5 points

• Find an item on your wishlist that is the same as something on my wishlist that you added BEFORE August 16th (the date of this contest). Link it.
  
  Do already-purchased items count? If so, I had the 2nd and 3rd CAH expansion on there, but I have them now. If that doesn't count, we both have a gift card on there :)
  
  
• Summon a mod and thank them for helping maintain this wonderful sub
  
  /u/rarelyserious - You do a fantastic job of keeping the awesome levels in the sub up high! Also, you're always looking dapper in those ties! You rock. :)
  
  
• Participate in another contest (post the link to your comment)
  
  Done.
  
  
• Check all of your Wish Lists on Amazon to make sure you have a shipping address, and that your items are still available. Post the phrase "GIVE ME SOME SUGAR!" after you have completed it.
  
  Done. GIVE ME SOME SUGAR! :)
  
  
• Post a selfie!
  
  Selfieeee!
  
  
• Post a picture of whatever is in front of you RIGHT NOW.
  
  Taken with the phone while walking dogs :)
  
  
• Post a picture of your purse/wallet/hand bag/backpack/etc
  
  Purse!
  
  
• Post a picture of your favorite VHS/DVD/Blu-Ray. Bonus points if you have it on HD-DVD.
  
  The Great Mouse Detective! I love Professor Ratigan! :D
  
  
• Tell everyone about your favorite movie
  
  Ok, so my favorite movie changes fairly frequently. There are just so many good movies. One of my reoccurring favorites is definitely The Great Mouse Detective though. I love Disney movies, and this one was a staple of my childhood. Plus, it has, IMO, one of the best Disney Villains of all time: Professor Ratigan. One of the VERY few Disney Villains that actually kills someone. I mean, yeah ok, it's a mouse not a human. But it is a movie about mice... so it's kinda like it was a person. But, I have fond nostalgia any time I watch the movie, paired with the fact that it's my favorite disney villain? It's definitely a winner. :)
  
  
• Tell a joke
  
  A piece of string walked into a bar and said "Gimme a beer!" but the bartender said "Get outta here! We don't serve your kind here!" So the string left, but he was thirsty, and he really wanted a beer, so he messed up his hair real badly and looped himself around until he had tied himself into a knot. When the string went back into the bar, the bartender looked at him suspiciously and said "Aren't you that worthless piece of string I just threw outta here?" No, the string replied, "I'm a frayed knot!" (ba-dum, chh.)
  
  
• Post a picture of you with your favorite accessory (hat, sunglasses, necklace, ring, bracelet, whatever)
  
  Engagement ring is definitely my favorite! :)
  
  
• Post a picture of your primary method of transportation (feet, bicycle, motorcycle, car, bus, helicopter, private jet, whatever)
  
  Augustus!
  
  
• Tell a story about your primary mode of transportation
  
  This is the story of how I got a big dent in my car less than a year after buying it. Ok, so his name is Augustus. He's a lovely blue Ford Focus (hatchback). He has less than 10k miles on him. I was meeting my brother and dad for lunch one Wednesday, like I do most Wednesdays, and I was driving through a parking lot. As I was driving, looking for a spot, a rather large truck started backing out of her spot. I didn't have time to react, and neither did the driver of the truck. About a second after the backing started, there was an audible "crunch". It was very sad. But luckily, the lady had fantastic insurance and Augustus got a new fender/bumper. :)
  
  
• A picture (or screen shot) of you participating in the RAoA Daily or Nightly Thread
  
  I do this one a lot!
  
  
• A picture of a domestic currency
  
  A US quarter. Better quality US quarter
  
  
• A picture of a foreign currency
  
  I collected coins as a kid.
  
  
• A picture of you with a domestic or foreign currency stuck to your forehead
  
  Forehead quarter! Sorry for bad quality, I was having some balance issues :P
  
  
• A picture of you and your pet OR someone else's (that you know, preferably) pet
  
  Demetri yaaaawn
  
  
• Tell everyone about your favorite pet
  
  Awh, do I have to pick? I have a little doggy named Pookie and a big doggy named Demetri. I love them both so much, for very different reasons. Demetri is a snuggle bug. He always wants to be close and love you and lay with you and sit with you and just relax with you. Pookie is the playful one. She loves her toys and always wan't to fetch or tug of war! They're both so very loving and so very loved. They're both my favorite pet :)
  ___
  
  1 point
  
  
• Summon any other person/team and wish them good luck!
  
  /u/szor - good luck! I love your pics :)
  
  
• Post the phrase "I had fun!" if you had fun participating in this contest!
  
  I had fun! :D
  
  
• Guess how many points you will receive! Bonus points if you get it exactly right (before I count this question).
  
  479, counting everything except this. 477 if I'm not supposed to count the things after this yet either.
  
  
• Smile in any one of your pictures!
  
  RE: Pet pic!
  
  

• Post a smiley face in your entry!
  

  
  

  D :) \^_^ \^.^ \^-\^ :3

Long post incoming; some of this stuff is copied from other posts I've made:

Getting into D&D is going to be a lot simpler and easier to rolling your own RPG system, unless the system you design is ultra simple and rules-light. And unless your friends happen to be game design experts or prodigies, what they come up with probably isn't going to be as fun, balanced or robust as a system designed and iterated upon by professionals and the RPG geek community.

D&D isn't rocket science, but the first few sessions will almost certainly be fraught with confusion, rules referencing, and/or people getting the rules wrong... but all that's OK. The key is to keep a relaxed attitude and for the DM err on the side of what seems most fun and entertaining. After a few sessions, everyone will probably have a decent grasp on the fundamental rules and things will go a bit more smoothly.

If you do decide to play D&D, you have to decide upon an edition to play, as there are several and they aren't compatible with each other. Right now the two most popular and recent editions are 3.5 and 4th edition. A 3rd party spin-off of 3.5 called Pathfinder is also popular. A big advantage to Pathfinder if you're on a tight budget is that pretty much the entire system is available online for free. For your conservative friends, the fact that it's not called D&D may also eliminate some of the social stigma, making it an easier sell.

My preferred edition though, and the one that is most newbie-friendly, is 4th edition. A slightly dated and incomplete overview of 4e's rules is available in this free quickstart guide. This tells you about 90% of what you need to know to sit down at a table and play as a player, and includes some pregenerated characters, but lacks the rules for character creation and progression.

A free 4e adventure, Keep on the Shadowfell can also be downloaded and perused by the DM, but KotS is not the finest example of adventure design, though you can find fan suggestions online to improve and tweak it.

As far as what products you should or need to buy, the Red Box Starter is probably the simplest and most straight-forward route. Avoid paying more than $25 for it new (a lot of 4e products seem to have spotty availability, which means sometimes they are overpriced).

Like the free quickstart guide, however, the Red Box does not you access to the full rules, but rather a simplified and stripped down overview. It almost follows the model of a choose your own adventure book in some respects rather than true D&D, which can make it a good stepping stone, though some players are impatient with it. It does, however, include some items that will remain useful to your game even when you outgrow the rules and content of the box: a double-sided poster map which can be reused, punch-out cardstock tokens to represent player characters and monsters and a set of dice. At $20 shipped, it's a good value if you feel your need a really gentle introduction into D&D.

However, if the members of your group are not averse to doing a couple hours of reading before their first adventure, and would rather skip the frying pan and jump straight into the fire, you can safely skip the Red Box.

What you really need is: a book that descriptions character creation and level 1-30 character options, an encounter design guide for the DM, a monster resource, plus some physical tools/props.

As for as the player resource goes, any one of the following will fulfill the need: the Player's Handbook, Heroes of the Forgotten Lands, Heroes of the Fallen Kingdoms. I would recommend the latter two, as they are 4e "Essentials" products, which are more up to date and feature more newbie-friendly steamlined design. However, all of the books are compatible with each other, and you can use them all.

You also need a book that tells the DM how to design encounters, run skill challenges, and reward teh players. You have basically three options here: the Dungeon Master's Guide, the DM's Book from the DM's Kit or the Rules Compendium.

Each has their pros and cons. The DMG is written with the new DM in mind and gives you all the rules info you need that isn't include in the players' books, but as one of the originally published books in the edition, it's less refined and does not include the latest errata (which you can download online, though it's a bit of a pain to read through all of it). It's probably your least expensive option.

The DM's Kit seems to be out of print (or on a reduced print run) so it's selling at above retail price. IMO it'd be the best option for a new DM, as it contains useful goodies (tokens, maps, and two quality published adventures) like the Red Box, plus a more up to date version of the Dungeon Master's Guide. But if you have to pay $55+, that's kind of difficult to justify.

The Rules Compendium has all of the rules information a DM needs, and it includes most of the latest errata, and it's generally a handy reference that you'll probably want to get eventually anyway. The problem is just that: it's a reference, and is light on insight and advice on how to build entertaining adventures and run a fun game. Like the DM's kit, it may be out of print, but it's still a good value. The Rules Compendium may be the best option if you're willing to read forums and web sites for DMing advice, which can be system neutral.

The DM also needs a monster resource. Hands down, the best option here is the Monster Vault. It's basically a far superior revision of 4e's Monster Manual, and contains an adventure, a ton of tokens and a battle map to boot. It's a steal at $20.

Another recommended product would be a D&D Insider subscription, which will give you access to the Character Builder, which as the name implies, makes building/progressing characters a cinch, and the Compendium, which gives you access to every bit of crunch in the entire published history of 4e: all the classes, powers, feats, races, monsters, items, themes, etc. as well as a glossary which describes much of the rules. You also get access to Dragon and Dungeon magazine archives, which contains a lot of flavor, design advice, and many pre-made adventures (see this thread for some highlights). It also has a handy monster builder tool. A subscription is $10/month or less if you commit to a longer subscription. Getting one subscription and sharing it among the group can be worthwhile.

Finally, you also need some physical things:

• A sufficiently large playing surface and seating.
  
• Pencils, paper for character sheets.
  
• Dice. You could get by with a single set (including 1d20, 1d12, 1d10, 1d8, 1d6, 1d4) but you probably want a full set for every player plus some duplicates. A pound of dice would likely suffice.
  
• A blank/customizable gridded map. There are at least three good options for this:
  
• A basic Paizo flip mat to be used in conjunction with erasable markers
  
• Gridded easel pads which work equally well for preparing detailed, pretty maps before a session, or whipping up something quick and dirty at the table -- a single pad will last you a good long time. This is what I use.
  
• Gaming paper which is like a compromise between the previous two options.
  
• Miniatures, tokens or other markers to represent monsters. As previously mentioned, several 4e Essentials products include tokens (if you get the Monster Vault, you're set). You can also buy miniatures from gaming stores, on eBay, etc. or you can use just about anything that's roughly a square inch in diameter -- coins, polished stones used in aquarium bedding, dice (though this can get confusing), etc.
  
  Finally, as for convincing your friends, as you've said, D&D is essentially no different from Skyrim, World of Warcraft, etc. D&D is pretty much the granddaddy of those games. If you can tolerate the "occult" elements in those other games, there shouldn't be anything offensive about D&D. And ultimately, the DM and players have full control over what they want to allow in the game. Have a discussion and decide if there's any subject matter that is the party finds offensive and exclude it from the game (or re-fluff it so it it's not so offensive).

Fun, thanks for hosting the scavenger hunt!

1. Something Blue: These journals are so beautiful, and I just thought I would start the scavenger hunt out with something simple and beautiful. Is that too corny of a reason to put them on here?
   
2. Summer: Summer reminds me that I will soon be in a place with sun constantly radiating down and burning my retinas. We're all gonna need some sunglasses.
   
3. Unusual Food-Related Item: Kawaii Squishies are super cute, smell like freshly baked bread (or cream soda), and are shaped like foods! I had a lot of wiggle room with this category, and while I have tons of things about food in my WLs, I just think these are great to pass out to stressed friends, as well.
   
4. Gift Someone Else: A Bidet for the Fiancé Kind of a silly one, but my fiancé loves bidets. I've always wanted to get him one, and so this is my ultimate "I love you" gift for him. I actually thought about getting it for him and calling it his engagement ring, in response to the one he just got me. Do you think it would make him laugh?
   
5. Book!: The book Lab Girl by Hope Jahren has gotten a lot of great press, and it seems very relevant to any woman in a demanding science-related field. I think it would be an interesting, and hopefully inspiring, read.
   
6. Less Than a 1$: Somehow this shampoo brush is only $.01? Is that real?
   
7. Related to Dogs: I haven't owned a dog since my family's golden retriever, Max. He was such a wonderful light in our house, and I think about him a lot. I know that GSD are really smart, so I figured I'd put something a smart-alecky GSD owner might have on here. ;)
   
8. Not Useful, But Awesome: I really love oracle cards. I find that they sort of get me past challenges that maybe I'm too stubborn to see for myself. I think they are a good psychological tool, but I also know most people would find them less than useful. Therefore, they are mostly just awesome, and I want them.
   
9. Great Movie: I get some flak for it, but my favorite movie of all time is Coraline. I think it is just so thought-provoking and the animation is beautiful. It really has a special place in my heart.
   
10. Zombies Attack!: Weirdly enough, I am in the process of creating an emergency plan and some bugout bags for my fiancé and I. It's more of a hobby than worry, but I always thought a couple of these matches would come in handy when the hammer drops.
    
11. Life Goals: This one might require a little explanation. So, I just quit my career as an archaeologist to become a creative writer, and my fiancé just quit his archaeology career to become an illustrator. Together we are writing some children's books, creating a comic book series, and hosting a podcast. It has come to our attention that these endeavors require social media presence (something neither of us are very good at). Through our bumbling around, we've found that our pictures are turning out less-than-great for social media, and the problem is lighting. I think this lightbox really neat for anyone who wants to make their pictures look professional on social media.
    
12. Add-Ons: Makeup Remover Cloths These are so useful, I thought about even adding them to the Zombie Apocalypse part of the Scavenger Hunt! I sometimes forget to take care of my skin. So I started leaving one of these by my nightstand just for those times when I'm too lazy (or drunk) to take my makeup off. They are lifesavers!
    
13. Fandom Related: Adventure Time, come on grab your friends.... No explanation needed really. AT is amazing, and I'm sad the series is ending, but we will always have the comics!
    
14. Ridiculously Priced: Okay, let's chat. This watch is over $200,000 and has 4 reveiws? 4 people bought this? Why?! If I was that rich, I'd hole up in my cool-ass movie theater and eat caviar all day. Who needs a watch for that?
    
15. Shark or Unicorn: This unicorn color-changing light is on my wishlist. I want it so badly, but have no idea where I would put it. The bathroom maybe? It has to be somewhere that won't get in the way of all my other unicorn stuff. I like when people just happily stop upon a unicorn in the apartment. When they're peeing is a good time, right?
    
16. Smells Great: These candles are the scents of a coffee shop and so I know everyone in my house would feel warm and welcome right when they walk in once they are lit. These are actually three of my favorite scents, so you can probably tell that I have a slight coffee-related addiction.
    
17. Toy: Dixit is an amazing game. Like...I don't know how to describe it. A bunch of cards with illustrations on them need to be described by the players, and then everyone votes on which description they like the best (blindly vote). It's just a wonderful game for inspiration, and you can make it as complicated or as simple as you'd like. I really enjoy playing it with both my friends and family.
    
18. Helpful for Writers: An Imaginative Workbook! I think one of the biggest things writers forget how to do is play! We spend so much time in our universe, trying to make it perfect, that sometimes we forget to just let go and have our imaginations run wild. I think workbooks like the one I just linked are perfect for when writer's block hits, or when we need a pick-me-up to remember why we started writing in the first place.
    
19. Current Obsession: My current obsession has become learning how to play the ukulele. I heard on a couple of podcasts that it really boosted some people's happiness, especially if they loved music, but didn't feel like they had the time to learn to play a new instrument. I have been borrowing my neighbor's, but since I am moving soon, I've decided to purchase one from Amazon. They have tons of ukuleles on there, weirdly.
    
20. Makes You Laugh: As a person who loves Wes Anderson films this coffee table book always makes me laugh.
    
    Edit: Finished! I love scavenger hunts; it always reminds me what a weirdo I am.

oh this is perfect. An excellent exercise.

$100 to buy games on Amazon with a newbie who has specific needs.

Ok so we're looking to minimize card games, adult players, 2+

1. Alhambra - $30 - it's a fun game and it gets our requirements right out of the way. it's more than just a card game there's a board, there's tiles to play with, A nice amount of physicality. it's new player friendly and works with 2 players.
   
   
2. Last Night on Earth - $45 - Again going hard on the requirements here. It may be totally cheesy and it might not last a long time in your collection but if you're gonna get this game better to get it when you're young in the hobby so you'll have the most fun. It's team based but works with one player teams. It's a zombie game with a lot of mini zombie figurines to play with. It's a lot of fun to play with.
   
   

3. Blueprints - $30 - I want a dice game in your library and in my head the first game is King of Tokyo which is an excellent game but I don't know how useful it is for two players. Blueprints is easy to learn fun to play and performs well with two players.
   
   -------
   At this point I'm about $5 over maybe a little more because i think i rounded down a few. I might have been able to switch a few things to get more games in but I wanted quality games that minimized or compensated for cards. Plus all of these games play 2 or more pretty wel.
   
   -------
   
   Honorable Mentions:
   
   Jaipur - $35 - For a couple I think one of the best beginner games is Jaipur. It's a two player card game with a welcoming theme that's easy to learn and yet when you play it's as difficult as your opponent makes it. The games aren't long so even when you want to try and experiment with headgames you're not investing too much into it.
   
   Looney Pyramids aka IceDice - $9-15 - Now obviously the one to get is the Ice Dice. It's two "stashes" for $15 vs 1 for $10. Ideally you want three stashes and you can play the most excellent "Space Chess" like game Binary Homeworlds
   
   Bananagrams - $15 - Bananagrams is an excellent party game if you have the tablespace. Honestly this is the singular reason I haven't played my copy yet. It's light it's fluffy, it's fun.
   
   Splendor - $30 - Splendor is an excellent game. Nothing feels good as holding the poker chips in this game. It's a nice strategy game with a dash of tactical planning if you want. You could substitute it for Blueprints and still have excellent picks. Very fun quick game. But it is card heavy.
   
   Word ARound - $15 - Now most people probably haven't heard of this charmer. It's cheap, it's probably best as a party game. I happen to like the look of it but no doubt it'll burn out as you become familiar with the words a bit.
   
   -------
   Race for the Galaxy
   
   I happen to love that game. If you're ever stuck may I recommend this awesome video tutorial.
   
   Modern Table Gamer
   
   Also don't forget you can play online at BoardGameArena. Some people might be recommending Roll for the Galaxy the new spin off game. I haven't played it yet but I found the Miami Dice episode about it to be very enlightening. Both Tom and Sam speak highly of the game especially in comparison to the original game.
   
   -------
   Ticket to Ride
   
   Excellent game I hear for two players you want the Switzerland/India map
   
   -------
   Agricola
   
   I think this might be a bit heavy for new players
   
   
   -------
   Eldrich Horror/Castles of Burgundy
   
   While I have played CoB i don't know it well enough to judge it. I didn't have a great time with my play but it was just one time. I hear lovely things about Eldrich especially compared to Arkham.
   
   -------
   
   -------
   
   

You could go all in with an awesome collection of Cards Against Humanity!

It requires you to have a pretty twisted sense of humor but it's a ton of fun with friends.

