2004 Board Games Gift Guide

The Morning News has come out with a nice guide to good gift boardgames, while Funagain Games has the list of the 2004 Board and Card Games of the Year (and the runners-up). Like a bowling ball with your name engraved upon it, these make great gifts for your significant other. Any other suggestions for good adult boardgames?

Comments

Do not pass "Go"

[SIGALRM]

The last time you played a board game you got the Adam's apple caught in the funny-bone slot and then you couldn't pass GO or collect $200

Speaking of Go... now there's a fantastic game of strategy; one I've only recently discovered. The potential for complex and intricate maneuvering seem (like chess) to be limitless. I've heard there are Go masters who have played for fifty years and still consider themselves to be serious students of the game.

Me: still a Go newbie but loving every minute of it.

Re:Do not pass "Go"

[entrager]

Want a headache? Look into the current state of "Go" in the computing world.

It's amazing how simple the game is, yet the best computer programs in the world only play at an intermediate level at best.

Re:Do not pass "Go"

[Sabaki]

Go is actually far more complex than chess in strategy and tactics (see earlier note about the best computer programs being only as good as intermediate level players [like me], and much weaker than professional level players).

On the flip side, it's actually easier to teach than chess (fewer rules, no difference in the pieces), so it fits a guideline in the article ("can be taught within five minutes") much better than most, if not all of the games in the article.

Incidentally, if you do get a board, you might want to get one online. Places like Samarkand have good stuff. And the US Go Association has links to more vendors as well as local clubs.

(Incidentally, "sabaki" is a Go term meaning light and flexible play.)

Re:Do not pass "Go"

[entrager]

You're both wrong and right...

Before I go on, I have to point out that I only have a deep interest in AI, I haven't actually started my post-grad coursework in it yet (hopefully next year). So my information might not be 100% correct (I look forward to someone correcting/supplementing my post). I should also add that I play Go on occasion, but I suck at it...

Go does have a very large branch factor, so brute-force techniques to playing well are nearly impossible (or take WAY too long to compute). Chess doesn't have a large amount of branching (relative to Go), so brute-force is actually somewhat effective. But the real problem comes when trying to actually write an AI that makes decisions instead of exhausting all possibilities.

In Go, there is a very large amount of information to process. The relative strengths of each player in each position of the board, the aggressiveness of the other player, common move patterns, and of course the number of possible outcomes of an action. Simply put, Go is simply too complex to represent and analyze in a simple manner.

It's my understanding that successful Go programs work by simply looking up common scenarios in a large database of pre-programmed moves, supplementing that with some basic neural network pattern recognition, and then narrowing down decisions with a brute force attack on a reduced set.

Re:Do not pass "Go"

[Anonymous Coward]

It's my understanding that successful Go programs work by simply looking up common scenarios in a large database of pre-programmed moves, supplementing that with some basic neural network pattern recognition, and then narrowing down decisions with a brute force attack on a reduced set.

Um.. no.

Computer Go is very much in its infancy, and pretty much all computer go programs operate by using hand-coded heuristics to suggest moves, and then doing lots of old-fashioned local search. While there are some pattern databases used, as well as opening 'books' for common beginning-game corner patterns (joseki), in general, large pattern databases are not used, though there are some people working on this approach. Only one well-performing Go program I can think of uses neural networks; it's definitely very atypical.

The problem with Go is not just the branching factor; while obviously it's a difficulty, it's not the largest problem in computer Go. The problem isn't that not enough positions can be checked in a reasonable amount of time, the problem is that not even one position can be accurately checked in any practical amount of time - that is, coming up with a good evaluation function has been a major challenge. In lay terms, a computer cannot look at a Go board and accurately judge how good or bad the position is. When humans look at a board position, they use lots of fuzzy, partially defined concepts like, 'thickness,' 'influence,' 'territory', and 'potential' that are very hard for one human to explain to another, let alone get a program to perform the same analysis.

Re:Do not pass "Go"

[Sabaki]

Yep, I very specifically didn't say that Go was easier overall, just that it's easier to teach. I was playing Chess for twenty years before I learned about en passant. I've taught Go to classrooms of kids within a few minutes, and they got a kick out of playing right out of the gate. But I admit that the strategies and tactics get complicated quickly, which is why I always advise the 9x9 board for beginning players. As for the Western mind being used to the concepts behind Chess, but not Go, all the more reason to expose more people to the latter. I think if we all had a competitive mindset that only required a little more than our opponent, rather than violent, bloody death, we'd be better off. (Granted, it's certainly not a panacea in Asia.)

