Forum Overview :: Reviews

Gaming with family by skip 08/04/2016, 7:07am PDT Board games shine at filling in time during family get-togethers but so many "gateway" games are honestly too complicated for your in-laws who think Bingo is one of the greatest games known to man. Family games have certain criteria: 1. easy to teach and play, 2. low conflict, 3. "cute" theme, nobody wants to play Risk guys 3. Nice art and 4. Not reliant on long text and 5. No player elimination early and 6. Easy setup and takedown. I don't find deduction/bluffing games do well as there's always at least one person who doesn't understand the idea and makes it really easy to guess which side they're on or that they're lying. Ticket To Ride Yes, the long-distance routes are overpowered. No, it doesn't matter when that type of strategy is beyond 80% of the people playing this. One of the few popular gateway games that really can be taught in 15 minutes and is enjoyed by most. TTR: Europe is gamier and fixes some of the issues in the base game but the concept of ferries, etc. breaks the simplicity of the game which makes so easy to understand. Occupies the specific niche of being a true Monopoly alternative that occupies just the right amount of time in the evening. Sushi Go Party Fun little drafting game. Very bare bones and quick but easy to teach and understand and whenever playing anything with novices, the time is always tripled anyway. Bonus for being a great game for children as most of them will catch on and remember the sushi powers even if they can't read. Dixit Great party game that allows people to match someone's clue to a picture. If too many people guess your picture, you don't score. If no one does, you still don't score. The pictures are pretty and gameplay is relaxed and allows for low-conflict interaction. Say Anything A gamier silly party game than many. Basically, everyone writes down silly answers to generic questions and the chosen player has to choose the "best" answer. The main weakness is if you have people who have absolutely no creativity. May work better if you're just playing with children. Not a bad game but this game was left with a young cousin who really likes it years ago and I still haven't bothered to replace it. Wits and Wagers You place bets on whose answer is best for questions like "How many ridges on a quarter?" It's a good alternative to Trivial Pursuit so even people who aren't very good at trivia/guessing questions can still get points by betting on who's right. Will quickly get shelved once someone starts losing consistently. I think there's an Xbox version if you want to avoid setup time. Carcassone Holy balls, I don't get why this game is popular. Too easy and dull for core gamers and honestly too confusing for lay people. Scoring can be a pain in the ass to explain. Pass on this. Ca$h 'n Guns Game that really just centers pointing orange toy guns at each other. The good and bad part is that some passive-aggressive people will just enjoy pointing guns at certain others regardless of strategy. Game that's better off with friends. Liar's Dice An old standby but it works. It's more of a betting than a bluffing game so you don't need any persuasion skills to do well. May have the bonus of not requiring you to explain the rules since it's a mainstream game. Apples to Apples Another old standby. But unlike Liar's Dice this game offers zero depth and strategy. It's the game that Cards Against Humanity ripped off and added dirty words to. And just like CAH, someone always suggests it, many people own it, and you're probably going to end up playing it more than you care to admit and being the jackass who looks bored. The main benefit is that it scales to a large crowd. I guess there are worse ways to spend your time. LCR Such as this. A game where you get have some chips and take turns rolling three dice and move your chips left, right, or to/from the pot according to what the dice say. Played once at a friend's all-ages social gathering and am so happy that no one in my own family network owns or seems to know about it. Codenames Similar to Dixit in the way that you're trying to have the "right" people guess your clue but different in that you're only allowed to give 1 word and you have a team trying to figure out which words match from a set of 25 random words. A bit prone to analysis paralysis, but there's a timer in the box if that becomes a huge issue. Yes, it's reliant on words so little kids can't play but fuck it. This game is great. It soared up the boardgamegeek rankings and it's not hard to see why. Thinkier than every party game I've mentioned, adaptable to large groups, and still easy to understand. In other board game news, I recently backed this Kickstarter of a cat-themed card game. It's a bit overpriced and the gameplay is simple but with the theme of cats being nice and then mischievous it'll be a hit with certain women in the family anyway.