You could check out Firefly the Game.

If you're a fan of the space opera, this is one of the more enjoyable games I've ever played.

If you really don't mind blowing 300 bucks, there's the Star Wars X-Wing miniatures game!

You take control of a spacecraft in the Star Wars universe and each game is like an episode of a Star Wars tv show, with a clear goal and twists and turns along the way as you try and accomplish that goal. The miniatures can get pricey but 300 bucks would get you started on a pretty sweet collection if you buy the smaller ships.

300 bucks would also get you started with the world's greatest trading card game: Magic the Gathering!

This classic card game has been around for over 20 years, features thousands upon thousands of cards to select from and, just like chess, takes 10 minutes to learn and a lifetime to master. For 300 bucks you could both have a gaming mat, plenty of dice, a kick-ass card collection and more than enough to start building multiple decks. Heck, you can just go and buy pre-made decks from a plethora of websites. Check out Youtube for suggestions on what formats you might enjoy, but kitchen table Magic the Gathering is VERY satisfying for two people.

Of course, if you really want an epic adventure, you could check out the bigger, meaner, older cousin of Magic the Gathering, and maybe the most infamous table top game in the world: Dungeons and Dragons!

A little more effort than most, but hugely rewarding if you have a colorful imagination and don't mind some simple math (most games requre SOME math, just look at Monopoly), and you have decades of books to explore, and many are available for pretty cheap from both used book stores and your local library (hopefully). This is a hobby that lasts for the rest of your life.

Like Dungeons and Dragons but want a more easy and accessible game to start out? How about [Muchkin!] (http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jackson-Games-1483SJG-Munchkin/dp/B004U7JJWE/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1462113434&sr=1-1&keywords=munchkin)

We're talking dungeons...dragons...knights in shining armor and a LOT of fun. It's a good start for tabletop gaming.

Of course, Tabletop gaming is pretty extensive when it comes to choices. Here are a few more to check out:

The Game of the Century: Settlers of Catan

Spooky fun with Arkham Horror!

Big Adventures: Small Heroes... Mice and Mystics!

Survive the Zombie Apocalypse with Dead of Winter!

Of course, like Levar Burton says, you don't have to take my word for it. Here is the awesome Wil Wheaton's Youtube series, Tabletop! He plays with his friends so you don't have to! This series is amazing at helping to decide which tabletop game might be best for your playing needs.

Need a little help deciding if Magic the Gathering is right for you? How about Spellslingers on Youtube! Game Guru Day[9] plays Magic with his friends. Not only is this a super easy way to learn the game, it's a lot of fun to watch.

Need a little help understanding Dungeons and Dragons? Give Critical Role on Youtube a listen!

Luckily, you happened upon a time where tabletop games are going stronger than ever so...good luck!

This is extraordinarily thorough. So thorough in fact, that you should also consider board gaming. Reading this, it just makes a lot of sense for you. I think board gaming would fit you like a glove.

1. Video games have moved away from couch co-op. You've made a great list here with a lot of solid points, but I doubt you would have ever reached your conclusion, had you considered board games. Keep Talking is certainly a good entertaining game, nothing against it. It's just, that game feels plucked like a needle out of a haystack. Like you've biopsied out a very small node from inside a large mass.

You don't really have this problem with board games. Literally every single board game in existence is designed to be played with people immediately around you. I hesitate to use the phrase "played co-operatively" simply because most board games are NOT co-operative - though there are notable exceptions like Pandemic or Ghost Stories. Both great games.

Board games use human beings as the engine the game runs on. That's not to say board games pit intellects against each other in some sort of valid competition of "who's the most smartest", but to say: humans are social machines and will surprise you with their grasp of system thinking. If I have five or six people in the room with me, I'd prefer the game that we're playing to exist in the head-space between us rather than on some electronic device.

People have come over to my house in the real world. Why not play a game with them that also exists in the real world? I can play videogames over online multiplayer until I'm blue in the face. Just last night I reinstalled Bad Company 2 and played with a few old college roommates. If I had those old friends over to my house, we'd play a board game. It seems crazy to me that someone has taken the time to drive over to your place and you set them down in front of a computer.

2. Because boardgames have always been designed around a social experience taking place in the real world, they're just better at it. This is definitely subjective. You can feel free to disagree with me all you want, but there are mechanics that I just don't see in videogames. Sure, I could load up Gremlin's Inc and replicate what is probably the best roll n' move game I've ever played, but roll n' move is a Monopoly era game genre. Board games can move past this.

You can't play Two Room's and a Boom on a machine. You can't play Bid n' Bluff games like Liar's Dice, Sheriff of Nottingham, or social deduction games like Coup or Love Letter. You can't play physical dexterity games like Jenga (still great fun btw), Flick em' Up, or Catacombs.

There are just games that play better with groups of people because they exist in the real world and make use of humans as the operating system.

3. Board games are much more open to much more people. I don't know about you, but in my experience board games are just more accessible to a wider range of people. I'm maybe going to get a round of Mario Kart out of the adults in my life that love me, but I've sat down with people over 50 and had a great time with Ticket to Ride. At family reunions I've enjoyed Dominion with young children and grandparents alike. Settlers of Catan, Blockus, and Carcassonne are all genuinely fun games I played to death with my family.

How crazy is that? I would really look forward to playing one of those games with my whole family. I can't think of even one videogame that fits that criteria.

4. Perhaps most simply, there are incredible games that just don't exist in videogame form - even though they could. Is the total conversion mod for Crusader Kings II not giving you that full heady Game of Thrones experience? Why not just play Game of Thrones. This is probably my favorite game and it's just not on computers. I can imagine a version of Cosmic Encounter played over online multiplayer, but why? It already exists in perfect form. If I want to play El Grande, or Arctic Scavengers, or Lords of Vegas - well . . . those games just don't exist as videogames.

5. Just honorable mentions. Seven Wonders. Splendor. Blueprints.


TL;DR. There are a ton of great board games out there and if you actually are struggling to think of something that you and your friends can enjoy together in the same room - maybe give it a shot rather than lament the lack of couch co-op in videogames.

My list would include a variation of games

Code Names - $16

Sushi Go - $10

7 Wonders - $26

Tsuro - $19

Castles of Burgundy - $27

Total: $98

Explanations:

First, I want to preface these selections: our play group varies in size from week to week with anywhere from 4-10 players averaging 5-6. So, we often get caught "splitting the party." That's fine at times, but sometimes, we all want to jump in on one game together because splitting up feels bad man^TM since we're all there to socialize in addition to playing games.

As such, I wanted to include games that ran the gamut and for the most part games that scaled well from 2-X players.

First, Code Names. Now, we've played this game so many times, we actually purchased the expansion Code Names Deep Cover which is a fun variant which adds tons of more playability. This is the go-to "party" game as, for our group, Cards Against Humanity has grown a bit stale. At least it hits the table much less frequently than in years past. Code Names is easy to teach, easy to understand and difficult enough for some of your more entrenched board gamers. In general, I find this a great starter to transition from your Milton Bradley games everyone knows (and hates) into board games that offer sustenance.

Secondly, I offer Sushi Go (cheating a bit here as you'll probably have to buy a couple copies for larger groups or just get Sushi Go Party). Sushi Go is our groups go-to game to introduce games that use a drafting mechanic and to teach that board games can be cute, fun, and delightful while also requiring strategy, maths, and a bit of hope (our group tends to dislike dice-rolling games so for the most part, we stick to games where we can mostly "control" our own fates - YMMV). This game is super quick, so you don't get bogged down at the table for hours. I feel for new board gamers, quicker games are a MUST as many people may not be able to handle the length many of our Beloveds require.

7 Wonders comes next. We tend to introduce this game right after Sushi Go as the mechanics are super similar and the newer players feel like they already know what's going on for the most part. There will be questions, there will be some confusion and oversight, but this game follows easily and feels like a natural step up from Sushi Go and gets players right into the mix of heartier board games. Oh, and I could personally play 7 Wonders every week, especially with all the options offered through the expansions Cities, Leaders, and Tower. The interchangeability of these expansions has kept this game on our table long past many others and continues to bring it back. Again though, YMMV as we all have different tastes.

Tsuro, our board game palatte cleanser. This is another quick game which offers a lot of replayabiliity with minimal rules learning. Aside from those positives, the artwork is what sent this board game over the top for me. I am mesmerized by the board, the tiles, and the pieces each time we open this. This game offers a quick break between your heavier meeple-laiden board games so even after we've surpassed "newb" status, we often come back to this.

Castles of Burgundy I included as a final game because ultimately, we need a game with a strong theme and wonderful mechanics which offer replayability from a more traditional Euro point of view. This game really surprised me. I loved it the first time we played it, and though it may not hit the table but once every other month due to time constraints, it always feels like reuniting with an old friend. It offers a setup for further Euro games and sets the scene on what's really out there in weightier board games. I know there could be other games that fit this description, but at the price, this game is amazing for what it offers.

And that's the list. I know there are many criticisms of these games and I don't devalue those. All my favorites have points in them where they fall a little flat at times, or don't elicit the enjoyment I thought they might, but many times, it's usually my perception and frame of mind. I can often come back months later with renewed enjoyment for them, so trust me, I know there are imperfections; I just choose to ignore them for the post. These games, while some may take a bit longer to learn, offer a great springboard into board games and offer the new player a slow wade into the pool without feeling too slow or drab as one might feel with something like Settlers of Catan. Will I stand by this opinion in 5 or 10 years? We'll see.

~rings doorbell wearing a bright, over-enthusiastic smile~ Oh, hello friend. I hear you and your friends might be interested in getting started on the road towards board gaming! This is excellent news! There are many excellent resources to help guide you and yours towards many fun-filled experiences with friends and family. ^Please, ^don't ^be ^afraid!

~Whips out a bunch of pamphlets, waving them at you~ I would recommend checking out the /r/boardgames community here on reddit, especially this wiki post on what games you should try if you're new to modern board games. It's got a ton of great suggestions with descriptions to help you figure out if you might actually enjoy the game. That wiki and the subreddit itself also have tons of easily accessed info for you, if you need. They can even help you find your nearest FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store)!

Also you might check out some reviewers like Shut Up & Sit Down, who are my favourites and have a ton of articles and video reviews, or The Dice Tower, who have lots of videos of lists and reviews like the one I linked that can give you some ideas of what to get. (Sometimes way too many ideas... ~waggles her overly long games-to-buy list~) SUSD even has a great Intro to Board Games video for people who are hesitant or starting into the hobby and don't quite know what it's all about or where to start - it's a few years old, but still very relevant, and I recommend any of their videos. I find them hilarious.

And if you decide you're really getting into the hobby, you might start visiting the marvellous, dank morass that is BoardGameGeek, aka BGG or 'the Geek'...

As for recommendations straight from me... The hardest and best thing with board games is everyone likes something different? But I find one can't go wrong most of the time with these:

• Pandemic
  
• Survive! Escape from Atlantis
  
• Takenoko
  
• Forbidden Island
  
• Colt Express
  
• Jamaica
  
  Most of these are fairly simple and relatively short, but they're all fun starter games that are easy to pick up and play, and I've never known anyone to not enjoy themselves when I've brought out any of these. I often do game nights with different mixes of friends, to which I will usually bring an Ikea bag full of games, and there's almost always at least one or two of these particular games in that bag. I'm pretty sure they're all in print, too, so they shouldn't be too expensive!
  
  Also, if you guys are looking into tabletop RPGs but don't know where to start with that, and you don't have anyone who knows how to DM/GM handy, the newest edition of D&D has a Starter Set out - it's a pack that includes dice, pre-rolled characters, a starter rule book and a pre-written starting adventure. I will always recommend Red Boxes/Starter Sets, D&D does a great job with these and makes it really easy for you to get into it, even if no one in the group is familiar with rpgs to begin with.
  
  tl;dr - Board/card games are amazing, there's lots of resources out there for you, I hope I didn't scare you off with my enthusiasm. Welcome to tabletop gaming!
  
  ^Edit: ^Now ^with ^more ^links!!

A few games I like that would probably fit the bill:

Spot It. Super fun game, easy to learn and quick to play. Not the deepest game but it's lots of fun for all ages and a nice quick game to play when you want something short or as a break between longer games. Good for any number of players.

Dixit. A storytelling game. Each turn one of you is the "storyteller" and tells a short story (one word to a sentence) about it. Everyone else picks a card from their hand that they think fits the story. The cards are mixed up and everyone guesses which one the Storyteller had. The interesting scoring mechanic is the storyteller only gets points if some people don't guess right. If everyone or no one guesses right, the storyteller gets no points and everyone else gets points. Plus, if it's not your turn but someone votes for your card, you get points. The cards can be somewhat crazy and surreal but are definitely safe for a 9 year old. The game is a fun casual game.

Ticket to Ride. Fun game where you lay out train routes. You can block people's routes and you will be angry at whoever does that to you. Only takes 5 people though.

Tsuro. Another somewhat shorter game. You take turns laying tiles and moving your Dragon along the path they create trying to stay on the board. Near the end of the game it gets hectic and you might end up knocking each other off.

TransAmerica. A train game like Ticket to Ride but faster and a little less complex. Rounds go quickly and it has an interesting scoring mechanic. Each round you lose points if you don't connect to your cities and the game ends when someone is at zero. The winner is whoever lost the least points.

7 Wonders. A fun game that involves playing cards that you draw from a hand you pass around. Takes up to 7 people but might be slightly too complex for the 9 year old.

Shadow Hunters. A hidden roles game where you will be on teams but you won't know who's on your team. Throughout the game you try to figure that out and it can get very competitive. Again might be slightly too complex for the 9 year old but maybe not.

Castle Panic. This game is slightly different because it is a cooperative game. All of you play against the game itself to try and defend your castle and defeat all the monsters. It's a pretty fun game.

There are a ton of other good games but I'll stop for now since I've probably listed too many as it is. Two things I'd recommend to try to find new games that your family might like beyond these. First, see if there's a board game store near you. A lot of them will have board game libraries where you can go in and try out the games at no charge. Most (in my experience) are pretty friendly to newer players. Second, check out TableTop. It's a show hosted by Wil Wheaton where he explains games and then plays through them. My wife and I used it as a good way to see new games that we might be interested in without having to buy them sight unseen, since boardgames can be expensive. The demo part of the show has sold us on a bunch of games (several of which are listed above). Hope this helps and enjoy the family game nights.

The MTG Arena of the Planeswalkers board games, if you can get them cheap enough, are a fantastic value for a bunch of minis. I got 2 copies of all three games (really like 2.5 games because one is much smaller) for less than $50 at one point. Mostly humanoid minis, but some interesting models. And the planeswalkers come painted. They don't seem to be on sale on Amazon right now, but if you shop around, I imagine you'll be able to find these cheap somewhere.

Similarly, the D&D Adventure board games often go on sale and are pretty fantastic deal for the quantity, variety, and quality of minis you get. I think the Elemental Evil one is the best as it gives you the 4 elementals, an ettin, and a young black dragon (in addition to all the humanoid sized minis). If you can get it cheap somewhere, it's great! The Castle Ravenloft version is probably the second best, in my option.

Finally, if you're really wanting to dive deep, you could look at 3D printing. It's not the most economical route (unless you're planning on having a huge collection), but it's an entire hobby in itself that supports your other hobby! Great for custom minis, terrain pieces, and having the exact mons you need for next week's game. The Anycubic Photon is an absolute beast of a little resin printer that often goes on sale (I wouldn't be surprised if you can get it for sub $300 on Black Friday) that will give amazing detail with little effort/trouble, and the Ender 3 is a very cheap filament printer that seems to preform really reliably for the price (I do not own this machine, so I'm only speaking based on what I've seen others say). What's cool about the 3D printing route is that just about any monster you can think of as a free model available somewhere online, because the TTRPG 3d printing community is so active!

I hope that helps! Best of luck!

EDIT: changed the link for the Anycubic Photon. Looks like it's $260 on the AC website right now. This is a fantastic price for this machine. A newer alternative is the Elegoo Mars. Hearing fantastic things about it for about the same price.

I can understand why you would come here, but to Monopoly is to board game nerds what Call of Duty is to video game nerds. Many a time have we here on /r/boardgames told people "I like to play board games" only to get the painful, cringe worthy response, "Oh, like Monopoly?"

I in no way mean to criticize you for enjoying Monopoly. Board games are awesome, and anyone can like any game they so choose, however, you may find that many people here very much dislike Monopoly and don't want much to do with it.

I would suggest instead, you get your hands on a "designer" board game (they can be quite cheap!) and join us in the wonderful hobby that is board games. Generally regarded as "the" starter game, [Catan] (http://www.amazon.com/Mayfair-Games-MFG-3071-Edition/dp/B00U26V4VQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1462063793&sr=1-2&keywords=settlers+of+catan) is loads of fun, provided you have 2-3 friends to play it with and a little under 40$ to spare.

As a personal recommendation, my first board game that got me into the hobby was [Betrayal at House on the Hill] (http://www.amazon.com/Betrayal-At-House-Hill-2nd/dp/B003HC9734/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462063949&sr=8-1&keywords=betrayal+at+house+on+the+hill). Again, all it takes is a few friends and a little under 40 bones. I personally like this game due the board game being totally unique every time you play it and with 50 different stories to play, I'd gladly play a game right now, and I've easily had 30+ playthroughs.

Of course, you could go with an even easier "start-up" cost and go with another favorite of mine, [Love Letters] (http://www.amazon.com/Alderac-Entertainment-Group-5104AEG-Letter/dp/B00AGJ4HC2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462064185&sr=8-1&keywords=love+letters). This one is exceedingly simple to learn and very quick to play and only requires one friend (though I find it a lot more fun with three or four friends (preferably drunk ones ;))). To top it all off, it isn't even ten dollars, I'd bloody send you a copy if it got you into board games, lol.

Anyway, I kind of started to ramble a bit, but it's a mega fun hobby and you should definitely get into it.

Just spitballing some ideas for you here from what we've loved!

Board games - we've found a lot of fun playing board games together. In our early days of marriage, we would play some fun and lengthy games together. You can set it up on a table and even with all the distractions of kids come back and take turns every few hours. Some fun games we've played together:

• Pandemic - it's you two against the bad guys. It's a great team game and no one gets competitively aggressive because you're on the same team.
  
• Settlers of Catan - a fun game but it it can be competitive. Basically you build villages and stuff - slightly complex but plenty of YouTube videos explaining how it works!
  
• Ticket to Ride - A simpler game, but fun none-the-less. Easy to pick up!
  
• Agricola - The wife and I played this like crazy our first two years of marriage. We would set a board up and play for hours. You can pick it up in 15 minutes or so from YouTube videos. Lots of fun!
  
  Reading books - something we have fun doing is reading a book together. You could get an exciting best-seller top read and massage her back the entire time she reads it out loud to the two of you. We've bonded a lot through this. Find something exciting and you've got it made!
  
  Computer games - I enticed my wife into my world to play computer games with me. And now she LOVES it. How we got there was I massaged her back while instructing her how to play a game. It took a few days, but she became hooked. And now we have two computers setup in the same room and we play Team Fortress 2 together quite frequently. We've had quite a few Friday nights of pizza + wine + Team Fortress 2 until the AM hours. There's many games you can experience together. Seriously one of the best things that ever happened to our marriage in recent months.
  
