It's a wrong answer, bro.

It's an honest one.

Zombies is a good one. Fun!

I used to host a board game night every weekend with my girlfriend of the time and a few friends. Every week we'd cycle through my prodigious quantity of them from my first job at a RPG/Comic store where I got paid in store credit.

The games we settled on playing consistently were : Space Hulk, Warhammer Quest, and Hero Quest.

Warhammer Quest was the fan favorite. Everyone loved that one with the powerup item cards they got each battle. The potential for the wizard to botch the round with a roll of a 1 or the Barbarian potentially going berserk made the players laugh or groan enough for them to have an emotional connection to the game.

Space Hulk was.... interesting. Pretty much everyone dies the majority of the time. I found that most people don't like something so hard that they fail as the rule, not the exception. Though, a jammed gun finally becoming unjammed and mowing down a horde of Genestealers did generate some of the most emotionally emphatic moments.

Hero Quest was my personal favorite. Gritty no-bias tactical combat. But the lack of powerup items during each level left less enthusiasm for it during the session. I ended up modifying the rules so characters would level-up which did amp up the enthusiasm a bit.

That was then, this is now. I find the people willing to play them has definitely diminished with the advent of life-vampire MMORPG's. People would rather not make a social night of it and only the most geek-friendly will even consider them. I recently attempted unsuccessfully to get a group of friends to play them, but one guy is a trendy-gamer, so no-go with him. My friend's wife also declined because "games are a waste of time" (she spends a good portion of it on Facebook in stroke of irony). Which leaves just me and my one friend, which just isn't the same as playing with a group.

So, in short, if you can find people who are willing to just make a fun social night of it, have a few beers and snacks, and partake of a game not connected to a screen, then I wholeheartedly recommend them. They can add a sense of structure by having a regular night of it that people tend to look forward to. But, if you don't know these sorts who won't drag their feet and are willing to just do it for the fun of it, then it's going to be tough-going.

Personally, I'd love to host a board game night again, but finding a group receptive to it now that I'm in my 30's and a lot of my friends have kids has not been fruitful.

If you're looking for a recommendation for a game, I give the game Ogre by Steve Jackson my vote.

Just wanted to report me and my gf really, really love Thunderstone. We're kinda addicted to it now. Gotta save money for Advance, since it's not avaible in Poland, it's gonna cost quite.

We have thunderstone. It IS a lot o fun :D

I've been making a very, very long list of board games of all sorts. It needs some edits and some categories overlap, but if anyone want's to check out my list here is a small segment:

Games we Own:
1) Last Night on Earth
2) Fortune and Glory
3) Antler Island
4) Shear Panic
5) Twilight Imperium
6) Alien Frontier
7) Zombie Fluxx; Python Fluxx
8) Munchkins Deluxe;Zombie;Guild
9) Apples to Apples
10) Scattergories
11) Pictionary
12) Taboo
13) Smallword
14) Doctor Who Scene It
15) Descent 1st Edition; Ice expansion; Sea expansion
16) World of Warcraft Board Game; expansions
17) Clue, classic
18) Life, classic
19) Super Dungeon Explore
20) Relic Knights
21) Tentacle Bento
22) Tanto Cuore; Expanding the House; Romantic Vacation
23) Kanzume Goddess
24) Runebound 2nd Edition; Ice expansion
25) Zombie Dice
26) Cthulu Dice
27) Dr Who 50th Yahtzee
28) Dr Who Monopoly; WoW Monopoly; LotR monopoly
29) Zombies!!! Directors Cut, 2nd Edition
30) Pandemic 1st Edition
31) Metal Gear Solid Risk; LotR Risk
32) War of the Ring 2nd Edition
33) Miskatonic School for Girls
34) Doctor Who Card Game
35) Arkham Horror
36) Elder Sign
37) Thunderstone
38) Uno
39) Through the Ages
40) Forbidden Island
41) Ikusa
42) Merchants and Marauders
43) Doctor Who Battle to Save the Universe
44) Doctor Who The Time Wars
45) Bonanza
46) Oceania
47) Magic the Gathering
48) Sailor Moon CCG
49) Inuyasha CCG
50) Ghost Stories
51) Oltre Mare
52) Go
53) Castle Panic
54) Tsuro
55) Rook
56) Gloom
57) Axis & Allies
58) Jenga
59) Yahtzee Hands Down
60) Star Trek CCG
61) Chess
62) Regular cards
63) Serpents Tongue



