I have a group of college friends that get together about once a year and have gaming weekends. It started out with RPGs and RPG/Wargame hybrids. Some us still RPG while others play something else. Lately wargaming has faded as well.
Two years ago I brought Robo-Rally, mostly for a change of pace type game. It went over well (somewhat to my surprise). Last year we played a lot of Settlers of Catan (w/ seafarers and a game of knights and cities)
Nice thing about SofC is that is it went over well with my slightly less geeky friends who live a lot closer so I can play more often.
Anyhow, I’m looking for more thinking/strategy type games They should:
Be playable by at least 6 players (preferably up to 8) (or by 2 teams)
Have fairly simple rules (we only play one weekend a year) (but complicated/deep play is OK)
Bonus points if “mundanes” can play it
Bonus points if 4 people can play it
Not out of print
Many Cheapass Games fit all five of your criteria, plus they’re incredibly cheap. Have you considered these?
(Some people disregard them because they don’t have the depth of ‘standard’ boardgames - I, on the other hand, feel they complement a collection of traditional games very well. And at three bucks or so apiece, you can’t really go wrong.)
The goal is to build a city of 8 cards. Each player plays a different “character,” e.g. the Assassin, the Warlord, the Merchant, the King, etc. Different characters have different abilities. The catch is, what character you play changes every turn.
There’s lots of opportunites for crazy bluffing in this one.
I second Axis and Allies. It’s not terribly complicated, but if no one in the group has ever played it, it might be a little daunting to learn the gameplay in one sitting.
I’m not sure if Milton Bradley still manufactures the game, but if not, there are a lot of good deals on Ebay, as well as expansions for it focusing on the Pacific theatre and European theatre (although, not made by Milton Bradley).
Check out the Empire Builder series of games from Mayfair. Only 6 can play, but there are 7 different versions and they are are lot of fun. I second Ino’s vote for Cheapass Games, especially the Dr. Lucky games. Of course, the best game for a weekend of strategy is Advanced Civilization. I have seen a 7 player game finished in as few as 12 hours. There is also History of the World, much shorter, and probably easier to find since Milton Bradley just put out a new edition a couple of years ago.
I played Settlers of Catan for the first time yesterday, and I loved it. Just the right amount of strategy so that’s engaging without being completely tedious. After I said I liked it, a lot of people recommended Samurai, comparing it to Settlers. I haven’t played it myself.
I have played Pirateer and it’s pretty fun, although pretty simple. It’s much faster-paced than any of the others, which is either good or bad depending on what you’re looking for out of a game.
Through the Desert is reasonably fun; it’s basically a whole game built around the “longest road” concept from Settlers of Catan. It’s not one of my favorites, but I wouldn’t turn it down if somebody else were playing…
And there’s Spy Alley. It’s not really a strategy game, but somehow always manages to get played whenever we play board games. It’s kind of a combination of Monopoly + Clue, but more sophisticated than either. It’s actually more fun than it sounds!
Britannia is a tremendous game for exactly four people (it’s playable, but not as good, for three or five). It takes about four hours to play through if you all know the rules and don’t faff too much. It’s set in Britain covering the thousand years from the Roman invasion to the Norman conquest, and everyone gets to play four (or five) of the various nations that were about the place during this time.
Attractions are:
The rules are pretty straightforward.
Since some of the nations don’t come in until the second half of the game, there is always something to do - you cannot be eliminated from the game at a ridiculously early stage.
You have assigned objectives, which imposes some structure on the game, but there are various ways and means of achieving them, and you can also spend less effort on pursuing your own objectives and more on frustrating other people’s efforts.
The various invasions take place all over the coastline, so interesting things happen to the shape of the game as the turns go by.
I have also spent much time gaming with a group of like-minded geeks, and Britannia is still getting outings after ten years or more. That’s quite a recommendation
I had a game years ago called Feudal. It’s a variant on chess, with some elements of Stratego thrown in. Up to six people can play (although it’s limited to two teams, i.e. you can have two teams of three).
The game was introduced in the mid-70s, and I’m not sure Avalon Hill (the manufacturer) still makes it. If you can find it, though, it’s a really fun game.
