Hello!
This blog is being written because my roommate and I are about to host our first board game night in Asheville. We are hoping to make game nights a tradition at our place, and most of these games listed below are ones we have in our inventory.
If you know me, you probably know that I love playing games! Growing up with my older brother, David, I developed a pretty competitive personality. I love playing board/card games with family/friends during vacations and gatherings. This list is focused on tabletop games rather than any sports, video games, etc.
If there are any games you think I should try or add to this list, let me know!
Tier 4 - Games I try to avoid playing at all costs
Uno
Pros: Good for teaching kids under the age of 5 how to play games, colorful.
Cons: Boring, completely based on luck, waste of time for people ages 6+
I don't care what people say about Uno. It's the worst. What little strategic decisions exist don't even change the outcome of the game. I'm not saying that it is impossible to have fun while playing Uno, rather that there is always a better option. If you're looking to numb your brain and do something pointless, Uno is perfect for you. Disagree with me? Comment and let me know.
If you only have Uno as an option for game night, you can modify the rules to make it more fun. You can do this by allowing and encouraging cheating, but with a penalty of drawing more cards if a player gets caught. This encourages players to think outside of the box and be creative with how to cheat, while also giving players the fun task of trying to catch others cheating.
Pros: Encourages extensive vocabulary, vast amount of strategical cogitation.
Cons: Stagnant pace, words, speling.
Scrabble is a exceptional enterprise that I avert. I get quite nonchalant and disentranced whilst playing, whether amid the turns of my adversaries, or during my own play opportunity. It is a wondrous, esteemed, and distinguished game that deserves having many advocates (unlike Uno), but it is unlike games that I appreciate. I'm content to retain a copy of Scrabble in my assemblage of games, but I refrain from participating in such Scrabble endeavors.
Tier 3 - Games I will play only in the right situation
Pros: Everyone mostly knows how to play! Teaches financial lessons to players - great learning experience especially for children. Local versions of the game.
Cons: Most people don't enjoy it. Humans are fickle and fight a lot, especially during Monopoly.
Monopoly is fine, and when played correctly, it doesn't go too long. But unfortunately a lot of people have had bad experiences with the game. There is typically a better game available in situations where I'd play Monopoly, so I don't play it too much anymore.
Pros: I love to play it! Pre-game alliance building and other deceitful acts as seen on Survivor.
Cons: Game length. Need an entire afternoon set aside for it.
Risk is a game that I will never ask a group to play. Everyone has to voluntarily be willing to play without me having to ask them. Because it is a game that takes so much time and encourages backstabbing, everyone needs to be fully invested and a good sport. One of the worst moments I've ever had playing a board game is when someone who didn't want to play had to endure three hours of the game. I don't like the feeling of torturing someone. I just felt sad the entire time that this poor person had to keep playing with us.
A lot of the reasons I love the TV show Survivor also apply to Risk. If you want to watch people from Survivor (and Big Brother), playing Risk, click here.
Chess/Checkers/
Backgammon
Pros: Classics, everyone should know how to play them.
Cons: Outdated, only two people can play.
While these games are great, my favorite part of playing games is the social aspect of hanging out with a group of people. Because these are only for two people, their value to me is limited to rainy days stuck in a house with only one other person. Also, as people become better at innovating throughout history, the human race has created better games since these were invented. Chess/Checkers/Backgammon is to modern games as rice is to fried rice, similar concepts with one being much more flavorful and therefore enjoyable.
"The object of a trick-taking game is to take (or avoid taking) tricks, or groups of cards played simultaneously or in turn."
Pros: Many variations with the same foundations make it easy to learn new games, only requirement is a regular deck of cards.
Cons: Typically requires exactly four people. Grandpa always wins.
The variety and simplicity of trick-based card games make them a great activity. It is easy to have one deck of cards on hand - I use a plastic, washable deck for these types of games. Because of the similar foundation of rules to each game, a player who knows how to play Hearts but has never played Euchre can learn quickly if they're invited into a Euchre game.
These games can be played anywhere: the kitchen table, at the bar, on the school bus, etc. The only reason these games are not in Tier 2 is because they usually need exactly four people to play.
Tier 2 - Games I love to play at game nights
Pros: Fast pace, extensive vocabulary is not required, the non-boring Scrabble.
Cons: Overly simple.
Bananagrams is a game that doesn't provide much room for growth. After you learn how to play and complete a few rounds, there isn't much else you can do to get better at the game. This can be a good option for welcoming a new person to a game night because unlike other games, there isn't much of a learning curve. The downside is that it is hard to improve and get better the more you play. It definitely becomes easier as you become more comfortable with the fast pace and are able to think more clearly and calmly, but because it is so straightforward, there aren't any new facets of the game to discover the more you play.