  App games - For a season we played Words with Friends together. You can each download the app and play against each other in the same room. We would go to a coffee shop and just sit there playing against each other. There are a lot of multiplayer games out there you can casually play together.
  
  Anyway, there's some ideas! What we've found is that we're always changing - just keep trying new things and the fun and excitement will stay alive!

Well, as far as silly card games go, I'm partial to We Didn't Playtest This At All and Fluxx which support 2-15 and 2-6 players respectively. Both games can be really quick or take a while, but I've always found them to be great fun, and they both have a bunch of expansions, if you find that you like them.

Of course, if you want to delve into the world of board games, I'm a big fan of co-op games like Castle Panic and Pandemic. In Castle Panic, you work together to defend a castle from oncoming hordes of monsters and in Pandemic you need to cooperate to keep viral epidemics under control while finding a cure. Castle Panic is great fun, a simple game, and easy to get into, but I've never found it an easy game to win which keeps it fresh. Pandemic is a bit more complicated, requiring a lot of strategy and cooperation, and it can be brutally difficult at times, but that just makes winning all the more satisfying.

If you and your friends like a little friendly competition, I'd suggest something like 7 Wonders or Bang!, which was the game that got me started down this path. In 7 Wonders, you draft cards to build a civilization and compete for victory points. It may seem a little complicated at first, but once you play a game or two, it really starts to shine. In Bang!, you enter the wild west where one of you is the sheriff, and the rest of the players are deputies, outlaws, or renegades, each with their own win condition. The thing with this one is that everyone's role except the sheriff's is hidden. You can play Bang! with as little as 3 players, but it really only gets good if you have 5 or more.

If you want to do some research on your own, check out /r/boardgames or http://boardgamegeek.com/ which has a pretty comprehensive database of all the board games out there with ratings and reviews.

For miniatures, be warned that the Heroclix and Mage Knight minis, while useable, are mostly larger than the 1" standard width (for a medium character or creature) - this is generally not that big of a problem but if you're going with modular terrain it means they may not fit well, especially along with other miniatures beside them.

Ebay is a good choice for miniatures, especially if you have particular needs for certain things - you want that male elf archer in leather armor, or are you looking for a beholder? You can find and get them there. Here's my favorite seller for these things, shipping is definitely reasonable and the choices are expansive:
http://www.ebay.com/usr/auggest?_trksid=p2053788.m1543.l2754

Another option to miniatures are tokens, and they are much, much cheaper. These are small cardboard circles that fit a 1" block as standard size (larger creatures will fill more, of course). The best starter set for this for a DM is the Monster Vault, but there are a ton of others as well. I suggest ebay for these for the most part, there are some that sell them by the sheet and others that sell the full boxed sets. You can get these for characters as well as monsters. Here's a link to the Monster Vault so you can see what you get with it:
http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Vault-Essential-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786956313/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420725056&sr=8-2&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+Tokens

Cheapest and most versatile "professional looking" option for the map / terrain is a chessex battlemat - make sure you have WET ERASE markers, not dry erase and keep it clean between adventures. Below are links to one of their mats (there are other sizes, just search on amazon) and to some excellent markers:
http://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420724703&sr=8-1&keywords=chessex+mat

http://www.amazon.com/Expo-Vis-A-Vis-Markers-Colored-16078/dp/B00006IFGW/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1420724703&sr=8-9&keywords=chessex+mat

Cheapest option for modular-type terrain would be tiles. These are cardboard "grids" that most often have designs on them and come in different sizes. The best starter set out there is the Dungeon Tiles Master Set - The Dungeon. It has a lot of tiles and is pretty versatile, at least for base grid options like dungeons and general floors. There are a ton of other options for them - again I suggest you look on ebay for these because you can often find used ones that are in perfect shape sold as a set, or even individual tiles if there's something in particular you need. This is the link to the aforementioned base set on amazon so you can see what it has:
http://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Tiles-Master-Set-Essential/dp/0786955554/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420724907&sr=8-1&keywords=dungeon+tiles+master+set

If you want to spend more money and go with something much more dynamic, there are 3-d modular sets ranging from paper to near-stone like quality but they can cost a ton. I have a large set of Dungeonstone (www.dungeonstone.com) that I bring out and always get oo's and ahh's. But they're heavy to carry around a lot, especially if I need the whole set. Another option, that's generally slightly more expensive than dungeonstone is Dwarven Forge. You can look them up - but I only mention this in case you decide to spend more money than you want to at this point. :)

Good luck! I hope this helps.

Wow, we have a similar taste in games, Awesome. I can't believe you actually expect me to suggest just one game with soo many great games that I have played... and so many more I have yet to play.

1st off some games you don't own but are on your wishlist and you should definitely get asap, since they are the go to games my friends and I play when we get together. Given they are on your wishlist I assume I don't have to describe them to you. Lords of waterdeep, a fun easy to play D&D game, Star trek Catan if you want something a bit different from regular Catan, and Dominion.

Ok. Now games you don't know about... How about a couple categories and 1 game per cat. so I don't ramble on too much.

Fast and Easy: King of Tokyo You and your friends are monsters trying to take over Tokyo. Roll some dice, attack your friends, but mostly just try to survive till the end. It's easy to set up, learn, and get going not so easy to win.

Slow, Complicated, strategic, with lots of pieces, and fun, but may make you want to stab a friend by the end: Twilight Imperium This game take a long time to play... seriously like a whole day. So maybe not the best for a board game night. If you can get a day with friends to play it, I would say it's worth the time. Basically you build a universe, pick a race to play as, and then proceed to form alliances or start wars with everyone else. With a healthy dose of backstabbing those alliances so you can win :p Use resources to build a fleet of ships and an army of troops then try to take over all of space while defending all your new territory. Moves are turn based so your plot to take over a planet can be ruined by a friend blocking your path or crippling your fleet.

The only real downside is the time it takes to play the game. We usually have to set aside a saturday to play. Getting started around 11-noonish and finishing up around 6-7. That said nothing is quite as satisfying as moving an entire fleet of ships to take over everything owned by your neighbor.

oh I forgot to add SPPrincesa is the goddess of all things board games.

My lil bro is the shit. He graduated law school this year & is getting his masters in Vancouver, BC right now. Throughout the whole time he's put himself through school as a sushi chef (and a damn good one too!). Although he wants to practice law in Canada, his dream is to have a small sushi resturant and serve excellent food. This guy always achieves. I know he struggles with depression, health issues, etc, but he NEVER lets it get him down. & he knows about my struggles & is ALWAYS there to support me. He always knows the right thing to say, and he's fun to ague with. (he's a good lawyer) I love him. I'm so proud of him. He amazes me for his accomplishments. He's awesome!

Every year for Christmas I give him a Sushi themed gift. I wish I could afford an amazing knife, but those cost hundreds. Last year I gave him an Andrew Bell Sushi Oh-No print for his collection. This year I would like to give him Sushi Go! game, cos he loves games, or Midori Sushi Magnets, cos his fridge is covered in cool magnets.

He deserves it because he loves so much and works so hard & is such a great guy.

Thanks for the contest!

$15 - Codenames is a great party game where you have to use one-word clues to communicate to your teammates which words you must guess in order to win. It's a race against time because both teams are trying to find all of their words first, but one word is an assassin, and by choosing it, your team loses immediately. It's creative and stressful. Really fun, for $15.

$33 - Ticket to Ride is a classic that lots of people love. It's relatively simple, and has up to five friends placing trains on tracks, trying to complete their routes around the US. It teaches quickly, has some opportunities to mess over other players, and is pretty and plays fast.

$30 - Splendor is a fast, strategic, card-buying game. Players take turns grabbing gems to eventually purchase cards, that act both as points and gems. It's great and hilarious in hindsight, because you realize everyone sat in utter silence for a half hour, because for some reason, Splendor makes people quietly brood and think and be silent. Occasionally, you might take the last gem someone else needed, and they burn inside, sometimes letting out a long, long sigh. It's a wonderful, pretty, well-produced game.

$22 - Sheriff of Nottingham is a 3-5 player, bluffing, negotiation game. Players try to get chickens and apples into town, while smuggling extra goods and contraband. Player rotate as the sheriff, and must be bribed with goods or coins, because if the sheriff decides to check their bag, and they lied about the contents, that player loses what they lied about. It's sweat-inducing, and makes for lots of riotous laughter and shouting. Also beautiful and easy to learn. Great game.

Join us over on /r/boardgames because that's where I learned a lot about modern board gaming. It's an amazing hobby that's growing quickly.

I started off playing the tabletop Dungeons and Dragons board games like The Legend of Drizzt, Castle Ravenloft, and Wrath of Ashardalon. These games are great because you can play with anywhere between 2-5 people and you don't need a dungeon master. They come with around 40 plastic miniatures, board pieces, premade adventures, and everything else you need to get started, and they're great because you can mix the pieces between the games if you buy more than one.



These games are great because they can get you into D&D without all the set up and keeping track that you have to do with a regular game.

Once you've played one of those a few times you should move on to real D&D. I suggest doing this by trying to finding a starter set for the edition you want to play, or, even better, by finding a friend who plays.

Now this is only really if you want to play D&D and that's just what I'm suggesting because that's what I have experience with and I know it's a lot of fun. If you, or anyone, chooses to start playing D&D or any game I would suggest buying your materials from a local game shop instead of online. If you can afford it (prices will probably be a little higher) and you can find one near you it's a great investment. Not only can you ask the employees for advice, but often there will be a ton of great people willing to play with you, as long as you sort through the neckbeards of course. Also you'll be supporting those local shops, and you'll help keep them in business, which helps paper and pen RPG's survive, and helps everyone have just a little more fun.

Good luck and happy dragon slaying!

4e is pretty simple. Even simpler than that is Swords and Wizardry which is made to resemble old school DnD. Microlite 74 is similar but does not hew as closely to any incarnation of DnD. All of these are free.

Swords and Wizardry has quick start rules here. I listed some beginner modules for it.

>Is there a D&D "basic" set in its latest incarnation?

You mean like this?

The Red Box, then Rules Compendium, Heroes of the Fallen Lands, and then the Monster Vault.

The Red Box comes with some premade characters and a quick adventure. Its pretty cheap and will help you determine if this is the system you want (note your free options.)

If you like it, then:

Then the Heroes book will help you guys build characters.

The Rules Compendium contain all the... rules. (What happens on each players turn, etc etc).

Monster Vault has monsters for the DM.

Not a lot of good adventures available for 4e though, though if you like 4e and want to run premade stuff for it, some options are laid out here.

You also have the option of subscribing to a service called DnD Insider, which will give you access to, among other things, an online character builder for the players and a monster builder for the DM with all the stuff from the books,. It costs like 10 bucks a month... but its an option that you should be aware of.

You might get some recommendations for Pathfinder, because redditors love them some Pathfinder (which is based off DnD 3.5 so if you know that, you know PF). It's a good system--I'm playing it right now--but its so complex that I have some trouble recommending it to absolute beginners in good conscience. You can look into it here. If you do go with it, I highly highly recommend a character builder like PCGen.

EDIT: Fixed some links.

I own all of these (plus quite a few more), and enjoy playing them regularly. Prices are approximately accurate at places like Target, walmart, Amazon, etc. Most games below can be played by up to 4-6 players (some more), but all support a minimum of two. (An important distinction, as many games require 3 or more players.)

$5-10:

• Scrabble/Monopoly are fun if you're both into the classics. For some reason, these are both almost $20 on Amazon, but I've seen them for under/around $10 each at Target/Walmart.
  
• Scrabble Slam (card game) - sets Scrabble on it's ear and adds some adrenaline.
  
• A copy of Hoyle's Rules of Games and a deck of cards.
  
• Uno - One of my favorites - An absolute staple, and works with as many people as you want, though you might want to add a second deck for more than 4-5.
  
• Phase 10 - kind of like a cross between Uno and Rummy.
  
  $10-20:
  
  Here, we start getting into some really interesting ones...
  
  
• Munchkin - One of my favorites - Like pen & paper RPGs? This makes fun of them ALL in a way only a true gamer would get. Plenty of expansions if you get bored.
  
• Guillotine - You're each executioners during the French Revolution, trying to collect the most prestigious heads.
  
• Gloom - You're each one of up to four tragedy-ridden families. Play misery-inducing cards on your family to make them as unhappy as possible before you shove them off into the hereafter, and play happy puppies and fluffy bunnies on your opponent to do the opposite.
  
• Fluxx - The rules are the cards you play. Start with 3 cards, then draw 1 and play 1 each turn. Oh, but now it's draw 3 and play 1, so you'll need to draw 2 more to catch up. Now it's draw 3 and play 5, so play 4 to catch up, except that someone played inflation, so it's draw 4 and play 6... etc.
  
• Citadels Out of the hundreds of games I've played over the years, this is the only one I've seen that claims to have "intrigue"... and really does. Play the role of various nobles, each with different abilities, to gain gold, build cities, and steal from/assassinate your opponents to prevent them from doing the same. The catch? You each play different roles each turn, and the roles are chosen part randomly, and part secretly, so that no one knows who is who until it's too late.
  
  $20-30
  
  
• Carcassone - One of my favorites - Lay down tiles to build cities, roads and farmland, and place your followers to claim them for points. Just because you lay something down doesn't mean someone else won't claim it instead, and claiming it doesn't ensure that you keep it. Lots of strategy involved, and plenty of expansions if you want to change gameplay. Good for up to 5 players, or more with expansions. Has some similarities with Settlers of Catan, to be mentioned shortly.
  
• Chez Geek, House Party Edition - You're all college kids in a dorm, trying to get the most slack points with fun/cool things to do, while reducing slack points in your opponents with annoying cards like car alarms (no sleep), the drunk friend (drinks all your slack-gaining booze), etc. The basic game is under $20, but it's worth it to buy the House Party Edition for $25, as it includes some expansions and extras.
  
• Illuminati - I haven't played this yet, but from what I've read, it's a blast. By Steve Jackson Games, the makers of Munchkin.
  
• Kill Dr. Lucky - Here's a quote from the rules: "You have hated Dr. Lucky for as long as you can remember, and you've been secretly awaiting this perfect chance to do the old man in. Maybe he destroyed your dry cleaning business; maybe you think he's the leader of the vampires. Perhaps he's the only person standing between you and the family fortune. Or maybe his cat just keeps peeing in your shrubs. Whatever your reason, its good enough to push you over the edge, and now you absolutely can't wait to take the lying old bastard down!"
  
  
  $30-50
  A bit pricier here, but some very interesting gameplay is to be found.
  
  
• Settlers of Catan - One of my favorites - no game shelf is complete without it - Build roads and settlements using the tradable resources provided by the areas around your settlements, and the roll of the dice. Note: This is not a two player game. I made an exception here because it rocks, but unfortunately you'll need a third wheel to play.
  
• Dominion - One of my favorites - I grew up with Magic: The Gathering, but disliked always having to buy new cards to be competitive. Gameplay is somewhat similar to Magic, though instead of plinking away at your opponent's health, you are gaining victory points. Also, Dominion includes all of the cards you will need for up to 4 players, and you "build" your deck (similar to Magic), by buying new cards every turn.
  
• Ticket to Ride - Build your train routes across the US (or Europe, if you get that edition) without revealing your destination, because your opponents might cut you off!
  
• Small World - Kind of like a cross between Risk and... something else. Control territory to gain gold, using various races with special abilities. Send your races into decline (continuing to own the territory until it is taken), while expanding out with your new race. Knowing when to send a race into decline makes all the difference.
  
• Red November - You're a bunch of drunken gnomes on a doomed submarine. Put out the fire by shunting the flooded compartment to the burning one, but now there are two flooded compartments and you have to pump them out while the engine has a problem and oh my god it's the kraken. INSANE gameplay, but can be stressful. This has skyrocketed in price (from $30 to $50), probably because they're about to release a revised edition, so the old one is out of print. You might want to wait a month for the new version to come out before you buy this.

Space Cadets - really fun co-op game, much lighter but very long.

Agricola - Farm themed worker placement, Longer game as well, very component heavy and very fun (If you happen to go anywhere near this, be sure to tell your giftee hes going to hate this game with a passion until he understands the rules)

Android Netrunner - Very in depth game from my understanding. I havent played it But my boyfriend and his circle of friends love it and say it's a very good game. (They're all D&D players)

CitOW Expansion: the horned rat - I don't know much about this game, but from what I've read ill be checking it out, this is the first expansion I believe.

Blood Bowl: Team manager - This is probably my favorite game to date, plays up to 4. Fantasy themed fantasy football basically. It sounds really silly, but the game play and the actual idea is amazing. It's really easy to pick up and a pretty fun quick game.

Hope that helps, if you come across any games you have questions about, let me know :) and if I think of anything else I'll let you know!

It's Friday, I'm happy about that. I'm looking forward to things settling down a bit this weekend. I slept in until 7 am this morning which is nearly unheard of. I still feel like I am getting sick <insert grr face here> but I feel better than I did yesterday. So hopefully I'm on the mend. The funeral yesterday was beautiful, it felt like a really splendid farewell to a much loved person. Really beautiful, but it is time to wipe the tears. Because there are hungry goats and chickens outside that are getting antsy. I better get on with it.

Randomness for Friday!

Simon's Cat and a squirrel. [Video less than 2 minutes]

A short lesson on Chemistry, starring silicon. [Video less than 10 minutes]

This week in the American Civil War

Here are some DIY ideas from Pintrest using recycled materials.

Learn how to make scrambled eggs

A game to add to your wish list Forbidden Island Here's Will Wheaton and his friends playing it on Table Top [Video 30 min]

That is all folks, have a fantastic Friday and enjoy your weekends!

I'm a huge Pathfinder Fan. Plug for /r/Pathfinder_RPG

The best things about Pathfinder are the huge amount of choice it gives its players, and the sheer amount of content that's available for free online.

You can play Pathfinder casually with your friends without spending a single cent (You should probably buy dice though if you're not using a VTT).

Sites like d20pfsrd and The Archives of Nethys have nearly all of the rules available online, and you can play the game with your friends over the internet using a VTT like Roll20. If you're playing IRL, I'm going to recommend these great class-specific character sheets by Dyslexic Studeos.

I should note that if you want to play Pathfinder Society Organized Play, you will need to own physical books for each rule your character uses. I don't play PFS as I find some of thier rule restrictions limiting, and It's much more fun to just play with my friends.

Also, if I could recommend one product for a new group of players, I'd recommend you buy the Pathfinder Beginner's Box. It contains everything needed to get started, and a simplified ruleset that's easier for newer players to latch on to.

EDIT: I just realized that you asked for thoughts on the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game and not the Roleplaying Game. I've only played this a few times, and we got a lot of playtime and sessions out of the Rise of The Runelords set. There's a subreddit for this game too: /r/Pathfinder_ACG

As others have mentioned, Magic can be very expensive. I know how to play, it's quite fun, but never spent any money on it.

However, board games and card games are very cool! And offer great opportunities to hang out and get along with other people. I would recommend also giving your son another game to try and tangentially redirect his interests a bit. There are some quite nice two-player games that you could play against him at, providing a great opportunity to spend time with him.

Netrunner is a quite good 2-player game, where both players play completely differently from one another (I forget the phrase for this). Tash-Kalar, while sounding quite strange, is a rather enjoyable game in which you have to position minor units in order to spawn larger units. Galaxy Trucker (another Vlaada Chvatil game) makes you build your own spaceship then recklessly pilot them into asteroid fields and lasers to make a cargo delivery.

