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Intelligent Board Games and Social Interaction?

Posted by Cliff on from the what-board-games-have-you-played-and-loved? dept.

frogcircus asks: "Several weeks ago, at a neighborhood yard sale, my wife found an intact copy of Scotland Yard. I had been looking for one for several years (ever suspicious of eBay), driven by fond memories of group games in the late 80s. We played with a group of friends last night, and while some of us loved the game, others seemed a little less enthralled. It soon surfaced that the logic and reasoning involved in the game made it highly attractive for some of us. This got me thinking that perhaps the game was especially appealing to the geek mind. Which leads to my question: to which board games do you feel a close affinity? And to what degree have they engendered social interaction who don't share your particular interests?"

4 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. Carcassone by Pedro+Picasso · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Here in Raleigh, NC we have a few nice game stores. I like All Fun and Games in Cary best. As for the actual games, Carcassone can't be beat. It's a map building tile game with intrigue and guile.

    Also, Bang is nice group fun. Scotland Yard is a favorite of my family's. San Juan is card-tastic. Bohnanza is a really cute, easy to pick up game. Once Upon a Time is a neat storytelling game for little kids to share with adults.

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  2. Take a chance (or not)... by ferralis · · Score: 4, Insightful
    When I was younger, I found I was drawn more to games that minimized chance or at least where performance in the game was less due to chance than to skill.

    Chess, for example, would always be preferable to Yahtzee. In a less black and white model (yes, I know, and I meant to do it, durnit!) Scrabble vs. Poker might have been a harder call, each having

    As I grow older and (maybe) wiser, I've found that status and "winning" have become less important to me and the experience of playing has become more important... so chance plays a more important role (roll? :) in the games I enjoy.

    Of course, it might also be that a purely random game gives my young daughters a chance to win once in a while, and durn they're cute when they're proud.

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  3. Kill Doctor Lucky by jeblucas · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Cheapass Games has some real gems. Kill Doctor Lucky is great for a small group though. Some people figure it out quickly, and others kind of stare off not understanding why everyone else likes it.

    I can second the Settlers and Carcassonne nominations. Those both reward skill, though Settlers takes some bargaining craft to really excel.

    I didn't like Iron Mountain very much, but Eurorails had the best map for the rail series of games I played. The US (Empire Builder) is too large, and Australia has the same problems of overly wide spaces with no cities. Never played India Rails.

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  4. Puerto Rico by meowsqueak · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A great game to play with other intelligent people. It's not hard to learn, but difficult to master. There's almost no element of luck in the game (there is one non-player source of entropy, but it's not completely random) but the design of the game leads to billions of possible scenarios. An excellently designed and balanced game - highly recommended.

    You can play it online too at BSW.