Blogs Recommend Me A Board Game

Ticket to Ride is the best board game there is - it has strategy, the ability to be an out and out ******* to your opponent, and all wrapped up in a family friendly veneer of making a really long train track. Superb, trust me.

 

Ticket to ride++. It seems really weird to start with but is actually great fun.

WRT Munchkin - I have never had one move take anywhere near that long and usually find it pretty quick moving. Depending on who you have playing games can range from very quick to really, really long which is awesome if you can/want to play over a few evenings.

I have played it with multiple expansions and think its great. You do get some odd combinations but its really good fun.

 

The problem with munchkin is that after you played it a few times its pretty much the same every time. You could solve this by mixing all the munchkin versions but that must cost a fortune.

 

How has nobody said Risk as a worthwhile way of spending those cold winter evenings, with your comrades around, sipping the finest single malt?

Also worthwhile is the latest version of Space Hulk is well worth it - as others have suggested. Also looking up a copy of Hero Quest so worthwhile - I've not played it in years myself, but remember it fondly - you'd have to go hunting for a second hand copy however.

 

Oh, one other game: Rush n' Crush (yeah, the name sucks but bear with me here).

Its a racing game set in some far future where you take the role of a race-car driver. Basicly its Wipeout 2097 (or formula De meets carwars in boardgame terms) type of racing with weapons and obstacles and so on. Each player will have to choose when to shift up, when to brake, when its safe to turbo boost and so on. You build the track from several modular boards so you get a new course each time. You can play 2-6 players and it usually is done in about an hour.

 

I would definately recommend Space Hulk. The latest edition was limited run but they can still be had at (or even less than) MSRP on eBay as it was just a few months ago. It is a 2-player game but on larger missions you could make it a 3 or 4 player game by splitting up the forces as in LNoE (I'm just reading through the rules now, thanks for the tip). Entry of play is pretty straight forward but the tactical prowess required to excel against experienced players makes it a very exciting game. Luck can also take out the best player every time so anyone can stand a chance.

Munchkin is a great game as well and is easy to pick up. The amount of backstabbing involved in the game is what can really draw it out so that a game might only last a 1/2 hour or, as in the last one I played, 4 hours. It really comes down to how many people are playing (6 in my last game) and how willing they are to screw each other in the end.

I would also recommend Talisman as mentioned above. I haven't played the most recent version but I hear it is as good as the previous ones. It should be easy to find as Fantasy Flight Games bought the rights recently and are actively publishing it as well as releasing expansions.

Any of the Avalon Hill Risk alternatives are good as well. My wife and I play Risk 2210 quite often and the small changes they make really change the game up and make it a great deal of fun.

 

Personally i think there are many better semi-light area control games out there...just do a quick search on www.boardgamegeek.com and you will see what i mean =)

 

I loved Hero Quest back in the day and would whole-heartedly agree with it as well as it's 4 expansions. However, a few of my friends a couple years later really got into Warhammer Quest which was basically a remake by the same company and should be easier to find but has a very similar play experience. It also got more support from Games Workshop/Citadel games and their fan community as it incorporated one of their main IPs instead of just being generic fantasy.

 

I never played warhammer quest so i wont comment on the game (i hear its good though) but i do know that it's a bitch to find at a decent price (that is, unless your willing to pay fantasy sums on ebay).

 

I used to play Hero Quest a bit. Very good game.

Escape From Colditz was another I used to enjoy a lot.

 

I've got an original Space Hulk boardgame, boxed up. I'm pretty sure it's complete and it's only been out of its box twice in about 15 years. I didn't realise they were going for the amount they are on ebay!

 

Try Carcassonne and it's expansions. Dead simple to play, lots of randomness to it and can be taken to extremes of skill if you play it long enough - best of all, a game typically takes about 30 mins to an hour to play. My fiancee and I love it as do the friends we've introduced to it.

 

Oh and on a side note, I think there's a demo of it on Xbox live if you want to try it out... the board game is better though!

 

Mouse Trap!

 

I play more card games than board games these days, Ninja Burger, Paranoia and others... However, I do have my tuppence to throw in here.

Several years ago at gaming convention I took part in a Reiner Knizia tournament. I'd never heard of him before but I had a lot of fun that day, playing 3 or 4 of his games and making it to the final.

The one I went out and bought afterwards was Samurai http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai_(board_game) although he has similar style games in different settings if feudal Japan isn't your thing.

 

Risk! Great game and competitiveness is something you really need to conquer the world, it doesn't have that geekness per se but has strategy and brains also a bit of luck with the dice but nonetheless, one of the best board games I've played.

 

Stratego!

Or play Go! As in the Chinese Go, or Chinese Chess(not go, Jiang Chi(?)).

 

RISK:2210. It's NOT normal risk. Adds a different map wth naval and lunar bases, and 5 commander types who can play particular cards to mix things up. Limited to a five-year(turn) game and there is a currency involved in bidding for turn order and activating command cards. It can get very, very strategic, and did I mention it's bloody fantastic? Track it down, you'll thank me later.

EDIT: ah you're looking for a game that takes an hour to play... RISK 2210 is out then. You can lose an entire game day to that when you first start playing, but you quickly speed it up to a few hours.

Another game you should track down is called Puerto Rico. Played it a couple times at a friends house, it's great.

 

I really need to break this one out more, my friends aren't into euros too much unfortunately

 

perudo..... I know it's not quite what you're after but would be good for between space hulk! Awesome game though!