Top To-Get List:
1) Twilight Imperium: Shards of the Throne
2) Runewars
3) Cosmic Encounter
4) Krosmaster Arena
5) Zombicide
6) Zpocalypse
7) A Touch of Evil; Expansions
8) Martian Dice
9) Loot!
10) Bang!
11) No Thanks!
12) Say Anything
13) Wits & Wagers Family
14) Chez Geek
15) Munchkins Quest
16) Munchkins Expansions
17) Galactic Emperor
18) Empires of the Void
19) Ad Astra
20) Eminent Domain
21) Android
22) Android Netrunner
23) Star Wars The Card Game
24) Star Trek Deck Building Game; TOS; TNG
25) Takenoko
26) Edo
27) Zong Shi
28) Merchants of Venus
29) Settlers of Catan
30) Carcassonne
31) Dominion
32) Lost Cities
33) Ticket to Ride
34) Eclipse
35) Pass the Bomb
36) Smart Ass
37) Cash & Guns; Yakuza
38) Caylus
39) Pandemic Expansion: On the Brink
40) Last Night on earth Expansions
41) Pirate Dice
42) Yahtzee: Pirates of the Caribbean
43) Mage Wars
44) Mage Knight
45) Summoner Wars
46) Ascencion
47) Cyclades
48) Yggdrazzil
49) Werewolf of Millers Hollow
50) Killer Bunnies
51) Chibi Dungeon Adventurer’s
52) Risk 2210; Risk Legacy; Starcraft Risk; Risk Halo; Risk Classic; Risk 1950’s
53) Battleship Galaxies
54) Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Game
55) Libertalia
56) Robinson Crusoe
57) Exodus Proxima Centauri
58) Escape
59) Mr. Jack
60) Fury of Dracula
61) Betrayal at House on the Hill
62) Mansion of Madness
63) Stone Age
64) Power Grid
65) Ora et Labora
66) Seasons
67) Agricola
68) Timeline
69) Galaxy Trucker
70) Back to the Future Card Game
71) Lord of the Rings Card Game
72) Tales of the Arabian Nights
73) Dixit
74) Sabatuer
75) Smallworld Underground
76) Smallworld Realms
77) Divinaire
78) Sky Traders
79) 011
80) Resident Evil Deck Building Game
81) Talisman
82) Defenders of the Realm
83) Earth Reborn
84) Claustrophobia
85) Conquest of Norrath
86) Legend of Drizzt
87) Wrath of Ashardalon
88) Lords of Waterdeep
89) Castle Ravenloft
90) Ravensburger Scotland Yard
91) Shadows over Camelot
92) Battlestar Galactica
93) The Adventurers The Pyramid of Horus
94) Quarriors
95) Quibbler
96) Ingenious
97) Kingsburg
98) Cthulhu Gloom
99) Cthulhu Munchkins
100) Cthulhu Card Game
101) Kingsburg
102) 7 Wonders
103) Civilization Board Game; Fame and Fortune Expansion
104) Rune Age
105) Nexus Ops
106) REX
107) Roborally
108) Through the Desert
109) A Game of Thrones Board Game
110) The Hobbit Board Game
111) King of Tokyo
112) Thurn and Taxis
113) The Castles of Burgundy
114) Citadels
115) Jambo
116) Lost Cities Board Game
117) El Dorado
118) El Havre
119) For Sale
120) Tichu
121) Alhambra (Big Box)
122) Resistence; Resistence Avalon
123) Mice and Mystics
124) Twilight Struggle
125) Smash Up
126) Tsuro of the Seas
127) Legend of Andor
128) Storm Hollow
129) Wiz-War
130) Fresco
131) Jaipur
132) Race for the Galaxy
133) Kingdom Builder
134) Innovation
135) Airlines Europe
136) Coloretto; Zooleretto
137) Tzolk’In The Mayan Calendar
138) Viticulture
139) Fleet
140) The Road to Canterbury
141) Space Cadets
142) Hey That’s My Fish! Deluxe
143) Core Worlds
144) Space Alert
145) Stronghold
146) Haggis
147) Loot!
148) Guillotine
149) Sleeping Queens
150) Zeus on the Loose
151) Frog Juice
152) Are You a Werewolf
153) Infiltration
154) Incan Gold
155) Flash Point
156) Times Up
157) Charades
158) Reverse Charades
159) Creationary
160) Onirim
161) Star Fluxx; Stoner Fluxx; Family Fluxx; Martian Fluxx; Cthulhu Fluxx
162) Ultimate Werewolf
163) Gubs
164) Chrononauts
165) Quiddler
166) Rory’s Story Cubes
167) Anomia
168) The Box of Things
169) Get Bit!; Get Bit! Deluxe Pirates
170) Regular Cards; Zombie Survival; Bicycle Zombie; Bicycle Cthulhu; Bicycle Alchemy; Bicycle Steampunk; Bicycle Dragon
171) Tikal
172) Ninjato
173) Tokaido
174) Edo
175) Trajan
176) Blokus
177) Hive
178) Scrabble
179) Star Trek Contiuum Monopoly; Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly; Goldenopoly; Christmas Opoly
180) Killer Doctor Lucky
181) Save Doctor Lucky
182) Nuns on the Run
183) Red Dragon Inn
184) Give Me The Brain
185) Cutthroat Caverns
186) Phase 10
187) The Original Wizard
188) Five Crowns
189) Rummikub
190) Farkel Party Game
191) Trivial Pursuit Card Game
192) Appletters
193) Banagrams
194) Pairs in Pears
195) Likewise
196) Boxers or Briefs
197) Pirates Cove
198) Stratego
199) Balderdash
200) Backgammon
201) Mahjong
202) Crokinole
203) Memoir ‘44
204) Dust Tactics
205) Diplomacy
206) Acquire
207) I’m the Boss!
208) Tammany Hall
209) Atlantis Rising
210) Nightfall
211) Troyes
212) Glory to Rome
213) Legend of the Five Rings Board Games(s):
214) Belfort
215) Mystery of the Abbey
216) Chinatown
217) Poseidon
218) Ravensburger Mister X
219) Ravensburger Enchanted Forest
220) Ravensburger Labyrinth
221) 221 B Baker Street The Master Detective Game
222) Cranium
223) Mad Gab
224) Fact or Crab
225) Spot It
226) Telestrations
227) In the Year of the Dragon
228) The Prince of Florence
229) Taj Mahal
230) Age of Steam
231) Brass
232) City of Thieves
233) Gears of War Board Game
234) Chaos in the Old World
235) Red November
236) Age of Conan
237) Blood Bowl Team Manager
238) Dungeonquest
239) Heroquest
240) City of Horror Board Game
241) Dungeonrun
242) Luna: In the Domain of the Moon Priestess
243) Niagara
244) Notre Dame
245) Ginkgopolis
246) Clash of Cultures
247) Hawaii
248) At The Gates of Loyang
249) Macao
250) Glen More
251) St. Petersburg
252) Navegador
253) London
254) Dr. Who 50th Anniversary DVD Board Game
255) Shadow Hunters
256) Horus Heresy
257) Starcraft Board Game; Brood War
258) Middle-Earth Quest
259) Warhammer Invasion
260) Star Wars X-Wing Mini Game
261) Star Trek Mini Game
262) Fortress America
263) Sentinels of the Multiverse
264) Legendary Marvel
265) DC Comics Deck Building Game
266) Tobago
267) Treasure Chest
268) Modern Art
269) St. Petersburg
270) At the Gates of Loyang
271) Samurai
272) Shogun
273) Dominant Species
274) Asara
275) Hacienda
276) Dungeon Lords
277) Planet Steam
278) Cards Against Humanity

