# So, what is the best game? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** board-card-word-game\ **Created:** [March 27, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377 "2020-03-27T00:15:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/21 "2020-03-27T11:54:42Z")
I usually prefer physical games to apps because I stare at a computer screen all day for my job, but I might be interested in a Le Havre app because the physical pieces are so fidgety to work with. It’s a pity too because like all Rosenbergs it is beautiful, although in Le Havre’s case that is mainly due to the playing pieces whose design and color scheme remind me of retro 80s for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/22 "2020-03-27T11:55:45Z")
I just looked, and I have a bunch more. Neuroshima Hex: this works quite well as both a solo and pass and play. It’s a hex/combat grid game, with enough interaction between the different character types that it feels a little like an abstract. It’s a good way to waste some time. Mysterium: very weird as an app. Just letting you know it’s out there. Small World 2: I think this is kind of an entry-level game, but the app is good enough. Alhambra: I don’t like this game much, but the app is a viciously good player. Splendor: eh game, but the app is sufficient. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/23 "2020-03-27T12:48:57Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Any, at a set point, the game master who may of may not be bdcedcvgrhytom. When the lights go out, the killer can kill agan, as many as hw wasnt kn eeryipone kne me. He hugs me, and I grab him and pronoundecd the nurdered, ij33e hee > > I need to go tp bed. I have NO idea what that was about, but I am on my back-up computer now, and completely drained the battery on the other one; opened it up and vacuumed all the dust; removed the battery for ten minuted to dissipate any static, and put it all back together. It is now recharging. At any rate, **Suspicion**. GREAT game, but you need a group. It is best with at least four. You have to deduce not only who the killer is, but who of several characters each player is. If the killer thinks someone is getting close to revealing him (her) the killer kill again, eliminating the player who is about to reveal him. It’s a risky move, though, because doing so makes the killer vulnerable to being revealed. Deduce the killer, and win. The killer can win either by deducing all the other players, or by killing them all off. The second is very difficult, because once only two players are left it is obvious who the killer is, so the last murder has to be done quickly after the second to last. It’s a little complicated, but if you see the pieces and the layout, it isn’t as complicated as it sounds. It takes 2-3 hours to play, but it’s very fast paced. It’s so interesting, that every time I played, any people who either were killed, or lost by guessing wrongly, always stayed to watch the game until the end. I’m going to mention **D&D** , even though I know it’s not what the OP has in mind, because it’s the greatest game ever designed. **Clue** was always my favorite game to play even as an adult. I never beat my mother at it, though. She was the best Clue player ever. My favorite game as a younger kid, before I was old enough for Clue was probably **Battleship**. I was a fan of\*\* Twister \*\*too. **Scrabble** is a great game, although not my personal favorite. Any time anyone suggests a game, I’m always up for it. Of the classic game, I love **chess**. I’m not great at it, but I love it. Of the classic games I’m good at, I love **senet**. Basically, I love board games. You could never go wrong getting me one as a gift.\*\* Operation\*\*, **Careers** , I loved everything. Except **Life** , and **Chinese checkers**. Never could get into those two. Anybody else remember a kid’s game from the 70s called **Which Witch?** Took longer to set up than play, and always started to fall apart, and had lots of pieces to lose. Still a great game if you were under 10. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/24 "2020-03-27T18:51:23Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I’ve never played Root, and Terra Mystica is _technically_ not like that because in the variant I’ve played, the turn order varies from turn to turn. Plus the optimal strategy varies by race and game since you have different goals. It is non-random enough though that I can see how arguments would start about how a player has an advantage due to a race being imbalanced. It’s the scoring tiles that hurt this game for me. In theory, there are a number of different things you can do to earn victory points. But the turn track and scoring tiles give bonus points for doing certain specified actions on certain specified turns. Which essentially hands all of the players a script and says “Do these actions in this order.” The competition then becomes who can follow the script the best. And that devolves to picking the faction that best fits the script. The outcome of the game is thereby decided before the game begins. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/25 "2020-04-01T04:25:43Z")
Right now my two favorite games are Hanabi and a new one called [The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/284083/crew-quest-planet-nine); it is is getting a lot of buzz in gaming circles and it’s very clever: a cooperative trick-taking game. Scythe is another current favorite. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/26 "2020-04-01T08:33:38Z")
I like chess a lot (see a recent thread on a training game.) But my favourite family game is Pandemic :eek: : - you can play with 1-4 players (you are playing against the game itself!) - it’s a co-operative game, so everybody gets the same result - nobody gets knocked out early - it takes only 30-60 minutes - each game is different (there are various player roles and different starting positions) - rules are easy to follow - it doesn’t take long to set up ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/27 "2020-04-01T13:59:38Z")
My favorites right now are: Res Arcana: A fun engine building game where you convert essences to score points. Port Royal: A push your luck game that is just a deck of cards. Carcassonne South Seas: I also enjoy the original Carcassonne but this spin off is better. Instead of scoring your meeples directly, the meeples get shells, bananas or fish which you then turn into points. Horrified: A fun thematic cooperative game featuring the Universal Monsters. Magic The Gathering: I have played it for decades so it should be on this list but to be honest I have found in the last few years I enjoy board games such as the above ones more. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/28 "2020-04-01T14:38:55Z")
