Intelligent Board Games and Social Interaction? 111
frogcircus asks: "Several weeks ago, at a neighborhood yard sale, my wife found an intact copy of Scotland Yard. I had been looking for one for several years (ever suspicious of eBay), driven by fond memories of group games in the late 80s. We played with a group of friends last night, and while some of us loved the game, others seemed a little less enthralled. It soon surfaced that the logic and reasoning involved in the game made it highly attractive for some of us. This got me thinking that perhaps the game was especially appealing to the geek mind. Which leads to my question: to which board games do you feel a close affinity? And to what degree have they engendered social interaction who don't share your particular interests?"
Iron Dragon! (Score:5, Informative)
I'm on my second copy, though it's lent out at the moment. I can't think of another board game that captured my interest like Iron Dragon. We had quite the little circle of players going for a while, too, though I think it's fair to say that we are all geeks of one sort or another.
There was an attempt to create an online version, but I don't know what happened to it - I've never been able to get the demo to work on my machines. Anyone know anything about this?
Siedler! (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Siedler! (Score:3, Interesting)
I discovered it about three years ago. A friend of mine had opened a hobby/gaming shop and had a copy of it there for all of us to play, before starting in on our weekly LARP games. Bad jokes and much fun ensued each and every week.
I couldn't find it when I moved out to Michigan, until I -finally- happened across it at a local gaming store. I bought it as soon as I had the forty bucks (when did board games get so expensive?!? *boggle*) and, sadly, I've played it only once yet. Tw
Re:Siedler! (Score:2, Insightful)
It's also a great game for social interaction. The interpersonal dynamics that show up are always interesting - it never fails to amaze me how fast the tables will shift when people realize someone's winning. Suddenly, that person can't trade for any useful resources, as
Re:Siedler! (Score:1)
Re:Siedler! (Score:3, Interesting)
Me, my girlfriend, my brother and his girlfriend regularly play a game of Catan and it's always fun. It takes some time before you get a good insight in the game mechan
ASL (Score:2, Interesting)
www.multimanpublishing.com
Hey, if Curt Schilling likes it (and owns the company), then it's gotta be good.
Game fanatic (Score:4, Informative)
Another big hit was Four Player Chess, formerly purchaseable at 4playerchess.com but is now managed by a domain-name squatter. :/ Anyway, mine has always been a big hit amongst the Coffee Shop Crowd. it's not too hard one of your own. Take a normal chess board then add three rows to each side (making the board look like a big Plus sign). Add two sets of Chess pieces (preferably all distinct) and you're off!
Steve Jackson Games' [sjgames.com] Knightmare Chess [sjgames.com]. It's a card game played while playing chess. Play a card, move a piece. The cards change the rules as you go (e.g. "All Pawns attack forward and move diagnal until this card is banished"). This game in conjunction with Four Player Chess is hours of insane fun. A quick search revealed one for sale elsewhere [unclesgames.com].
Lunch Money [atlas-games.com] is a sick and masterfully done game of kill-thy-neighbor. Always a big hit amongst those with a ken of violence.
Hot Death UNO [inanutshell.us]. My personal-favorite diversion, an extension of Crazy Eights (UNO), this card game add almost 30 new cards to the game of UNO. For example: Mutual Assured Destruction, Fuck You!, Harvester of Sorrows, The Shitter, Glasnost.... This game is not for the meek and merciful. There's also a PC version here [inanutshell.us] and a Sourceforge project [sf.net] desperately in need of a programmer with mad (motivational) skillz.
MouseTrap! (Score:5, Funny)
Poleconomy (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Poleconomy (Score:2)
Hear, hear! The other strength of Poleconomy was that it did not treat economics in isolation -- there was a political factor as well, and the two influenced each other strongly. i.e. the Prime Minister set the direction for interest rates, which affected the economy.
Great game.
Re:Poleconomy (Score:2)
Re:Poleconomy (Score:1)
Re:Poleconomy (Score:2)
Carcassone (Score:5, Insightful)
Also, Bang is nice group fun. Scotland Yard is a favorite of my family's. San Juan is card-tastic. Bohnanza is a really cute, easy to pick up game. Once Upon a Time is a neat storytelling game for little kids to share with adults.
