Draco18s wrote:
> Because we all know how much board games suck (isn't Scabbles just a
female
> dog?) I here by present several board games worth the money--though
> expensive--and extremely entertaining.
>
> In order
>
> 1) Power Grid
> Rebuild the nation's power grid after a complete collapse. Invest in
new
> technologies allowing you to power more cities on less fuel, as the game
> progresses fossile fuels become depleted and more expensive--and that's
> without a player hoarding all the oil! He who powers most wins! Base
game
> comes with two countries: USA and Germany. Two expansions exist adding
Italy
> and France or Benelux and Central Europe. Some boards have special
rules to
> follow modern day political views (such as not being allowed to build
nuke
> power stations in certain areas, or Green Power being less expensive).
>
> 2) Caylus
> Build a medieval castle! Resource management game where your goal is
to
> contribute more resources towards the magnificant fortress your king
wants you
> to build
>
> 3) Race for the Galaxy
> On the cheaper end of the spectrum ($25 compaired to upwards of $50
for
> most games listed here), this game is an empire expansion game using
nothing
> but cards and some chits for Victory Points. Less player interaction,
as all
> you can do is subtle manipulation in the available cards for other
players:
> everything is limited! Not everyone can develop Terraforming Robots or
get
> the Contact Specialists. Called Peurto Rico in space due to its
similarity to
> Peurto Rico the board game (not featured because Andrew figured out how
to
> win, didn't matter what everyone else did).
>
> 4) Arkham Horror!
> Play an investigator in the 1920's city of Arkham trying to figure
out what
> the heck is going on and stop the Great Old Ones from awaking.
Colaborative,
> everyone wins, or everyone loses! Expansions make this game even more
epic by
> adding the villiage of Dunwich or the events of the King in Yellow. For
even
> more fun, get all four! (Innsmouth as the 5th has been predicted). Each
> expantion adds something new (Dunwich added alternative penalties to
being
> knocked down to 0 Sanity or 0 Stamina: instead of discarding half your
stuff
> and coming back at 1, you can instead take on a Dementia or an Injury
and come
> back having lost "nothing"). The King in Yellow and The Dark Pharoah
add new
> mechanics for even more horrific fun. Dunwich Horror + Base today took
~3
> hours (box claims 1-2, so that was about right for us).
>
> 5) Descent: Journies into the Dark
> D&D...without the tedious roleplaying! Simply a colaborative dungeon
crawl
> (the Overlord player actively playing against everyone else) where you
slay
> monsters, colect loot and have fun. Game is balanced 60/40 in favor of
the
> heros, the first two expantions individually alter that by -10/+10.
Road to
> Ledgends (recently released) adds an overworld map and makes it much
more of a
> campaign with smaller dungeons, random dungeons (dugeons now are set by
the
> quest and are constructed with modular pieces--large player made quest
base),
> and side quests. Our group hasn't *quite* yet gotten our dirty paws on
this
> expansion yet, though we do have the base and 1st expansion (Well of
> Darkness), Nate refuses to order Alter of Despair on principle that it
makes
> the Overlord too powerful. But then, don't you want a challenge?
>
> 6) Starcraft: The Board Game
> Pretty epic, we've had a chance to play a part of one game (lasted
hours!
> This one is Axis and Allies (not featured--a risk like game of World War
2) or
> Twilight Imperium in time span: reserve 10 hours, expect it to take 6 to
8--
> might be able to cut that by a third if you can cut the cross talk). I
did
> not play, but observed, seems to be rather enjoyable. Everyone at the
table
> (two of each race, except protos--game can take up to 6 players) was
having a
> roaring good time. Map is construced from modular pieces at the
beginning.
>
> 7) Twilight Imperium
> Probably the most epic game here. Takes forever though, as noted
above
> despite the box clearly claiming 2-4 hours, this takes 5 to 10. It's a
clasic
> 4X game (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) in space on a
constructed
> board built with hexagonal tiles (overall board shape and certain
locations
> are fixed). Make alliances, trade with other players, build a massive
fleet,
> complete your secret mission. Annihilate everyone. Each race has their
own
> special abilities, though everyone shares the same general tech tree.
Will
> you try and build warsuns (deathstars) or will you instead invest in
having
> the best fighter pilots? Use your limited resources wisely and don't
forget
> about special action cards that can help or hinder (if your opponent
uses it
> on you).
>
> Honorable mentions, in no particular order:
> Settlers of Catan (base game, or the 5-6 player expantion is probably
the
> best)
> Keythedral
> Tigris and Euphrates
> San Juan (similar to Race for the Galaxy I hear)
> Ticket To Ride (quick game for when you don't have the time for a full
game of
> something better)
> Agricola (description looked interesting: you play a farmer in the dark
ages)
> Puerto Rico
> Antiquity (if only for the sheer idiocy of it: it's like any resource
> gathering game (Catan, Keythedral) only you polute the land in doing so!
> Poluted land is worthless unless cleaned)
> Shadows over Camelot (good co-op game set around the Round Table of King
> Aurthur, though each game tends to run similarly to every other)
> Wings of War
> Not mentioned above due to only one short session of play.
> Wings of War is airplane dog fighting in World War 1, complete with
dozens
> of optional rules including: altitue, cloud cover, rear gunnders,
special
> effects (kill rear gunner, engine explosion, rudder jam...), miniatures
> (incudes pegs for aid in altitude), and others. Dozens of planes exist,
each
> with its own flight deck (some planes are faster, or make tighter turns,
etc),
> I've heard of up to over 12 different decks. Game grows in epicness and
fun
> as more and more players join the table. Demo at a game con consisted
of no
> less than 50(!) players all in the same airspace, box contains enough
pieces
> for 5 players, though I recomend at least one expantion of planes for a
number
> of players over 4.
>
> Happy gaming.
>
How about 'Talisman'? Haven't played for a few years, but it was fun!!!!
Azhren
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