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No Chess, Draughts, Backgammon, Go or the like. No Bridge, Poker etc. No tabletop war games. (Although individual members may play any of these at other times, this certainly is the case with the last example).
Also, contrary to what was once written in a local paper, definitely no Snakes & Ladders.
We play board and card games, although generally speaking these are not the mass market variety obtained in their thousands from the likes of W.H. Smith and Toys ‘R’ Us (there are always exceptions of course), but mainly what have tended to become known as ‘German Games’, so called, not because they come from Germany (although many do), but as an indication of a type of game popular in that country, where Board gaming is much more wide spread than here. Usually these games are playable in an evening, and while they may require some thought, often have relatively short rules, which are easy to pick up.
We also play longer games, often American from the likes of Avalon Hill, although because of the nature of these we do not play often because they won’t fit in an evening.
Clicking on the link to the left will take you to a list of games we own, some of the titles have further links to some information regarding the game and it’s play history by our group. The number of these should grow with time. In addition there are some examples below of what we like to play, it’s divided into themes, although in truth, many games span several. There are of course many other themes and it is probably true to say that if you can think of it, then somebody else has and designed a game.
In this type of game the aim is to make the most money, and the most well known is probably ‘Monopoly’, but you’re unlikely to see that played by us. In Acquire players buy shares in chains of hotels or other types of company (depending on the edition) represented in abstract by plastic blocks on the board. Money is made by increasing share value, as chains increase in size, and from bonuses when chains join on the board causing a merger. This is a true classic and is often played. There are many other finance games covering a wide range of themes, another that is often played is Broadway, where money is made by investing in musicals, this is a lighter game than Acquire and luck can play a big part, but it is great fun.
There is a wealth of games on this theme, ranging from simple race games to complex financial types, with many flavours in-between. We play & have played quite a few and some examples are mentioned in the following paragraphs.
18XX is the generic title for a family of games, dealing with rail building and share ownership. Players buy shares in rail companies and the majority shareholders run the companies including track building, train operation and finances. There are many of these games set in different areas of the world, e.g. 1829(Britain), 1830(NE U.S.A.), 1835(Germany). The only luck in these games is the actions of the other players. For those interested in knowing more, Chris Lawson maintains an excellent site devoted to all things 18XX.
Crayon Rails is the name often used to describe a series by Mayfair Games, where players build rail lines by drawing them on the board to link the towns on the map. Money is made by moving a train to transport goods between towns and the winner is the first to reach a set amount. There are several versions set in different places such as British Rails, Empire Builder (USA) & Nippon Rails. There is even a fantasy setting (Iron Dragon).
The problem with the games above is that they tend to be long playing, so don't fit into our evening session. Shorter games, which we can play in an evening, include Union Pacific (a game of rail building & investment set in the US), Stephenson's Rocket (Early railways in Britain), Hell Rail (ferry the damned souls between the circles of Hell) & others too numerous to mention.
As with rail games, there are many racing games. Motor racing is a popular theme and the French Formule Dé is probably the most popular current example with numerous extra tracks available. Another one to consider (and the best in my opinion) is 'Speed Circuit', unfortunately out of print, this also has extra tracks and the luck element is less pronounced than in Formule Dé.
Other games we have with a motor racing theme include 'Detroit Cleveland Grand Prix' & 'Formula Motor Racing' (a very simple card game). On a different theme (cycling) is Der Aussreiser (a simple and vicious card game).