Board Game Recommendations

Television, Movies Games and Books Games & Toys
#1

Imagine the scene, it’s Christmas day, you’ve eating all the mince pies, the big presents have been opened (after dinner - not in the morning - thank you) and you’ve just finished polishing off the 2-3 bottles of cheap Christmas wine that you brewed all year.

So then you’re other half looks at you and says, “How about we play a game”. You think she’s suggesting a frak party of ‘Wargames’ but you realise that she wants to be social and actually play a board/card game with you.

You wander to the cupboard in your newly acquired slippers, open the door and…

‘This is where I’m a bit stuck’. I would like recommendations on board games that are fun to play.

It has to be playable with a minimum of 2 people
I don’t mind the genre
and it can’t be a case of it takes 5 hours just to learn the rules and move one square.

So anything would be helpful. I’ve tried boardgame geek but it seems to cluttered, it’s hard to see through the gaming trees.

P.S - Is it possible to play D&D with two people? Are there any other D&D like games out there, I do like the idea of that kind of dynamic.

#2

perhaps … YAHTZEE?

seriously though … this is on our Christmas wish list: Castle Ravenloft Board Game.

We haven’t tried it yet but hope to spend snowy afternoons around our dining room table, munching on Christmas cookies and rolling the d20 :slight_smile:

Good hunting to you.

#3

This a great suggestion. I believe it’s playable with 2 people, but you may want to double up and both use 2 characters. It’s a great, self guiding dungeon crawler. It has all the basics of D&D with the game acting as the GM, so to speak.

Like I said though, some fights can be pretty tough so you’ll want a party of 4 to stand a chance. It isn’t a true ROLE playing game, just a slimmed down ROLL playing game. But it can be immensely fun.
Great call, Oddball.

#4

Hehehe

I actually did look at this one, so I might put it down and see what it’s all about :slight_smile:

#5

A classic ‘fun’ board game is “If wishes were fishes”.

It is simple to play and yet has a lot of depth to it, and there are strategy elements to it.

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/25584/if-wishes-were-fishes

#6

I don’t know how you guys feel about trivia games, but I absolutely loveBezzerwizzer.

It’s fun because you only have to be good at a few categories to do well, the rest is strategy (knowing what your opponents know to stick them with hard questions).

Cranium and Hoopla are also good trivia challenge party games. Apples to Apples is a lot of fun, too, as is the similar game Boxers or Briefs.

And, of course, there’s Settlers of Catan. Build a civilization and compete for resources, but remember: he who controls the sheep, controls the world!

D&D-wise, the “red box” can now be found quite inexpensively at most major retailers: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/redbox.aspx

#7

Noted…and…bought! Wrath of Ashardalon: A D&D Boardgame

Looks cool! Quentin will dig it!

-Trey

#8

The deck building game Ascension is really cool. I’d recommend that. And everyone seems to like Catan and Ticket to Ride.

#9

Dominion is a good card game but I think it needs more than 2…(never played with less than 4 so not sure)

I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=27.347638,-80.244498

#10

I happened to be way way into big complicated boardgames (like the kind that boardgamegeek forcuses on), but that’s not what you’re asking…

I was recently turned on to (thanks dxferris) a great podcast covering everything boardgames/cardgames:

The Dice Tower http://www.dicetower.com/ Probably a better bet for the kind of simple game you looking for.

#11

I highly recommend Fortune and Glory by Flying Frog games. It’s like being Indiana Jones. You can play with up to 8 people co-op or competatively and yes you can play with just 2 people.

http://stores.homestead.com/FlyingFrogProductions/Detail.bok?no=89

#12

The deck building game Ascension is really cool. I’d recommend that. And everyone seems to like Catan and Ticket to Ride.

All three of those are excellent, Ascension is one of my favorite games.

Dominion is a good card game but I think it needs more than 2…(never played with less than 4 so not sure)

Dominion can be played with 2 people, up to 4. What I love about Dominion is that every game you play is different, because you can swap out different cards each game. Highly recommended.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_(card_game)

#13

I might suggest games such as 7 Wondersif you like card games, Twilight Struggleif you want something more tactical, Zooloretto if you are young at heart, Pandemic if you want to try playing with people instead of against them. One of my family’s favorites is Agricola. It falls into that category of very easy to learn, but difficult to get good at. it also has a ton of variety, by way of cards dealt to players to give them unique options.