Starting my own Board game collection.

[TheKarazyvicePresidentRR]

I am beginning my own board game collection and would like some advice on what to get. I know most of the "main stream" games (Clue, Risk, Monopoly, etc), and except for Clue (I enjoy deduction more than I really should). My parents own these, enjoy them and I am happy to oblige. However I am now stepping out of my comfort zone of "normal" or "mainstream" board games into a bit more niche market. I have never turned down a wacky, odd, or silly board game at any nats (as many can attest to) and I found I found myself enjoying myself with the board games more than I thought I would.  Anyways, I digress. As I grow older I find myself more in love with table top gaming than ever before, it brings such a social experience found nowhere else. So I have been beginning to make my own collection!

Now for the tricky part, the people I regularly play with.

Always part of the group:
Justin - One of my closer friends, very much like myself, we will learn, play, and then exploit just about anything either of us can find. Very flexible when it comes to games.
Joe - My roommate, not so much like myself, where I play with mechanics, he prefers the world it is based in. Also unlike me, he does not like games with TOO much betrayal (Risk. I got him to play one game, he will not play it again.), due to him being easily frustrated if something goes terribly wrong, AND it was PURPOSELY caused by another player.

People who are usually part of the group:
Caleb - My brother, smart kid, can be a bit slow on the obvious but he has pulled some crazy wins in many a game I never saw coming, however he is easily discouraged/frustrated. Just enjoys playing the game, can get distracted easily if attention is not held.
Carolynn - My sister, VERY smart, Usually plots evil things to do to me and caleb due to our relations and takes GREAT joy at inflicting pain on us >.>. However that doesn't stop them BOTH from teaming up on me to win (together mind you!). Doesn't enjoy rules changing TOO rapidly.

Sometimes part of the group:
Dad - Good sport, not great at any game, he just enjoys playing and spending quality time with us.
Mom- Competitive, Great player, I will not play her at scrabble, its like challenging Edward Scissorhands to a hedge trimming contest, you just auto lose. She will play just about anything as long as she gets to try to win at something.

Games I currently own:
* = Will not play
Fluxx (Zombies)*Carolynn
7 Wonders
Munchkin (just picked this up, good chaotic fun)
Pandemic
Redemption
I also have a number of table top rpgs.

Games I am looking into:
King of Tokyo
Smash up
Small world
Shadows over camelot
Zombie dice
Elder sign
Ticket to ride
Last night on earth
Paranoia

Games I looking to get expansions for:
7 Wonders


Now the reason for this post. What suggestions would you add to the list, remove from the list, etc and why? What expansions are worth getting for said games? Does anyone know where I can find demos of board games to watch?


Fun note: I have re-written this so many times because I kept rambling on how much fun I have with the table top games.

[Bryon]

From the list you are looking at, I like Ticket to Ride.

I also recommend Dominion, or the Marvel deck-builder Legendary.

Bang! is really fun, too, as is its Asia-themed version: Samurai Swords.

I also like Citadels.

[sk]

Cactus' own Settlers of Canaan (and Catan itself) are great games. Simple to learn, and victory points allow for players to choose how they play the game.  Catan is the closest thing to a modern classic.

I also own Bang! and some expansions, and have played 800+ games between the physical copy and their iPad app.  Very easy to learn, fun mechanics, and plays fairly straightforward.  Slight element of deception in players trying to hide whether they support or oppose the sheriff, but very casual.  My parents play the basic game with us and enjoy it.  Works best with 5 players, but 3-8 can play.

Bryon introduced me to Legendary a couple weeks ago.  It only took two games to understood the overall strategy, and by a third game with Bryon and Chris Bany, I had decided I'd be buying it.  The game is collaborative, as the players together are trying to defeat a villain.  The Marvel element may be slightly niche, but it doesn't matter if one knows the characters or not.  It can easily be adapted to adjust difficulty or to customize.  I bought the recent expansion, and it add much to the game.  They plan to release two expansions per year.

Scotland Yard - This also plays a bit collaboratively.  One player is the suspect, and the other players chance him on a map of London.  I'd think a Clue fan would enjoy this.