Re:Carcassone (Score:3, Interesting)
They stock a goodly number of Rio Grande "Games for Two" including some great German games (with translations enclosed). The Germans have the boardgame business down to a science. I particularly like anything at all by Reiner Knizia. (favorite is "Lost Citie
RoboRally (Score:5, Informative)
You might be hard pressed to find this game as well as the many expansion but it sure is a lot of fun and a geek game. Programming robots to take part in a race of conveyor belts, pits and laser damages. WOW.
As far as I know the game is discontinued but the community is still out there. There is plenty of alternative board to download, new rule sets and so on if you go looking.
Go Twitch!!
Re:RoboRally (Score:2)
Re:RoboRally (Score:1)
FYI, the story I was told involving the game's conception: Richard Garfield went to Wizards of the Coast with th
Re:RoboRally (Score:1)
Re:RoboRally (Score:2, Informative)
Re:RoboRally (Score:2)
The problem I had was that one of the players I would play with was really bad at the game. He'd put down cards moving him the wrong way. The thing is, he'd read his cards wrong again when he was executing them and you'd always have to correct him, "oh no, look -- you actually just drove your robot into that pit." (I guess you'd say he w
Clue (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Clue (Score:2)
Re:Clue (Score:2)
Clue is not about getting to the solution first - it's about using stalling tactics to make sure the other players are confused so you have time to figure it out. You have to be careful to play both of those sides. I've seen people get amazingly confused trying to do so.
Of Course (Score:2)
If memory serves, after shuffling the three sets of cards seperately and choosing the hidden cards, all the sets are shuffled into one big bunch. I remember many games with only one person or weapon. In that senario the other players will be pretty keen to know that you have Professor Plum.
Re:Clue (Score:2)
What's especially good is if you pick on one or two cards you have (or, even better, cards immediately in front you in the clockwise circle), setting up a "red herring" to lead the others down. When you keep picking on Mr. Green and the Library, then the others just know you are on to something... heh. :)
Re:Clue (Score:2)
If they can disprove, then you know that they have one of the three cards; if they cannot disprove with a combination containing two of those cards later, you know that they have the third card and can rule it out.
If they can't disprove, then you know that they have none of those cards.
Re:Clue (Score:1)
Do you the source or algorithms online anywhere?
Re:Clue (Score:2)
You can do the same thing on paper using checks for "they definately have it" amd "O" s for "Don't have it". Use numbers (and letters when you run out of numbers) for "they have one of these three".
Settlers of Cattan (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Settlers of Cattan (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Settlers of Cattan (Score:1)
It's a great game and particularly interesting for the number of strategies available and the way in which the game limits force strategy changes over time.
Simple Answer (Score:5, Interesting)
First turn takes 30 minutes. Subsequent turns take 15 minutes each.
Unless you have a very small circle of friends (up to seven others), your social life is over.
Re:Simple Answer (Score:2, Funny)
If you've ever played Diplomacy, you know what I mean.
Re:Simple Answer (Score:2)
Share the pain and stab someone else in the back for a change. :)
Magic the Gathering. (Score:2, Insightful)
The depth in this game is amazing due to all the possible combinations of cards. Every one seems to devlope their own play style and deck construction. Ive only been playing about a month but in that time I've played nearly every second night. Its well worth a look if you can get past the "thats way too geeky for me" factor. My mum saw
Re:Magic the Gathering. (Score:1)
Because the game can be so complex, simple sounding things like what occurs during a turn, get ruled and re-ruled. Sometimes rulings are reversed 3 or 4 times. (ie for those who played awhile the: white knight->lighting bolt-
Take a chance (or not)... (Score:5, Insightful)
Chess, for example, would always be preferable to Yahtzee. In a less black and white model (yes, I know, and I meant to do it, durnit!) Scrabble vs. Poker might have been a harder call, each having
As I grow older and (maybe) wiser, I've found that status and "winning" have become less important to me and the experience of playing has become more important... so chance plays a more important role (roll? :) in the games I enjoy.
Of course, it might also be that a purely random game gives my young daughters a chance to win once in a while, and durn they're cute when they're proud.
Be the Dictator of a Tropical Island (Score:2, Interesting)
The gameplay is wonderful if you like double-crossing.
