-
Rick Baptist
United States
Redlands
California
-
Previous Top and Bottom lists:
#6-10 Family (Light-Strategy) Games - http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/2124/the-bottom-half-o...
#1-5 Strategy Games - http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/1205/the-top-half-of-m...
#6-10 Strategy Games - http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/904/the-bottom-half-of...
#1-5 Thematic Games - http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/469/the-top-half-of-my...
#6-10 Thematic Games - http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/384/the-bottom-half-of...
Over on http://opinionatedgamers.com the contributors have been putting together their Top 10 lists for 2010. I figured I would plug that for those reading here for two reasons: (1) You obviously like reading lists, and (2) I'm in the process of begging them to take me into the fold! Okay, so I know some of you have been waiting to see what my Top 5 here will be. I hope you're not too disappointed, because most of these are the classic example of the light-strategy family-type game. So that said, you shouldn't be surprised that I've listed them here! These are the top 5 for many reasons, not the least being how successful I have been in introducing them to gamers of the lighter side. Granted, one of them is very new to my list, but the other four have been dragged around, pulled out, and played to death since I got my own copy. Many of them have been expanded to include more options and variations, but I truly feel that without the expansions they would still get the same amount of attention that they currently do. So, without further text, here's my Top 5 games for family/light-strategy gamers.
#5 - Survive: Escape from Atlantis!
Sharks. Sea Monsters. Dolphins. Truly something for everyone, Survive! is an amazing reprint of a classic that actually deserves to be called a classic. Mini-rant -- I have found to despise the word "classic" as it seems that every game from Trouble (more of a toy than a game) to Connect Four is dubbed a classic just because it's old. I like to think that being a classic means that you still have something to offer us today. Diplomacy is a classic. Acquire is a classic. These are things that I would like to sit down and play right now, and if I were alive in the 60s, would be frothing to play. Right? I know that some of my readers had to have played some of these great, older games in their youth. It must have been the equivalent of Christmas every time you opened that box, especially when the other option was Monopoly. After my first play of Survive!, I found myself truly wishing I had this when I was a tot. My entire family enjoyed it, the production is absolutely top notch, and the game is just fun. It's a true winner for the family gamer.
#4 - Ubongo
I like puzzle games just fine, but my wife ADORES them. Turns out my daughter inherited that little gene from my wife and enjoys them too. So Ubongo is instantly in my Top 5, not only because of all that, but because I love it too. The first time I played Ubongo, I think I failed six or seven of the puzzles and thought it wouldn't be a game for me. Thankfully, I played it again right after and failed only three. I was hooked. The jewel-collecting side of the game also provides a huge appeal to me. I like a good speed element in a game, and it's fun after you're through with half a game to look on the board and plan where you want to move next -- of course most of the time that's all dependent on whether you can finish your puzzle quicker than your opponents! As I've said before, my kids are five and six, and it's easy to scale difficulty here by just giving the kids the three-piece side of the boards, with the adults taking the four-piece side. Employing this, I sat back just a week or so ago and watched my daughter beat all of us. My daughter is FIVE YEARS OLD, and she legit beat us at Ubongo by one gem. Now, if that bothers you, you might be a ninny (I've been trying to work "ninny" into the blog for a while) -- but if it does, there's always Ubongo Extreme, which uses a different system to collect gems and keep score. But I love all the versions, and I can recommend them all. Well, maybe not Ubongo: Duel -- that one is too freaking hard! The rest you should own right now. NOW I SAY!
#3 - Carcassonne
Ah, yes. Part 1 of the three-headed-monster known as The Games You Should Own If You Have A Family Or If You Enjoy Light-Strategy. Yes, the aforementioned TGYSOIYHAFOIYELS are well-represented in these top three giants of the industry, and they are what they are for a reason. Carcassonne is one of the best light-strategy games I know, because here's a game that you can play in a casual family setting or as a brutal winner-take-all-with-your-friends atmosphere. I've played it both ways more times than I can count (well, my plays are listed at 27, so I *can* count them) and memories abound either way. One way to change the game a bit for little ones is to play without the farming, which can be a bit difficult for them to understand. When my kids get older I will always recall playing this with them as youngsters, both of them trying their hardest to take over my roads and castles, mostly succeeding. I'll also remember the time we worked Greg into his one-space farm forever. Nothing more hilarious than a small circle of roads surrounding one little dude. Expansions for this game are not necessary, but the two I'd recommend are Carcassonne: Traders & Builders and Carcassonne: Inns & Cathedrals. The rest are okay. Also, I enjoy the many variations on the base game out there (Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers being my favorite) but the older I get the more inclined I am to just stay with the base game. Again, this needs to be in your collection. Go to Amazon and buy it for $22.09 -- one of the best values in gaming today.