But no matter what you do, there's one thing to keep in mind. If your son is interested in the game and wants to play it, then get HIM to learn about the game and teach it to YOU. Otherwise, make sure that YOU learn about it first and teach HIM about it (and be excited about it!). If you're both apathetic about it, it probably won't go anywhere.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes.

Well, how serious are you? Cause if you're serious... here ya go

Otherwise, without knowing what you're into, it's a bit tough. Sushi Go! is an absolutely awesome card game - super easy to teach, pretty quick to play, but really fun for anyone. It's... "THE BOMB" at parties.

I would also extremely recommend Dominion, it's probably my favorite table-top game. However, I can't say it's for everyone.

I would absolutely love KTANE... wish I could buy it, but I've already spent way too much on games, and college is eating into my pockets. Thanks much! Sir Soaring Spud

Love Letter - Ultra fun game for 2 to 4 players, super small, super simple, but tons of replayability. One of my favorite games ever, and a hit with everyone. Currently $8 on amazon.

Coup- Super basic social deduction game, tons of fun for not a lot of money. More complicated than Love Letter, but not very difficult. The hardest part about teaching a younger kid this game is the idea that you can (and should) lie to your friends. Currently $9 on amazon.

Red 7 - This is a small 2-4 player game, super fun, super simple. Currently $9 on amazon

Basically, you can get all three of these for ~$25.

I'd like to try my hand at answering your question about how to get into D&D, hopefully providing some extra insight and assistance along the way.

Both D&D and Pathfinder (one of its largest and most successful competitors) offer boxed sets to get started playing the respective games--in fact, this tradition of "all in one" box sets goes back to some of the very earliest days of D&D and its famous blue/red/gold/black books like Basic and Expert.

D&D 4th Edition (D&D4E) is the latest completed version of D&D, and represents a very significant evolution from what came immediately before. It has a heavy tactical focus, a very broad array of balanced character classes, some great online tools for managing your characters, and there's great ways "in" like the Encounters games hosted at many comic shops and game stores across the US. Since it heavily emphasizes the basic rules of "Striker / Defender / Leader / Controller" in combat (that is, someone to do lots of damage, someone to soak up enemy hits and hold them in place, someone to keep the other party members strong and focused, and one more person to affect and hamstring large numbers of foes at once), it can be pretty easy for a group familiar with other RPGs or even videogames to quickly segue into the proper roles.

You can start playing 4E today by buying The Essential Starter which contains just enough rules, characters, and game pieces to get started playing with a group of friends. The game pieces/maps are there to help track your characters' positions in combat relative to the monsters they'll face; 4E's heavy tactics focus makes this a virtual necessity.

---

Pathfinder was started in some ways as a response from the move from 3rd/3.5E D&D to 4th. Some players feel that 4E overemphasizes tactics, party balance, and simplified roleplaying mechanics to the detriment of the game, and so Pathfinder branched off of the open-source elements of the 3.5E ruleset and became its own, tweaked and rebalanced version of that game.

Pathfinder focuses heavily on character customization, a heavy "simulationist" element (e.g., there are very detailed rules for things like getting a job, building castles, going to war with other empires, alcoholism, etc.!), and compatibility with the very large amount of 3E/3.5E material available, in addition to the many Pathfinder-specific books that have been published in the last 4 years.

The Pathfinder Beginner Box, much like the D&D4E product above, contains just enough game pieces, character classes, and rules to get started on a basic adventure with other new players.

----

Unfortunately it's worth noting that both of these products are currently sold out on Amazon itself, and the third party sellers that do have them are a little more expensive, so you might want to wait to purchase them.

-----

Both games rely on similar basic assumptions, tools, and modular rule systems:

Basic Assumptions: Players control [usually] one fantastical hero each, and each hero is primarily defined by their "class." Quintessential fantasy tropes are covered: powerful and hardy Fighters; sneaky, thieving, dangerous Rogues; arcane spellslinging Wizards; and devout, healing Clerics. Each game also has more specialized classes, like 4E's shapeshifting animal-like Wardens and its spell-shooting Seeker archers and Pathfinder's bomb-making Alchemists and Western-style Gunslingers.

Fantasy races are also represented in both games, from nimble, mystical Elves to hardy, gruff Dwarves, from sneaky, affable Halflings to brutish, powerful Half-Orcs. Many other specialized races are also available in each system.

The players make their way through the world by describing what they do to a Dungeon Master, who in turn describes what they see and controls the plot, other characters, villains, and indeed, the world itself. In some cases, the players may simply explore the DM's world, learning and investigating, but sooner or later, a challenge is bound to ensue.

Both games provide rules for engaging challenges through combat and "other" skills. In either arena, the games calculate the effects of random chance and risk through the use of dice rolls. Even the greatest warriors can sometimes miss a slippery foe, and not every cut from a sword is immediately lethal; similarly, even an expert thief is sometimes stymied by a lock when pressed for time, but even such failures won't always necessarily set off the trap hidden within.

By rolling dice, players and the DM factor in this random chance. Then, bonuses and penalties are applied based on logical factors (as outlined in the rules). A strong warrior is more liable to hit--and hurt--with his sword, while a nimble thief is better able to evade attacks and dexterously pick locks. Running across a dungeon floor might normally be simple, but if it's covered in ice, the chances to slip and fall are far higher. Casting a spell from memory might normally be taxing--but altogether doable--for a wizard, but doing it while being attacked by a swordsman is all the harder.

Success or failure is then calculated against some target "difficulty"--either a set number (e.g., hitting a bandit in Leather Armor might always require an Attack roll of 16 or higher, after bonuses and penalties are applied) or against an opposing roll (e.g., a thief attempting to hide in the shadows in the middle of combat will be opposed by the general perceptiveness of the enemies he hopes to evade).

Successful resolutions to a problem--either by defeating the enemies before you or by overcoming the intellectual and physical challenges of a puzzle or mystery--rewards players in the form of fabulous treasures and experience points. If enough of the latter are accrued, characters gain levels, unlocking potent new abilities, while enough of the former is gathered, characters might become rich enough to buy a castle or even a kingdom!

----

Tools: Both games rely on polyhedral dice. These are often referred to as dX, where X is the number of sides on the die. d4s, d6s, d8s, d10s, d12s, and d20s are very common. The smaller dice are often used to calculate the damage of weapons or spells (the tiny d4 for a Dagger represents the unlikelihood such a simple weapon has of dealing a killing blow, while a massive greataxe's d12 showcases how a spot-on hit with one could fell even a mighty man in one hit). If multiple dice should be rolled at once (e.g., a Wizard's Fireball becomes more powerful as he grows in level, adding more and more d6s to the damage it does), then a number may be affixed before the "d" to showthat: 2d6 means to roll two 6-sided dice and add their results.

The most important die in both systems is the d20; it is used as the primary generator of entropy in tasks with a random chance to succeed. To attack, you roll a d20 and add your attack modifiers, then compare it to your opponent's "AC" (armor class) to see if you succeed. To climb a sheer cliff, you roll a d20, add your skill and strength bonuses in climbing, and then compare it to the "DC" (difficulty class) of the cliff. To hide from sight, you roll a d20 and add your stealthiness and dexterousness and compare it against your opponent's Perception roll, to which he or she has added their own bonuses.

In both systems, 1s and 20s are often treated specially, particularly in combat. A 1 is generally seen as an automatic--and sometimes cataclysmic--failure, while a 20 is not only an automatic success, it's a chance for a spectacular success (e.g., in combat, it might be represented by a "critical hit" that deals far more damage than a normal strike would on average).

Other common tools are character sheets, game pieces, and maps. Character sheets, either the official ones from the publishers or fan-made ones or even your own, are essentially standardized ways to format and showcase your character's abilities, strengths, weaknesses, and current status in an easy-to-read, quick-to-reference format.

For instance, characters' HP (hit points, a measure of their health and haleness that can be reduced by disease or combat damage) are often prominently placed, since it's such a vital number. Characters' abilities (e.g., strength, dexterousness, intelligence, etc.) are also tracked here, along with skills, possessions, and even magic spells.

Maps and game pieces, as before, provide a convenient way of tracking combat; if a special attack can only be used on an opponent whom you're flanking with an ally, being able to definitively state where you stand is important. Most maps are measured in 1" squares that typically represent 5 feet in the game world, and most game pieces fit into said squares (although pieces representing large creatures may be bigger!).

----

Modular Rules: Both games come with a central rulebook (the Player's Handbook for D&D4E or the Core Rule Book for PF) that describes, in essence, how character creation, combat, skill usage, death, advancement, and general adventuring are handled in the game. These basic rules, however, are designed to be expanded upon. The small selection of races and classes presented in said books are supplemented by many more in subsequent volumes (e.g., Player's Handbook 2 and 3 or the Advanced Player's Guide, respectively), and additional rules for things like running the game (Dungeon Master's Guide/Gamemastery Guide), monsters to face (Monster Manual/Bestiary), fantastical treasures to acquire (Mordenkaiden's Magical Emporium/Ultimate Equipment), and more (e.g., Ultimate Campaign, a book about kingdom-building) are also written. Both games are meant to grow with your needs, but most of it is optional.

Cutthroat Caverns is a fun semi co-op dungeon crawling card game and supports 5 players. - It says 14 and up, but I've played it with 10yr olds before. The 8yr old may need a little help with it.

Forbidden Island only goes up to 4 players, but Forbidden Dessert goes up to 5. - Box says 10+ but it's fully co-op and an 8yr old could totally do it.

King of Tokyo plays up to 6 and is a lot of fun. There's a slightly more advanced King of New York as well, but I actually prefer KoT and it's super accessible to kids and adults.

You could try a dexterity game like Flick 'm Up which plays up to 10 people. It's a fun game and the kids would probably really like it. It's a bit on the pricey side, but the component quality is great.

Also, check out /r/boardgames if you need more suggestions.

There are two currently popular versions of Dungeons and Dragons: 3.5 and 4th edition. 3.5 is (obviously) the older edition, but a lot of people still play it because they thought the rules system was more complex and interesting than 4th edition. However, 4th edition is better ballanced and far easier to play.

Pathfinder is also a good alternative to both, as it takes the 3.5 rules and updates them to be more balanced and easier to play.

Pathfinder and 4th Edition both have starter sets for ~$25 and ~$17 respectively. These are great options, and a wonderful way to try out the game without dropping a ton of money on books.

Oh my goodness. I am sorry for being an ass to you, seriously. And to be honest, the EMS carts suck barrels of dicks at a time. Your best bets for the EMS carts is to buy a Mega Memory card to transfer your saves to http://www.amazon.com/GBC-MEGA-MEMORY-CARD/dp/B00002R108/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323025182&sr=8-1 and for sake of all things good I restore my LSDJ save to a spare Gameboy Camera cart. It won't function of course, but the save is redundant in case I misplace/lose my Mega Memory card. Another thing it is good for is transferring saves from my USB-hating EMS cart to my functional one for computer backup.

There are 3 main alternatives I am considering for replacing my EMS carts:

1. Hoping that the Drag'n Derp cart is finished, or maybe some new cart will magically appear. If you can, try to buy/trade for a used Bleepbloop, they are really solid.
   
2. Currently looking into making my spare copy of Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages into a LSDJ-flashed cart, and I can back it up using my EMS cart as I see fit.
   
3. Also looking at what it would take to incorporate a batteryless flashcart PCB that supports some sort of memory card. Slowly making progress on designs for it with a friend who is designing a BRAM cart for the Sega CD as well as a SMPS tracker cartridge with new hardware ports (MIDI out, etc). This is the most beneficial option to myself and the community, but it is still in a very early state.
   
   The Famitsu pocket was $20, sniped it on ebay. I never pay more than $15 for a DMG or pocket, aside from my one exception. I prefer the DMG for recording but the Pocket does fine when I am going around University for classes or sitting in the library. I have a phone with a 5 inch screen, which is already plenty to carry in my pocket.
   
   If you are on SoundCloud or something, send me a link. Sorry for sounding like a pretentious douchebag, but I really know what I am talking about when it comes to nearly anything Gameboy. I can actually give a friend who is a German exchange student a spare EMS cart to mail to you in Germany. She goes home in two weeks, and I can give you a discounted price via Paypal. Shipping withing the country should be cheap. ;) Don't want hardware to hold you back from making music.

We played a couple of one-shot scenarios at PAX Prime. To be honest, I felt like it was a dumbed-down version of Descent or Super Dungeon Explore. If you're looking for a DnD style game, I really don't think this is it. You would be better served by any of the Dungeons and Dragons boardgames. Castle Ravenloft, Legend of Drizzt or Wrath of Ashardalon

Since your deck is also your hitpoints, the better player you are, the less variety you will see. For example, we had one payer who was doing amazingly well, rolling high and never taking damage. For the entire game she only drew two cards, so her playable hand NEVER changed (or least not in any real significant manner).

The roleplaying opportunities are almost non-existent, and it really isn't breaking any new ground for mechanics-based combat. I honestly think the only reason a lot of people are enjoying it is because of the name tie-in with "Pathfinder". Without that logo on the box, it's really not that compelling of a game.

It does have an ongoing campaign, and that is pretty compelling. Character development and seeing your characters grow in skill and gain new abilities is always fun. (That's the "gateway drug" for MMOs, after all!) But there really isn't enough game here to make it worthwhile.

Answers to your questions in order:

1. You may want to pick up other books in the Essentials line. As a DM start with the Rules Compendium and you may want the Monster Vault as well. Both of these books have a lot of the same material as the old Core rulebooks but with up to date errata and the monsters in the Monster Vault are also written far better than those in the original Monster Manual. The Core rulebook you might want to get is the Player's Handbook since your players may want to use options out of that. The Essentials series of Player Handbooks are fully compatible with the Core book but the Core book has more options and has more complicated abilities like Rituals.
   
   
2. You don't really need the DMG2 or the later Player's Handbooks. A lot of the material in the DMG2 was folded into the Essentials Rules Compendium or DM's Kit. I think the DM's kit is a better buy than the DMG2 since you get more tokens, some adventure modules, a book with monsters, and a DM screen. Note that if you get the Monster Vault and DM's Kit you'll end up with some duplicate monsters (stats and tokens) or ones that are only slight variations. The later Player's Handbooks have more class and race options for players so as a DM you probably don't need them. Let your players pick them up and share with the group. If you've got the money you can obviously pick them up but you don't need them.
   
   
3. Every square on the D&D maps represents a 5'x5' square. So if someone is four squares away they are 20' from your character. Starting out I would get used to using a grid for combat situations. Those numbers are there to help you come up with consistent travel times and distances for your game. When your player asks how far they can travel in a day you can give them an internally consistent answer. You can have characters move at the speed of the plot if you want though. What I like to do for long distance travel is make it a Skill Challenge. Say characters need to get to a town several miles away. Their normal walking rate would say how long they could get their normally but if they hurried I'd make them make some endurance checks. If they passed their checks they could run the distance and get there in half the time.
   
   
4. A staple of the classic D&D adventure is finding awesome loot in those dangerous dungeons the characters are exploring. Gold is kind of abstracted in the game. In the Rules Compendium and DM's Kit book you'll find suggestions for rewarding your players with gold and items. You can have them just find gold and other valuables and let them buy stuff back at town in Final Fantasy style or have them find magic items worth that much gold down in the dungeon. Some DMs like to ask for shopping lists from the players, magic items they want for their character, to give them some ideas about what they find inside the dungeons. It sucks as a player if you fight with a sword for the DM have you find a +1 quarterstaff. Magic items all have levels which tell you what level of character for which the item is appropriate. You can give a character an item a little above their level but don't give a level 5 PC a level 28 magical armor.

Soooo over the past few years, my husband has bought a lot of two player games. Since I think most games are designed for more players than that, I wanted to put in some suggestions because we have found some really great ones!

1. Codenames: Duet - this was a gift from my cousin to my husband last year for Christmas. Wasn't sure about it when she asked me about it...but we play it ALL THE TIME. It's a cooperative game (I'm not super competitive), challenging but not mindnumbingly so, and there are so many different combinations of words being used that I doubt it will ever get stale.
   
   
2. Roll For It! - another hit! You roll your dice and try to match them to the patterns on the cards. Different points values are allotted to each card and your goal is to get to 40 points. Fairly easy to pick up. It actually pretty fun with two people but can be played with up to four (and if you buy two sets, up to 8). It's also very portable for vacations!
   
   A few others we like but don't play as often
   
   
3. Sushi Go - a little complicated to learn but there's a demo on youtube that is helpful. The cards are super cute!
   
   
4. Jaipur - we've only played this once or twice because it takes a little longer/requires a little more strategy but I really enjoyed it. I think this one is exclusively for two players
   
   
5. Quiddler - We just broke this one open a few weeks ago so only played once. This is more of a word game combined with a strategy game. Again, takes a little bit to get the hang of it....but I think we will be playing this one a lot too.

/r/gametales

✣ Top Posts of All-Time ✣

Tabletop | Video Games | Stories | LARP

✣ Top Posts of Last 30 Days ✣

Tabletop | Video Games | Stories | LARP

About This Subreddit##

Epic sagas, dastardly backstabbing and emergent metagaming. This subreddit is not about describing prescribed game plots. It is a place to recount unexpected, significant, or humorous events that have happened in-game. Creative problem solving. Unexpected interactions. Sweet revenge.

Both computer gaming stories and pen & paper RPG stories are welcome here.

You may also like…###

Tabletop game event stories

4chan's Traditional Games - Some of our top rated tabletop stories are from 4chan

funnydndstories.com - Collection of stories from D&D and roleplaying sessions

/r/DnDGreentext > Great RPG Stories
\> In the greentext style
\> Mostly

Thisisnotatrueending Giant /tg/ archive. (Use the options on the left and tags to search)

/r/rpghorrorstories - Tales of things going terribly wrong around the tabletop

Video game event stories

/r/storiesofwar - Heroic gaming war stories with an emphasis on FPS games

Let's Play Archive - Video game playthroughs in a huge variety of formats and styles

/r/creepygaming - The creepy, unintentional things that can happen in video games

Creative writing

/r/LifeasanNPC - Stories written from the perspective of computer controlled characters

/r/3d6 - Help tabletop gamers to create interesting characters

Reddit-based text adventures

/r/WayfarersPub - Reddit's online tavern for player characters to meet and interact

/r/YouEnterADungeon - Group adventure writing featuring lengthy descriptive posts

/r/textventures - A more concise version of the above. Old school text adventures, against a real person

Rules##

• Include the game name at the start of your title:
  
  [EVE Online] One of the biggest scams ever
  
  [Dwarf Fortress] A dwarf with an agenda
  
  
• It may help readers if you can explain any specialist terminology that is in your story
  
  
• After posting, please flair your post
  
  
• This is a place for readers - TLDRs are discouraged
  
  
• Supportive comments that add nothing to the conversation are encouraged!
  
  
  

  Post and User Flair##
  

  
  'Story' flair vs. 'Tabletop' or 'Video Game' flair Most tales explain the game mechanics or refer to the game and players. 'Story' flair is for tales written as a narrative account - if a post reads as if it's from a novel and you cannot tell it's a game, then it's a 'Story'.
  
  User Flair You may choose a suggested flair or edit your own flair.
  