Kill Doctor Lucky (Score:4, Insightful)
I can second the Settlers and Carcassonne nominations. Those both reward skill, though Settlers takes some bargaining craft to really excel.
I didn't like Iron Mountain very much, but Eurorails [boardgamegeek.com] had the best map for the rail series of games I played. The US (Empire Builder) is too large, and Australia has the same problems of overly wide spaces with no cities. Never played India Rails.
Board Game Geeks (Score:4, Interesting)
It should also be noted that Scotland Yard is still available as a game called N.Y. Chase, but with a different map.
With those points out of the way, I think the appeal of board games depends greatly on the type of board game. There are several board categories that each appeal to a different group of people. Logic games that involve deduction like Scotland Yard probably appeal to technology geeks more than they do to the general population.
Some people play games as a way to relax, and they do not like to spend as much time thinking about things as it takes to play a deduction game. Some of those people prefer "party" games like trivia games and more social offerings.
You could try to create a Venn diagram of different demographics and the type of board games that they prefer, but I don't know that it would be that useful. It is better, in my experience, to just try to find games that the people you plan to play with like and have fun.
Here is a partial list of some broad categories of games (off the top of my head):
Party games that revolve around social interation like Cranium, Apples to Apples, most trivia games, and most board games that are mass marketed for adults in the USA.
Deduction games that involve eliminating possibilities and figuring out the answer like Scotland Yard, Master Mind, Coda, and Clue.
Induction games that involve formulating a theory based on observed evidence like Zendo and Eluesis.
Programming games where the moves are all set up and then executed like RAMBots and RoboRally (Diplomacy uses this mechanic, but it's really a different kind of game).
Abstract strategy games where the players pit their mental abilities against one another. Many of these are limited to two players and frequently have perfect information. Examples include Chess, Go, Dvonn, Zertz, Tigris and Euphrates, Blokus, and Through the Desert.
Dexterity games were players have to use physical ability to achieve an objective, like Pitchcar, Jenga, and Crokinole.
There are many other types of games, and then there are many games that incorporate several of these aspects. There are even games that I refer to as "psychological interation" games because they revolve more around how well you can judge how the other players will act in a given situation (like Citadels and Werewolf).
Many of the Euro/German/Designer games incorporate different elements to create an experience that appeals to many people for different reasons, but a lot of the preference comes down to why people want to play games. I personally like to win, so I tend to dislike games that involve too much luck. I also like to think, so I enjoy games that are "brain burners".
Some of my favorites include:
Go, a classic two player abstract strategy game
Ricochet Robot, a brain burning puzzle game
Zendo, an induction game
Through the Desert, a multi player abstract strategy games similar to Go
Princes of Florence, a complex designer game that incorporates auctions and strategy in an interesting way
Carcassonne, a relativly light tile placement game that still has enough strategy to be enjoyable
Age of Steam and Power Grid, economic simulation games that require tough decisions to try to implement complex plans
However, I own a broad collection of games so I have something that is approprate and enjoyable for almost any situation. It all comes down to having fun, in the end (and winning).
Zendo (Score:1)
current favorite board game (Score:2)
Puerto Rico (Score:4, Insightful)
You can play it online too at BSW.
Re:Puerto Rico (Score:2)
Carcassone
El Grande
Settlers
Amun-Re
Tikal
Just hit www.boardgamegeek.com
Re:Puerto Rico (Score:2, Informative)
I love showing the game to friends that have not yet played it, and somewhere around mid-to-endgame of their first play, suddenly the light turns on, and they see things like "Oh, Mayor might help me, but it would REALLY help you, so I should take something better, and force YOU to spend your role on Mayor" and things like that. It's great when everyone starts to see the potential of how to screw your neighbor's coffee crop by Captaining at the right time.
A game
Axis and Allies (Score:4, Informative)
Hampered by a tedious setup and long turns, A&A is a battle of strategic resources that involves equal parts WWII and trash talk. It is fun to play with three to five players. (With two players, there is less finger pointing amongst the Allies or Axis. What fun is that?)
If you're a geek, you love history, and you've never played it, you really must try it some time.
Re:Axis and Allies (Score:2)
I've played quite a bit of A&A myself, though these days I prefer Shogun (aka Samurai Swords). There's less tedious piece-moving, and some of the less exciting steps (like buying units) can be performed in parallel. I also like how the turn order isn't fixed, the starting conditions are randomized (much like risk), and alliances aren't fixed.
