Board Games
Updated October 4, 2006
Julie and I played numerous card games throughout high school and are quite competitive
with each other. In 2003, Julie's brother introduced us to Settlers of Catan and
an entire new generation of board games being developed primarily in Germany and
other parts of Europe. These games emphasize strategy and tactics over luck and
trivial knowledge. We became addicted almost instantly and have been collecting
and playing ever since.
For our wedding we received several new games and expansions. We haven't even had
time to play them all yet, but we're working on it. Thanks everyone!
The Games
Below is a list of the games in our board game collection. I've written up a small
review for some of the games with links to other information. If you're interested
in board games in general, I recommend Funagain Games
and BoardGameGeek for more information.
The most unique of
our games, Shadows Over Camelot has players join forces to play cooperatively against
the forces of evil. Each player takes the role of a knight of the round table and
acts of his own will throughout the game. While the game is cooperative, a player's
specific resources are kept secret from one another. This makes planning joint battles
a bit difficult, but also keeps the game from being too easy.
We've recently been able to play this game several times with 7 people. After several
losing attempts, we finally beat it one night. The game is not easy and the presence
of a traitor makes it that much more difficult. The traitors in our games have been
very good about keeping themselves hidden and causing us no end of pain.
Players: 3 - 7, Time: 60 - 80 Minutes
In this game,
two to four players attempt to gain influence over the court of Louis XIV. There's
no board to speak of in this game, but rather a set of twelve personality cards,
each representing an individual in the court. The goal of the game is to complete
various missions by out-influencing your opponents. You gain favor with these individuals
and are rewarded with various tokens. Each mission had a different token requirement
and a different reward.
The more I play this game, the more I enjoy it. It's thought-provoking, quick, and
allows plenty of opportunity to employ several strategies. The only negatives are
the slightly long setup times, and a few odd rules that are difficult to remember,
but only come up occassionally. If you're looking for a medium-depth game, Louis
XIV is a great choice.
Players: 2 - 4, Time: 75 - 100 minutes
A smaller, scaled down,
card-only version of Puerto Rico, San Juan is a game of buildings. In fact, every
card in the game is a building of one type or another. Some buildings produce resource,
while the rest give you special abilities. The goal of the game is to out-develop
your opponents as the mayor of San Juan. Doing this requires some luck and the knowledge
of which building to build when.
Players: 2 - 4, Time: 45 - 60 minutes
A train-themed
game, the objective is to complete route tickets by connecting two cities together
using whatever route you choose. Each destination ticket you hold has a different
pair of cities, and a different point value if completed. Uncompleted destination
are worth negative points at the end of the game. Knowing when to pick up more destination
tickets and when to hold off is part of the strategy. While playing, your destination
tickets are kept secret and only revealed at the end. Usually, the winner isn't
known until the last player has added up all of his points. Always fun and often
nerveracking, you can't go wrong buying Ticket to Ride.
Players: 2 - 5, Time: 30 - 60 minutes
This
version of Ticket to Ride features a European map, tunnels, water crossings, train
stations and more. A bit more complicated than the original, but still easy to learn
and fun for beginners.
Players: 2 - 5, Time: 30 - 60 minutes
Set is an addictive
card game where the players have to match three cards with similar or dissimilar
attributes. It's a fast-paced visual brain-teaser that takes only minutes to learn.
It might make your head hurt, but in a good way. Highly recommended.
Players: 1 or more, Time: variable