Julia Johnson

Business Manager

 

It’s time to take another look at the often cliche pastime of board games. Now that the weather has turned against us, we all need entertainment to pass these bitter nights at home.

We all know the basics: Monopoly, Life, Uno, Rummy, and many others that are all gathering dust in the closet. To help freshen up your game collection, here are some new favorites and underrated gems.

Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, and Ticket to Ride are widely thought to be “gateway games” transitioning players from the big name game manufacturers to the lesser-known indies titles.

I have played two of the three titles, I enjoyed both, and would play them again.

Settlers of Catan is a resources game that forces players to think ahead and carefully collect position and wealth.

Carcassonne is a random draw tile-laying game that is deceptively simple to learn but can be incredibly cutthroat.

Card games have come a long way since the originals. Cards Against Humanity (CAH), similar to the popular Apples to Apples, takes the basic card associations of Apples to Apples to a very inappropriate and hilarious place.

With cards ranging from Sunshine and Rainbows to Harry Potter Erotica, CAH can be sexual, racist, politically incorrect and more. CAH is guaranteed to be a good time unless you are easily offended (do not play with your grandparents).

Munchkin is another card-based game that takes the complexity of a role-playing strategy game and simplifies it to a very accessible and entertaining format. Munchkin also has literally dozens of expansions from Santa’s Revenge to Adventure Time that can take the base game anywhere you can imagine.

These games were once only known by those who spent their weeknights down at the game store playing collectible card games and painting miniature game figures.

Independent and foreign game developers would only market their new games to these local stores and at extremely limited gaming conventions.

Luckily the internet has completely changed the world of board gaming, bringing everyone wider access to some of the most unique, inventive and entertaining games created.

The newest games can be shipped to shoppers in as little as two days by Amazon.com.

YouTube channels, blogs, and forums dedicated to board games are also now available for a more in-depth look at titles.

For more information about independent board games, assistance finding the right game for the occasion and a list of local game stores visit reddit.com/r/boardgames/wiki/index.

To read reviews of games and games similar to others visit: boardgamegeek.com. Also check out Table for Two Show at http://tablefortwoshow.com/ for reviews of games from a 2-player perspective.

Contact Julia at juejohnson@lc.edu