Game Quickies - 3/3


Saga  —  It's the classic War, updated with multiplayer capability, resource management and region bonuses, in a nice-looking and quick-playing package.


Screaming Eagles  —  The board and mechanics come together well, and after some tweaking, we enjoy pulling this out when we're in the mood for light Battletech action.


Shazaam!  —  A card- and resource-based duel for two players that contains more depth than is apparent at first blush.


Simply Catan (etc)  —  One of the German staples.  Some love it, some think it's not a bad way to spend some time and some are opposed (though maybe her husband should'nt've cut her off.)


Sorry! Sliders  —  It's basically the board game version of shuffleboard with a few variants thrown in along with the ability to handle two additional players.


Sword & Skull  —  It's like the roll-and-move games we grew up with, but better (read: more in-depth).  Just remember: only two hands, so only two weapons.


Tangoes  —  It's Tangram with the additions of two larger right angle triangles with hypotenuse of sqr(2) and the ability to play an opponent.


Ticket to Ride  —  When coupled with the 1910 expansion, this is the game i'd blindly recommend.  Use 1910's Big Cities variant for tighter two-player games.


Topple  —  A simple balancing game, but between the die and the scoring, it's surprising engaging.  With 3p, place/score a 4th color piece on a six (if available).


Travel Blokus  —  For two-player Blokus games i prefer using a fifteen by fifteen area on the regular board, but this is so much easier to carry around and find play space for.


Uno  —  I still have the deck i grew up with, and it shows its age enough that i had to break out the spare.


Up the River  —  A light racer that isn't strictly role-and-move, though i recommend replacing the die with Marrakesh-based tokens.


Upwords  —  Basically Scrabble Lite due to the simpler scoring and more placing options.  I have the 8x8 board, so think it plays best with two, though i'm not adverse to more.


Waterworks  —  A nice take-that pre-tile race-ish game that lives up to nostalgia, though i recommend the original rules as the reprint relaxed the challenge.


Yahtzee  —  One of the few games that's truly multiplayer solitaire, and so is better with less players than more.  Still should be a staple, though.


Zombietown  —  I really like it, but i'm a fan of free-form games.  The main site has updated rules, a FAQ, and my player aid: http://www.twilightcreationsinc.com/en/boardgames/zombietown.html

Game Quickies - 2/3


Dancing Dice  —  It's Yahtzee's cousin.  The one with player elimination and "exceedingly stylistic" artwork.  As an aside, think of it as losing confidence, not endurance.


Double or Nothing  —  The very definition of "simple fun".  We flip a card at the beginning of every round - and another if it's a bonus - so that the first person has a choice.


Dragon Chess  —  A nice-looking chess set with a new pair of pieces and board that changes things up nicely without swinging very far away from orthodox chess.


Dragon Parade  —  The game needs more monies - five 10s and 20s should be enough - but is a nice light combination of tug-of-war, card play, and guesswork.


Dynasties  —  A quick-playing two-player area majority that reminds me of a certain battle of wits involving a small vial of iocaine powder.


Formula Dé Mini  —  After some tweaking, it's a rather solid role-and-move.


Hive  —  It scratches the same itch that chess does while being shiny and new (and a lot more portable).  As an aside, it's a *baby* spider.


Hollywood Blockbuster  —  A decent auction game that's easy to pick up, yet there's some meat on the bone, and it doesn't overstay its welcome.


Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation  —  It's takes Stratego and ups the ante by adding a "power" for each piece in addition to the standard ranking while providing a surprisingly strong theme.


Nexus Ops  —  A light combined arms wargame that's more than simply marching your armies from territory to territory and over-running the enemy.


Niagara  —  "Different" could go either way, but i say they pulled it off, though i only play with the Spirits expansion included.


Phase 10 Dice  —  A nice blending of Phase 10 and Yahtzee where you have to balance going for a higher score and keeping pace with the other players.


Pylos  —  Looks good, is simple to teach and learn, yet requires thought to play well.  With the "alignment" rules, this is another good two-player filler.


Rattlesnake  —  It's Magnetic Theory 101 turned filler. When someone goes out, everyone should total their eggs, and when someone reaches (60/#players), whoever has the least is the winner.


Ringgz  —  Very small rule set, yet requires you to think ahead to have any hope of winning. The new checkers? Bonus points for being playable by four.


Risk 2210  —  A very nice update of Risk, full of sound and fury and thwarted plans.  (Are those Stealth MODs you're hoarding? Frequency Jam.)


Risk Express  —  It could just as easily have been named Yahtzee: Flower Collecting (and the one rule would've made more sense if it had), but it's surprisingly engaging.


Rummikub  —  Essentially Rummy with a twist (hence the name), you should already have an idea of whether or not you'd be a fan of this.

Game Quickies - 1/3


300: The Board Game  —  Quality is all over the map, but game-play is aces. There's luck in both the dice and card draw, but you play the game for the narrative you'll create.


4th Corner  —  A light tile-based maze game where the correct strategy isn't simply hoping that you're the one to place the exit.


Abalone  —  A nice little two-player abstract that seems to slip right from the opening moves to the endgame.  Use the daisy and pillar set-ups to mix things up a bit.


Ark of the Covenant  —  A very solid tile-laying game which tweaks Carcassonne just enough to make it even better than the game that spawned it (excluding expansions).


Ave Caesar  —  The no-final-6 and ramming variants give it just enough of an edge to keep things interesting.  Really needs 4+ chariots (and quick turns).


Backgammon  —  One of the classics.  What you can do is dependent upon the dice roll, but it's not simply a dice-rolling game.


Battleship Express  —  A very nice Yahtzee variant that is even better with simultaneous damage and going from Admiral to Captain to Davy Jones' locker.


Battletech  —  For me, more than the sum of its parts, though if i hadn't gotten interested in the game back with 2nd edition, the current incarnation's pro-miniature stance would keep me away.


Blokus  —  A good-looking, easy-to-learn, surprisingly cutthroat abstract with shades of Tetris.  We prefer 15x15 and 17x18 for two- and three-players, respectively.


Bolide  —  It's vector racing with rules, charts, and mounted courses (though the box can't hold all the expansions). The English rules deserve to be written better, but http://www.bolide.it/ has a FAQ and question form at least.


Bottle Topps  —  It's in the same category as Jenga, but offers more choices to place your piece in exchange for the "remove it first" aspect.


California  —  It's casual fare, but the decisions aren't as cut-and-dry as they appear at first blush.  It loses something with only two players.


Can't Stop  —  A simple dice-rolling push-your-luck game with just enough strategy that it doesn't overextend its welcome.


Carcassonne  —  The base game stands on its own, but one of its strengths is that the gameplay can be tailored by adding an expansion or two (or five).


Chess  —  Really needs players of similar level.  Every gamer should have at least a passing familiarity of tournament and blitz style.


China  —  It's probably as quick-playing as an area majority game can be while still being more than simply having the majority in a given area.


Clue: The Great Museum Caper  —  Don't let the Clue name put you off: this is a very thematic game of cat-and-mouse. Just make sure you're using the correct rules.


Crokinole  —  Somewhere between marbles and shuffleboard, it's easy to pick up, yet rewards skill.  Oh to have had this during my VG Days...