[soul seeker]

Bang! is really fun, too, as is its Asia-themed version: Samurai Swords.

Are you sure about this Bryon?  My copy of Samurai Swords is nothing like bang.  Rather it is a conquest game of Japan with 3 armies.

As for OP:
Those on your list that I highly recommend....
Ticket to Ride  (though Joe may struggle with this one because you can easily be blocked, conversely your siblings will love it for same reason)
Shadows over Camelot   (again Joe will not like the traitor, sounds like everyone else will)

Those you didn't mention....
Dominion (particularly "Intrigue")   Intrigue & Dark Ages offers a lot of interaction mechanics.
Race For the Galaxy                        I have recently purchased this one, and I have been impressed
     Expansions for Race for the Galaxy allows for more player interaction.
Settlers of Catan                          Starting to become a mainstream classic.
History of the World                      Long but it is one of my favorite strategy games
Conquest of the Empire                (Not sure if the second printing of this is still sold)  Long and another of my favorites.
Acquire                                         Try to outdo each other in buying hotel stocks...more fun then it sounds.
Bang                                           Great group game.

Most of these games have video demos on Board Game Geek.*
     *I personally check out the top games on Board Game Geek and former winners of "Games of the Year." I have really enjoyed a lot of the Games of the Year so I trust those two reputations.

[TheKarazyvicePresidentRR]

Most of these games have video demos on Board Game Geek.*
     *I personally check out the top games on Board Game Geek and former winners of "Games of the Year." I have really enjoyed a lot of the Games of the Year so I trust those two reputations.

I try to take BGG seriously but some of the reviews are so painfully biased it hurts. (Such as someone reviewing King of Tokyo that he hates "monster" themes, and dice rolling games, which KOTokyo is). So I have a hard time gauging their reviews.

[soul seeker]

Maybe I should have said that I cross reference them?   I agree that BGG is biased because it relies on opinionated people that you don't know.  At least here you get opinionated people that you do know.

My final opinion....check out the Game of the Year winners...I have like 6 of those games and enjoyed them all.

[redemptioncousin]

I LOVE board games and have a very decent sized collection.  My most used source is by far a youtube channel that does (p)reviews/top 10's/and various other things called thedicetower.  Look it up.  It's super useful if not somewhat cheesy.  Anyways, as far as my personal suggestions:

Settlers of Catan:  Every TT gamer should own this.  Great intro to Euro-gaming and still a game I find myself taking out after many plays.

Ticket to Ride:  I would recommend the Europe map.  It adds one of the best maps and a stations feature, which severely reduces any possible cutthroat type plays (in fact, some say it reduces these plays almost to a fault).  Sometimes I only play with one or two stations to fix this problem.

Race for the Galaxy:  I'm putting this here because someone else mentioned it.  I own this game and it is one of the only games I own that does not see consistent play.  It really does not have any real replayablity.  The mechanics are cool and it is really fun the first few times so I would recommend finding someone who already has it and play it with them.  I would not buy it.

Dominion:  Get it.  If you like redemption, you'll love this.  Get it.  Cards that do stuff.  Get it.  The end.

Agricola:  SUPER HEAVY GAME *WARNING*  Do not try to play it with non-gamers.  That being said, if you like heavy strategy and know others that do as well, this is definitely one of your better options.

Kingdom Builder:  Super light, super fast, super fun, high replay-ability.  What more could you ask for?  Well... the theme kinda stinks, but if you don't care, get it.

Cutthroat Caverns:  Have a blast annoying the heck out of your best friends and family.  Super fun backstabber game.  (You can backstab so much that more often than not, the game doesn't even have a winner)

Bang:  Great party game.

Seasons:  WONDERFUL new game that came out last year.  Combines cards that do stuff, resource management, and an awesome mechanic that involves non luck based die rolling.  How???  Well, check it out!

Pandemic On the Brink:  If you don't have it, get it.  This expansion makes the game go from "yeah, okay we beat it," to "WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! WE SAVED THE WORLD!!!!"

