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...
