Board Games

[Plissken]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could recommend some good board games. I'm looking for non-mainstream board games (i.e. Monopoly) that would appeal to all ages, male and female. I'm opening up my home for a weekly game night for my church members so am looking for games for them to play. We are a pretty liberal church so don't worry about recommending something that has violence or other suggestive material in it.

oh yeah...what PnP rpg games do you think would appeal to both young adult (college age) males and females?

thanks

 

[Simplicity]

It's good to have a few choices... Especially for first game night.

Risk 2210. It's similar to stuff people have played, so it's easier to explain than most boardgames.

Talisman is a classic if you want an RPG-like game. There's a new version out there.

Carcassone is another great one to try. Build/claim castles, roads, and farms. This one probably is the most appealing to men and women (depending on the women).

 

[GlassJaw]

Scrabble!!

Edit: Umm, yeah, maybe I should read before I post...I missed the "non--traditional...oh well.

I would definitely second Carcassonne. Easy to learn but lots of strategy.

Settles of Catan is also amazing but definitely more involved gameplay.

 

[Simplicity]

Everyone in the world enjoys Settlers of Catan. Other than me. I just don't understand the appeal. Just my opinion, but I think the amount of strategy in a Catan game is extremely miniscule. Most of it is just seeing whether the dice rolls conform to expectations, and then choosing between a very limited set of choices. There are a lot of expansions though that I've never tried, and I'm sure those would help.

 

[Merkuri]

I'd second Settlers of Catan. I brought it with us on a weekend away with friends once and everybody loved it. We had a variety of people there, and the only complaint was that only four people/teams could play (though they do have expansions that allow up to 6 to play).

The rules are very intimidating at first, but once you start playing everything falls into place and just makes sense. On paper it's kinda scary and sounds complicated, but it's really very intuitive once you start actually doing stuff.

 

[Wycen]

Everyone in the world enjoys Settlers of Catan. Other than me. I just don't understand the appeal. Just my opinion, but I think the amount of strategy in a Catan game is extremely miniscule. Most of it is just seeing whether the dice rolls conform to expectations, and then choosing between a very limited set of choices. There are a lot of expansions though that I've never tried, and I'm sure those would help.

There can be only 2! Or, something. I'll play the dice game version. Or perhaps the offspring of Settlers, but no, I'd only play Settlers to be sociable. That is different than playing board/computer/rpg's to be sociable by a long shot.

Hot new game: Pandemic. Save the world from outbreaks of disease.

Classics: San Juan, Puerto Rico, Santiago, Manilla, Alhambra.

If you aren't already familiar with it: www.boardgamegeek.com

RPG for beginners: Spirit of the Century. Funky dice, though somewhat familiar as it only has 6 siders, plus poker chips to represent fate points.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Cheapass Games has a bunch of nifty little games, several of which spoof classics...like how Kill Dr. Lucky/Save Dr. Lucky spoof Clue.

I'm a big fan of Acquire and Feudal.

Robo Rally is such a big fave of mine that I not only bought several copies of it (and its expansions) while it was OoP, I even bought a new copy when it was republished.

I like the railroad-building games by Mayfair, including the fantasy version, Iron Dragon.

Ogre/G.E.V. is a classic board/minis wargame.

Nuclear War (and its expansions) is utterly hilarious, as is Munchkin.

There is an old card game called Waterworks that is pretty spiffy.

Cathedral and Quarto are new classics, quite simple, but intellectually demanding.

I currently own Nautilus, Monsters Menace America and Stonehenge, but haven't played them yet- all were acquired when a local FLGS shut its doors.

I have heard that Arkham Horror (and its expansions) is excellent, but haven't plunked down the cash.

 

[Relique Hunter]

Settlers/Starfarers of Catan. By far one of the best game ever made.