-jim
Robo Rally (Score:2, Informative)
Robo Rally [wikipedia.org] has to be the #1 geek board game out there. Unfortunately it's out of print and you can only get it used and abused from places like Ebay [ebay.com]
I still create RoboRally parties and spend hours playing this game with friends and co-workers. And when I can't get together a group of people to play, there are variants [eyeplaygames.com] online that are really cool to play too.
It was created by Richard Garfield [wikipedia.org] (the same guy that made the Magic the Gathering [wizards.com] game) and published by Wizards of the Coast [wizards.com] back in 1994
It
Puerto Rico and Acquire - no contest (Score:2)
Acquire - what can I say about this brilliant and somewhat abstract game that hasn't been said before. Luck is too important to the game in my opinion but it definitely will make the geek mind think about the right strategy and approach to the board at any one time.
Both a
Axis & Allies! (Score:2, Informative)
I concur with the recommendations of Settlers of Catan and Chess. In addition, I'd also recommend Trivial Pursuit, which is a good social game as well as an excellent brain tease.
Foremost however, I can't believe my absolute favorite board game has yet to be mentioned. Axis & Allies [wizards.com]! Avalon Hill just recently released a Revised edition of the game in celebration of its 20th anniversary. It's a fantastic game for 2-5 players that pits countries (the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, and
Multiuse games are good for this (Score:2)
I love strategy, logic and bluffing games. I hate word games. I'll play Risk, Monopoly or poker for hours. Most of my friends like playing things like Boggle or Scrabble-- they'll play something like Cranium.
One solution to this is to use game kits which can have multiple uses. A deck of cards can be used to play a huge number of games depending on the crowd.
Another really cool "game kit" is Icehouse Pyra [wunderland.com]
Re:Multiuse games are good for this (Score:2, Interesting)
Stratego (Score:3, Interesting)
The other board games I love are Risk, Trivial Pursuit 80's Edition, and Clue.
Diplomacy! (Score:2)
It's purely a derivative of chess mixed with politics! A highly addictive game if you have a set of highly competative and suspicious friends!
Illuminati (Score:2)
Re:Illuminati (Score:2)
Good game, TERRIBLE endgame. (Score:2)
Basically, your ability to hinder your opponents is far greater than your ability to make progress on your own. Thus, the end of the game consists of everyone taking down the leader until all the players run out of screw-you cards, and somebody wins. And winning isn't usually a matter of skill, just dumb luck that your opponents were out of cards when you were in a position to win.
Munchkin and Hacker
Lord of the Rings Boardgame (Score:2)
1) You have to work together towards a common goal (argue)
2) You go through a number of adventure boards where you relive the adventures the hobbits went through (argue more)
3) You have to deal with limited resources, and by the end of the game have tough decisions you need to intelligently discuss with the rest of the group, in order to succeed (open brawl/fistfight)
cosmic encounter (Score:3, Interesting)
3 or 4 different game companies have produced versions of it and the original had 9 expansions.
Add that to the tons of user created expansions available on the web and you get a game that never gets old.
The best CE site in my opinion (disclaimer, I did the database programming) is The warp [redamedia.com]
Missing option (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Missing option (Score:2)
It's got a strategic board where you try and recruit monsters of increasing quality (depending on your existing monsters and the terrain in which you land) and a tactical board where you actually fight it out with other players. There are dice, so luck is a factor, but smart gameplay will almost always win out.
The only downside to this game is le
Trivial Persuit (Score:1)
Risk and Settlers (Score:1)
I'm sure most of you know what Risk is. Basically, you can have up to 6 players and the objective is to take over enemy territory using die rolls to determine the victor. (Yes, a primitive form of D&D I guess but I never played the latter so I wouldn't know).
Settlers is much more complicated. The obj
Re:Risk and Settlers (Score:1)
I will never play Risk again.
Every person I've ever played with relies on a different obscure house rule which they insist is necessary "for balance" (curiously, I have never even come close to winning a game of Risk in which its "imbalance" had been corrected). If I refuse to allow the rule, I'm setting myself up for six to eight hours of pissing and moaning, and attempts by that opponent to use the rule surreptitiously, as if it were a game of Cosmic Encounter or Illuminati.