  

  These tabletop RPG tales are great - how do I get into it?##
  

  
  Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set is a cost-effective introduction to the well-received latest edition of the archetypal RPG (Free PDFs)
  
  Pathfinder is a modification and extension of D&D 3.5. The Pathfinder Beginner Box is widely regarded as a great RPG introduction.
  
  If you find it hard to get 3+ people around a table for a session, Roll20 is the place to play online. If you need players to join you there, visit r/roll20lfg
  
  
  

  ★ Weekly Tale Topic ★###
  

  In the past, we ran a feature asking for suggestions for community contributions around a theme:
  

  List of Weekly Tale Topics
  

  
  *****
  ^(Bot created by /u​ /el_loke - )^Feedback

Some folks will recommend, eBay and similar but I really don't want to get into that. If you do, good luck. I'll point you to some new products instead of used items.

Though not the best deal per figure, the easiest way to get pre-painted figures are from the official D&D and Pathfinder blind boxes. Each ranges from $15 to $17 and each has one "Large" (or "Huge" in the case of the D&D Giants boxes) figure and three "medium" or smaller figs. Overall the painting quality is satisfactory, but not as good as if you painted them by hand with basic wash techniques.

If you want specific single figures, the Reaper Bones figures are competitively priced. Paizo and Wizards both liscence official painted and unpainted figures through Wizkids. Though they are slightly more expensive than Reaper Bones, they also have ones that match the exact appearance of official creatures.

If you want the cheapest price per figure, check out the MtG Arena of the Planewalkers board games (there are currently two plus one expansion released). The figures in here are mostly unpainted but they are lower quality molds than the other things I'm linking here and the bases are larger than 1" diameter. I think they're 1.25".

The Dungeons and Dragons board games are $40-70 depending on the seller and they have official sized unpainted figures. Each has a variety of 40 to 45 figures that are probably 75% medium sized creatures and the rest large, plus some have a single huge sized boss creature. There are currently four of the ones with co-op dungeon delves which also include nice dungeon tiles, plus the latest Assault of the Giants which has "Large" sized giant figures, but is not a dungeon delve and so it has a regular game board that's a map of the sword coast rather than dungeon tiles. The ones I recommend you check out are Wrath of Ashardalon, Temple of Elemental Evil, Castle Ravenloft, and The Legend of Drizzt.

The Descent series of board games has really nice detailed figures that look more ferocious than most of the monsters included above. The fit on a 1" grid and the games include 1" grid dungeon tiles too, but they are more expensive than the above D&D board games for a similar concept game with fewer total figures.

D&D Attack Wing figures were very expensive at MSRP because each pack had lots of extra cards, tiles, and tokens for the attack wing game. However, they are as nicely painted as the D&D blind boxes (the chromatic dragons are particularly nice) and the price is falling because they are going out of production and some places are clearing out their inventory -- so keep an eye out. The sets with ground units have standard 1" bases but flying units like dragons have clear bases that do not fit a 1" grid nicely.

The Dungeons and Dragons "Dungeon Command" series of games have somewhat recently gone out of production, but the pre-painted figures were of standard quality for D&D figures and they had large dungeon tiles in each box. They are at the point where they have been out of production long enough that the price has started to rise on amazon and the like, but you might be able to fine them for cheap at smaller retailers and second hand.

Do your guests already like board games? I love them but in my experience getting people to learn new rules is like pulling teeth, especially when it's out of a rule book. Unless your guests are well-seeded with experienced/enthusiastic gamers who are willing to teach the rules, I'd stick with games that people probably know or have rules for kids. Scrabble, Monopoly, checkers/chess/go, Chutes and Ladders, Sorry, Candyland and decks of cards (perhaps with chips). I would also consider party games like Balderdash, Taboo, Cranium, Charades, Fishbowl, Telephone Pictionary which are really fun in groups. Maybe you could designate a charismatic friend as a "Master of Games" or something to form groups and get the ball rolling on the pen-and-paper games.

If you have a geekier group that likes more modern/European board games, there are a few games I think are totally worth a try. I'd look into: Red Dragon Inn (my FH says it might be too complicated but I think it's approachable), Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, Dixit (I haven't played this but my FH says it's like Apples to Apples with pictures), Castle Panic and Fluxx in all its many varieties. Settlers of Catan is a bit more complicated but people are more likely to be familiar with it. It might not be great for newbies but I can't pass up the opportunity to plug Pandemic which is a fantastic cooperative game.

If you like this game, I recommend Tsuro. It's a board game that is almost identical to this flash game. It has won a handful of awards and is short, easy to teach, and awesome. I can even play it with in-laws who are pretty board game averse. It can handle up to eight players though the most I've ever played with was six. More players can be an absolute blast.

It's even pretty inexpensive so it might make a good wish list item as the holidays are approaching, etc.

I don't mean to hawk stuff. I'm completely unaffiliated with the game and I'm not linking an Amazon resale or anything like that. I just was surprised that nobody had pointed this out for people yet and thought that I might try to help you all find a nice little ~$20 gift idea. Come to think of it...

Oooh, I looooove board games. From what you're describing I feel like Ticket to Ride could work really well; there are a good amount of instructions but they're pretty easy to follow along with (it's mostly for scoring purposes).

For something way more light/fun, there's also Sushi Go! or Love Letter -- they're both card-based games that look deceptively simple but are never played the same way twice. My wildcard choice would be Carcassonne, which is definitely more of a hard sell -- you build a Medieval French town with picture tiles -- but I promise is really, really fun. Again, the scoring is where it gets slightly more complicated, and it can be intimidating-looking, but the game is really fantastic. Lots of strategy and luck needed, and it's a really unique experience.

Whatever this is for sounds like it'll be a lot of fun!

Awesome! I love how the organs look wet and sticky to the touch!

To readers who want this mini: I can't find it on Amazon, but it is Gravestorm the Dracolich from the Dungeons and Dragons: Castle Ravenloft Board Game. If it comes guaranteed in a booster or on it's own, I can't find it... but it's also past 4 in the morning here, so that may be a factor!

SO, let's take a quick look at the Castle Ravenloft Boardgame. Looking for Dracolich minis, I'm seeing most sitting at around $18 (and I couldn't find this particular one). The game box I listed is around $52. Almost three times the price!

However.

The box comes with 5 hero figures, 7 villain figures (Gravestorm is one of those, and that base he sits on is slightly larger than the bottom of a Rockstar can, so massive), and 30 monster figures, for a total of 42. So that's about $1.50 a model. These are high quality models, on par with Reaper or Nolzur's. They do not come prepainted, but with the paintjobs I've seen on some prepainted minis, I'd say that could be a pro, a con, or just a neutral to you, depending.

Honestly, if you're going to paint it, I'd get some paint tips from /u/GreedoLandooo, because as you may have noticed, his looks pretty wizard.

But wait, there's more! It also comes with 41 dungeon tiles! What are those, you didn't ask? Those are a bunch of interlocking tiles, compatible with any tiles from any of the D&D boardgame sets (Ravenloft , Wrath of Ashardalon , Legend of Drizzt , Temple of Elemental Evil, and Tomb of Annihilation , the last one being the only one I don't own, and that only due to money issues at the moment.)

Here are 11 together , Here are, uh...more than 11, I'm tired, fight me about it..

Everything you see in that second pic comes in the box, except for that upside-down box that says "One Night". I have no idea what that is, but I'm assuming the people who took the photo use it as a dice rolling area.
EDIT: Those minis you see on there have regulation-size bases, about the size of a quarter, to give you a sense of scale.

You may have noticed cards and tokens galore. As it turns out, this board game is also a board game! The heroes have abilities they can use, monsters have different attacks and tactics depending on player positioning, there are magic items, traps, etc. Some people really enjoy the board games. I found them neat, but I really just wanted the minis because of the quality and the tiles because...c'mon, really easy dungeon setup. Most D&D boardgame tiles are not doublesided, so you can either preconstruct a dungeon for buds but leave undiscovered ones flipped over for "fog of war", or handle it like the board game does, drawing new tiles from a stack when a player enters discovery range. Surprises for the party and you!

Also, I'm going to list all the minis that come in the set. Gravestorm is the largest in the box by far, but each board game comes with some big guys. Ashardalon has Ashardalon, the Red Dragon, I believe Drizzt comes with a massive Balor, etc.

So, mini contents of Ravenloft:

Allisa, Human Ranger

Arjhan, Dragonborn Fighter

Blazing Skeleton x3

Count Strahd, Vampire and general villainous jackass.

Flesh Golem. This guy is a bit on the large side, but not as big as the Dracolich.

Gargoyle x3

Ghoul x3

Gravestorm, Dracolich.

Howling Hag

Immeril, Eladrin Wizard

Kat, Human Rogue

Klak, Kobold Sorcerer. I'm very fond of this guy.

Kobold Skirmisher x3

Rat Swarm x3

Skeleton x3

Spider x3

Thorgrim, Dwarf Cleric

Werewolf with bladder issues, I assume.

Wolf x3

Wraith x3

Zombie x3

Zombie Dragon. Not Gravestorm. This is a smaller dude.

Now a picture of the whole happy family

And finally, if you would like to buy from the D&D official site, you can find it here for $65.

I have teen boys (14 and 16) and shockingly we have not yet seen the lego movie and would love to win a digital copy!

Your son sounds similar to mine in their taste profile, so I asked them what they liked as gifts when they were 12. Here are their thoughts:

• 50 Dangerous Things book. My boys got this as a gift and decided to do all they could to accomplish all 50 of the things.
  
  
• Munchkin. It's a card game that is easy to learn and fun to play as a family and with friends. My boys love it still!
  
  
• Trip to Disneyland
  
  My recommendation (in addition to my kids) is based on his love of the titanic. Have you heard of Ernest Shackleton? He did a journey to the South Pole that was very much an adventure story about leadership and teamwork. There is a graphic novel about it that might be right for him (I haven't read it) and a larger book called Endurance.
  
  Good luck on the gifting!

WOWOWOW thank you so much for hosting this contest! This is getting me pumped. I literally just started working out at home yesterday, and while I'm beat right now, I really enjoyed it! =D Made me realize how little supplies I have at home though, haha.

1. Here is my fitness wishlist!
   
   
2. Dixit is a super fun and beautifully illustrated board game. Here's a YouTube video of some gameplay. Someone I know got this game and I played it with a group of friends. I can vouch for it's fun-ness!
   
   
3. Hi there! Thanks again for the contest!! =D

I know this is probably not the thing you want to hear, but maybe considering something other than Magic.

Magic is really good when

• you have effort money to keep up with a meta
  
  
• you have enough money to not get stomped by your local meta
  
  
• you have the time and energy to keep up with how devoted your local players are
  
  These things make the game incredibly fun; but they also make it not really great for two players to play against each other on a low budget. It's unlikely with the amount that you drop that you will be able to ever compete with your local playgroup as they have inevitably spent much, much more. Not to mention you lose out on many aspects that make mtg fun at such a low budget - you're not playing competitively in pickup games with other mtg players, you're stuck playing the small amount of cards you have against each other.
  
  I would recommend something like Android: Netrunner (https://www.amazon.com/Android-Netrunner-The-Card-Game/dp/1616614609). For $30 you're getting a complete card pool as it's a CCG - there isn't the booster pack aspect of spending money on random cards, you just get every card in the set and can buy expanding sets if you'd like. You can play with each other and aren't limited by cards you don't have, and you can incorporate other players as well.
  
  If you really wanna stick to mtg, two intro decks or deckbuilders toolkits will give you a pretty deep pool to entertain yourself for a while. I have to say though that going this route, you're going to chafe the edges of your cage pretty quickly - mtg isn't really a game designed for what you're looking for.
  
  

It costs money to play ongoingly? You can't just buy a board or set or play or whatever?

Wow. No wonder it tends to be reserved to hardcore fanatics.

I know some German games can be expensive, initially, but even Settlers of Catan is just $35 on Amazon

And they do have expansion packs, but you absolutely don't need them to play a full, fun game.

I can't imagine playing a game that you had to keep buying new stuff for in order to really participate at a decent level.

I play guitar, and people might say these card games are a hobby like that, and that spending money on new cards is no different from continuously spending money on new guitar gear and pedals.

But even there, you don't actually need anything beyond an acoustic guitar or an electric and a basic amp if you want to learn. You absolutely could play just those things for 5 years before buying a single pedal while teaching yourself how to play. Apart from maintenance like new strings and the odd setup (if needed at all), you can just pay once and play - forever.

But it sounds like people have to keep buying better cards in order to keep playing the game, because everyone else is also trying to get an edge by buying better cards?

That sounds like a way for a hobby to make you broke, rather than enrich your life.

Hi, Ricki! My name is Claire! I am 26 and after finishing my second bachelors degree, I'm starting in about month as an RN on a pediatric cardiology unit!! I'm so excited. I love Harry Potter, Doctor Who and Game of Thrones as well. I think I'd be a Hufflepuff, how about you?? I've just started watching Justified and I'm really enjoying it. I currently live in NYC however I am moving in a few weeks. I'm pretty nervous about it but can't wait to get started on the next step. I love to play board games and take walks with my friends.

I'd love to be surprised by something but if you want some direction...I'd love this!

I met Chris Hardwick a few weeks ago at a show in Baltimore, he was super nice and took pictures with my husband and I. My palms got super sweaty cause I was nervous! I've had a crush on him since I was a kid (now 26)! It was awesome, and everything I dreamed it would be... well for the most part! He complimented my owl necklace (that someone gifted me from RAoA) and I showed him my Star Tours button like a total nerd, haha! He's amazing, and very down to earth!

I've also met the band Rooney 3 times (they're not super famous, but I've loved their music since I was 14 or 15. The first time I met them, my sister parked in the wrong garage in DC and her car got locked in. We were waiting outside and the band walked up to us and talked to us for about half an hour. The second time I met them they had a show in Baltimore and I made my friend miss her curfew to wait around back and say hello. It was worth it because Rob (the lead singer) gave me a big hug and picked me up! AWESOME. I even got to smooch him on the cheek.

this game is cool but I also love surprises!

I think you should make this. I know it's not a cake but it's sooooo sinfully good. You can throw a candle on it.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

This game would provide hours of happiness for me and my friends.

Thanks for contest.

You can always browse ThinkGeek for ideas and see if they have some of their items on Amazon!

I think a bow tie would be spiffy for him. Here's a galaxy tie!

I think board games are fun and make for a great social activity, but with his limited time you'd probably want something not too difficult and maybe portable. We Didn't Playtest This is pretty fun, and you can browse /r/boardgames for more ideas!

You seem to be a caring, great friend. Thanks for the contest!

If you play Pathfinder, then note that they put all their rules and bestiary online for free and so you can save some serious dough. You can then spend your money on things like battle mats, paper miniatures, and adventure modules. They have an upcoming beginners box that would probably be perfect for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KPv80QsBfI

If you play D&D 4th Edition, you kind of have to choose between the original line and "Essentials" line (it's very confusing). Personally I say go with the Essentials line because it is easier, cheaper, and (to me at least) "feels" more like what D&D is supposed to be like. WotC doesn't publish anything online for free like Paizo, so you'll have to buy some stuff. I recommend:

• At least one copy of Heroes of the Fallen Lands (class book for fighters, clerics, wizards and rogues: ~$14 on Amazon
  
• Optional: At least one copy of Heroes of the Fallen Kingdoms (class book for rangers, druids, paladins and warlocks): ~$14 on Amazon.
  
• Semi-Optional At least one copy of the Rules Compendium:~$14 on Amazon. The reason I list this as semi-optional is because most of the rules you'll need as a beginner are contained in the class guide books
  
• Monster Vault. This contains monster stats and a whole bunch of tokens. ~$20 on Amazon.
  
  If no one wants to play a ranger, druid, paladin or warlock at first you can skip the one book and meet your $60 budget. Eventually you'll probably want to get a Dungeon Master guide of some sort. The kind of information in those books is mostly generic advice on how to run games and handle personalities, so it's possibly to buy an older used copy from the original line even though you are playing Essentials. Hell, since it's just generic advice, you could even buy the Pathfinder guide (which is amazingly well written) and use it for D&D.
  
  In summary - I think it's easier for you to meet your budget by going with Pathfinder, since they publish a lot of material for free, leaving you to spend your money on the adventure modules which is where all the fun is anyways. It's unanimous that Pathfinder does a much better job on published adventures too, since they are a company that started off as an adventure publishing company and that is their strength. However, D&D 4e (especially Essentials) is much easier to play, but you won't have as much money left over to spend on adventures (and those adventures kind of suck).

We Didn't Playtest This at All. I bought it after seeing it mentioned in /r/boardgames/. I loved the one-star reviews on Amazon from people who didn't understand the game.

It's an absurd party game. The first time I played it in my 6-person group, we played six rounds. I lost the first five rounds before it was even my turn to play (but that's OK because you often get to take an action during other peoples' turns). In the sixth round, I played one hand only because I got to go first, and I was out before it became my turn again. It is still hilarious, inexpensive fun.

I especially love the cards that make players lose if they utter certain words during the game. I was the first to lose with that card, so I spent the rest of the round assassinating people by engaging them in conversation.

Helpful tip: play the game with people you enjoy being around. If your gaming group is composed of only people you know through gaming, forget it.

I have the following set, it should suit your needs:

• https://i.imgur.com/sOSE4Zj.jpg
  
  Here is price information from Amazon, for what is included:
  
  Item | Amazon Price
  --- | ---
  The Bigger Blacker Box | $15
  Cards Against Humanity | $25
  Cards Against Humanity: First Expansion | $10
  Cards Against Humanity: Second Expansion | $10
  Cards Against Humanity: Third Expansion | $10
  Cards Against Humanity: Fourth Expansion | $10
  
  You can "complete" the set by ordering expansions Five and Six on Amazon.
  
  The Bigger Blacker Box case has enough room to fit both additional expansions, if you take out the foam spacers. It also comes with black dividers, for helping organize.
  
  I have not done this, btw, but apparently if you cut open a specific place inside the lid of the Bigger Blacker Box, there is a special card inside. Something about big black cocks, naturally.
  
  Purchase price on Amazon for all of these items is $80 total. I will offer my set at $70. It is in excellent condition. We've only used it on two occasions.
  
  Also, I know people are probably wondering why I don't offer a larger discount. $70 for a used CAH set might seem "not generous enough". Here's my perspective though. a) This is a pretty comprehensive collection in excellent condition (most of the cards have never been used) and well organized, b) I don't care if I sell it or not, c) I suspect you might be interested in completing the collection anyway, and this collection gets you 80% of the way there, and d) you have a tight timetable.
  
  I live downtown. I work from home. PM me if you're interested, my schedule is flexible.

Uhhhh. Pandemic is a good game if you want to lose horribly. I'd recommend Forbidden Desert instead. Many similar mechanics. A lot faster. Fewer "Welp, we lose in 5 turns and there is nothing we can do to stop it" issues. And it doesn't suffer as badly from the "Table Captain" problems. It still HAS them but not as badly.

My personal recommendation for a fun competitive game that's relatively easy to learn and doesn't suffer "You fucked me over!" annoyances? 7 Wonders. Another good choice in this theme would be Ticket to Ride. This also has the benefit of actually being available at Target or Walmart, so you don't have to try and find a hobbyist store or order it online. King of Tokyo and Tsuro are both fun, easy-to-learn games as well. I've seen all of these at Barnes and Noble, so depending on what you have locally, they can be easily found.

