Boardgames Review of 2012

This is a guest post from Duncan Mackay, who helped massively to get the board games club started and has been a regular attendee.

 

2 years ago the Board Games Club at BGB was started on the last Sunday of each month as an opportunity for a group of adults to sit around and relive their frustrated youth playing classic games like Monopoly, Cluedo and Risk. We soon discovered that there is now a whole new world of modern board games that don't drag on for years and end up with your younger sister throwing the board against the wall declaring that everyone's a cheat and life's not fair!

 

Tim and Simon have been generous enough to provide the space for us each month, and it's free

to play (but we actively encourage players to buy a book in the shop and any mention of

Am*z*n will result in expulsion!)

 

This year we've had a variety of sizes of meetings from 4 people up to one week

when the shop was overrun with 20 of us.

Some new games have entered into our list of favourites this year including Al Hambra, Stone Age and Cargo Noir. On the other hand there were a few games that will never be mentioned in our presence again (yes, 'Munchkin', I'm talking about you!).

 

We've got little patience for sitting around listening to an hour of rules and instructions, so most

of the games that we enjoy only take about a maximum of 5 minutes to explain.

If you've ever enjoyed playing board games, our Top Ten list is worth checking out and we hope to see you soon.

 

Top Ten Big Green Bookshop Board Games of 2012

 

1. Ticket to Ride Europe (a modern classic for all ages - building train routes across Europe)

 

2. Carcassonne (build castles and roads to win points - deceptively ruthless!)

3. Stone Age (build your caveman community, but don't forget to feed them)

4. Settlers of Catan (Our favourite game of 2011, we still love it, but not so popular this year)

5. Dominion (Looks like a geekfest Dungeons and Dragons nightmare - but is actually good fun - not technically a board game!)

6. Al Hambra (a new favourite - create your town with a variety of buildings)

7. Cargo Noir (another new favourite - a trading game using ship ports)

8. Ticket to Ride America (the original version of the train track classic)

9. Revolution! (Blackmail, corruption, fight! - outbid your opponents)

10. Metro (A spaghetti Paris metro track building game)

 

Our next meeting is on Sunday 24th February 2013 at 1.00pm.

Come along (bring some chocolate biscuits and be prepared to buy a book!)

 

Duncan

 

I'd just like to add that it's open to everyone, no matter what your age. The group is always looking to be introduced to new games, so please bring one along with you, if you think we might like it.