Maybe I just have bad luck fi
So many! (Score:3, Insightful)
Often if you ASK people what games they enjoy, or what they enjoy in a game, you can figure out what else they'd enjoy.
My mom is a self-avowed game-hater, but she likes Scrabble and will tolerate games that are just excuses to hang out and talk with friends. "Apples to Apples" is a great one (it even plays well with kids), and a little-known Richard Garfield game, "What Were You Thinking?"
For game geeks, anything by Steve Jackson Games is excellent. Illuminati (not INWO) is my all-time favorite. "Ninja Burger," however, is a brand new and darned awesome game.
The "Chez" series (Chez Geek, Chez Grunt, Chez Greek...) are a lot of fun for a group of 20-30somethings. They're more about shared experience than about real gaming, but they've got enough game elements to keep a geek happy.
For IT folk, I love Management Material (Zipwhaa Games) and now IT Management Material. I got a copy for one of my co-workers as a gift and we all spent the rest of the afternoon locked in an office playing it (poor users couldn't find a single sysadmin anywhere). Again, more about shared experience than the game, but beautifully balanced and with nice mechanics.
Fluxx is another one that you can play with anyone, plus it's very portable. Easy to learn (starts with a single rule) but deep enough that someone who loves strategy can have a blast with it.
Mmmmm...games....
~
Re:So many! (Score:1)
The assorment of games is great, and fill lots of niches. Alot of my non-geek friends enjoy Car Wars, my D&D friends like Munchkin, illuminati appeals to my political friends (its great when "the federal reserve" takes over "girlie magazines"), and everybody loves Ninja Burger.
Re:So many! (Score:1)
I'd much rather play Carcassonne, Ricochet Robot, Tigris and Euphrates, or Through the Desert than Illuminati. I still play Illuminati from time to time, but it just doesn't have the same spark it once did.
But, to each his or her own. =)
Re:So many! (Score:2)
SG disappointment (Score:1)
I g
Re:SG disappointment (Score:2)
I think that the Illuminati Brainwash expansion did a lot to balance the game. It took the alignment rules up a notch, and can help to balance a game in which one player has gotten too many powerful groups. OTOH, it does tend to delay the end in that "you've almost won, and suddenly you're back to the be
Games and social interaction (Score:3)
Others have already mentioned several of my favorite games:
- Risk
- Settlers of Catan
- Magic: the Gathering
I think all of these games have "engendered social interaction". These games have been the impetus for social interaction since I was a kid, be it playing Risk with my family, the nights (and days) spent playing M:tG in college, or the evenings with friends around the coffee table and Settlers board now.For me, the games have always been a distant second to enjoying time with those close to me. Through these games I've found many people with whom I have common interests. I consider this a boon, and it was especially so in college. There was always a group of five or six Magic players who would hang out on weekends together. We'd relax, complain about politics, talk about whatever, and generally have a good time. Meanwhile, the rest of the campus was at the frat houses giving themselves alcohol poisoning and acting the fool until the cops or paramedics were called -- and that was never my idea of a good time.
The way I see it, those who share my interest in these games probably have more in common with me, and I am more likely to get along with them and enjoy their company. At least, it's worked that way so far.
Re:Games and social interaction (Score:2)
Robotanks (Score:2, Interesting)
With all the postings mentioning RoboRally, I thought I'd mention another, slightly rarer, game where you do some programming, RoboTanks [fatmessiahgames.com]
Each player has a small group of tanks, which you put cards into stacks for their program, which they then follow from that point out. Reminds me of the old Playstation game Carnage Heart, only with many units per side.
It's a lot less direct than RoboRally, and hard to play if you can't think ahead a number of turns, but can be a lot of fun in the right company.
Scotland yard is a bad example. (Score:2)
it is a very one sided game. (like axis and allies)
the odds are stacked well in favour of the detectives....
both games are quite fun to play, and involve some level of thinking
Perfection (Score:1)
Okay, maybe not quite a board game, but closely related. I remember continually increasing the difficulty by:
Re:Perfection (Score:1)
Run Yourself Ragged [boardgamegeek.com]
Like Perfection, it's not strictly the sort of thing the article asks about (although I suppose you need to be good at spatial relationships when blindly going through the maze), but it's an entertaining variant on the timed 1-player game.