Incidentally, "claim the middle, threaten as much space as possible" are valid Go strategies, too.

You sunk my Scrabble Ship!

[bigtallmofo]

Bart: B6! Homer: You sunk my Scrabble-ship! Lisa: This game makes no sense. Homer: Tell that to the good men that just lost their lives. SEMPER FI!

Apples to Apples

[TheAngryArmadillo]

If you want a game everyone can enjoy, pick up Apples to Apples. It's easy and a game only lasts 30 minutes or so. A perfect party game length if you ask me. Whenever we get together with friends that's the first game to come out.

Re:Apples to Apples

[zx75]

Settlers of Catan! Quick to pick up, 30-45 minutes for a 4 player game (6 with the expansion tiles) great fun and addictive, no game is complete without loud good-natured badgering of your fellows and monty python quotes.

Works best after a case or two when the phrase "Pressing wood into sheep" takes on whole new meanings.

Adult Boardgames?

[Tackhead]

> Like a bowling ball with your name engraved upon it, these make great gifts for your significant other. Any other suggestions for good adult boardgames?

Twister.

But for the love of God, put away the engraved bowling ball before you start. (Trust me on this.)

Re:Adult Boardgames?

[gosand]

But for the love of God, put away the engraved bowling ball before you start. (Trust me on this.)

That would be the "goatse game". I think I'll pass.

For our wedding, my wife and I registered for, and received, Rock'em Sock'em Robots, Operation, Connect Four, Mastermind, and a few other classic games. They are still fun. We are planning on having a party where you have different game stations, and everyone visits various stations. If you win, you stay at that station (and do a shot). If you lose, you have to go to a different station. (and probably do a shot) Games are much more fun when there is drinking involved.

Ob. Simpsons Quote

[Zorilla]

Bart: B6!
Homer: You sunk my Scrabble-ship!
Lisa: This game makes no sense.
Homer: Tell that to the good men that just lost their lives.

Heroscape

[Shadow Wrought]

Missing from the list, but a really fun game, is Heroscape It is a good blend of luck and strategy and can be played by various levels of expertise. I played it with the kids and they loved it. They actually turned OFF Halo 2 to play!

Settlers of Catan!

[kisielk]

Discovered this one over the summer and played with some friends online. Would love an actual board game version. Great strategy game, especially since you're forced to barter with other players to succeed, there's lots of strategy involved.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/viewitem.php3?gameid= 13

Re:Settlers of Catan!

[Senobyzal]

Settlers is a great game; I've converted most of our circle of friends to it and we've played about 10 matches total (most with the 5-6 player expansion). Almost all of the games have been balanced and tight until the very end.

There's a java version with AI bots at http://settlers.cs.northwestern.edu/. Although sometimes the servers get clogged and you cannot get on, there's also a mirror linked at that site.

Betrayal at House on the Hill

[StupidEngineer]

My suggestion is Betrayal at House on the Hill from WotC. My friends went to GenCon in Anaheim last weekend and picked up the last copy they had. (It was selling like hot cakes). I can see why. The board changes every game giving players get that haunted house feeling. But the coolest part is that the game objectives aren't revealed until midway through the game (about 50 different game objectives, all unknown) when one of the players becomes the 'traitor' and plays against everyone else. It's fun.

Lord of the Rings

[th1ckasabr1ck]

The Lord of the Rings board game that came out a while back was fairly decent. I played it with four players and it was very fun. Everyone plays as one of five Hobbits, and your goal (of course) is to throw the ring into Mt. Doom. It's a cooperative game that is actually fun. You all have to work together and actually play as a team, often giving up some of your valuable swag for the good of the team. There is a secondary board which shows how close Sauron is to you. When certain things happen in the game he moves a bit closer. If he touches you it's lights out.

Graphically, the game is gorgeous. The boards, cards, etc. are all extremely well done.

Mensa Recommended games . . .

[93,000]

Past winners of the Mensa Select seal can be browsed by year here. Have some fun while exercising your brain.

Previous winners include Taboo and Magic-The Gathering.