#1b - Pandemic
The top two. As always, you can flip-flop these five until the cows come home (where did the cows go?) but for my personal enjoyment, Pandemic has to be tied with Ticket for my favorite light-strategy experience. That's right, the first tie in Top & Bottom history! And I just can't help gushing over these two games. Ironically, as much as I spout this as a family game, I think Pandemic is the best with two -- this is completely influenced by the many, many nights that my wife and I have enjoyed this game. With so many great games in the world, I'm not really one of those guys that sticks to one title all the time -- not so with this beauty! 41 times we've accepted the responsibility of saving the world, and I imagine that around half of those times we've done it. The other half, well, I'd rather not say. Now, under Carcassonne above I mentioned the expansions and variations not being integral to the experience. I am going to stand on the proverbial soapbox and announce that you MUST HAVE Pandemic: On the Brink. Just throw it onto the order you're about to make. The base game only costs around $20 anyway, and while the expansion almost costs $20 by itself, there has never been a more worthy expansion that I can think of. By the time you get these suckers in the mail, you're talking about hundreds of hours of replayability and fun. Years of entertainment. Game sessions that will live on between you and your teammates forever. Tragic stories of "if I just had one more turn" played incessantly through your skull. If this sounds like fun to you, buy Pandemic. Please.
#1a - Ticket to Ride: Europe
There is not one game in my collection that I have introduced more new gamers to board gaming with than Ticket to Ride. Let me repeat that. There is not one game in my collection that I have introduced more new gamers to board gaming with than Ticket to Ride. ALMOST ALWAYS, after a game of Ticket to Ride with a new gamer, it is either played again immediately or stated that it will be played again next time we get together. Let's just check off names of people I've introduced this to, off the top of my head: My wife's mom & stepfather, Richard, Suzanne, Jared, Dylan, Wendy, Troy, Erika, Micah ... I had three more without even thinking about it but this is getting monotonous and I don't want to lose you yet. Now looking at that list right there, take a guess how many of those people either bought the game or got introduced to more games from Ticket. Absolutely, the whole list. My wife's stepfather bought two copies and gave one to his daughter, who then took it to college with her and got her ENTIRE FLOOR at UC Davis playing tournaments. What else do I need to say? I know the theme might not jive. I had the same issue and held off playing it for a while because of it. Why did I do that? Stupid decision. Between all the variations, I've played Ticket to Ride 37 times. This does not include the COUNTLESS times I've played online. And yes, variations are a big deal to me here. I love different maps in Ticket. In fact, I think the above Europe version is my favorite, but I'll gladly play the old standby US map anytime. And I also adoreTicket to Ride: Märklin Edition, Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries, and Ticket to Ride: Switzerland -- they're all quite different and cool. Anyway, I've gushed enough -- don't do what I did and wait six months of your gaming life to not play Ticket because it has trains and goofy-looking people on the box. Play it and let me know how it went, unless you're too busy playing it again.
     
I'm about a week behind my every-week release pattern. My bad. But there's a reason for that -- my next post, I'm going to try to attempt to do something new. Something out of my comfort zone. And something (to my knowledge) new to BGG blogging. So until then, enjoy these offerings and I'll try to come out swinging with the new format. With Strategicon around the corner, I might be gone for a few weeks again, so I'm looking forward to blogging about that in the new format next time as well.
Speaking of, if you can get out to Los Angeles for Memorial Day weekend, head over to Strategicon. A great four days of gaming in a nice hotel right next to the airport. I'll be running several events, including the above Ubongo, and some other light-strategy favorites like Pirate's Cove and Jamaica! Until then, happy gaming.
|
|
for your posting of your top 5. In the meantime I found Ubongo on my own & promptly added it to my wish list! 
It looks really beautiful as well as fun. As you know the rest of your list is already in my collection & are getting LOTS of play time at our house. 
I wrote down all the titles, ran home checked out BGG for the titles & ran back to get all the ones with positive reviews.
Only 2 of them were from my wish list...but who knows? I felt like a kid in a candy store. My husband thinks I'm crazy but then kept checking out the games & nodding (in approval???). I'll need to read more about the games but for now, I have to figure out how to store them!
