Board Games!!!

[SnowAngel]

Couple of questions for those who enjoy Settlers of Catan, do recommend the 5-6 player expansion? Which of the expansions is the most fun/worth the money? My siblings and I received the main game for Christmas this year and we were told to open it the day after Thanksgiving. We are really enjoying it, but would like to have 5-6 players instead of 4.

SnowAngel

[daughter of the King]

The 5-6 player expansion makes the game take longer. It can be hard to have a bigger group if you all are just learning the game, but it's not a bad experience. If I remember right, the 5-6 player expansion only applies to the base game, so it can't be combined with other expansions. If you have a large enough group I would recommend getting a second copy of the base game and then switch off who plays in what group.

My favorite expansion is Seafarers. It introduces some fun elements that can make the game more fun if you want something extra, or (as my family has) you've been playing for at least ten years and desperately need some new scenarios to work with. The trouble with having an oldest brother who works in game design is that you end up playing a lot of niche games before they become popular.

Taught the niece and nephew Dominion after Thanksgiving dinner. Had a tiny bit of trouble because niece is dyslexic so she had a hard time reading some of the cards and nephew is color-blind so we had to remember to identify victory cards by the symbol instead of just calling them green cards, but we had fun.

[mm1991]

We have a game board version of Oregon Trail. I think it's funny but no one likes to play with me because it's just like the computer game - everyone usually dies before anyone can get to the oregon town.

[Ryadian]

I've played the Oregon Trail card game, too - even though I've actually never played the computer game. We've only played a few times and have yet to win. I'm lucky if I'm the second person to die instead of the first.

Right now, my gaming group is really into a game called Villainous (and its three expansions). Basically, the game is about Disney villains (the first game includes Maleficent, Captain Hook, Ursula, Jafar, Prince John, and the Queen of Hearts), and each villain has their own "board" and deck of cards. Each villain has a different goal they're trying to accomplish, and they mostly play independently of each other. However, since you're trying to get to your goal before everyone else, you can sabotage the other players by basically summoning the heroes of their respective Disney movie to cause problems for the villain. For example, if you're playing against Ursula, you can summon Ariel or Prince Eric, who mess with Ursula's plans.

We find it a lot of fun, even as a group that doesn't typically play really cutthroat games. The base game and the first expansion are pretty well balanced (at least how we play them), to the point where basically any time someone wins, everyone else goes, "Agh, I was one or two turns away from winning!" Occasionally you get someone who falls really behind everyone else, but in my experience, it's more often a really close call. Some of the villains from the later games aren't as well balanced, but they're still really fun.

[SnowAngel]

I had my younger siblings make a list of all our board and card games, today I printed a copy for each family member. We are going to play every game on the list in the coming weeks or months, although with the way my siblings were eyeing the list I think it will probably be weeks. Today we played Tenzi, Army Monopoly, and Scrabble. I lost Tenzi and Army Monopoly, but I won one game of Scrabble.

SnowAngel

[shastastwin]

Right now, my gaming group is really into a game called Villainous (and its three expansions). . . . We find it a lot of fun, even as a group that doesn't typically play really cutthroat games. Some of the villains from the later games aren't as well balanced, but they're still really fun.

Glad to hear all of this. I just got the base game for us to play (both as a family and with our friends who live out of town). I'm thinking we'll probably get the expansions eventually. One cool aspect for those is they're designed to play independently, so you can pick up any set and play it, which adds to the appeal for me.

[johobbit]

We love playing board games when our family is together, and usually play for hours on end. Favourites are:

Dutch Blitz (using regular playing cards)
Boggle (a wonderful ol' word game)
Probe (an old word game)
Stock Ticker (an old stock and bonds game)
Bonco (a very fast-paced dice game for a larger group)
PIT/spoon PIT (a noisy, very fun trading game)

A newer game that our youngest son introduced us to last year is Code Names. We are hooked! Great for the mind (it uses language/words). When he was up at our place awhile back, we played it for 5+ hours.

Some of us also like Settlers of Catan, Quickie Scrabble, Zilch (a dice game).

[aileth]

Ah, yes, jo, Bonco! What memories! Haven't played it since; do I recall some difficulty regarding altered dice?

Though we don't play much right now, we used to play games to death. Dutch blitz, Chinese checkers, Boggle, and more latterly, Qwirkle and Settlers. Payday--way easier than Monopoly--was a childhood favourite.

I guess Mom was the one who liked to play the most; our likelihood of playing dropped off once her eyesight failed. But every now and again, we invite young friends over and make a night of it--last time it was dominoes. And then there's always the story-writing game.

[johobbit]

Ahh, games, such fun!

Aileth, I simply cannot believe I left out Boggle on my list above. I have amended that list to add it in. One of our top favourites! An excellent game for words and therefore for the mind.

[SnowAngel]

We have Code Names and Boggle, the siblings have played Boggle recently, but I didn't get to play. Maybe the next time they play I will get play as well. It was one of our favorites to play outside last summer along with Pit. I'm sure the neighbors "appreciated" how much we played them.

Most played game lately has been Canasta with six players, one of the joys of being part of larger family is there no shortage of players for 6 players games.

SnowAngel

[johobbit]

And now I simply can't believe I left out that rousing Pit game!!! I have been playing that ever since I was young, and, woot, what a blast. (I now have added it in above too. )

Have you ever played Spoon Pit, SnowAngel? You put one less spoon in the middle of the table than there are people, and instead of yelling "Corner" at the end, the winner quietly takes one spoon. Because there is so much noise and activity in the game, others might not notice the missing spoon for awhile. But when they do, they each grab a spoon. The person without a spoon at the end is the sucker. Haha.

We have tried playing Silent Pit a few times, and that is just too funny. So, instead of yelling out what you're trading, you hold up the number of fingers.