My tastes are more towards heavy-weight hobby games. My favorites include: The Hellboy Boardgame (definitely a heavy-weight, big-box, miniatures game, but within that category, it plays pretty fast and fun). Sentinels of the Multiverse (a fully co-op, super-hero themed deck management game; it has an online version that I also really like). A Touch of Evil: Dark Gothic (a gothic-horror deck-builder; it’s from Flying Frog’s “classic” period of photo-manipulation art, which gives it a really distinct, atmospheric aesthetic; it can be played either competitively or, as my group prefers, fully co-op). King of Tokyo (rock-em, sock-em, giant monster free-for-all with colorful cardboard standees; the most light-weight of the games I’m listing here, fast playing, just goofy fun; the Power-Up expansion adds some complexity and more tactical game-play without bogging it down; I’m not a fan of the sort-of-spin-off King of New York - I think King of Tokyo is exactly as complicated as it needs to be, while King of New York is overly complicated for what it’s trying to do). ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/29 "2020-04-01T16:40:22Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > My favorites right now are: > > Res Arcana: A fun engine building game where you convert essences to score points. > > Port Royal: A push your luck game that is just a deck of cards. > > Carcassonne South Seas: I also enjoy the original Carcassonne but this spin off is better. Instead of scoring your meeples directly, the meeples get shells, bananas or fish which you then turn into points. > > Horrified: A fun thematic cooperative game featuring the Universal Monsters. > > Magic The Gathering: I have played it for decades so it should be on this list but to be honest I have found in the last few years I enjoy board games such as the above ones more. Agree on Port Royal, we just discovered it a couple of months ago…it’s a good filler game with multiple paths to victory and a fair amount of interaction. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/30 "2020-04-02T00:01:43Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Agree on Port Royal, we just discovered it a couple of months ago…it’s a good filler game with multiple paths to victory and a fair amount of interaction. I bought Port Royal last year and I also enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/31 "2020-04-02T00:06:37Z")
Not a board game…yet. but patent pending! [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=869857&page=7](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=869857&page=7) ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/32 "2020-04-03T04:07:08Z")
My game groups doesn’t meet too often and is a more casual group, so they don’t like games that take a really long time to play or very complicated games. (I have to explain all the games). Also, we often have five, or even six players, which eliminates certain games. Of course, there’s always Settlers of Catan. It’s old hat by now, but I really can’t think of too many games that are both accessible to casual gamers and have such great replay value. The group’s other favorites are Takenoko, King of Tokyo, Smallworld, Ticket to Ride, Elder Sign, and Libertalia. I like tile-based city building games, but they often don’t have a lot of player interaction. One games new to me that solves this problem is Between2Cities, because your are not building a city by yourself, you are building one with the player on your left and one with the player on your right. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/34 "2020-04-03T13:17:46Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Not a board game…yet. but patent pending! > > [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=869857&page=7](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=869857&page=7) That thread is what broke the forum software. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/35 "2020-04-03T20:43:31Z")
I’ve had well over a hundred board games, but don’t get to play much now. I like **Spirit Quest** quite a bit. But, for the past 50 years? I’d have to say the best is still **Risk**. A great way to spend an evening and/or break up lifelong friendships. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/36 "2021-03-29T02:14:19Z")
We played Carcassonne and Dixit this weekend and enjoyed both. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/37 "2021-03-29T02:30:58Z")
I just bought Dixit this week (I saw a really cheap copy at a thrift store). I haven’t had a chance to play it yet. (In fact I haven’t had a chance to play any games in months.) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/38 "2021-03-29T15:53:58Z")
We’ve been playing the Bejeesus out of [Wingspan](https://stonemaiergames.com/games/wingspan/) over the last several months, and just bought the Oceania expansion. If you’re not familiar with it, the game places you in the role of a habitat manager or something for a forest, a plain, and a waterland, and you balance adding birds, laying eggs, and gathering food. Each bird is worth points, each egg is worth points, and there are both goals common to all players and goals peculiar to each player that are worth points. Birds have different powers you can activate, such as adding members to their flocks or caching food, and the general strategy is to build an “engine”, or place birds in a synergistic fashion. The game’s quality is immense: the bird cards are beautifully illustrated, each player’s game-board is sturdy and lovely, and the eggs look like Easter candy, like seriously don’t buy this game if you have a toddler in the house or they’ll eat the game pieces. It’s a delight to play with, and the mechanics are complicated enough to be interesting without being overwhelming. After playing the original version a lot, I reached the point where I won almost every time. Now, with the expansion, I don’t understand the dynamics any more, and I’m having to relearn everything, which is great. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/39 "2021-03-29T16:14:02Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > The game’s quality is immense: the bird cards are beautifully illustrated, each player’s game-board is sturdy and lovely, and the eggs look like Easter candy, like seriously don’t buy this game if you have a toddler in the house or they’ll eat the game pieces. It’s a delight to play with, and the mechanics are complicated enough to be interesting without being overwhelming. If you want to make it even fancier, you can [upgrade the food tokens](https://www.meeplesource.com/proddetail.php?prod=WingspanUpgrade). ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/40 "2021-03-30T13:15:34Z")
I think the simultaneous revealing of everyone’s cards and the passing of hands after each card in 7 Wonders are some of the cleverest things I’ve ever seen in board game design. Not to mention that it’s the rare game which appears to work really well with seven players. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377/41 "2021-03-30T19:55:15Z")
By far the best game I’ve ever played, based on total amount of fun it’s given me over the course of my life, is Magic: The Gathering. The most fun I’ve gotten out of a board game in recent years has been Hanabi, which (up until the pandemic) my work friends and I played for an hour+ every day for something like 18 months. I used to be super into german board games, and I do enjoy Agricola, Tigris and Euphrates, and various others. But recently my tastes have turned more towards social games. Codenames is fantastic, and I really like a new game called Wavelength. I’m also always looking for a game to play with my wife, who is a much less serious gamer than I am. So something cooperative and two-player. Anyone have any suggestions? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-is-the-best-game/850377.md?page=3)