Board games

[ThatPoetGuy]

My girlfriend and I have been thinking about picking up some games, in order to vary our routines a little. I'm looking for recommendations. What are your favorite games? What games make for a cerebral, focused good time? What games make for an uproarious, laughing good time? What games could you play over and over?

[rcrush]

1. I want to find this game.

http://www.jrbaldwin.com/boardgame











I'm not sure if this is a real game or not I think it might be just some art project this guy was working on at the website I found but it still looks cool.

[kentauros]

8. Probably not a real game

but it's a brilliant mock-up! :thumbsup:

Now, there is a real game in a similar vein called "Grass" where you play a dealer in just what it says

[hobbit709]

17. Dealer McDope

http://www.amazon.com/Official-Dealer-McDope-Dealing-Board/dp/0867192992/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262273521&sr=8-1

I still have an original one from the 70's.

[kentauros]

18. Okay, I remember that one, though I've never played it.

Also haven't played my copy of Grass, since the friends I used to play cool games with don't seem to live around here anymore...

[greenbriar]

2. Taboo, Pictionary Man, Scategories

have been our family's favorites for a little while



We have many versions of Trivial Pursuit too


AND of course you can't forget Monopoly

[greenbriar]

3. if it is JUST you and your girlfriend, twister can be quite entertaining

naked

[yawnmaster]

5. with extra virgin olive oil to slicken things up. eom

[mzteris]

4. Pandemic!

Absolutely great game!

[CBR]

13. +1 nt

[kentauros]

6. Risk and Nuclear War

Risk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpcxfsjIIbM



Nuclear War, Nuclear Proliferation and Nuclear Escalation are card games. It's best to play with at least four people, but 7-8 makes for a really good game. Hands typically last 45 minutes or longer, depending on how many people are in play. It's a great beer & sandwiches game and expect to play all evening. Same for Risk ;)

[Sanity Claws]

7. Scrabble, Boggle

[pokerfan]

9. Backgammon

A perfect blend of luck and skill..

[Binka]

10. Yahtzee & Wineopoly

Scrabble is great if you aren't drinking. People make up shit words even sober!

[cemaphonic]

11. Have you looked into the whole genre of "German Games?"

(so-called because many of the publishers of these games when they first started getting popular were German)

I'll just quote wikipedia, as their summary is pretty close to how I would describe them:

"German-style board games are a broad class of tabletop games that generally have simple rules, short to medium playing times, high levels of player interaction, and attractive physical components. The games emphasise strategy, downplay luck and conflict, lean towards economic rather than military themes, and usually keep all the players in the game until it ends. German-style games are sometimes contrasted with American-style games, which generally involve more luck, conflict, and drama"

The only downside (other than that they are somewhat expensive) is that because player interaction tends to be heavily emphasized, many of them work best with ~4 players, so if it is just likely to be you and your girlfriend playing them, you should look up reviews to find out which ones work well as 2-player games.

Some good 2-player ones that we like:
Carcassone
Lost Cities
Bohnanza

[CBR]

14. I second looking at this genre...

www.boardgamegeek.com has a nice summary of every game ever made. There are some nice lists created by members outlining good games for two players.

My recommendations:
Lost Cities
Ticket to Ride: Switzerland
Hellas
Power Grid

[dugaresa]

20. +1 for Carcassone

[Kali]

12. Passout

:P

[HopeHoops]

15. Set is a card game (pattern matching) and it is very addictive.

Essentially, you have to find sets of 3 that either share or don't share attributes - color, shape, and fill pattern. Great game.

[peekaloo]

16. Smart Ass

falls in the uproarious category :-)

[Callalily]

19. Bananagram is

a lot of fun, and it's easy to transport - vacation, friends place, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1932188126/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=3927211907&ref=pd_sl_75wztzjsoi_e

[begin_within]

21. Scattergories is a lot of fun, Cranium, Pictionary; the card game "Pit" is silly fun.