Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Fun and games
For a couple of years now, a group of people and I here at work have played games at lunch. It's a great way to break up the work day and gets the mind to think in different ways. Our requirements for a game is something that can be played in an hour or less and by two, three, four, or more players. We typically have two or four players and two player games are good for days when there are only two of us. I've also taken some of the games and played them with friends and family. Some of our favorite games are:
- Carcassonne: This is a tile laying game, originally done in Germany. You lay out tiles to create roads, fields, or cities, and place tokens to designate what you own, and can then score points with. There are different versions of the game and expansion packs to add more tiles and features.
- TransAmerica: In this game you are building a railroad line to connect five cities in the US, each in a different geographic region. Once you connect your tracks to an opponents, you can use the opponents tracks to get to your cities. The mechanics are simple, but it takes thinking to connect your cities without allowing opponents to take advantage of your tracks. In fact, this game is recommended by Mensa. There is another version called TransEuropa, in which you build the railroad across Europe.
- Burn Rate: In this card game, you are running a .com company and trying to be the last player in the game. You give bad ideas to opponents, which they then have to hire developers to work on. Each developer and other staff member (marketing, finance, and human resources) costs you points each turn. The game was invented by two guys in Seattle who lost their jobs in the .com bust, so they have a pretty good idea of things that can go wrong.
- Carolus Magnus: Players are Charlemagne's heirs and are trying to combine the 15 different areas of his domain to be under their control. Lots of strategy is needed to outwit your opponent...and there is some luck involved too, based on how the dice roll. This has become one of my favorite games and it plays differently based on the number of players in the game.
- Where's Bob's Hat: This is a trick-taking card game, but with some twists. Trump is randomly chosen each hand...and the number of cards used is increased with each hand. Players bid on being the person to get the most number of cards of each color (red, black, and blue) or the player with the fewest cards total at the end of each hand. There is also Bob's hat. The dealer decides each hand whether Bob's hat will be worth +/- 10 points. As play moves, the player who has Bob's hat changes. The points for Bob's hat are added or deducted from the last player with the hat at the end of the hand. Unlike most trick taking games, this game also works well with three players.
- Queen's Necklace: You try to be the player with the most of a type of gem. Players can use cards to cause you to lose points...and the Queen's necklace protects you from the bad cards. But beware, another player can steal the necklace from you.
We've played other games at lunch, but these are some of our favorites. Do you have a favorite game? I'm always looking for new ones to add to the mix.
- Carcassonne: This is a tile laying game, originally done in Germany. You lay out tiles to create roads, fields, or cities, and place tokens to designate what you own, and can then score points with. There are different versions of the game and expansion packs to add more tiles and features.
- TransAmerica: In this game you are building a railroad line to connect five cities in the US, each in a different geographic region. Once you connect your tracks to an opponents, you can use the opponents tracks to get to your cities. The mechanics are simple, but it takes thinking to connect your cities without allowing opponents to take advantage of your tracks. In fact, this game is recommended by Mensa. There is another version called TransEuropa, in which you build the railroad across Europe.
- Burn Rate: In this card game, you are running a .com company and trying to be the last player in the game. You give bad ideas to opponents, which they then have to hire developers to work on. Each developer and other staff member (marketing, finance, and human resources) costs you points each turn. The game was invented by two guys in Seattle who lost their jobs in the .com bust, so they have a pretty good idea of things that can go wrong.
- Carolus Magnus: Players are Charlemagne's heirs and are trying to combine the 15 different areas of his domain to be under their control. Lots of strategy is needed to outwit your opponent...and there is some luck involved too, based on how the dice roll. This has become one of my favorite games and it plays differently based on the number of players in the game.
- Where's Bob's Hat: This is a trick-taking card game, but with some twists. Trump is randomly chosen each hand...and the number of cards used is increased with each hand. Players bid on being the person to get the most number of cards of each color (red, black, and blue) or the player with the fewest cards total at the end of each hand. There is also Bob's hat. The dealer decides each hand whether Bob's hat will be worth +/- 10 points. As play moves, the player who has Bob's hat changes. The points for Bob's hat are added or deducted from the last player with the hat at the end of the hand. Unlike most trick taking games, this game also works well with three players.
- Queen's Necklace: You try to be the player with the most of a type of gem. Players can use cards to cause you to lose points...and the Queen's necklace protects you from the bad cards. But beware, another player can steal the necklace from you.
We've played other games at lunch, but these are some of our favorites. Do you have a favorite game? I'm always looking for new ones to add to the mix.
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