Listener and Humanis's links are excellent.
If you're serious about trying it out, you can pick up the Beginner's Box; I have it, and it's a fantastic introduction to Pathfinder. It comes with a Player's Handbook and DM's Guide of sorts. Not the "full" Pathfinder game, but excellent at getting the basics down.
Once you get your feet wet (whether it be just with the free options, or after the Beginner's Box) you can pick up the Core Rulebook and Bestiary and be good to go!
I'd suggest picking up some of the Pathfinder Modules to start on- they do an excellent job of setting the tone and style for how Pathfinder is to be played. I suggest Master of the Fallen Fortress because it's free and a great place to start. Not much RP or real story, but it's a simple short intro to combat and environmental hazards.

Here's what I'd do if I had to rebuild a collection from scratch for $1k trying to have a wide variety of play styles:

7 Wonders $32.99
Agricola $45.79
Battlestar Galactica $39.97
Carcassonne $30.02
Carcassonne Inns & Cathedrals$15.71
Dixit $22.65
Dominion Big Box $69.18 Prosperity is one of the best expansions; Alchemy is not, but you're pretty much getting it for free in this set.
Eclipse $61.49 It wouldn't be a board game library without a 4X game, and I think Eclipse is the best currently.
Eldritch Horror $40.47 - I love Arkham Horror, but Eldritch streamlines a lot of the fiddly rules of the original.
Formula D [$41.96] (http://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-FDUSASM-Formula-D/dp/2914849648/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1395757676&sr=1-1&keywords=formula+d)
Gloom $17.98
Guillotine $13.52
King of Tokyo $30.19
Love Letter $9.34
Memoir 44 $47.43
No Thanks! $9.98
Pandemic $31.65
Power Grid $32.27
Puerto Rico [$31.20] (http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-195RGG-Puerto/dp/B00008URUT/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395756360&sr=8-1&keywords=puerto+rico)
Race for the Galaxy $24.11
Resistance, The $17.99
Roborally $37.49
Settlers of Catan $37.99
Telestrations $19.99 Awesome and funny party game. My friends and I eventually tire of Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity, but seldom do so with this.
Ticket to Ride $37.24
Ticket to Ride 1910 Expansion $18.21
Tsuro $24.22
Twilight Struggle $49.98
Village $35.47
Wits & Wagers $19.99

That comes up to $946.47; room for a couple more expansions or another game.

Guillotine (BGG; $14 at Amazon) is a 2-5 person card game based on the French Revolution.

The game takes place over three rounds ("days"). Each day, you line up twelve noble cards. Each noble has a different point value. At the end of each turn, a player decapitates the noble at the front of the line. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins (novel concept, right?)

Every turn, you can:

1. Optionally play an action card from your hand, which allows to adjust the line, gain points, or mess up other player's plans with various cards.
   
   
2. Collect the nobel at the front of the line (unless your action card lets you do something else.
   
   
3. Draw another action card.
   
   In addition, certain nobles have special actions that trigger when collected, allowing you to draw more cards, gain points, or extend the day.
   
   Really simple to learn, with a skill cap coming in 3 or 4 games later, once you've learned all the cards. Pretty luck based (depends on card draw,) but fun nonetheless. I play 5-6 games on a gaming night, then don't touch it for a few weeks. It's a ton of fun as long as it's not the only game you're playing.

Either the Pathfinder Beginner Box or the D&D Red Box Starter Set will give you everything you need to start playing a simplified version of the full games, all in one box. Buy it, invite friends over, unwrap the box, start playing.

The rules are written in such a way as to let players get started immediately, but the person running the game (the Dungeon Master or Game Master) will probably want to look through it for a few minutes beforehand.

If you like the tutorials, you might move on to the full games. I like Pathfinder, so I'll focus on that one.

If you want to play the "full" Pathfinder game, you don't need the Beginner Box, instead you need:

• One copy of The Core Rulebook
  
• One copy of The Bestiary
  
• One set (or more if you want) of polyhedral dice, such as this.
  
• One character sheet per player [PDF]
  
• Some pencils
  
• Some tokens to represent characters and monsters (pennies, nickels and dimes will do)
  
  All other books you will see listed are optional: they provide more options, more content, more ideas. Don't buy them until you need more. You may never.
  
  You only need one set of books and dice, but having more copies will make life easier. It's totally optional. All of the important Pathfinder content is available for free on the internet in multiple locations, so technically you could skip the books altogether if you needed to. In practice it's nice to have a hard copy.
  
  Also, there are thousands of RPGs out there you could play instead of D&D or Pathfinder, but I would say try them after you've gotten your feet at least slightly wet.

In addition to checking out here, I would poke around the local gaming shops. Rolling Gnome is probably a good spot to try.

Also, think about what type of game you're looking to play.

Are you wanting high fantasy, high magic, sort of like a mix of harry potter and Lord of the Rings?

Or maybe something more intrigue focused, like Game of Thrones?

Are you wanting to keep sci-fi and fantasy separate, or are you ok with a blend?

Are you wanting to solve puzzles, get into fights, or...?

What degree of complexity/customization do you want from your characters? (The simpler the system, the more same-y the characters are; as a converse, the more customization you can bring for characters, the more fiddly little rules come into play.)

All of these are significant considerations.

Now, I might be a bit biased in suggesting The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, but it offers absurd customization, has an excellent beginner package, and all of the rules are 100% free (and available online.)

D&D 5e, on the other hand, has a significantly simplified system. This isn't a bad thing; it vastly reduces the amount of math needed while leveling up or changing what items your character uses regularly. This can make things easier for newer players, and reduce the overhead mid-fight if you have one or two people who have built batman-like. Additionally, 5e has a much...flatter power curve, and is better for a fantasy setting with less magic.

It is awesome!!!

It also gives you some nice hero mini's that look great painted up. Its also fun to play with your gaming group if people can not make it for a full session of DnD.

Other games that have a pretty nice selection of mini's, both hero's and monsters are Descent (Which also has mini expansions with 4 heros and 3 lots of various monsters) and also Blood Rage and Dungeon Saga. Likewise they play as fun games by themselves!

Here are some links:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1616611898/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786955708/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1616618396/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (This is my favorite Descent pack because the hero's are nice and the Ogres and Trolls are SO cheap for mini's their size, and they look nice. I use the trolls as hill giants)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BPQE24C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/161661837X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (Another descent pack that has nice mini's. The Windgo's look terrifying painted! )

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Temple-Elemental-Evil/dp/B00TLRT3YC/ref=pd_yo_rr_psims_t_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=48RVXNXYZ3145ZAVR81A (I was not super impressed with the mini's but some, like the dragon, were good, and they have a good selection of elementals. The game its self is ok.)

I would really like to play a game that you can play with only two players. Right now all of the games my husband and I have are for 3 or more players, but sometimes it is hard to find a third player, and we would like to have some games to play ourselves. I played Dominion once with a few people but I would like to get it myself so I can try playing with just two people. I also would like to try Forbidden Island since you can play that with two players as well. An interesting thing is that I decided to get a PhD at 30, so I am older than most people in my grad program. Elephant Barber!

It's more simple than the games you listed, but I've never gotten a bad review from Guillotine. It's quick to learn, all the cards say what they do, it's funny, it's colorful, and has the right balance of randomness and strategy that lets experienced players play better, but other players always have a chance to get back in the game.

Set is another game I'd recommend, though it is a bit tougher. It's all about finding a pattern and calling it first, so usually adults/older kids have the advantage (though you'd be amazed how fast kids pick up on that stuff).

In my experience, Puerto Rico is very long and very difficult to master. Dominion is rather light and fast, but the interactions between cards take time to learn. As juniperapolo said, Pandemic is good (all the players team up against the board), though it can be a bit random and intense sometimes. Roborally is ok; it's a bit long, and, in my experience, one person ends up way ahead by the second or third checkpoint, and everyone else has no chance of catching up for the entire second half of the game. And I'm all for teaching kids Arkham Horror ;)

Also, if they have Catan, maybe getting the Seafarer's expansion might be good, or the 5-6 player expansion.

Hey Paul,

Happy early birthday! I'm a Capricorn too, and this feels very Capricorn to plan ahead like you're doing.

I wouldn't worry about the B:G ratio, as long as you have some fun and friendly people in the mix you guys will have a great time. Be sure to have little snack/food or drink stations for people to mingle and mix.

Have you considered playing games? My friends and I are obsessed with this game One Night Ultimate Werewolf: https://www.amazon.com/Bezier-Games-ONUWBEZ-Ultimate-Werewolf/dp/B00HS7GG5G. It's kind of like mafia where you have to find and kill the werewolf in the mix - essentially it's a game where you lie to your friends.

Also if you have an xbox or Apple TV, the Jackbox Game set: http://jackboxgames.com/ is awesome. There's a mix of different games where people use their phones/ipad/whatever to submit answers so nobody has to be the point person to organize the game. I've started crying from laughing so hard at this game because people's personalities can really show through.

The goal of a party is for people to have fun / get to know each other so encourage (but don't force) fun interactions.

There are a lot of versions of Werewolf, but one of those versions is One Night Ultimate Werewolf.

I guess I'm only a fan of certain Euros (and I REALLY like those, like Le Havre), and I just wasn't a big fan of TM. BUT I have still only played it with 2 players, which is not supposed to be a good idea.

Anyway, I hope you like the games you get!

Sushi Go!

Sushi Go! is a quick to teach, quick to play light drafting game. I love it as an intro to the drafting mechanic and as a filler.

No Thanks

Probably my favorite "light" card game. Very easy to teach.

For Sale

Great filler auctioning game. Every time I teach it we end up playing 2-3 games in a row.

Love Letter

A must own IMO. Quick and easy.

Zombie Dice

Under rated push your luck dice game. Plus zombies.

You should be able to pick 2-3 from this list and be happy with it :).

Gullotine is definitely on amazon for like 11 bucks.. it's a two player game that i really love. you can play up to four. i've found that three players is best.

Othello is my other favorite go to 2 player game. i really like this one.

I also play chess and connect four. I like two player games a lot. lol

Yeah, I'll come forward. That was me. I'm unsubscribing from this sub because it's just referral link spam. Yes, I see that juggernaut posted that he/she would post links to Amazon when they drop below CSI's price... but these are completely typical prices. I joined this sub to find special deals. Not just beef up someone's wallet by seeing a ton of links to prices that right in line with what they typically sell at on Amazon.

Here are some examples:

• Dixit -- Juggernaut posted a referral link advertising $23.46. CamelCamelCamel says that not only is that right in line with the average for the past six months but it's actually higher than most sale prices. Avg price on Amazon: $22.74.
  
• Eclipse -- Juggernaut posted for $62.58. Average price in past year on Amazon: $60.56.
  
• Descent -- What a great deal from Juggernaut at $53.92!!! That's saving 32 cents over the average price on Amazon! Wow!
  
• Seasons -- Juggernaut posted a link for it at $32.95. And that's pretty much exactly in line with its price for the entire past year of $34.15.
  
  I don't see a single Amazon link from Juggernaut that is more than $5 off the average price and most are within a dollar, and sometimes even more expensive than average.
  
  If you all want to subscribe to this sub and pad juggernaut's wallet, be my guest. I'm unsubscribing.

I use mostly TotM, but I break out minis when we're in a space where exact layouts or distances are important.

I either draw out my maps on a big drawing pad ahead of time, or use this as my map. Dry-erase is a godsend, and the tiles let you expand out your map as the players explore.

I also have a little whiteboard - the kind that goes in a locker - for when I just need to make a quick area sketch, but don't need to actually show distances or do a grid.

I had a friend of mine print a bunch of These paper mini bases, and print out paper minis to go in them. You can easily make your own, or there are wonderful guys like Printable Heroes who make them.

I also have a bunch of old lego that we use when necessary. I don't mind at all if my players want to get fancy minis for their PCs so long as they're the right size.

I seriously love paper minis. You can print anything you want on them. I made a bunch for my husband's CoS campaign just using WoTC art. If they get destroyed, I just print more. They take about 2 seconds to swap in their base if I need to turn a kobold into an orc. You can have about a million of them jammed in an envelope. If you use sturdy paper or cardboard, you can put even gargantuan creatures in the bases.

Most non-gamers prefer cooperative games.

Here are a couple of my favorites:
Pandemic - https://www.amazon.com/Z-Man-Games-7021ZMG-Pandemic/dp/B0013OBXG2
Forbidden Island - https://www.amazon.com/Gamewright-317-Forbidden-Island/dp/B003D7F4YY

Alternatively:
Descent is great for taking a step into rpgs/hack & slash - http://www.theboardgamefamily.com/2013/01/descent-journeys-in-the-dark-second-edition-board-game-review/
Or you my check out the other games reviewed here:
http://www.theboardgamefamily.com/all-game-reviews/cooperative-games/

Settlers of Catan is fantastic for people who like dice games and is a fun competitive game. Another great crowd game is SuperFight.

If you like more racy fun & games: Cards Against Humanity or Joking Hazard are awesome.

Edit: Formatting

I enjoy giving people notebooks and staionery from [May Designs] (http://www.maydesigns.com/). They're pretty and personalized (and they're having a 50% off sale through 7/28).

If friends like the same kind of games that I like, then I like to give out [Bohnanza] (https://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-RGG-155/dp/B00008URUS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469562466&sr=8-1&keywords=bohnanaza) and [Guillotine] (https://www.amazon.com/Wizards-of-the-Coast-5510919/dp/B000ARTT7S/ref=pd_sim_21_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51XbxH977yL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL320_SR216%2C320_&psc=1&refRID=6T7SEJV85QKQKCQJNC1Q) and [Timeline] (https://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-TIM01USASM-Timeline/dp/B005N57CNU/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1469562501&sr=1-1&keywords=timeline).

I'm just getting into fountains pens and am considering giving my best friend from high school (and penpal) a [fountain pen] (https://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Metropolitan-Collection-Fountain-91104/dp/B009M3PIK8/ref=sr_1_4?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1469562565&sr=1-4&keywords=pilot+metropolitan+fountain+pen) and some [ink samples] (http://www.gouletpens.com/ink-samples/c/21) (this website has a ton of colors to choose from) for Christmas.

Try the D&D board games (Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashardalon, Legend of Drizzt). Mechanically, they aren't D&D, but they do mirror several aspects of it in abstract tones.

Arguably closer to D&D in terms of playstyle, though not there by any means, is Fantasy Flight's 2nd Edition Descent: Journeys in the Dark. It's exciting, offers campaign play, involves dungeon crawling of a sort, and offers a chance for one player to "Overlord" against "hero" players, the latter of which controls one or more characters who gain equipment, abilities and so forth as the campaign progresses. Great fun and probably your closest shot at getting her into a D&D boardgame without making the jump to D&D itself.

Citadels, Tsuro, and 7 Wonders might be good for you guys to try.

Citadels is a game that can handle 2-8 players, and the structure of the game is rather different, making for more replayability, for differing numbers of players. http://amzn.com/158994030X

Tsuro is a simple but fun game (and the guys that make it are good people). http://amzn.com/B002SQBB3O

7 Wonders is a nice balance between strategy, complexity, and ease of play. It can seem complex at first play, but it doesn't take long to figure out and is a lot of fun. http://amzn.com/B0043KJW5M

Assuming you want to spend half of your money:

Star Realms: http://www.amazon.com/White-Wizard-Games-Realms-Deckbuilding/dp/B00HRGMPIU

Sushi Go: http://www.amazon.com/Sushi-Go-Pick-Pass-Card/dp/B00J57VU44

One is a deck builder like dominion, the other is drafting like 7Wonders. (If you want 4 player star realms pick up two copies). That is a grand total of $24/$36. If you add Coup OR/and Resistance/ Resistance Avalon:

http://www.amazon.com/Coup-Card-Game-Resistance-Universe/dp/B00GDI4HX4/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1417653537&sr=1-1&keywords=coup

http://www.amazon.com/Indie-Boards-Cards-AVA1IBC-Resistance/dp/B009SAAV0C/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1417653562&sr=1-1&keywords=resistance+avalon

Which are similar (made by the same people), you could be three games in for 40 bucks.

Then add a heavier game or two medium sized games-- check out TableTop, or our "What did you play this week" threads for some ideas-- and you come out with a nice collection of games (5 or six of them) for about 100 bucks.


I'm not saying you have to get these exact games, but think about a few smaller card games with a bigger game for the most bang for the buck.

The resistance (avalon preferably) is 100% worth it since it plays 5-10... but what about days when you only have 4, etc. Catan can't do all the work forever.


I can give better recs if you edit to add more info; even if it's just things like "I like space. The people I play with like space... and Pirates!"

That is too cute. I love Kevin because he is so smart and funny. :)

I went into your movie list and chose The Hobbit. I actually just watched this a couple of days ago and it was awesome. Long but awesome.

Here's a card game around 20 bucks from my list - of course you don't have to buy it. But you should consider putting it on your wishlist because it's super fun!

HAPPY HAPPY CAKE DAY!

1. ---
   
2. ---
   
3. No book is currently higher on my want list.
   
4. ---
   
5. Not just an animal.
   
6. Purple and poignant.
   
7. A game for misanthropes.
   
8. A guilty pleasure, albeit one I don't get to partake in too often.
   
9. This tool allows near instant face to face communication.
   
10. This may be from my childhood but its still a part of my life to this day.
    
11. Now hear me out on this one: in order to use this item your organizational skill have to be off the charts.
    
12. I got to live music events and write reviews on them, and writing is one of my three biggest hobbies.
    
13. Not sure it gets nerdier...
    
14. Few things are more natural than hair.
    
15. The Great Old One.
    
16. Something I'd wear all the time.
    
17. A lot of people of people tell me this is funny. I've only played once, and only online.
    
18. ---
    
19. ---
    
20. As a writer, gamer and aspiring video/sound editor, this is the ultimate dream item on my wishlist.
    
    BONUS. Off your High Priority wishlist, the thing that sticks out the most to me, because I'm a war buff, was THIS. Though peronsally, I'd probably grab THIS above the rest.

Thank you, oh venerable Daemon Primarch.

After looking it up, it seems like a game I would have played with my 40k buddies. Not really the kind of thing I'd play with my fiancée. For just the two of us I'm thinking either cooperative games, or fairly quick to play. Things like Ticket to Ride or Pandemic (just going off descriptions and reviews).

We also play games with a few siblings and/or couples, but none of them gamers, per se. Games like [The Resistance] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Resistance-Dystopian-Universe/dp/B008A2BA8GG) or [Coup] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GDI4HX4/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?qid=1448982177&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX110_SY165&keywords=Indie+Boards+%26+Cards&dpPl=1&dpID=41UHjXzUbiL&ref=plSrch) have been dabbled in, with great enjoyment. Cards Against Humanity as well. So I'm doubting anybody would be up for something as intense as Game of Thrones. But thank you for your offer.

A mini is a mini. It doesn't matter what system it's for. You can use a highly detailed, hand painted mini, or you can use a rock from the ground.

The absolute best bang for you buck: the Pathfinder Starter Box. It's around $35 on Amazon right now. You get 80 cardboard minis, mostly monsters, but a solid mix of male/female race/class combos too. Plus, you get dice, a dry erase mat, simplified rules, and more!

As for individual minis, Heroforge is pretty highly recommended, but they're not cheap. Expect $20+ for a single mini, but it is completely customizable!

If you want to really invest, get a cheap 3D printer and print your own stuff! I've had a Micro 3D printer for several years, and it still works great! You can find files for most DnD monsters thanks to an artist named Miguel Zavala.

