I need to pack my bag tomorrow for a little trip to Pagosa Springs. I will be vacationing with friends, but sadly, not with my wife. She will stay home to help her father (who lives with us) continue to recover from his recent knee replacement surgery. But we had made some commitments around this trip which drive me to still go.
So, as the bona fide game-guy of the group, I will be expected to bring some boardgames. My fellow vacationers include 3 other couples. One couple are hardcore gamers, where Settlers, Power Grid, and other medium weight strategy games are welcomed. Another couple are mildly gamers, more comfortable with Bohnanza and other lighter games. Both of these couples are energetic roleplayers and computer gamers. But the third couple are not really boardgamers at all, although one of them is a big role-player and computer gamer.
Picking a few games to fit this crowd required considering a few points:
- How many can play? Is it fun if fully staffed?
- How complex is it? Does it have a good theme?
- How long does it take?
The Three Musketeers comes to mind. Plays up to five, which seems a likely number of willing players. Great theme, mild complexity, and quick playing. The toy factor is good too. Also, I recently discovered I have been playing it wrong, making “Milady” too powerful. So I’d like to play again – correctly.
Timber Tom – Only plays 4, which is a downside. But the lighter play coupled with the fantastic presentation should make this a nice event.
Fast Food Franchise – A favorite of one of my friends, and it plays a larger number of people if needed. Not especially fast – but since it is loved that is less of a factor.
Kaleidos – Easy rules, fun “non-game” activity for folks who don’t necessarily like boardgames. But well-loved by those of us who consider ourselves gamers.
Spice Navigator – Just cause I think it might be fun. I have rewritten the rules for a variant version.
Carcassonne – A classic that I haven’t played in person for a long while. I recently started playing the iPhone app, and it has whetted my appetite to play again. Very easy game to play and easily scalable.
And that is clearly too many games for a weekend of vacationing where boardgaming is not the reason we are getting together.
July 2, 2010 at 8:53 am |
“playing it wrong, making ‘Milady’ too powerful”
Kevin, how were you doing that? My Milady has yet to prove her worth, and yet I’d read others talking about how she was too powerful. What were you all doing different?
– rob
Any, sounds like a good list of games. Flying Carpet may also be a game for such a crowd.
July 5, 2010 at 7:33 pm |
I was mistakenly thinking that Milady was able to take the jewels from a musketeer, and thus win the game. Oops. We played twice in Colorado, and we had a very exciting game where I won as the Cardinal. The second game went infavor of the musketeers, and Milady failed to be much of a factor.
I continue to love this design.