Re:Perfection (Score:1)
OH YEA! I had that too! Forgot all about it. I had picked it up at a garage sale as a kid. Since it didn't have any original packaging, I never knew its name.
Now, I have something else I need to re-buy that my wife will hate. Every time a new package shows up (usually thanks to eBay) she just rolls her eyes and asks silly questions like; "What in the world do you need a PacMan lunch box for?"
SOs just don't get it.
Out of Print Wonders (Score:2)
El Grade [funagain.com], an easy to learn game which ostensibly centers around players vying for political dominance in 16th centruy Spain. This one will be coming back in print later this year, supposedly, but most gaming stores still have or can get it. While you're at it, get the Expansions, although King and Intrigue is the only one you'll be using with any regularity. Cost hovers around $45 retail.
Babel [funagain.com] is an out of
good for two players (Score:1)
Carcassonne (Score:3)
Carcassonne is incredibly elegant. You place new tiles to expand the world, optionally claiming them for your side. Play is simultaneously competitive and cooperative between players as temporary aliances are formed and broken based on mutual interest. There are several ways to earn points, leading to vastly different strategies (like in an RTS on a computer), and enough expansion packs to keep the game ever fresh.
-m
My family loved games (Score:1)
Obvious (Score:1)
Civilization (Score:2, Insightful)
Happiness is E4-E5 ;-) (Score:1)
Risk Risk and more Risk (Score:2)
The Tomato Game (Score:2)
The most bizarre board game I've ever received is called The Tomato Game, (c) Susan A. Tambone. There isn't any other company name or publisher anywhere on it. It's a standard game with a path, tokens, die, and question/action cards that you draw when you land on different spaces. It comes in a box designed to look like a cardboard tomato crate. I grow veggies at home and my wife got this game for me several years ago after finding it advertised in the back of some magazine.
It has the feel of a game wr
Pick any from this list... (Score:1)
I recently got Puerto Rico, and it is great indeed!
Eoro/German designer games seem very popular (Score:1)
Most of the classics have already been named so i will not repeat them. For those of you who seek games which are out of print in the US have you considered importing them over from germany or other places in europe? Of all the mentioned out-of-print games at least RoboRally and Scotland Yard are available here in germany and there may be others I don't think of at the moment.
My al
Britannia (Score:1)
Its a boardgame that starts with the second Roman invasion of the UK and ends with the aftermath of the battle of Hastings.
Well balanced game that takes a minimum of 3 hours to play with experienced players.
The board is divided into stragetically important regions of the UK.
We've taken it with us on various trips - the idea being to play a game in every region on the board. Started this with a few friends years ago, managed to get a game going up in the Or
Democracy? (Score:1)
Obviously... (Score:1)
Go (Score:2)
Also good social that I've been playing: Cosmic Enconter, Game of Thrones, Settlers of Catan, and Citadels.
If you have a PS2 handy, Culdcept is an interesting Monopoly / MTG mix, and you can play 4-players with a multitap or hot-seat.
Mindtrap (Score:2, Informative)
the brain teasers are incredible (some of them are a little preposterous), and it scales well. sometimes i'll get bored and just start trying to figure out the questions myself. the game really comes into its own, however, when you have two teams of players constantly double-guessing themselves.
there have been a couple sequels that add different types of puzzles as well, but they're getting harder to come by.
Pictionary! (Score:2)
I love Pictionary though, just the creative element involved...
Scrabble and other similar word games suck...I hate the idea of treating words as mere collections of letters devoid of meaning. On the other hand, crossover stuff like Scattegories, which brings the meaning back into play, are ok.
And Monopoly is just boring boring boring [kisrael.com].
Illuminatti (Score:2)
And how can you not love a game that specifically allows any sort of 'meta game' deal that you can arrange? And also explicitly allows you to break those deals?
The only flaw is that the game can bog down when players try to calculate best / worst case scenarios for making thier rolls.
END COMMUNICATION
Not Out Of Print (Score:1)
Overall a great game! You can get it for about $9 under MSRP by going to Fair Play Games [fairplaygames.com].
Avalon Hills Dune (Score:1)
What makes it terrific is the six unique characters (and abilities) that are based on the bo