We're avid gamers. We love variety. We love any and every genre. We have a sense of humor, but like to get down and serious sometimes. There's a game for every type of person (or in our case, just our gaming mood at the time), and there's a game that fits our budget, always.

I'll just be glad when I hit 100 games! Getting closer!

Now if only we had a gaming group for tabletop games in central New Hampshire that actually had a flexible schedule :(

Just a heads up, but Warhammer Quest has just launched as an app a couple of days back; I've been playing it on my ipad and it's really good! Though the wizard does love to roll nothing rather a lot for the winds of magic and allow an ambush, so many times now!!! It's good though :)

That's awesome, man. Always happy to see another join the cult...ERRRR...fold of happy board gamers. :)

"You were my sheriff? Err, whoops!" - Deputy Tom "Butterfingers" Jones

Yup, Bang is a hoot as long as you can find enough people to play with. The more the merrier.
Love Shear Panic. Without its silly premise it wouldn't be half as fun though. Those playing pieces are great. Actually bought a copy of it from Mayfair as soon as it came available.

As for the latter, it's one of my all-time favorites and also one of the very first board games I ever owned (though I'm in possession of a newer print now). Such a simple game, yet so much fun. :)

Settlers of Catan - 4 palyers. Aside from computer games (ofc) best fun you can have. Very Civ-like, it has it all: randomness, strategy, luck and most importantly "screw your neighbor" opportunity. Lots of fun, lots of unnecessary swearing and I hear the expansions of the base game are cool too (haven't tried though).

ok i promised to update a smidge. Think this is the one my buddy had in mind (but not fully sure!). see previous posts if your confused :D and really really want to know what on earth im on about

Just tried the Battlestar Galactica boardgame for the first time last night. I wasn't much of a fan of the show, but to my great surprise, the game was quite solid and enjoyable - tense "the game versus the players" cooperation with a good traitor mechanic to spice things up. I'll have to play it a few more times to see how it holds up to repeated play, but our first game had a quality that I tend to take as a good sign in this sort of game: both sides constantly felt like their position was desperate.

I know it's Kotaku, but here's an interesting article why board games are often better than video games in some areas:

http://kotaku.com/video-games-obsession-with-winning-is-killing-them-511624286

and I pretty much agree! When I go to play board games with my friends, I loose more often than win, and I have the biggest fun ever. Board games for me are never about winning and loosing isn't a problem at all.

I was watching Tabltop the other day ...and was wondering : 'Damn I'd love to watch 6 of these people playing Dune' .... and then reality poked his finger inmy consciousness : Do non-french speaking people have any form of access to Descartes/Asmodée boardgames ? (Dune, Maharadjah, Black Beard ...)

If you never heard of Dune (the boardgame of course) it's one of the 2 games I know that is really complex without letting luck have much place in it (the other being 'Full Metal Planet'). Making games without dice rolls is an amazing feature in my opinion.

I should go dig more info on the web...