options

[JonBob]

A big problem with getting into these specialty board games is the cost of entry. Reviews help, but it's hard to really know if you're going to like a game until you buy it and try it out. You can get more bang for your buck by getting a game system, which allows you to play many games. One of my favorites is Icehouse, which enables you to play hundreds of games of different genres. Geeks love Zendo, an inductive logic game you can play with an Icehouse set.

Another option is Cheapass Games, a company specializing in selling games you can play using equipment you probably already have (dice, tokens, cards).

I've also heard good things about Piecepack games. Piecepack is a public domain gaming system, so you can buy a set from several different manufacturers or make your own.

Dual definition of "Adult"...

[Thedalek]

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.

Easy to find good ones

[EarwigTC]

Use top seller lists. Like the top sellers at FunAgainGames. I own nine of the ten listed there today, and they are indeed some of the best.

Bohnanza is an amazing game. I've never met anyone who didn't enjoy playing it, and yet it's still a highly strategic game.