Otherwise, just head to your local store and talk to the people there. Minis can go from $0.10 to several hundred dollars. I'd say you should expect to pay a few dollars for an average mini.

Certainly (in general) the more pieces the game involves, the more costly it's going to be. There's definitely something to be said for having epic games with the immersion that the board and the pieces bring, but I'm also a fan of a number of more compact games.

They're mostly cards with maybe a couple chits, but they're all fantastic and bring a different experience. It's nice having a lower price point, taking up less room, and being more travel friendly -- especially when you're building a collection with friends and playing at each other's apartments/homes.



Game | Price | # Players
---|---|----
Love Letter | $6.84 | 2-4
Fairy Tale | $17 now; I picked it up for $13 | 2-5
Resistance | $15.13 | 5-10
Coup | $13.13 | 2-6
Hanabi | $10.13 | 2-5
Citadels | $19.95 | 2-7
Innovation | $18.30 | 2-4

My picks because they are 1) easy to learn for all skill levels and can be played in less than 1 hr. Whoever is running the tournament should have game master who is VERY familiar with the games and has actually played multiple games themselves.

• Munchkin Deluxe -- It actually has tournament rules you can print out
  
• Sushi Go Party! - Bracket system works best
  
• Zombie Dice - This is a push your luck game
  
• [Santorini] (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/roxley/santorini-learn-it-in-30-seconds-play-it-for-life?ref=rxly) You can teach someone in 2min but there is a lot strategy to win
  
• [Splendor] (https://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-SCSPL01-Splendor-Board-Game/dp/B00IZEUFIA) -- A game last 30min max
  
• Love Letter or Coup
  
• Qwirkle Board Game
  
• 7 Wonders
  
• Quadropolis - Easy rules, it is a puzzle game but can finish in 30 to 45min

Welcome welcome! How exciting that you are able to join in the fun after lurking in wait! We are happy to have you here.


What do you do for fun? Favorite board game or video game?

This would be what I wanted. Because you can never have too much C.A.H.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00TLRT3YC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525554129&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=temple+of+elemental+evil+board+game

The Dungeons & Dragons board games are a really great and efficient way to get the Miniatures needed for different campaigns. I'm running princes of the Apocalypse right now and I'm so glad that I bought it. It's worth buying even if just for the Miniatures alone.

In this set you get three figures of each of the Cults that are straight out of the campaign book, 3 gnolls, 3 ghouls, 3 hobgoblins, one of each Elemental, and some other stuff.

Other than that you honestly just need about three or four of the things that are in the Random Encounters list. For example ankhegs, orcs, Bandits, Pirates, bugbears, different kinds of beasties, probably some skeletons and zombies would be good, etc. Honestly the Random Encounters are just whatever you want them to be so pick which monsters sound fun.

That would be enough to get started and then you could just add to it as you progress. Don't worry about buying it all up front.

We use dot us these Training Swords in my medieval combat class!

They also make a Shield

This steampunk flavored Cryptex Flash Drive might be appreciated! Useful and stylish in a similar vein to this Steampunk Watch
As for board games, I recommend Shadow Hunters, Splendor, and Coup

For tabletop games, you could get him A Nice Set of Color Coded Diece

When it comes to video games, this Retro Arcade Console Desk Toy could be a great work passtime with 200 games! Alternatively if you have a fridge or a metal workspace, Magnetic Tetris! for idle hands


Hope any of these help haha

Wow.. this is very generous of you. :)

I'd give you my lucky pickle as a token of my admiration, but I ate it just now. :x PICKLE SURPRISE!

If possible, I'd love to have the Cards Against Humanity card game. It's only $25, so to reach the price range you could include the first, second and maybe even third expansion set for a total of $55? :)

Or just the main card set and spend the remaining $25-35 on someone else here? :) Either way... you're incredible for it! <3

The pathfinder bestiary boxes are usually considered highly prized by many for a price-to-minis ratio.

I personally use and prefer game mash tokens as they're pretty cheap (about 60 cents a pop) and look really nice.

Sometimes you can find an old D&D 4E monster vault on sale for cheap, but that's getting much more rare these days as they've been out of print for a while. It comes with a pretty good number of tokens.

And as others have said, you can use various objects (washers, candy, etc.) instead of tokens/minis in a pinch.

Edit: in the past, i've also made some pretty good use out of fish tank glass beads.

You NEED Munchkin!

It's a table-top game for up to 8 people AND it's roleplaying. Everything changes, you can team up with friends to help take another friend down or help out. It's great. Look into it!

new tires. unknown.

Thanks for the contest! Enjoy the origin games you got and the new game you end up getting through this contest!

HAPPY CAKE DAY!!!! I hope that it has been faboo and awesome for you!

Here is my item or this one if you wish, it's purple!!

Thanks for the contest!

Edit: I just saw that today is my cake day too! Yay for us!

I bought myself a "Mega Memory" cart from BigBen. Got it sealed for about 8 bucks. It is basically just something you can put multiple savegames on and organize them. I don´t know if you are able to get that exact thing, but any other savegame transferrer should work just fine.
I then "restored" the savegame on a USB Flash Cart like this one and used the cart´s software to read the .sav out and save it on the computer.

I believe there is an easier and less expensive way, but as I am into making chip music, I just had the necessary hardware laying around.
I hope that helped :)

E: I didn´t find the BigBen Mega Memory in the US. adhdkiki recommended this one to me. It looks exactly the same, except for the label and the color, so it should probably work just fine.

These are great suggestions. Other light, cheap games I enjoy are:

• Hanabi - great co-op game about fireworks. Very popular.
  
• Coloretto - well-designed set-collecting game with press your luck mechanism.
  
• Guillotine - fun silly card game about rival executioners during the French revolution, vying to chop off the heads of the highest ranked nobles.

If he is into gaming you can't go too wrong with a steam gift card.

Just techy in general an amazon echo dot is an great for a techy and is ideal for your price

An amazon fire tv stick or Chromecast might be a good idea

If he is into Electronics and/or emulating he may like a Raspberry Pi (basically a tiny computer that you can do DIY electronics on or setup to play old nintendo games on). You could even setup the emulator for him and load him some games if you wanted to link here (pm me if you want to do this and need help with the install etc)

Board games could be a good idea if he is a gamer but it would depend on what kind of board games he likes. Some good ones of the top of my head though. Ticket to Ride, Coup or Catan

Apples to Apples, Dixit, Jungle Speed, Pictionary, Anomia, SET, Loaded Questions, and Jenga are a few that come to mind where the adults wouldn't necessarily have an advantage over the kids. Also Fluxx and We Didn't Playtest This are both hilarious card games that would be perfect for kids in that age range, but I have a blast playing them with other adults on a regular basis too; Spaceteam looks like another good one but I haven't personally played it. If you're looking for more involved strategy games, Ticket to Ride and Carcassone would be fine for that age, just require more of a learning curve. Cranium and Quelf are silly games that involve a variety of tasks (drawing, acting, singing, trivia, etc) and although they're supposedly aimed at adults, kids love them too (just skip cards that are too hard; or you could also consider the kids' versions of both games, Cranium Cadoo and Quelf Jr.). Uno (or Crazy Eights with a regular deck of cards) is always a classic, and you can always play charades or the category game!

edited to add: not sure about a good choose your own adventure story, but Mad Libs are always fun!

This discussion comes up a lot, and is very repetitive. I'm sorry for assuming that you were already familiar with the arguments on the other side of it. The short version:

• Cards are cheap, but they're not free. None of FFG's LCG core sets have more than about 250 cards. Presumably there's a breakpoint there where they would actually have to raise the price if they put in more.
  
• Presumably, FFG knows enough about pricing board games to have determined that raising the price would reduce sales. And, for that matter, that most people won't be too upset with $40 for the contents of one core set.
  
• They've said several times that most core set buyers play it as a self-contained board game and never buy any expansions. From discussions here, we know that many of them never do any deckbuilding either. Such kitchen table players actually seem pretty happy with the core set as it is.
  
• Less casual players don't usually start with three core sets. They start with one, buy some expansions, buy a second core, buy some more expansions, then buy a third core. So they don't seem to see one core as "a third of a game," and they don't actually start with an incredibly expensive 120 euro purchase. This may have been a problem when the game was new and there were no expansions, but it isn't now.
  
• There are actually fewer full playsets and more one-ofs in the new core. Weirdly, this is actually an improvement for competitive players; if you do buy three core sets, the number of different cards it will give you full playsets of is substantially larger. I bought my third original core set basically just for Desparado. New players buying a third revised core will get a lot more value out of it.
  
  Incidentally, the MSRP is $40 US, which Google says is about 34 euro. Amazon France has the original core for EUR 35,50. So your costs are a bit high.

2.

This For clarification on relation of #2

4. I think it counts :D

5.

7.

8.

9. I'd consider it a tool, buut some may not.

10. This was the best as a kid. Still is xD

12. I game a lot

13. Best i could come up with

14. Some may call it unnatural...

15.

16.

17. Gotta have em all :P

18. Jelly beans! :D

19.
This will clarify #19

20. This most definitely :P

Bonus:

Happy happy cake day! Make it rock.. you only get one a year... :P

By the way, of few of those say they were added August 3rd, but it was honestly at like 2 in the morning before I went to bed, so I thought they were added yesterday.

Android Netrunner is a Living Card Game. It's packaged more like a board game.

The core set comes in a big box... but once you learn how to play it, you can easily put 1 or 2 decks in deck boxes and and the extra bits in another one, and leave everything you won't use inside the box.

• This game right now is very popular
  
• Each side plays differently, so you have two things to master learning
  
• Core set comes with 7 decks basically to get you started (3 for one side, 4 for the other)
  
• You CAN deck build by pulling cards from one deck to the other to a point, which can keep the game very fresh
  
• There are expansions should you enjoy it enough to explore more
  

Hm... I'm not sure what to do about transitioning into a Fallout RPG system. I'll share with you what's worked for me to acquaint new-comers to tabletop games:

• Buy one of these: One, Two, Three, maybe Four
  
  
• Schedule a "game night" where your group just picks up and plays one of those games. Work together to understand the rules and the process and gauge the how much fun everyone has doing these sort of games.
  
  
• After a few games nights, ask your friends if they're interested in trying something a little less pre-made. Buy this and upgrade your game night.
  
  
• After a few sessions of that, if all goes well and the general consensus is positive, expand your game night to your desired game system.

Hey guys, glad to see a thread was started. I'm the potential DM. To give you a bit of background, I've done mostly DnD 2e and Robotech RPG, although I did a bit of 3e back in college. I've been reading up on all the new editions and tools (map generators? character rollers? loot generators? YES PLZ) so this sounds like fun. I think that 5e (current version) would ultimately be the version to settle on since the reviews say its a bit more polished than 3e or Pathfinders.

Another option to start with may be one of the adventure stories that require no DM since they tend to be faster paced (60 minute games) and easier for novices to pick up. Another advantage of starting with an adventure story is that it comes with a ton of minis that can be used interchangeably with the other sets so you can customize some cool campaigns afterwards. Here's an example of one of the adventure series: http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Temple-Elemental-Evil/dp/B00TLRT3YC

Lemme know what y'all think

I had the opposite problem, where my players would sit and talk and strategize and talk about every move together like it was a co-op game and every turn would take 2+ minutes.

So I came down strict with the actual rules of the game which is that your character is allowed to speak for 6 seconds during your turn and only during your turn.

This made the game move a lot more quickly, and it still allowed them to communicate together as they'd shout out things to each other during battle.

Questions out of game like "would I know player X was just stabbed?" would not count, as this is out of character and is a general out of character question about the game world... asking what their character would know. Stuff like that is always fair, IMO.

I think if you see this as a problem that needs fixing, you should sit your players down and talk about it. I'd look into picking up a cheap/easy co-op game like Forbidden Island (https://smile.amazon.com/Gamewright-317-Forbidden-Island/dp/B003D7F4YY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1506451508&sr=8-2&keywords=forbidden+island), (which is like the easy version of Pandemic, a pretty popular board game), and have them play that together to get used to working together and communicating a bit more.

However, if it's not actually a problem... meaning their fun is not being diminished by it... then I wouldn't worry too much about it and just think about folks like me who have the opposite problem and how the grass is always greener.

Check these out. They're a great for noobs learning to play. It's simpler and needs no DM. Great way to get your feet wet and learn the basic mechanics. I took one when i deployed and used it introduce new players to the game.

https://www.amazon.com/Wizards-Coast-Dungeons-Dragons-Ashardalon/dp/0786955708

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Legend-Drizzt-Board/dp/0786958731/

If you still want to dm, these are great supplies to get started:

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965592/ (i highly suggest you get this)

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Spellbook-Cards-Accessory/dp/0786966726/r (i find these really helpful)

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Spellbook-Cards-Arcane/dp/B01MRVJ1TB/

Also, check out your local gaming store. They are a great resource. Also ask about Pathfinder, which was created based off of D&D

7 Wonders is a great game too. My group just recently started playing this one, and we are really enjoying it. Still haven't picked up any of the expansions yet, but looking forward to them. Another game that might be good to start out with is King of Tokyo, or if you don't mind waiting until October you could get the next installment King of New York. We also like Smash Up as of late, and it is easy to learn as well.

The Resistance is really fun, especially when you have a large group of people :)

Have you tried Fluxx or Munchkin at all? They're not exactly board games, but they're a blast to play, especially if you enjoy RPGs.

Not sure if you're into cookbooks or not, but both Grillhouse: Gastropub at Home and This is a Cookbook look like they'd be neat.

Slate_Slabrock wrote:

The problem with board games is that they're really tedious with more than 4 or 5 people - especially if you've got people who are new to the game. Between setting everything up, going over the rules, and all the other stuff you'll be hard pressed to get a good game of Settles of Catan going. At least with my friends, anyway.

That's why we like We Didn't Playtest This At All. There are no points, no complicated objectives, nothing of that sort. Your one and only objective: don't lose. And there are so many ways to lose. Every part of the game is spelled out on the cards so it's super-easy to pick up as a new player. It's great in large groups, the games are quick, it's hilarious, and it gets exponentially better when the alcohol starts flowing.

For maximum shits and giggles, turn it into a drinking game.

also, unlike Cards Against Humanity, the point of the game isn't to be as super offensive as possible



-------
Edit from 2013-07-26T19:32:35+00:00

-------
The problem with board games is that they're really tedious with more than 4 or 5 people - especially if you've got people who are new to the game. Between setting everything up, going over the rules, and all the other stuff you'll be hard pressed to get a good game of Settles of Catan going. At least with my friends, anyway.

That's why we like We Didn't Playtest This At All. It's probably the most straightforward game I've ever played. Your one and only objective: don't lose. And there are so many ways to lose. Every part of the game is spelled out on the cards so it's super-easy to pick up as a new player. It's great in large groups, the games are quick, it's hilarious, and it gets exponentially better and more chaotic when the alcohol starts flowing.

For maximum shits and giggles, turn it into a drinking game.

also, unlike Cards Against Humanity, the point of the game isn't to be as super offensive as possible

I'm glad you posted, as you bring a valuable perspective to the conversation. You may be getting downvotes because you're not addressing the whole "hate" issue. You believe MtG is not as good as other games - Netrunner for example - and you have your reasons, but it doesn't sound like you'd ridicule or "nerd-shame" someone for playing Magic. In fact, OP mentions friends who play Catan all night will laugh at him/her for playing Magic. Catan is even worse than Magic for resource-screwing you out of productive gameplay! So poor game mechanics is not the reason for the Magic-hate in the original post.

That's all I got. As an aside, I bought Netrunner (base game? I dunno. it's this product) this past year, have yet to play it. It looks fun, and as soon as I find someone willing to sit down and learn it with me, I will play!

Sushi Go - Amazon US - $12

Sushi Go Party - Amazon - $20

As I mentioned above, I far prefer the party version and think it's worth the $8 extra; it's more than twice the "content" whereas the original is always the same. I'd only recommend the original over "Party" if a super portable game (about the size of two standard decks of cards) is useful to you.

You're referring to the board games?

Neither.

I don't think they're particularly good compared to playing plain ol' D&D, but Amazon has them rated pretty well so maybe I'm just a picky dickhead. Then again, for around the same amount of money you can get Betrayal at House on the Hill and I think it's got a lot more replayability if you're looking for boardgames.

Also you can get them much cheaper. Even in Europe you can get it cheaper.

If you can get it at a good price, the minis might be worth it if you enjoy collecting/painting them. They didn't strike me as particularly great minis, but they might paint up well.

Everyone's talking about ways to keep the voltage on the volatile memory, but when I was a kid I had one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Mega-Memory-Card/dp/B00002R108


You would just plug in your game, backup the save, change the battery, and restore the save. Worked great.

In addition to looking to hook-up with existing gamers (and you should definitely check out that store), ask your existing friends if they'd be interested in playing. With something like the Pathfinder Beginner Box playing an RPG can be as easy as picking up a new boardgame.

I've spent 99.9% of my gaming (over 20+ years) playing with friends I made outside of gaming. (Often by recruiting players who had never played an RPG before.)

Farkle, Killer Bunnies, Munchkin, Netrunner, x-wing, jaiper (super fun 2 player game), Guillotine, Small World...we can't think of any other ones at this time.

She isn't a nerd or anything, but she really likes playing games together. It brings us closer (even though the loser usually wants to strangle the winner for a few minutes after the game). Lots of "I WANT A REMATCH" and "THAT WAS PURE LUCK" is said around our dinner table.

Pick up the red and purple editions of Roll for It! It's a nicely portable dice game that is accessible for all ages and gaming-experience levels. They each play 4 players, there are rules for combining them for 8-player games. Alternatively, the Deluxe Edition has everything you need for 8 players.

I also highly recommend One Night: Ultimate Werewolf, which can play up to 10 players. You can play the whole game in 5 minutes and there is a companion app that guides you through the whole thing. High replay value, as well.

We Didn't Playtest This is a silly party-style game that goes very quickly. Players get knocked out based on the rules of the cards, and many of the rules stack throughout the game. Can play any number of players.

Oh sure! It's a good gateway drug type of game, and there's a wealth of fun little social games that are objectively better that I encourage people to explore.

Edit:

For example and for consideration:

codenames

werewolf

love letter

SPPrincesa is the goddess of all things board games.

Have you ever played Tsuro? It's a quick, fun game for 2-8 players. You lay down tiles and follow a path while trying to lead others off the board. It's simple, but it can get pretty competitive. You can accidentally run yourself off or run into someone else, which is an automatic loss. You can also run players into each other and knock two out at once.

There is another version called Tsuro of the Seas, which is an expanded, more complex version of the original. I hear it is quite fun, although I can't vouch for that as I've never played it myself.

Tsuro is so much fun. I especially like that it is quick. We can play several rounds in a short amount of time and there's no pressure if someone needs to step out for a round or two. My husband gets fiercely competitive with this game, which makes it hilarious if he ends up with a tile that will send himself off the board or into someone else.

I haven't dug through the bag they bring yet because I was mostly interested in meeting people and trying new things, but I saw people playing the following.