Small World:  I would not mention this except for the fact that it is on your list.  I own this and think it is a very good game.  Like risk with much less luck (which is awesome).  It also has some funny moments with the theme-ing of it.  I would definitely say that this game has a super sharp learning curve though.  The basic concepts of the game are super simple, but learned players can flat out run away with games which I tend to not like.  It's still a very good game though.  Worth picking up.

I know I'm missing a bunch, but I'm sure you have enough to work with here.  :p

[DDiceRC]

Dungeon Command is a neat spin on fantasy adventure in a board game. (However, it looks like Hasbro stopped at five sets. ) My family likes to play Dread Pirate. And, of course, even though it's collectible I am contractually obligated to promote Dragon Dice (but it really is a lot of fun, very balanced, and much deeper than you might think).

[TheMarti]

A lot of my board game loves I've gotten from Gretel and Brad, so they're more of the experts than I am about it, and Brad will likely post on here later, so wait for wall o' text from him.

But from my own perspective, my favorite game on your list is Ticket to Ride. I definitely suggest the European version over the US version because it involves a lot more strategy (and I personally found it a heck of a lot more fun).

I've actually played Last Night on Earth! I played it with a couple expansions with a friend's family at Christmas time, and I thought it was great! It's a fun twist on a dungeon crawler, and who doesn't love Zombies?

Other games that I would suggest:
Dominion: I love Dominion, so much. It's a blast, and it never plays the same way twice.
Settlers of Catan: I love Cactus's Canaan version, and own it, but the customization available with the original Catan is epic.
Bang: Since there seems to be up to 7 of you at a time, Bang would be a great addition to your list. I don't recommend playing it with less than 4, it's best around 6 or 7.
Carcassonne: This hasn't been mentioned by anyone yet, but I really, really like this game. But don't play it without expansions - the base game is fun, but the expansions really make it challenging. It's a town building game that can change based on what expansions you use with it. I got Gretel and Brad one of the "big boxes" for Christmas last year, which had 6 expansions with it, and was totally worth it.

I can't think of any other games right now, but these are a good start, I would think.

[browarod]

I can't believe nobody mentioned Carcassonne until now. Great game, several expansions, pretty easy to pick up. I highly recommend it (thanks Marti for bringing it up!).

I also highly recommend Settlers of Catan (never played Settlers of Canaan but I've heard it's also good).

I've only played Dominion a couple times (and never any of the expansions) but it's super fun. The base game alone has enough different card sets to make several different variations, and I've heard the expansions add cray more amounts of combinations.

Bang! I own but, interestingly enough, have never played. I can't seem to get a large enough group of people that are interested.

[Bobbert]

Joe - My roommate, not so much like myself, where I play with mechanics, he prefers the world it is based in. Also unlike me, he does not like games with TOO much betrayal (Risk. I got him to play one game, he will not play it again.), due to him being easily frustrated if something goes terribly wrong, AND it was PURPOSELY caused by another player.

Munchkin (just picked this up, good chaotic fun)

Warning: My brother, very similar to Joe by this description, still refuses to play Munchkin with me after one disastrous (for him) game. (Playing to twenty, I won 20-7(stepbrother)-5)

Settlers is awesome (especially Cities and Knights). Ticket to Ride is simple, but always interesting. Forbidden Island is a great Co-op game. Dominion is brilliant, since you only use a certain number of cards in each game and so you can experiment with different combinations.

[wmd1999]

[/quote]

Warning: My brother, very similar to Joe by this description, still refuses to play Munchkin with me after one disastrous (for him) game. (Playing to twenty, I won 20-7(stepbrother)-5)

[/quote]

Hey I was level 6 thank you very much!   

[Crashfach2002]

One of my playgroup members got the last night on earth game and we think it is a ton of fun.  My brother and I are thinking about possibly buying the game for ourselves just so we don't have to try to borrow it from him (which says a lot because I'm a cheapo!).  The only downfalls are to get all of the expansions it is over $100 and (I believe) it is better to play with more than two people, but over all I think it is awesome.  This makes me want to go play it now!