Pros: Easy to learn, loud and exciting, rounds are very fast. The bell.
Cons: Playing the game as instructed to completion can take forever.
One of my new favorites, Pit is a metaphor of the frantic bidding at a stock exchange. Each player is trying to "corner the market" on a single commodity as fast as possible all at the same time. It is very simple, but has many strategic layers to discover the more you play. Because it is frantic and often loud, it gets the adrenaline pumping in everybody.
The one problem with the game is that it expects you to play until someone gets to 500 points. Pit averages negative points each round, so it is usually best to adjust the score that ends the game.
Pros: Easy to learn, games are not long, lot of strategic interaction with other players.
Cons: Quiet (pro?), quality of play significantly decreases without exactly four players.
Blokus is a very simple strategy game that will typically only take 10 minutes to play. Although it is simple and easy to learn, it has a lot of strategic depth and awards players who are able to plan ahead a few turns. Even though it will favor a player who has played Blokus before, it is entirely possible for a new player to win. The nature of the game also allows for aggressive strategies against a player who has won too many times, which can keep a good balance of wins between players.
Pros: Great design, games are fast, simple concepts combine to make complex strategies.
Cons: Poor play from one player gives the win to the luckiest competent player.
Sushi Go is a fantastic game that I highly suggest you purchase if you haven't yet. It is a draft based game where players take turns simultaneously drafting cards that represent pieces of a sushi meal. Whoever assembles the greatest meal wins. It is very strategic without being complicated, so it is a good game for all types of players.
Pros: Game that relies on social interaction as well as strategy. Doesn't take too long to play.
Cons: Heavily favors the more strategic minded.
I believe that Settlers of Catan is the perfect board game. It is the most complicated/strategic game that I feel comfortable asking a casual board game participant to play. You win the game by building your settlement to a certain size before the other players. My favorite quality of the game is that it is impossible to win on your own, you have to rely on cooperation with other players to be successful. There are so many small strategic decisions to make throughout the game that can result in reaching the settlement size goal just one turn earlier, which often is the difference between winning and losing.
Pros: Players draft different game characters each round, so every round in a game is fresh and unique. Complexity comes from character and card interactions while the core rules are simple.
Cons: Too complicated for the casual board game player - hard to find enough players strategically sophisticated enough to generate a consistent play group.
I first played this game in November of 2017 with old family friends from Fuquay-Varina. When they suggested we play this game instead of the ones we would always play together, I was initially skeptical and didn't want to learn it. That quickly changed as soon as we started playing. I'm so glad they introduced it to me and I received it as a gift soon afterwards. Citadels definitely requires a more strategically-minded group of players than other games in this tier, but it doesn't rely on that too much for it to be moved down to Tier 3.
One other feature of the game to keep in mind is that the game play significantly differs for groups of 4-8 people than just 2-3. It takes a large strategic leap with just 2-3 players, so I definitely recommend for beginners to participate in 4+ player games, and then have the 2-3 player games be for those who really enjoy thinking out every move and strategic decision.
Pros: Requires strategic thinking, opportunity to bluff your opponents, and is a classic and well-known game. Also murder mystery theme is always fun. Pairs well with whiskey, humorously acting like Sherlock holmes, and murder mystery movies like 2019's Knives Out.
Cons: Player competency imbalance - all it takes is 20-30 minutes of online research to figure out proven strategies, and of course I've done that so therefore people like me have a significant advantage over people who haven't studied beforehand.
Tier 1 - The Best Game Ever Created - POUNCE
Pros: Fast pace, uses regular decks of cards, anyone can learn it, super-competitive
Cons: As with any fast paced game that uses a regular deck of cards, the red/black prints on cards can make it difficult for people who are color-blind.
Pounce (some call it Nertz, there's also a version called Dutch Blitz) is the most popular and competitive game in my family. It is basically group Solitare, with each player allowed to play on each others' foundation piles. This overlap provides the craziest moments of the game when two or more players are racing to get a similar card onto an open foundation pile. Cards are often bent out of shape and players' knuckles bash into each other, but it's all in good fun!
I recommend playing Pounce with decks of bridge cards (2.25" x 3.5") as opposed to decks of poker cards (2.5" x 3.5"). The quarter of a inch makes a big difference, and the thinner decks of cards allows for easier handling for a game that relies a lot on of quick hand movements. Because each player needs a deck with a unique back, I keep a bag of bridge cards handy that I only use for Pounce
Summary
Uno is the absolute worst, Pounce is the best, and there are a lot of great games in between. Also, Uno is terrible.
Writing a blog means that I have the responsibility of using this platform for good. There is no more noble cause than to take down a game as depraved and degenerate as Uno.
Thanks for reading!