La Vida Es Un Huego

[mamculuna]

I seem to have become a board game geek of a minor, introductory sort. (There's probably a name for that.) Playing games seems to be a gene in my family--it mostly ran to bridge and poker in earlier generations, and Monopoly when we were kids. But my sister and I each had two sons who're now between 30 and 38, just coming of age when D&D, etc., got popular. I played Risk with them as kids, but for years just occasionally heard mumblings about their game get-togethers without participating (still thinking of them as kid games, or male-bonding events). Lately, though, as partners/wives/girlfriends have joined the pack, the generational divide has been breached, and we older ladies have taken a place at the table. Risk is still something they do--we've played with them a few times. But I tend to like some of the others. Dominion and Catan, and all their expansions, have been favorites, and now we've moved on to Arkham Horror (also with some expansions).

I like the games that are really complex, especially the cooperative ones, but I'm beginning to think I'd like to try Diplomacy. Seems to call for a big group, though, even to learn, and that's hard to organize. I like to play the first couple of times with a small group and then jump into the deep water.

We don't have a house that can hold the whole family now, so it's always just part of us (though very occasionally all the guys and their SO's still gather from the four corners of the world). We usually play at the beach or my sister's house in the mountains, sometimes having several games set up so there's no place to eat...the best times are the ones that go late into a summer night, sipping away on rum and tonic and listening to the cicadas and the surf through open doors and windows.

Maybe we really love playing because we're dragged away from computers and TV's and phones and actually spending most of our time having fun with each other.

Comments

[cactuswatcher.livejournal.com]

Some of my best memories are of my father playing cards. He'd normally never play games, but sometimes a guest would talk him into playing cards with the whole group and we'd all have such a great time.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

What a great memory. We can rarely get the older men to play, unless it's poker. My father was a devil at penny-ante poker and checkers, and I have great memories of playing with him, too.

[usedtobeljs]

That sounds really cool. :-)

Happy Sunday, and a week ahead with games!

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Thanks, and hope you'll be a winner all week long!

[missprune.livejournal.com]

diplomacy can be a very cut-throat game! The first and only time I played it, I was shocked almost to tears of rage when my supposed "ally" betrayed me. It's all part of the game, but I was somehow... unprepared! The moment lives on in family lore, and it wasn't pretty. :o)

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm very ready for betrayal. There's only one of us who takes the games personally and it's not me. Just wonder if I could be sneakier than they are...

[marinatempest.livejournal.com]

I grew up playing board games with my family, too. We still really love to play. They just got back on vacation with friends where they brought an entire suitcase just for games. I called them when they got back and my mom wouldn't talk to me because she was too tired from staying up all night playing games the night before they left! LOL!

If you like Catan, you might like Carcassonne. Alhambra is also one of my favorites.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

I will definitely look into Carcassonne and Alhambra. I've heard of them, but haven't tried them. Suspect my nephew has, though--he seems to have every game there is.

[midnightsjane.livejournal.com]

One of my favourite board games is Scrabble. My BFF Jeannie and I play whenever we get together..sadly, not often nowadays. I usually get my butt kicked.
I'm really good at Trivial Pursuit, mostly because I have a head full of useless bits of knowledge. ;P

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Oh, I do love Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit. I always have a couple of online Scrabble games going, and play with my sister in person sometimes, too. We do really well with classic Trivial Pursuit, but the latest edition has too many questions about singing groups from the 90's, not a period I know well enough! I like Bananagrams too--sort of like Scrabble, but much faster to play.

[anneth.livejournal.com]

My friends and I are gamers (D&D) and have regular sessions on weekends, but we also have impromptu game-nights with more regular board games, about once a month. They make for a really fun evening. Far and away the best interactive, cooperative game my friends and I play is the Battlestar Galactica game. Really! I don't even like BSG, but the game is wonderful fun. It's incredibly complicated, but once you get the hang of it, it runs smoothly and is incredibly fun. One or two players are Cylons, working against the rest of the players in secret. I really can't recommend it highly enough. Four to six players work well, and you can add more if you buy the expansion packs.

We also love the Cthuluhu board game, Arkham Horror - again, you don't need to be a Lovecraft fan to enjoy it - but it's even harder than BSG, and you're less likely to win. There's a Lord of the Rings board game by Hasboro and Parker that's a little more straightforward, but almost impossible to win. (I swear, it's really fun to know you're probably going to lose!)

We also play a game called Munchkin, which is a cute card-based riff on the D&D setup. You don't need to know anything about D&D to play and enjoy Munchkin, and there are few limits on the number of players you can include (though you need at least three to start).

My husband and I play rummy pretty constantly, and he and my mom and I play three man euchre whenever we're together. His family's game is dominoes, which they play compulsively. Games! Fun times!

(Sorry; long and rambling post with no real point!)

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Actually, we've really been into Arkham Horror and have played it almost constantly the last couple of times we've gotten together. It seems to work OK with two players, if you each run two investigators.. I haven't tried the BSG game--but it sounds like something we'd love. And Munchkin! Will look into those two.

Back in college we used to play every card game you can think up, with a bridge table always going although the players revolved.

No point is the point when it comes to games! Thanks!

[siro-gravity.livejournal.com]

i LOVE games!!! my whole family loves games! i have wanted to learn bridge all my adult life, but there is never anyone my age who plays!

every week my friend levi comes over and we eat and play "scopa" -an italian card game.

omg, i will have to google "dominion" and "cataan"...or is it "dominion and cataan" and "arkham horror"

if you're wanting to get away from the computer, then World of Warcraft style games will not be your cup of tea, but my sister is totally addicted!

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Scopa sounds really fascinating--and the cards remind me of tarot decks. I'll have to try that.

Dominion and Catan are separate games, and they're fun. It takes a good bit of work to figure out how to play Arkham Horror--have to say it has one of the worst manuals I've seen. But it's really fund once you've done it a couple of times.