[Prof Underwood]

You've gotten some GREAT advice on this thread.  The highlights in my opinion are below:

Ticket to Ride
Dominion

Cactus' own Settlers of Canaan (and Catan itself) are great games.
Scotland Yard

Shadows over Camelot   (again Joe will not like the traitor, sounds like everyone else will)
Dominion (particularly "Intrigue" Prosperity)
Acquire

My most used source is by far a youtube channel DiceTower

My additions to that list would include: Blokus, Heroscape, Stratego, and Star Wars:Epic Duels.
I'd suggest just going to YouTube and typing in the name of the game that you're interested in and the word "dicetower"

[soul seeker]

To Mark's Correction:
   Prosperity is great...it is just not a stand alone game.  You need either the Original base set or Intrigue.  I suggest Intrigue as the starter if picking between the two...that is what I meant.

As for those who mentioned Carcasonne after me.  I thought of it, but didn't mention it for 2 reasons:  1) I gave him an extensive list for one post. 2) My kids like that game, and I was unsure what others thought of it.

[ChristianSoldier]

Of the games you mentioned that I know:

Shadows over Camelot is a lot of fun. I will say it was worth what I spent on it. It does take a group that is willing to put the effort into playing it, although it isn't so much that it is usually difficult to get a group together.

Small World is fun, but it's not one of my favorites, but that's just my opinion, and I've only played it twice I think, so it might just be inexperience.

Since no one has said anything about Elder Sign I will. I bought that game because it looked interesting and wasn't terribly expensive. It is a fun enough game in and of itself (and one of the few tabletop games that I've enjoyed playing on my own), however I will issue a warning: The theme of the game is Cosmic Horror and it deals with a Lovecraftian world. If you and your group aren't concerned with that, then it is fun, but if that is a concern I would recommend finding a different game.

Another game I will suggest, it does involve quite a bit of betrayal (although since that is a central part of the game where several players are traitors rather than arbitrary like risk, it might be okay) is the Battlestar Galactica board game by Fantasy Flight (I believe), I have barely watched the series (either of them) but I have enjoyed the game, because it is built on good mechanics and is just a fun game to play (especially when you can pull off truly amazing moves that change the course of the game in a single round)

I also recommend Dominion, it is quite a bit of fun.

[EmJayBee83]

In addition to the fine suggestions above I would add...

Zooleretto -- One of the more cut throat games (in a fun way) out there, hiding behind a theme that makes you think it is a children's game.  This is one of a very few games that plays best with five players.

Family Business -- Tons of fun. If you (Veep Red Rocks) still have your fedora you should pull it out whenever you play.

Malta! -- The game Tim Mxyzptlk's designed. Funny, strategic (in a non threatening way), and an awesome change of pace game during a gaming session.

Looking at this list and after re-reading your group descriptions, Joe may not like any of the above. These games are all designed to be highly interactive--as opposed to players engaging in parallel solitaire games (e.g., Dominion! the early sets)--which means players will mess with each other. On the other hand, this is continual messing with each other, which is different than the game turning change-of-loyalty type of "betrayal" you would experience with Risk.

Carolyn may be put off by Malta! given that even the board layout can change mid-game. That said I do know people who enjoy Malta! who I had a hard time convincing to play because they hated Fluxx (because of the changing rules).

[TheMarti]

To Mark's Correction:
   Prosperity is great...it is just not a stand alone game.  You need either the Original base set or Intrigue.  I suggest Intrigue as the starter if picking between the two...that is what I meant.

As for those who mentioned Carcasonne after me.  I thought of it, but didn't mention it for 2 reasons:  1) I gave him an extensive list for one post. 2) My kids like that game, and I was unsure what others thought of it.

Totally understandable. Carcasonne is one of those games that is easy to understand and difficult to master, and the dynamic of the game changes depending on who you're playing with (I played with my bro and one of his pals, and it was very different than playing with Gretel and Brad).

[Bryon]

Bang! is really fun, too, as is its Asia-themed version: Samurai Swords.

Are you sure about this Bryon?  My copy of Samurai Swords is nothing like bang.  Rather it is a conquest game of Japan with 3 armies.