Boss Monster http://www.amazon.com/Boss-Monster-Dungeon-Building-Card/dp/B00DK3P856

Love Letter http://www.amazon.com/Alderac-Entertainment-Group-5104AEG-Letter/dp/B00AGJ4HC2

Cards Against Humanity http://www.amazon.com/Cards-Against-Humanity-LLC-CAHUS/dp/B004S8F7QM

DC Deck Building Game http://www.amazon.com/DC-Comics-Deck-Building-Game/dp/1617681709

Splendor http://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-SCSPL01-Splendor-Board-Game/dp/B00IZEUFIA

Kittens in a Blender http://www.amazon.com/Sandstorm-55010NRD-Kittens-in-Blender/dp/B004U5R9J6

and Samurai Spirit http://www.amazon.com/Passport-Game-Studio-FNFSAMUS01PGS-Samurai/dp/B00QD78KZG

There is also an N64 with Goldeneye and Smash and an Emulation Station with many nes / snes / ps / gb / sega games.

31 days for Augustus

I like August because it is the end of summer which means fall is almost here & the weather is finally cooling down. Also even though it has been a while since I have been in school I take full advantage of all the back to school sales. Especially at Target, the best time to stock up on stuff I need around the house. Also is there anything better than baseball in August? I think not.

Munchkin would be nice or speaking of August baseball This baseball book.

Thanks for the contest!

Before I start can you clarify which version of Werewolf that you bought? It sounds like you possibly bought Ultimate Werewolf and One Night Ultimate Werewolf: Daybreak which (as confusing as it is) are two completely separate games. If so you may want to change that purchase to One Night Ultimate Werewolf and One Night Ultimate Werewolf: Daybreak because those are compatible with each other.

But onto answering your question, I'd also suggest:

• Some Social Deduction Games - Before you pull out Werewolf (unless if these people are gamers and willing to have a few awkward rounds), I'd suggest A Fake Artist Goes To New York and Spyfall would be even better if you want to play a game while driving (literally the driver can even participate).
  
• Some 2 player games - Onitama has been a consistent hit with my non-gamer friends because it feels like chess but so much quicker. I'd also suggest Lost Cities because it's a nice little card game that has a ton of replayability and it's super easy to teach.
  
• I'd also suggest Hanabi because it doesn't seem like you have any co-op games in there. Hanabi has basically become the co-op game I pull out for people that hate co-op games. It's also probably one of my favorite card games.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Android-Netrunner-Card-Game-Core/dp/1616614609/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417704403&sr=8-1&keywords=netrunner

25 pounds! You should be okay.

And as far as needing the data packs go, you do not need them. I play with a friend who is pretty skilled and there is a TON of game here. In this box alone, there are 3 Runners and 4 Corporations, meaning 12 matchups alone. Each matchup is very different and interesting as well. There are also 2 different sides to play in this game. You can either play as the aggressive and nimble runner or the slow and brooding corporation.

It is a very intense game and one of my favorites.

Board games are awesome. I wish my FH and I could play video games together, but I get motion sick from 90% of the ones we try. Board games, luckily, don't elicit the same response. We recently started playing one called Guillotine that's pretty fun!

edit: technically, Guillotine is a card game, not a board game. Close enough!

Dinner was my only meal for the day, which is the only reason it looks so nice! 😆

The D&D Adventure System Board Games (Temple of Elemental Evil, Wrath of A., Legend of D.) cost about 50 dollars on amazon and come with ~40 unpainted miniatures each. It's a great price per mini and several are large as well. If you want more specific sets of monster types then the Dungeon Command Boardgames run for about 30 to 40 dollars and have 12 painted figures. For instance Heart of Cormyr has classic models like dwarf, elf, halfling, mage, dragon, etc. Blood of Gruumsh would have goblins, orcs, etc. If you actually care about the games themselves then they also include cards so the figures can be used in the Adventure System games.

There's actually a good amount of fun games for under $40 on Amazon that I would suggest looking at.

• Pandemic | $28
  
• Catan | $30
  
• Dominion | $30
  
• 7 Wonders | $31
  
• Love Letter | $8
  
• Coup | $8
  
• Sushi Go | $10
  
• Lord of Waterdeep | $37
  
• Betrayal at House on the Hill | $34
  
• Ticket to Ride | $31
  
  These are all pretty popular games and I think they give you a good start into the different genre's of modern board games.

I played Fluxx ages ago, and I'd totally play it again. One of my favorite games is We Didn't Playtest This at All, which is super fun and has a similar play style as Fluxx.

My club's favorite, you will not find this on shelves. We go all out with this game and we are always laughing while playing.

This one is CHAOS! There's no telling what's going to happen with this game. Tons of fun!

This one has been highly recommended to me. I have yet to play it but it looks REALLY fun.

Then of course, the Beat the parents game. My sisters and I have had a bunch of fun playing this game with our parents.

ETC ETC ETC

Paizo, the guys behind Pathfinder, do sell battlemaps like the one you see on the stream. Paizo also sells other kinds of maps, including pre-generated areas like dungeons and villages.

 

Edit: in the past, Mark also uses detachable mats like this: Dry Erase 10 inch Dungeon Tiles - Pack of 9. They can be expensive though.

 

Alternatively, you can find similar types of mats available online like on Amazon or at your local game stores. Or, like what LordVeislakt suggested, you can make one! This website is a great place to start making small-sized maps.

It's not too expensive ($30 on amazon), but a really fun 2 player card game is Android: Netrunner. I've only had a chance to play it a couple of times but I've found it to be quite a lot of fun.

I love Kevin the best;) Your [LOTR ring] (http://www.amazon.com/Quality-Tungsten-Polished-Anniversary-Available/dp/B00ASGBGM2/ref=wl_it_dp_v_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=391T9JGD14VX0&coliid=I2CXDUS464109D&psc=1) is pretty epically sweet. I have a pewter version hanging from my rearview mirror that I bought at Portland Saturday Market a long-assed time ago! If I was gonna pick something from my wishlist, it would have to be [We Didn't Playtest This At All] (http://www.amazon.com/We-Didnt-Playtest-This-All/dp/B001N11OI2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=3BUYPKWBAKDBD&coliid=I17DU4HB6D6DM3). Card games are the best, especially when there's drinking involved.

I highly recommend King of Tokyo! Not only is it easy to learn and quick to pick up, its a ton of fun and can get highly competitive. Typical rounds last 30-45 minutes and you can play with 2-6 people (although its most fun with 3+).

You will be choosing between Pathfinder and 4E, and as best I can tell the biggest difference between Pathfinder and 4E is personal preference. And as DM, you get to choose, frankly. Players will generally go along with what you think.

Both games sponsor in-store events where you can learn the basic feel of the game, especially combat, and it might be useful to go to those. Call up your game shop.

Pathfinder is my preference for not-combat. The combat's okay, but the character building and skill checking and all of that is awesome.

4th Edition D&D is my preference for combat. It can bog down, but the tactics and all offered by this are brilliant. If your guys are Warhammer players, this might be the better option. It might also feel too light for them, like it's trying too hard to be a miniatures wargame.

As a more expensive third option, there's this: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. It's a comprehensive fantasy setting that lines up with the Warhammer Fantasy wargame. I've played a super-old version, never played one of the new ones, and never played the actual wargame. It's not really a recommendation because I honestly know nothing about it; but if you want to have a game where the story could lead to an actual military battle or wars, this might make a cool option.

I buy painted so I just get singles from ebay. The Dungeon Command boxes from amazon are also pretty good value too.

If you want unpainted then Otherworld Miniatures look good to me. You can also get the big boxed D&D board games like the base one, Ravenloft, Legend of Drizzt...etc which are relatively cheap for how many minis you get.

I probably should have been more clear :) DnD adventures the board game, not the DnD 4.0 campaigns.

They have very little lore! You literally read 1 paragraph before you start the game and then 1 paragraph when the "end game" event occurs. It feels more like a dungeon crawler than anything. The game mechanics do all the DM activity for you.

AND you can get it for a little over $45 at amazon! (I've seen it go down to $40)
http://www.amazon.com/Wizards-The-Coast-Legend-Drizzt/dp/0786958731/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1334001815&sr=8-3

Check out Tom Vassels review on it, it'll give you a good idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6Q_DjMoRAQ

My seven-year-old daughter and five-year-old son both love these games. They’re both quite affordable and well-rated.

Sleeping Queens

This is a nice little card game targeted at kids. I find it interesting enough to not be completely mind numbing for adults, too — though it’s definitely a kids game.

Splendor

This is an adult strategy that was given to me as a gift, but is quite playable for both of my kids — despite saying it’s for 10 years and up. One nice thing about this game is that there is no hidden info, so it’s easy to advise and assist others without having to see something that is normally private. It’s a fun game with somewhat simple strategy, but that can actually be a bit more deep or advanced than it initially might seem.

What do you do for a last-minute, good present for a friend?

I had an Amazon gift card, so I looked up some cute notebooks and cards, socks and two, tote, umbrella and two, books, and board games. I went with the notebook and cards, for her, but it might be fun to brainstorm good possibilities. Summer is the season of birthdays around here.

I like to go on a long run to make myself feel better. Something about running through a great place late in the day makes everything better.

Dixit if I end up winnning!

What makes me feel better

For a base set I prefer Munchkin Deluxe. It has a board added to it, but you can still just use the cards. I find the board really helpful in getting people to play because it’s easier to describe what the goal of the game is. Also, it makes it much easier to play drunk (if thats what youre into). You can always buy expansions and other base sets and use the board to go along with it.

Munchkin Deluxe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004U7JJWE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_80oYAbP0TA8NJ

This afternoon: Torchlight II with Synergies Mod, farming those two final legendary set pieces in Derinkuyu.

Shortly after dinner, introducing a friend to Archer with the Archer drinking game. (I mean, it's a game, right?)

Finally, after dying from exactly one episode, we'll be having board game night with friends. I'm guessing we'll be playing Shadow Hunters with cards we made ourselves, but I'm hoping that we play something different, like Splendor or City of Thieves with draft picking.

Well my two favorite cards are from the second expansion of the game.

Those are "A bigger blacker dick" which is a classic and "The mere concept of Applebees." This is just because one of our friends LOVES to go to Applebees and we never understood why. Every time we want to go eat, he would always propose it. So when this card was played while he was being card czar we lost it.

Here is one of my blank cards, I don't like writing on them so I put little pieces of paper. It's between that one, "The gap between Rose Tyler's teeth" for my whovian friends and "Before taking a piss, yelling: "Squirtle! Use Water Gun!"

Awesome that you were able to go to PAX. It's too far from me but I'm really excited they just announced PAX South (which will be where I live.) Hopefully the CAH guys attend along with the Game Grumps.

If you can find a local game store, I'd go and ask what their policy is on returns. You could just go with a gift card to the place, though I know that can be impersonal, but if they allow it on unopened games, I'd get him something small like Zombie Dice, Hive, Codenames, Forbidden Island, or Sushi Go (all between $5 and $20 generally). If he has the game he can return it for some dice, or something else he needs, but I think the thought of going out and researching what good games are out there is nice.

But you are literally saying the exact same thing xTheOOBx was saying other than "I don't agree".

If the game is well stocked, it is significantly cheaper than local stores. If it isn't well stocked, it is only a little bit cheaper than your local stores. The only exception is MayFair games, where they have a cap on their retail discount.

And for what it is worth:

BGG Top 10

1. 26% Off
   
   
2. OOP/BPR
   
   
3. 35% Off
   
   
4. 31% Off
   
   
5. 27% Off
   
   
6. 25% Off
   
   
7. 37% Off
   
   
8. 28% Off
   
   
9. 32% Off
   
   
10. 23% Off
    
    
    Some other games I just stumbled across.
    
    24% Off,
    31% Off, 34% Off
    
    It looks like when I said "frequently between 30% and 40%, I was pretty damn close. It's okay to want to support the local game stores, as we all have said, they provide something more than just the game. I visit the same exact stores you do, and I know "not that much cheaper" is down right false. Buying games online is almost a buy 2-3 get 1 free - and that's not considering any significant sale.

This was the best thing my parents ever got me when I was playing Gen 1 & 2 non-stop. All of my favorite pokemon still survive thanks to Mega Memory Card and its superior saving mechanism.

Alternatively sushi go! (Sushi Go! - The Pick and Pass Card Game https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J57VU44/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.zVCybJR74EKP)

And love letter (Love Letter Boxed Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J1JLT8I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_HBVCybD3TR08K)

Are two of my favorite under thirty minutes games... if the boys cringe at the idea of love letter you can also get a Batman, Adventure Time, or Hobbit version to make it "manly"

Almost all of these are $15 and under (plus shipping):

Best value:

• Love Letter Factory Edition - recommend over aeg edition for the minister card
  
• Set and/or Swish - i might give swish the edge due to the ability to dial in the difficulty
  
• Coup
  
• Make your own Skull set with blank coasters and day of the dead temporary tattoos
  
• Forbidden Island - recommending over forbidden desert because scuffed tiles can spoil forbidden desert
  
  2 only:
  
  
• Cribbage
  
• What's My Word - you only need the refill pads, the rules can be read online
  
• Star Realms
  
  The 2-3 player weird spot (it's harder to find games good at this player count):
  
  
• Wurfel Bohnanza - dice! but no one will accuse you of gambling with bean dice
  
• Haggis
  
  Great with 4:
  
  
• Hanabi
  
• Sushi Go!
  
• No Thanks!
  
• Tichu - can be played with a standard deck plus four marked-up jokers
  
  Great for 5+:
  
  
• Bohnanza
  
• 6 nimmt!
  

If you’re looking for low cost I would recommend reaper bones or wizkids deep cuts/nolzurs marvelus miniatures. Depending on the size /set it’ll run you $4-$100. $4 being an individual Meduim sized mini $100 being a boxed set of a lot of them or a single large set piece like a huge dragon. Both of these options are unpainted and you should be able to find whatever you’re looking for. If you just want best bang for your buck I would recommend pathfinder pawns they’re card stock minis and usually get a couple hundred for around $15-$40 depending on the set you get. Another option is to find board games that use minis like zombiecide or some of the d&d board games

Settlers of Catan is pretty fun!

You have a trading/strategy element, there are different ways you can win so everyone may have different goals, there are ways to harm opponents and form alliances. Depending on with whom you play, it's quite a great game!

In 2013, US dollars were exchanged to canadian dollars almost 1 to 1 (0.94). Today, a canadian dollar is worth 70 cents. So Troyes went up from 35 dollars to 45?

It was also highly anticipated reprint in the middle of a boom of interest in boardgaming we are having right now, so the first wave was sold at a high price. Looking at a UK pricetracker you can see both how anticipated it was before the reprint and how the price right now is far from stable, being 35 pounds in february and 60 right now.
Android netrunner, if anything, seems to have gone down in prices for the UK at least, and the UK and american amazon usually track each other pretty well. Castles from Burgundy is stable for the last five years, Jamaica is falling.

It seems like it's either a canadian problem or maybe you were really good at picking prices when they were low back in 2013 and now you are comparing them to randomly chosen prices now?

Look at the d&d adventure system board games. Legend of Drizzt is a good one. Here is the Amazon link https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0786958731/ref=psdcmw_166225011_t1_0786955708

Each game in the series has about 40 minis and often drop below $40. The games themselves aren't horrible. It's a great way to get a bunch cheaply.

Also, just ask to look at what he painted and be excited.

Edit: you're a good spouse! He'll appreciate your interest.

This.

It's essentially a peripheral cartridge (similar in that aspect and only that aspect to an action replay or gameshark) that you plug your game into. It allows you to save multiple files onto its hard drive, similar to if you were to save on an emulator. I must confess I don't know if time based events work well doing this, but it's a wonderful way to at the very least ensure that your game doesn't disappear.

I bought one of these D&D boardgames just for the minis....theres probably a cheaper option but I was happy with what I got. Able to make like 7 or 8 heroes and then some monsters. I think there are two other games very similar so you can check them out to see what they got and if it suits your needs.

http://smile.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Legend-Drizzt-Board/dp/0786958731/ref=pd_bxgy_21_img_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1VR6XPG41K5E1F2BCQ48

One Night Ultimate Werewolf. An outstanding party game. Minimum number of players is 3, but it's best played with 6-10. It takes a few minutes to teach everyone the rules, then each game takes about 15 minutes.

Big fan of Takaido and Pandemic. Don't know any others, but do you know of Splendor?

It's a ton of fun, love it personally.

If you're interested in getting your wife to try games, try something you can both play together cooperatively. I've had good luck with Forbidden Island which is an amazing game for its price. Basically, you're all (or both) running around an island that is gradually sinking into the sea, trying to recover the four legendary treasures and meet up back at the helicopter before the entire island sinks. Maybe move on to Forbidden Desert after a while, which is a little more complicated, or its even more complicated older brother, Pandemic.

Hey welcome back! What sports and teams do you enjoy following?

On my "Games" list is Splendor, which just dipped below $25 for Prime Day. We played it once at a friend's house and we'd love to add it to our little game collection.

a few good games you could start with are, King of Toyko , or Pandemic, or Catan, or Betrayal at House ont he hill.

There is also a great youtube channel called Tabletop run by Wil Wheaton that showcases a ton of games where you can watch them play and get a feel ahead of time if its a game you think you would be interested in. http://geekandsundry.com/shows/tabletop/

There are a variety of ways do even this. You can have a player be the cartographer and they have to draw the maps as you describe them (kind of a slow method for mapping). If you want to use dry erase, typically 1 inch squares, you can buy paper for it that's is laminated or you laminate, or, what I like, get some of those interlocking gridded tiles.

https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Erase-inch-Dungeon-Tiles/dp/B016H0TNFY it's a bit high in price but that's actually cheaper than what you'll find at a brick and mortar gaming store.

Or you can easily find maps online of the dungeons in LMoP (starter set campaign) and print them at a good scale (easiest way is to use Paint to print them, so you can say how many pages you want them to take up. Getting close to 1 inch squares is probably optimal.

Hexagons are actually really nice for measuring diagonally, but mapping is more difficult since the source maps are going to be using squares.

Guillotine

Its easy to learn how to play, a lot of fun, and a great game to play if you don't have much time.

Also, it comes with a cut out of a Guillotine, which is cool.. right?

Love Letter has a Batman skin which might get him excited.


Antoine Bauza (who made my favorite board game) designed an RPG intended for children. Your son is toward the higher range but it could be great place to start and get basic concepts. Little Wizards


He might be ready for the D&D board games, which are co-op dungeon crawls. - Dungeons & Dragons: The Legend of Drizzt Board Game for example. I think this was what you were picturing.

Quirkle has roots in Scrabble and Sequence. Is both easy and engaging for all ages, and has a surprising amount of depth and strategy.

Sushi Go is a card game where you collect points, but you pass your hand to the next player. Fun for all ages.

Thanks!

We'll probably have 3-6 people usually. On big nights we'll have 8-10 but at that point we'll just rotate people who will play while the others hang out.

Is this the base game?

I guess Catan on does 4 players at a time. So I saw this and I guess I have to pick it up for more people?

But apparently there are versions as well. The expansion says it only supports the 4th edition? lol. Getting confused at this point.

Sounds like a bittersweet week...here's hoping the ups outweigh the downs!

The 2nd CAH Expansion on my Main List would be awesome! Thanks!

This is what I use as well, and it works good. It doesn't stay perfectly flat, though. It tends to stick up in the middle a bit. If you spread it out and put a book on top of it for an hour or so before playing I'm sure it'd smarten it up, though.

The DM in the game I play in often uses modular tiles, kind of like these. They seem to work really well, and you can adjust the size based on the map you're drawing.