I recommend KILL DR. LUCKY from Cheapass Games… it’s almost like CLUE, but in reverse – one player must trap Dr. Lucky in a room, alone, without anyone else in the room, or in line of sight… and kill him. Meanwhile, players shadow each other, and play cards to interfere with each other. It’s tense. It’s fun. Simple to learn, a lifetime to master.
Similarly, I also like ZOMBIES!!! from some outfit whose name I can’t remember. Not quite as strategic, but much more “beer and pretzels” attitude, particularly for fans of old monster movies. The game starts on a single map tile, the Town Square. All players begin there. Every turn, each player adds another map tile to the town… could be streets, could be stores. Some stores have useful items in them. Oh, yeah, and the whole town’s infested with flesh-eating zombies. The object? Be the first player to kill 25 zombies, or be the first player to end his turn in the middle of the Helipad tile (the bottom tile in the Map Deck). Meanwhile, players play cards to interfere with each other. Very much a “screw your neighbor” kind of game. Game comes with six pawns… and 100 plastic zombies. If you’re lucky, that will be enough…
I just played Civilization: The Board Game (non av. hill) its fast paced, interesting, and a bit more involved than risk. I recomend it. I see it as maybe a tad more complex than Axis and Allies. Then you can also play with advanced rules…
Lots of great suggestions so far. Citadels is perfect with 7, as is Diplomacy, although Diplo may be a bit harsher than what you’re looking for. Also, Bohnanza, the wacky bean-farming game goes up to 7. Formula De goes as high as 8 or 12, I forget. Fun dicey racing game, with some strategy.
I suspect the problem you will run into is that not many of this type of game scale up to 8. 5 or 6 is usually the maximum. RoboRally is an anomaly. (BTW, if that is getting stale, try tracking down some of the out of print expansions. Armed & Dangerous is particularly nice.)
Usually when my game groups get to 8, we split into 2 games.
If you’re willing to do that: Carcassone - kinda light, but great for 3-5 (6 with expansion) and goes over well with non-gamers. (and a sentimental favorite, since I got engaged at the castle it’s based on.) Puerto Rico - the new classic. Steepish learning curve, but great strategic game.
Since you’re all RPG’ers, you should love Munchkin, a D&D parody card game. But DO NOT play it with more than 4 players. It will not end. ever.
My current assesment of the Cheapass Games, is that you get a little more than you pay for, but not much. They’re fun and silly, but game-wise they usually suffer. Nice exceptions to this are Lord of the Fries and Big Idea. (I’ve played the latter with 6, but only after adding my own homebrew cards.)
Samurai is great, but only for 2-4.
Some very light games work well with big crowds: Apples to apples - fun and silly party-esque game. 6 Nimmt/Take 6 - light filler card game. The Great Dalmuti/Dilbert the Corporate Shuffle - Tweaked versions of the traditional “a–hole” or “president” game.
I got the Lord of the Rings version of Risk for Christmas and hoo-boy does it kick ass! It’s kind of the post-Magic version of Risk. In addition to Territory cards, there another deck called Power cards which either give the player a mission to complete or an extra boost during combat, like the “You Shall Not Pass” card that blocks a bridge for one turn. It comes with facimile of the One Ring that advances one territory along the route of the Fellowship each round.* When the ring leaves the board, the game is over. The board is based on the map of Middle Earth, but includes only those territories relevant for Fellowship of the Ring. The board is set up in such a way as to make me believe that there will be two more editions for the other two books/movies, and that you will eventually be able to play on a HUGE board that stretches from Mordor to the Grey Havens. Unfortunately, it’s limited to four players, but let me reiterate that it kicks ass!
*When we were setting up to play it the first time, one of my female friends was wearing the One Ring. I said “OK, now we need the Ring to play.” She said “NO! It’s my precioussss!”
I’ll second Acquire. Pretty simple rules to learn, but strategy is key. There is still a fair amount of chance involved, but that keeps it interesting.
I don’t care much for games like Monopoly and Risk, which are almost entirely chance.
