Media Mikes welcomes Bear Wolf to the fold. Enjoy!
Being the first review for the web site, I felt the best introduction would be one of an overall view of board games. One thing I absolutely love about board games: there are so, so many out there that we should be able to find something for everyone.
Starting out, almost everyone has heard about the new rage “Cards Against Humanity” sweeping game parties everywhere. While this game is wonderful to draw out the ‘Family Guy humor’ in all of us, there is a major problem with this game. The creators seem like they don’t like money in the fact that they will simply not allow any distributors access to their game. Therefore, the only two ways to get this game are from their own web site or sometimes Amazon.com, so it’s not always available. The game itself is really just a variation of “Apples to Apples,” but having played them both, I actually feel they are too limited in the fact that one can only use the cards in hand to answer. As a much more creative alternative, I strongly suggest a game called “Say Anything.” The game play is almost the same in that a question is asked, answers are given, and people are scored based on which question/answer combo is chosen. However, what makes “Say Anything” superior over the other two is that the players have whiteboards and dry erase markers, so they can give their own answers. Let me tell you, if you like the risqué and crude feel of “Cards Against Humanity,” this is far better. From experience, myself and a friend played this game with a couple ‘dancer’ friends of ours, and…well…let’s just say we had a blast.
A step beyond party games, I have two suggestions for games the whole family can play. “King of Tokyo” is most definitely a front runner. Lovingly nicknamed ‘Rampage: the Board Game’, it is quite literally “Yahtzee” with monsters. I have yet to play this game with someone who hasn’t loved it. By rolling the dice you can fight other monsters, make your monster stronger, heal from earlier damage or earn victory points. The winner is the first to 20 VP or the last monster standing; seriously awesome fun!! Another great family game with light strategy is Kill Dr. Lucky, quite literally “Clue’s” mirror image, where you are actually trying to get away with the murder instead of solving it. The game board itself even looks like “Clue,” and it even includes a version with the Doctor’s dog that is so cute he calms you down and your less likely to want to kill the poor doctor. Great fun!
For the midrange gamers, I find “Boss Monster” to be a blast. A fairly simple card game based on the old 16-bit dungeon crawl games, this is just a whole lotta fun. 2-4 players play boss monsters trying to lure adventures into their lairs in order to kill them. Who wouldn’t want to play this? For a cooperative experience that will test how well you can work together as a group, “Pandemic” is an outstanding game to play. With a look and feel similar to “Risk,” instead of fighting against each other to take over the world, you’re working together to save it. The most challenging part of the game…there is only one way to win, but four ways to lose! I can’t recommend this game strongly enough!
Join me next time when I do an overview of my top four games for the hardcore board gamers. Until then, have fun!
Bear Wolf operates the New Game in Town shops in Dekalb and Dixon, Illinois
Visit them at www.newgame-intown.com