"Diplomacy" from Avalon-Hill is a must-have

[Boone^]

It's like Risk, but targeted for adults and mature teenagers. You still vie for control of Europe, but there's no dice, you have to sign secret (or not so secret) pacts with your opponents, and there's no battles. Moving into an unoccupied territory makes it yours, but if the territory has a supply depot you could increase your armies (and decrease the armies of the opponent who was just on that square). During the moving phase if 2 armies attempt to occupy the same land they bounce. I could go on and on. Oh, and reserve 4-5 hours to complete a game.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q= diplomacy+board+game&btnG=Search

Re:"Diplomacy" from Avalon-Hill is a must-have

[kscguru]

4-5 hours? My dorm's been playing the past four WEEKS!!!

And the Evil Turkish Empire is about to learn what happens when he crosses both Russia and Austria every turn for two game years... we finally got him flanked!

Re:Trivial Pursuit

[Pxtl]

While the questions are excellent, the actual game in Trivial Pursuit is moronic. The board game is horribly chance-oriented "Oh, missed the pie. Missed it again. Missed it again."

Re:Trivial Pursuit

[Lev13than]

I'm from Canada you insensitive clod! The American History category is crappy enough to make us take hours upon end to find one that's easy enough to answer :)

Ironically, Trivial Pursuit is a Canadian invention. Chris Haney worked as a photo editor at the Montreal Gazette, and Scott Abbott was a sports journalist for The Canadian Press. A good history of the game can be found here

Settlers of Catan

[BobBoyken]

...continues to satisfy. Even after several years, the original remains the best. I have the 5/6 player expansion and the gameplay is good, but the original version, played with exactly four people provides the most consistently fun and even gameplay of any game I have ever played. I like the fact that we can complete a game in an hour or so, but my favorite "feature" is that the games are almost always extremely close, so everyone feels like they have a chance to win.

May not be intellectual but fun regardless

[linzeal]

I live in a house with 2 other college juniors and we are constantly entertaining with a fully stocked mame unit and board games but one still stands out as a way to get people to "loosen up". Twister, and before you laugh I would estimate that at least half the time when we bring it out someone gets laid in the house.

Extensive list

[gopher_hunt]

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/rankbrowse.php3?ranki ng=45#45

Pretty much lists everything you won't find at a local wal-mart.

cheapass games

[johnjay]

None of the games mentioned are from the eponymous Cheap Ass Games company. I just found out about this company a few weeks ago, when I was looking for cheap ass Christmas presents. I can't vouch for their products but they seem like a good deal for 2 reasons.
a) The games sound like fun. Sure, who's going to advertise their games as totally boring and stupid? No one. But, Kill Doctor Lucky and Deadwood to name two I remember, have funny concepts and sound interesting to play.
b) They are CHEAP. And, seeing as to how most board games I've owned have been played about 3 times, max, the money spent seems much closer to the value derived than the $50 it costs for a lavishly wood-crafted board game.

Again, I don't know much about the product so don't come crying to me if they suck, but I'm probably going to risk a few bucks on them this year.

Fluxx

[Shadow Wrought]

Another great game is Fluxx. If you have not heard about it, its a card game in which the rules are constantly changing. I've played rounds that last close to an hour, and some that lasted less than two minutes.

In the latter category was in which the player who won, wasn't even there! I played a card which basically caused everyone to play all the cards in their hand. One of the guys got up to answer the phone right before it became his turn. We played for him (since he had to play everything anyway;-) and the *&$*#&*&#*($&%**#&$^%*@&$ won.

Mindtrap

[echocharlie]

I'm partial to Mind Trap. It's like Trivial Pursuit with Riddles. Here's a sample question:

A black dog stands in the middle of an intersection in a town painted black. None of the street lights are working due to a power failure caused by a local storm. A car with two broken headlights drives towards the dog but turns in time to avoid hitting him. How could the driver have seen the dog in time?

Re:Mindtrap

[finnw]

The dog is on fire.

Re:Mindtrap

[Anonymous Coward]

Q: You've been experimenting with your pet gerbil "fluffums'" plastic tube cage again, and you've managed to get his 8'' long bridge-pipe halfway up your butt. Suddenly you hear a loud crash and Fluffums--scared by the sound--leaps into the pipe and scurries up your anus and into what may be your lower intestinal track. All you see around the room is a flashlight, a rusted spoon, last months edition of "YM", a lighter, your linux computer with firefox opened to your slashdot homepage, and a battle axe. How can you get the girbel out before your mom gets home in five minutes?

