Consider Phlebas
United States
Albuquerque
New Mexico
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Are you married? Do you like deep strategy games? Wargames? Stick-it-to-em games? 90 page manuals? Rules up the wazoo? Lots of dice? Dice where sides != 6? Games with length > 3 hours? Know what != and > mean? Like Dungeons? Dragons? Is Charisma a number in the range of 3-18 for mortals? Spaceships? Widgets, bits, tribbles, and meeples? Do you speak any Klingon? Do you know Java? Do you get every line of “White and Nerdy”?
If you are an average Geek, you may very well have answered in the affirmative to all of the above. On the other hand, your “normal” half (Yes, she is the normal one, you are NOT) probably only answered yes to one of the above--the first question. Yes, you have only one thing in common with your wife, you are in the same marriage. This may seem odd and depressing, but that’s not the topic of this review.
The topic of this review is Lost Cities, the absolute best game for your relationship.
First, let’s cover the trivial:
Parts & Production Values: Lost Cities comes in a nice looking smallish box and consists of some nice looking cards and a nice looking mat board. The fact that the game looks nice is nice, but not important. The important thing is that the game is fun for both of you. Specifically, you get cards in 5 colors. Each color consists of numerical cards from 2-10 and 3 handshake cards per color. The mat has 5 regions in each color matching your cards.
Theme: The theme of LC is Archaeological Exploration. This theme is completely pasted on and has no relevance whatsoever to the game. The fact that the theme is irrelevant is irrelevant to the game being fun. Each color set represents a different expedition.
Game Play In a Nutshell:
The goal of Lost Cities is to complete as many expeditions as possible. This is done by playing cards in ascending order on your side of the mat. You can play handshake cards before you lay down numbered cards. On your turn you simply play a card and take a card. Cards can be played on one of your expeditions or played on the mat as a discarded card. Cards are drawn from either the deck or from the discarded cards on the mat. The game ends when the last card is drawn from the deck.
Scoring is done by counting the number of points in each expedition you started on. The value of the expedition is the sum of your points – 20 points. This means you can get negative values. The handshakes act as multipliers where the multiplier is N + 1, with N being the number of handshakes you have. 20 additional points are awarded for expeditions with 8 or more cards.
The Important: Why Lost Cities is Good for Your Relationship
1. The game is easy to explain and learn. You can teach this game in just a few minutes. There are no dice, hexes, bold dwarves, tapped lands, rolls for initiative, meeples, bits, chits, or any of that other dorky crap.
2. The game is short. You can play this game in about 15 minutes. This allows you to play a quick game or play several in a row. If you play several you both have a good chance of winning so nobody feels like a loser.
3. There is some strategy. This is what makes the game fun for YOU. Despite the trivial rules, you really have several options and the game does have some depth. You can go outright for the colors you are dealt with, you can discard cards in the middle when you have crappy cards, you can play the crappy cards as sacrificial expeditions in the hope that you can complete them while accumulating good cards in another color, and so on.
4. You can cooperate. Although you can be mean, you can also be nice. My wife and I will frequently stall going out so the other can complete an expedition. Although the ultimate goal for the average BGG is to win, the real goal in your marriage is to grow closer together. Cooperation helps with this. In the end, if you both do it a little it doesn't really affect the outcome anyways. Sometimes you can discard a good card in the middle that you don't need that your spouse can use. This is a nice thing, too.
5. There is tension. This game has a surprisingly good amount of suspense/tension as you are trying to decide whether to keep exploring at the risk of going negative vs. sitting on the score you've already earned. As with the real world, risk can earn your big bucks, but it can also bankrupt you.
6. This is both a "talkie" and a "thinker". Some games are simply "filler". You do something with your hands without engaging your brain. Think UNO, Phase 10, and a multitude of other card games. Other games are thinkers (ASL, anyone?). This game bridges the gap. It engages your brain, but not at a really deep level, thus making it fun for the gamer. At the same time, it isn't sufficiently CPU intensive that it prevents having a discussion at the same time about work, kids, etc.
So, what would I rate this game? If are a Geek and your S.O. is not, I give it a solid  /10. If you aren't in my target audience, read another review.
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I find your post very funny! Last week i post a message looking for an advice about a game for my girlfriend and me. And today i read your post. 
By the way, good analisys. I think Lost Cities is a very simpler game but it can give you hour of fun
Bye!!!
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Dan Butler
United States
Reading
Pennsylvania
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My wife and I are new to gaming and this is already her favorite for many of the reasons you stated. Good review
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Re: Lost Cities - The Best Game for Your Relationship, Perio
Bought Lost Cities for the express purpose of snagging my significant other. With any luck she'll bite and I'll be in the blissful land of people whose spouses suggest games
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Clay Stuart
United States
Lewisville
North Carolina
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Awesome post!!! I love the Geek test at the beginning--and you are right on my friend, right on...
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S K
United States
Maryland
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Your review has convinced me that I need this game!
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badlogik wrote: Your review has convinced me that I need this game!
Me too! But this or either of the (new) board games? Hmm....
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