Chili Palmer

Hey all. I’m trying to find some fun board games to play with the family this Holiday season. There will be 6 of us and I want to find a fun thinking game, not charades or dance like a chicken game. I was thinking about something along the lines of Wordster. Can anyone give me some ideas/opinions on their favorite board games to play?

Thanks.

Chils

joeblow69

Not a board game, but I always like Scattergories for family time game playing.

Minor Threat

What are the ages of the players? (Don't want to recommend Candy Land if it's for old farts.)

heimerSWT

A group of 6 or more could have fun playing Balderdash.

Otto

My mom always tries to come up with these word and puzzle type of games for the family around xmas. We usually try to ignore her until she goes away, but sometimes she hides the TV remote from us.

Last year I got her to play Monopoly instead. Problem is that she doesn't do too well at those sort of games because she's not a very competitive player. Doesn't have that mean streak in her.

Word games and these sort of family games are usually boring as hell, to me (and my dad and brother), because we think they're too easy. Considering me or my brother always wins them, I kinda wonder why my mom keeps trying to play them.

But competitive games of skill and minor elements of chance, like Monopoly, are where the joy is. My sister can beat me at Monopoly sometimes because she has that aggressive edge too. My brother doesn't have it, and my dad does but isn't really fast enough to play the game well, but still, it's a lot more fun than BS word games. Mom just doesn't find this sort of game interesting, I guess.

Anyway, we don't usually play whole family games because for any game type you pick, 2 or more people are bored out of their skull. This year I'm going to try to get a poker game going, in the hope that everybody will find it interesting.

Ketamine

Scene it is a fun game, especially if your family likes movies.

Duran

Play a real board game - go with Settlers of Catan (you'll need the 5-6 player expansion) or something similar. www.boardgamegeek.com is a good reference site.

PrincessT

Apples to Apples

Chili Palmer

Thanks for the replies. Ages range from 27 to 55. So no kiddies in the group. Scattergories is a good game, I forgot about that one...

kvrdave

I would second that. I also tend to have a lot of luck at Monopoly. We never let me wife be the banker though....she steals.

DarkestPhoenix

Risk like a motha!!!!!!

Oh, and Scene It? really is probably one of the best games I've played in a long, long time.

sracer

LOTR Stratego and LOTR Risk. The "classic" versions of these games are fun too. Stick with classic boardgames because most new games are of the "party" variety (and aren't much fun, IMO). The only "party" game that we found mildly entertaining was "Cranium".

Be careful of some of the so-called "quality" boardgames... they can sometimes be too much work. Settlers of Catan is an excellent game, but the rules are pretty complex, takes time to learn, and quite a bit of time to play.

debbert

Cranium is always fun and thought provoking.

sn9ke_eyes

I 3rd this.

Phil L.

Any poker fans in the family? Do they enjoy watching the WSOP on TV?
The Plug and Play TV Games World Poker Tour is a really fun poker game. You don't need a video game system, it plugs right into your TV and has a controller that operates on AA batteries. I believe up to six people can play. You can customize your skill level and everyone gets their own little TV face and name on the screen.
Great game and can be had for $15, but msrp is $24.99.

NotThatGuy

All-time favorites:
UpWords
Scatagories
Trivial Pursuit

Board Games:
Parcheesi (sp?)
Monopolgy (this game has since been taken out of circulation due to a heated dispute back in the early '90s....seriously, not played at family functions)

Card Games:
Rummy (4-5 different versions..with the favorite being Rummy 500)
Texas Hold 'em <--The 2004 choice of the holidays for one side of the fam. All of the accessories, table, etc included.
Spades
Hearts
Cribbage (sorta card/board game...though my fam .doesn't play)
Pinnocle (another game that my fam. doesn't play, but is fun)

-pedagogue

nevermind

You buy up all the crappy ones right after GO, don't you?

Mayday

Lots of great games there. Also, Avalon Hill puts out some great games
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/products
Just be aware, some of these take hours to play, at the least.
Someone mentioned Apples to Apples, which is very fun, and there is a variety of games like that as well.

kvrdave

Yes, yes I do.

drmoze

Unreal. $^) Why not pull out a deck of cards and some chips and play *real* poker????

PeMo

My family always gets a game of Taboo going when we're together. They can get very heated. Last year emergency response and restraining orders were involved.

It's a fun game... like the game they play on SportsCenter with athletes where you have to get your partners to say something without saying five other key words.

Duran

I personally can't stand Risk, as it has far too much luck involved. And I've never had it take over 15 minutes to explain how to play a game like Settlers to a new player.

Other games to consider:

From Days of Wonder:
Mystery of the Abbey (3-6 player, like Clue on steriods)
Ticket to Ride (2-5 player)
Pirate's Cove (3-5 player)

Carcassonne (2-5 player)
Puerto Rico (3-5 player)

NotThatGuy

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005EB9Z/002-1862130-2528060?v=glance This was one of my all-time favorite games growing up, but I didn't list it because it has been OOP for probably 20-25 years. Though it is being reproduced, and is definately worth picking up.

-pedagogue

mikehunt

monopoly

Red Dog

The best board game I ever played was Diplomacy. It can take quite a while though.

Obviously Monopoly is great. Some of the better 'newer' games are Taboo and Outburst. As said before, these 2 can get very heated depending on the crowd.