Re:Mindtrap

[lmh2671772]

How would you get the ping-pong ball out?

The ping-pong ball is on fire.

Re:Mindtrap

[Anonymous Coward]

Based on the success of previous answers:

The gerbil is on fire?

Be a Cheapass...

[rilister]

my favorite find of the last few years has been Cheapass Games: http://www.cheapass.com/products/index.html

All their games are imaginative, fun and, best of all, cost next to f-all. It's refreshing to see someone trying to be fresh about game styles.

Personal favorites:
Unexploded Cow - a poker-style game involving incinerating BSE infected cattle in French minefields...

The Great Brain Robbery - Get your Zombie out of the runaway train by stealing brains with special abilities.

Bitin Off Hedz - even works for kids - a standard-ish board game where dinosaurs race to extinction.

They're so cheap you can afford to take a risk anyway.

PUERTO RICO PUERTO RICO

[Grabble]

Puero Rico is the #1 ranked game on boardgamegeek.com. That's why I bought it.

Then, I discovered why. Every person that I've introduced Puerto Rico to gets hooked. Here's a list of reasons why I'm a fanboy about it...

--) No waiting: When other people take their turns, all players must make decisions.

--) Creepily well-balanced. There is no (to my knowledge) "power move" or "race for a certain card" that lames out the game.

--) Incredible replayability: each time you play is different

--) Minimized randomness: Randomness exists in only a SINGLE aspect of the game. Everything is else is based on seating and "what are my opponents likely to do".

--) Fast games: You can play it three times in an evening. Crucial.

Munchkin!

[Masker]

Munchkin is a great tongue-in-cheek board game for the RPGer in your social circle or family. It's a card game (not CCG) with quite a lot of expansion packs. Basically, you try to clear a dungeon & if a friend gets in the way or is going to win first, you screw them over.

Very fun, quick game.

Days of Wonder

[Obiwan Kenobi]

Days of Wonder just produce some amazing stuff, including the heralded Memoir '44, which was recently released, along with a bunch of others that me and my wife can't get enough of.

Mystery of the Abbey is like a thinking man's/geek's version of Clue. Instead of that boring ole rag of a board game, you get an intricate and well designed whodunit that has strategy and tactics involved as to who finds out what and how to play the game to win. This is a favorite in our household and whenever we have a gettogether it's the first board game pulled out.

Ticket to Ride is another Days of Wonder production, designed by a frenchman I believe, who ironically created a game about US train lines around the early 1900's. You have a set # of trains and must build them in tandem across the country. You must connect certain cities according to your "tickets" you recieve at the beginning of the game, always giving you a goal and with multiple paths to each city there is strategy involved as far as how you connect them and by what color (each route is defined by color). It gets more in-depth and is very fun/interesting and fast paced to boot. The younger kids in the family really like this one as its color-based, easily followed, and easy to learn.

As far as other games, we love card games. Bang! is hands down the best multi-player card game I've ever played. Take that as you may, but I've played my share and it is awesome stuff. When a friend/family memeber asks us what we want to play, it's always Bang! Great mechanics, interesting roles to play, fun and funny to boot. There are some expansions to it (about a dozen cards each) to throw some variety to the game, but we've not needed those just yet. This is an absolute must-buy.

Queen's Necklace is another Days of Wonder production and is very cool. I know, a guy saying that playing a card game based on jewelry is cool, but it's a blast and is still fun with just 2 players (me and my wife play it occassionally). Easy to learn, hard to master, plenty of strategy and lots of enjoyment to be had.

Lastly I'll mention that Cheap Ass Games is a treasure trove of goodness, particularly Kill Dr. Lucky. This is a game that happens -before- Clue. Instead of figuring out who died and how, you actually get to kill that person! Of course, he's the luckiest guy ever, so it takes awhile and each person chases the good Doc around the mansion in an attempt to finally kill him in a variety of ways.

I think my favorite "Foiled!" card that showed up as I tried to Kill Dr. Lucky said something like "And suddenly...you felt not so fresh."

Hilarious, fun, and cheap!

Hope this helps :)