# Quality board games? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 21, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-board-games/183465 "2003-06-21T20:02:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MMI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/53a042/32.png) [@MMI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MMI)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-board-games/183465/21 "2003-06-22T17:30:31Z")
Civilizaton/Advanced Civilization (not the sid meier computer derived one, but the original) - no dice, you can’t win without planning and cooperation ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-board-games/183465/22 "2003-06-22T18:22:34Z")
A couple of lightweight games that I can recommend: [Ursuppe](http://doris-frank.de/GamesUrsuppe.html). How can you not love a game where you play an amoeba? [Mississippi Queen](http://www.riograndegames.com/games/rio104.html) and [Tikal](http://www.riograndegames.com/games/rio132.html) are both excellent. [Big City](http://boardgames.about.com/library/games/blbi02.htm) is out of print and hard to find, which is a shame. ---
**Author:** ![simulakrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@simulakrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simulakrum)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-board-games/183465/23 "2003-06-22T18:43:20Z")
**junta** is fun especially with 6 players the magic number **robo rally** is also a fun game ---
**Author:** ![Optihut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/edb3f5/32.png) [@Optihut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Optihut)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-board-games/183465/24 "2003-06-22T19:47:20Z")
**simulakrum** , why is 6 the magic number? We usually make a point of having 7 players, as cash is really short then. I totally love the game, because it’s simple and hillarious fun. Unfortunately around here nobody wants to play it either and so whenever a good friend of mine from Giessen is around, we manage to gather enough people to play (despite what the box says, **Junta** is really just playable with 5-7 people). Another fun game, which isn’t too complicated, is **nuclear escalation**. I heard they’re even holding championships of that one in Texas. Apart from the other good games that were already mentioned, here is a company that made a few interesting games tactical games with a board made up of hexagonal pieces: [http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/](http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/) However, stay clear of **Battlemist** - it’s a fantasy game, which looks cool at first, but suffers from a horrible rule set. **Thunder’s Edge** is decent and **Twilight Imperium** is simply a must. Hopefully that helped. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-board-games/183465/25 "2003-06-22T22:27:51Z")
> [@](#): > > from _Manatee_ > Heard of it? I still have it! Zgwortz for everyone! Really? So, where’d you get it? (Awful Green Things…) ---
**Author:** ![simulakrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@simulakrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simulakrum)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-board-games/183465/26 "2003-06-22T22:56:31Z")
6 players in junta: i think it is more fun because there will always be 1 person who gets 2 positions and is the presidents favorite. that makes for more disruption and unfairness (and more coups!) in the game. just more fun i guess… ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-board-games/183465/27 "2003-06-23T01:33:12Z")
**Empire Builder** and all of the variants. We have been playing these for years and we still love them. We also like **History of the World** , **Advanced Civ** , **Settlers of Catan** , and others like that, but we do not play them nearly as much as the Empire Builder games. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-board-games/183465/28 "2003-06-23T02:38:59Z")
**Dark Tower** and\*\* Acquire\*\* come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Ferris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferris/32/11573_2.png) [@Ferris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferris)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-board-games/183465/29 "2003-06-23T03:14:21Z")
A bunch of us had a regular weekly **Escape From Colditz** game a few years back. A heck of a lot of fun when played ‘in character’. Even more fun with food and alcohol involved. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-board-games/183465/30 "2003-06-23T04:17:42Z")
If you like abstract strategy, give Zertz a try. ---
**Author:** ![Theios](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e8c25b/32.png) [@Theios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theios)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-board-games/183465/31 "2003-06-23T04:19:14Z")
I’ll add another lightweight game. **Sorry**. But play it with the alternate rules that let you hold five cards in your hand. You can cook up strategies and save up those _special_ cards for the person that pissed you off in the previous game. We’ve had games of Sorry that were so vicious, I though folks were going to come to blows. Personal grudges can carry over for many, many games. ---
**Author:** ![Marlow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Marlow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlow)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-board-games/183465/32 "2003-06-23T05:11:27Z")
Oh, Escape From Colditz. One of the great tragic events of my life. A great game, I used to play it tons as a kid. Then my grandfather, who owned the game, GAVE IT AWAY. I’ve never seen a copy since. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-board-games/183465.md?page=1)