Boardgame roundup: Vol. 1 by FABIO 04/26/2005, 10:56pm PDT     Re: Boardgame roundup: Vol. 1 by Entropy Stew 04/27/2005, 12:08am PDT     Volume 2, right now! by FABIO 04/27/2005, 3:30am PDT         Re: Volume 2, right now! by Choson 04/27/2005, 6:47am PDT             Re: Volume 2, right now! by theemu 04/27/2005, 11:52am PDT                 Re: Volume 2, right now! by FABIO 04/27/2005, 1:43pm PDT                     Re: Volume 2, right now! by Choson 04/27/2005, 2:40pm PDT                         Re: Volume 2, right now! by laudablepuss 04/27/2005, 2:56pm PDT                             Re: Volume 2, right now! by Choson 04/27/2005, 3:01pm PDT                             laudablepuss says dice are random NT by binkbot 04/27/2005, 4:57pm PDT                                 Like football! I also said that. Also ballooning. And then I said comma. NT by laudablepuss 04/27/2005, 5:09pm PDT         Re: Volume 2, right now! by mark 04/27/2005, 12:10pm PDT         Wow by Arbit 04/28/2005, 12:27am PDT             ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE THAT FABIO NT by the CROWD 04/28/2005, 12:43am PDT                 *shrug* NT by FABIO 04/28/2005, 12:54am PDT     Re: Boardgame roundup: Vol. 1 by Bill Dungsroman 04/27/2005, 7:54am PDT         Re: Boardgame roundup: Vol. 1 by FABIO 04/28/2005, 2:44pm PDT             Fortress America in ACTION! by FABIO 04/29/2005, 1:20pm PDT     Re: Boardgame roundup: Vol. 1 by mark 04/27/2005, 11:56am PDT         Re: Boardgame roundup: Vol. 1 by FABIO 04/27/2005, 1:52pm PDT         Scott Orr disagress with you! by FABIO 05/09/2005, 9:20pm PDT             Man who made game that sucks, sucks :( NT by mark 05/09/2005, 11:10pm PDT         Memoir '44 by fabio 01/24/2012, 9:50pm PST     No Dark Tower? No Stop Thief? by laudablepuss 04/27/2005, 12:31pm PDT         Re: No Dark Tower? No Stop Thief? by mark 04/27/2005, 1:02pm PDT             Re: No Dark Tower? No Stop Thief? by FABIO 04/28/2005, 2:45pm PDT                 yes. by mark 04/28/2005, 3:20pm PDT     Mark's Boardgame Roundup part 1 by mark 04/27/2005, 12:50pm PDT         For the love of God can no one stop these boardgame roundups??? by Ray of Light 04/27/2005, 1:16pm PDT         Re: Mark's Boardgame Roundup part 1 by theemu 04/27/2005, 1:22pm PDT         Mark's Boardgame Roundup part 2 by mark 04/27/2005, 6:11pm PDT             Settlers counter rebuttal by FABIO 04/27/2005, 6:35pm PDT                 Re: Settlers counter rebuttal by Quentin Beck 04/27/2005, 6:47pm PDT                     actually that was me (that's the new mysterio name? I thought he was a poster) NT by mark 04/27/2005, 6:47pm PDT                 Re: Settlers counter rebuttal by Choson 04/27/2005, 7:55pm PDT                     Re: Settlers counter rebuttal by Pre 05/10/2005, 11:14am PDT             I can't believe I never heard of Arkham Horror before. by Fullofkittens 04/28/2005, 9:28pm PDT     Re: Boardgame roundup: Vol. 1 by mark 04/28/2005, 12:32am PDT     Vol. 3 by FABIO 05/09/2005, 11:29pm PDT         Thanks! by laudablepuss 05/10/2005, 7:21pm PDT         suggestions by my$terio 05/10/2005, 9:20pm PDT         Dark Tower sells for hundreds on ebay? by extarbags 05/12/2005, 4:08pm PDT             I shot mine full of BBs. Along with all my classic GI Joes. :( NT by laudablepuss 05/13/2005, 11:11am PDT                 I demolished my star wars toys in my sand box or fed them to my guniea pig :( NT by Mischief Maker 05/13/2005, 1:58pm PDT                     "Putting away childish things" turned out to be a really stupid idea. by laudablepuss 05/13/2005, 4:47pm PDT             Mine sold for $130 by fabio 05/26/2011, 11:14am PDT     Arkham Horror: Making Pen & Paper games obsolete by FABIO 02/13/2008, 9:51pm PST         That should read 1d8 people :( by Erratard 02/13/2008, 10:05pm PST         Wait'll you discover "How to host a murder mystery!" NT by Mischief Maker 02/13/2008, 10:22pm PST             ^ roleplaying =( NT by FABIO 02/14/2008, 4:20am PST         My group hit a bunch of obstacles with Arkham Horror. by Last 05/25/2011, 7:14pm PDT             Re: My group hit a bunch of obstacles with Arkham Horror. by fabio 05/26/2011, 12:06pm PDT                 My group is having fun now with a play-by-email setup in google docs. by Last 07/27/2011, 9:16pm PDT     Boardgame roundup: Pandemic, Longshot by Last 05/26/2011, 10:33am PDT         +1 on Pandemic, it's very fun by Fullofkittens 08/07/2011, 6:14pm PDT             Apparently the expansion is worth it if you like the core game NT by Lizard_King 08/07/2011, 8:29pm PDT     Battlestar Galactica by Lizard_King 08/03/2011, 9:09pm PDT         Re: Battlestar Galactica by fabio 08/04/2011, 12:58am PDT             Re: Battlestar Galactica by Lizard_King 08/04/2011, 5:41am PDT                 Re: Battlestar Galactica by fabio 08/04/2011, 8:31am PDT                     Re: Battlestar Galactica by Lizard_King 08/05/2011, 4:32pm PDT         Tried Exodus by fabio 08/25/2011, 11:52am PDT     Citadels by Lizard_King 08/04/2011, 6:26am PDT         Needs the expansion by fabio 08/04/2011, 8:40am PDT             The expansion comes with every version of the game currently available by Lizard_King 08/05/2011, 4:04pm PDT     Totally worth it by fabio 08/27/2011, 7:44am PDT     Cosmic Encounter by NDD 08/28/2011, 5:23pm PDT         Re: Cosmic Encounter by NDD 08/28/2011, 5:31pm PDT     The best board game review by fabio 01/24/2012, 8:34pm PST     War of the Ring by fabio 01/24/2012, 10:09pm PST     Age of Wonders - Positive! by Last 01/31/2012, 10:29am PST         *80% to 120% NT by Last 01/31/2012, 10:31am PST         I liked this one by fabio 01/31/2012, 7:30pm PST     Review request: REX by fabio 02/24/2012, 5:56am PST         Haven't played it, but I have no faith in FFG NT by mark 03/13/2012, 8:33pm PDT             Why's that by fabio 03/14/2012, 5:42am PDT     Going Cardboard by Souffle of Pain 02/24/2012, 7:10am PST     Ever wish there was a simplified version of Arkham Horror? by fabio 03/23/2012, 12:41pm PDT     REX, aka Dune 2.0, aka Cosmic Encounter Obsolescence by fabio 04/12/2012, 8:01pm PDT         UPDATE: default rules broken, needs fixing NT by fabio 08/23/2012, 8:42am PDT         Dune got a new edition. Rex is the better game by IPB 04/23/2020, 7:06pm PDT     Ticket to Ride: Steam edition by fabio 08/23/2012, 8:47am PDT         How is that different from the boardgame version? by Last 08/23/2012, 9:14am PDT             Never played the boardgame version by fabio 08/23/2012, 10:49am PDT                 Oh, I have the version set in Europe and they fixed that. by Last 08/23/2012, 1:42pm PDT                     Great, no one ever plays the other maps online =( NT by fabio 08/23/2012, 5:43pm PDT     Vassal by fabio 05/04/2013, 2:43pm PDT     Fucking iPads by fabio 06/11/2013, 3:32am PDT     Did you want to like Arkham Horror but couldnt? by fabio 12/12/2013, 8:02pm PST         Thanks, I'll get it. NT by Last 12/13/2013, 8:44am PST     Alhambra - Positive! Guillotine - Positive! by Last 12/13/2013, 9:00am PST     board game review: Twin Tin Robots by blackwater 12/13/2013, 10:33pm PST     Board Games? More like...wait for it...WAIT FOR IT...SNORE-d games! by HA HA HA HA HA HA HA 12/19/2013, 9:54pm PST         In the land of the video gamer, the board gamer is king by motherfuckerfoodeater 12/19/2013, 10:47pm PST             I'd invite you over but I only have one game port on my soundbalaster :( NT by PC GAMING FUCK YEAH!! 12/20/2013, 12:29am PST     Review: Incognito (Board Game) by blackwater 03/24/2014, 12:55am PDT         Shadow Hunters is fun by fabio 03/24/2014, 1:08am PDT     Review: Libertalia (board game) by blackwater 06/17/2014, 11:52pm PDT     Gaming with family by skip 08/04/2016, 7:07am PDT         Re: Gaming with family by laudablepuss 08/04/2016, 8:45am PDT             Re: Gaming with family by laudablepuss 08/04/2016, 8:47am PDT         There is no reason to ever play Ticket to Ride or Dixit by fabio 08/04/2016, 3:56pm PDT             The reason is that they're great family games by skip 08/04/2016, 5:28pm PDT                 The Pink Panther remake is a great family film! NT by fabio 08/04/2016, 9:48pm PDT                     Fabio has never had to game with relatives and it really shows. NT by skip 08/05/2016, 6:06am PDT                         What kind of family get togethers mandate boardgames? by fabio 08/13/2016, 6:16pm PDT                             The kind where we're inside and just need an activity to do? NT by Picionary < Dixit 08/13/2016, 7:54pm PDT     Hey this game is coming out with an expansion. Look at the scenario writers by skip 08/13/2016, 7:59am PDT     GMT games is giving boardgames away to anyone laid off by corona by saltlord 06/29/2020, 8:59am PDT