Games of the Tabletop

[Sydarius Mar]

So, I've dared to begin a new thread, and I'm wondering about my fellow Legionnaires' interests in, experiences with, and opinions of games that are devoid of a keyboard and monitor--those games played out on the tabletop (with or without some sort of board). I will never forget the nearly neurotic fascination I had with Dungeons & Dragons when I was introduced to it: staying up all night, eating pizza and cookies while rolling oddly-shaped dice, and believing that gaining XP for my dwarven fighter was all that gave life meaning).

I fully understand the draw of online, PC, and console gaming. God, forgive me, for all the hours I devoted to Runescape! (That was hard to type, by the way). I have had a ton of fun recently with board games like Talisman, Settlers of Catan, Betrayal at House on the Hill, and, especially, Puerto Rico.

Anyway, here are a few questions to get this thing started:

• Do you currently play any tabletop/board games? If so, which ones?
• Do you have fond memories of such games from when you were younger?
• Do you have any tabletop/board game recommendations?

Looking forward to your responses.

~Syd

[Lord Emperor Clot]

I am, as a certified old fart, really happy that table top games are back. I grew up on Monopoly, Life, Clue, Chess and simple but oddly addictive things like "Pente" (remember THAT one?), Backgammon and even card games like "Uno," which at my house we nicknamed, "screw your neighbor." Fun! And we SOCIALIZED around a table to play, with the incredible smells of Beer and Nachos hanging in the air. At one point in College, I was THIS CLOSE to starting D&D, but the know-it-all sophomore DM was a prick... and then...
COMPUTERS happened!
And we left the company of others for benighted wastes of time like MYST, Captain Blood, Electronic Arts' offering "Starflight," Ahh the glory days of floppy disks.
And we left all that behind for the wonders of Cybernations!
Who would know that the lowly table top game would return?! I am looking forward to learning "Settlers pf Catan" and some other wonders I've heard of. But don't neglect the simple games! There are still Cuban American men in my home of Tampa that love their dominoes. I really like a really stupid little game called "Pass the Pigs" that is huge fun. My kids love Cards Against Humanity... I must have raised them right after all.
Table top games! makes me feel good that people are actually doing social gaming like that again. Good for us!
-Clot.

[tom the pit leader]

a remarkably fun and simple game I know is called "lemming mafia," where the cement shoes keep the lemmings from drowning instead of the other way around. I know more, but that just came to me.

[bitermer]

Settlers of Catan mainly, and Carcassone. Always play those with the family over Christmas. I like the classics scrabble and monopoly too, and play a bit of chess but really chess is more of a sport

[Sydarius Mar]

Originally Posted by Lord Emperor Clot

I grew up on Monopoly, Life, Clue, Chess and simple but oddly addictive things like "Pente" (remember THAT one?), Backgammon and even card games like "Uno,"

Pente I do not know, oddly enough. I played all those others, especially chess, but the first game that ever really consumed me was Risk. That game became a piece of bedroom furniture for me...never put it away.

And we SOCIALIZED around a table to play, with the incredible smells of Beer and Nachos hanging in the air.

Glorious.

At one point in College, I was THIS CLOSE to starting D&D, but the know-it-all sophomore DM was a prick...

Maybe a blessing in disguise. You may have avoided a serious pitfall, one that could have made studying in college that much more difficult. Possibly the greatest moment of disappointment of my junior high years was being told by my parents (well-meaning but misguided) that after much thought they would NOT purchase the D&D books for me--books that, in their estimation, were a doorway to the occult and other nefarious matters.

But don't neglect the simple games!

The simple game that reigns supreme in my house is cribbage.

[Firkinvald]

For baseball fans, you can't beat Strat-O-Matic baseball, which in addition to the board game also has a computer game for internet play. They also have football, basketball and hockey versions.

www.strat-o-matic.com

[scozy]

Board games have always ruled my heart way above video games. To me, there are two categories:

The comparatively simple games that I can use to introduce those people that have played Risk and Monopoly in their young age and got bored and haven't played a game in twenty years and don't realise there's something else out there to boardgaming. I usually make them play Carcassonne first, then eventually Catan, or Dominion. Dominion is actually the simplest of those to explain, yet an extremely enjoyable game, but I don't introduce it first because I have the German edition and that makes my non-German-speaking friends a bit reluctant at first.

A newer game I quite like is Amerigo: it has a very original action point mechanics and handling of randomness, and there is more room for strategic decisions than in Catan and yet the rules aren't more complicated to explain to a complete newcomer.

Then, there are the more complex and longer games I prefer but don't so often find enough people to play with. Eclipse is a favourite of mine right now, and I haven't had the chance yet of playing it with more than four players. So if you, and up to seven of your friends are passing through Montreal for a weekend, feel free to get in touch The rules take about an hour to explain, but they are straightforward and logical enough that once they're explained even someone playing for the first time won't have to reach for the rulebook very often. Some other games I wish I could play more often with more than two players at this time are Puerto Rico, Agricola, and Nations. At least I can count myself lucky that my wife likes complex games as well.

I don't mean to sound like a game snob, I do like a good game of Risk and Monopoly as well once in a while. Nobody wants to play Monopoly with me anymore because I've somehow managed to win about 90% of the games I've played in the last ten years or so. You want to play Monopoly with me?

[Horatio Aurelius]

Puerto Rico and Betrayal at House on the Hill are both fantastic games. As far as tabletop RPGs go: Dungeons and Dragons got me through puberty. In my old age (of 25), my friends and I have been playing World of Darkness.

[Mister Mister]

The first RPG game I played was a board game called HeroQuest, I loved playing that game.

[Salman Naveed]

I grew up on Monopoly, Ludo and UNO! I have really fond memories of playing Monopoly (exclusively) during summer holidays. I used to spend nearly half the day playing it with my sibling and grandpa! And the game never used to end!

Man, those were the times!