LOL

I meant this game: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/128667/samurai-sword

Not this one: https://www.funagain.com/control/product?product_id=006137

"Sword" is singular on the one I meant.  Sorry about that.

[Josh]

I can't believe nobody mentioned Carcassonne until now. Great game, several expansions, pretty easy to pick up. I highly recommend it (thanks Marti for bringing it up!).

I second this recommendation.  I recommend the Traders & Builders, Inns & Cathedrals, and Abbey & Mayor expansions.  These expansions just feel like a "natural" expansion of the original game, which is very fun and strategic.  Some of the other expansions are just kinda weird though.  Carcassonne is especially unique since you "build" a new game every time you play.

Ticket to Ride is a good one too.  It's easy to learn and fun to play, but still requires strategy to do well.  I've played the American version and the Europe version, and for both, I recommend their expansions (the 1910 and 1912 expansions) for their additional destinations.

Malta! and Smallworld are both very fun, but they both have a certain quality of gameplay about them; where if you choose one of your opponents and decide that they are going to lose, you can pretty much assure them of at least not winning (I don't recommend this, it makes the game no fun for both of you).  When I play these games, they are more to have fun and fellowship with the people I am playing with and less about testing my ability to win via strategy.  Still though, very fun games.

For those hardcore gamers, I recommend Agricola.  It is the most complicated game I've ever played, but I read up on some strategies online, and the game is just so fun to play when you understand what you are doing.  I believe that competitive Redemption players would have a natural knack for learning and playing Agricola.  The game emphasizes efficiency and resource management with a limited number of moves, and requires much advance planning to win.  And if you "draft" your occupations at the start of the game instead of just dealing 7 to each player (my recommendation), well, the draft operates extremely similar to Booster draft in Redemption.

[Rawrlolsauce!]

My favorite board game is Cutthroat Caverns.

[Professoralstad]

My favorite board game is Scrabble.

[YourMathTeacher]

Josh, we will have to plan a game night at my house. I have Settlers of Catan with all the expansions, and I have Shadows Over Camelot with the Merlin's Company expansion. My family gets together with the Weiss family for game nights and we play both games a lot.

For Settlers, we play 6 players with the Cities & Knights expansion, but we also use the Rivers, Lakes and Fish. The Weiss' will be painting their pieces different colors so we can expand to 10 players.

For Shadows, we always play with the Merlin expansion now. We like having 8 players and the possibility of 2 Traitors. Also, having so many different knights to choose from is awesome.

I also recommend Grand Imperialism. It is a blend of Risk and Civilization (the video game). I have it if you want to try it some time.

My all-time favorite is Dark Tower, but my tower motor is no longer working.     In the meantime, we have a game called Dark World that is an RPG type board game.

Those last few are no longer in print, so you would have to go the eBay route. Forget Dark Tower, since it is a collector's item and sells in the $100s. It was only made for one year by Milton Bradley before they were sued for stealing the idea.

Also note that most of the games listed by people so far are quite expensive. Settlers, Shadows, Dominion, and Ticket to Ride are easy to find, but they cost upwards of $40-50 each, unless you get lucky on eBay (like I did!).

[soul seeker]

Also note that most of the games listed by people so far are quite expensive. Settlers, Shadows, Dominion, and Ticket to Ride are easy to find, but they cost upwards of $40-50 each, unless you get lucky on eBay (like I did!).

It is worth mentioning that Amazon offers great deals on some of these popular games.  I just picked up Dark Ages (Dominion expansion) 40ish%* off. 

*I didn't do the exact math.

[TheMarti]

Also note that most of the games listed by people so far are quite expensive. Settlers, Shadows, Dominion, and Ticket to Ride are easy to find, but they cost upwards of $40-50 each, unless you get lucky on eBay (like I did!).

It is worth mentioning that Amazon offers great deals on some of these popular games.  I just picked up Dark Ages (Dominion expansion) 40ish%* off. 

*I didn't do the exact math.

Yes, 100% this. I got Gretel and Brad's Carcassonne Big Box for Christmas last year at a sweet discount on Amazon. Between Amazon and eBay, you can get some awesome deals.