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…and card, dice, dexterity, puzzle, word, and party(/social) games
(I think that about covers it).
(As usual, the mention of a game is not a recommendation.)
I’m thinking of making a thread in which I recommend games
to check out, and I’ve got a few questions for you nice people.
You don’t have to answer all of them (or any of them, for that matter).
Would you be interested in such a thread?
Are you likely to be playing with people of varying ages
(probably children), or with people close in age?
Are you likely to be playing with one other person,
with a few people, or with more than a few people?
What price would you consider cheap for a game?
What price would you consider too high for a game?
What themes (what a game is about) would be interesting to you
or to those you would be playing with? (For example, science fiction,
historic (ancient or recent), the old west, war, a specific war, specific pop-culture things (based on a book/movie/video game/etc.),
trains (so many!), horror(/zombies/Cthulhu), farming, industry, fantasy, civil services (police/fire/medical), politics, crime, pirates, racing, espionage, animals,planes, sports, that’s way
too many examples, just stop already, okay, fine.)
What content would make a game inappropriate as far as you’re concerned?
(Lookng at the last question, you can probably see why I have to ask.)
Would you be willing to lie in a game?
(This matters for negotiation or bluffing games.)
How mean is too mean for a “take that” game
(games like Sorry!/UNO/Mille Bornes, in which players usually
work toward a goal while doing things to chosen other players
to stop them from winning)?
How much mathiness is too much?
How complicated is too complicated, and how simple is too simple?
Which sounds more appealing – all strategy, all luck,
more strategy, or more luck?
Do games in which you must be creative on the spot sound like a bad idea?
Would you be more interested in games in which the players compete for more points or to reach a goal first, or games in
which the players must directly attack other players to win?
(Settlers of Catan – competitive / Risk – confrontational)
How long do you want games to be – what’s usually too long?
(Games that are really short are meant to be played multiple times.)
What are some games you enjoy already, and can you point out
anything in particular about those games or the experience of
playing them that you enjoy?
Would you be interested in:
Co-operative games (the players play together against the game)?
Solitaire games (for 1 player)? (Many co-ops can also be played solo.)
Dexterity games (games that rely on physical speed or skill)?
Party/social games, which are often less involved and/or
more about the players than the game elements (example: Apples to Apples)?
Word games (games which the player with the best vocabulary often wins)?
(Let the silence resound… Maybe just until the kids come back.)
“What are some games you enjoy already, and can you point out
anything in particular about those games or the experience of
playing them that you enjoy?”
I love backgammon, people think since its a dice game its mostly luck this is false there is a great deal of strategy involved, I play rather aggressively taking off many pieces while risking having pieces open i like the one on one aspect and for good or bad I am extremely competitive I do not like being one upped it spurs me to try harder.
TOO MANY QUESTIONS!
In the past decade, the world has seen a kind of renaissance of board games. The world has long moved past Monopoly and Stratego and standard entertainment fare. There are literally hundreds of new games coming out every year for every type of person in every conceivable genre. It would take me hours to even begin answering your questions, there’s just so many factors that go into it.
I’ve seen the frum oilem only partially embrace it (Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan are somewhat popular in heimishe homes) which is surprising considering that the content of most of these games is rather benign by moral standards and very few have any issues in regards to Shabbos. What annoys me the most is the frum publishing companies that make their own games just slap a few extra themes (“reskins”) on boring old existing titles like Candy Land when there’s so much potential for so much more. Seriously people, look up your local tabletop game store (yes, such a thing exists) and ask for a recommendation. Barring that, head out to Barnes and Noble and ask them.
I like games that are short (30-60 minutes), don’t involve too much luck, and can be played with 2-4 people. Right now my family is really enjoying Forbidden Island which is a co-operative game where everyone has to work together to collect treasures on an island before the water rises too high.
I have a few others on my “I want to play” list. There’s Hanabi, a co-operative game where everyone can see each others cards, but not their own, and have to tell the other players what they have in their hands, but the rules prevent giving away too much information.
Then there’s Sabotuer, which works in large groups. Everyone works together to dig for the treasure, except for one or two people who have to prevent the others from finding it. And no one knows who they are, so it often devolves into a shouting match of accusations and counter accusations.
i love scotland yard. very good family game.
never play battleship against me, who ever heard of boats not moving when shot at?
never play battleship against me, who ever heard of boats not moving when shot at?
Years ago, when my youngest was, well, young, she played Battleship with a friend of ours who came for a Shabbat meal. At some point, he said that her ship setup was impossible, because he had no more places to try. It turned out that she had been moving her ships around throughout the game.
She’s now 19, and we still remind her about that from time to time.
this idea that games have to be a certain way is ridiculous we should all play different games as for which game you play that is your decision
While you’re right in some cases, I don’t think backgammon is
one of them. Although how you play does matter, for two players
with equal levels of knowledge, it comes down to luck.
True, luck can turn any game of backgammon — but that’s why you play a match and not just a single game. (Plus, the doubling cube adds quite a bit of non-luck-based strategy).
If the two players are truly equal players, then, over the long haul, they’ll each win about 50% of the matches they play, which is how it should be. If not, the skill of one will definitely that percentage over 50%.
The Wolf
Glad to see that there are now games that are not competitive, and don’t involve handling fake money on Shabbos. I grew up playing chess, but gradually drifted away from it because I don’t have that killer instinct to win and I hate to lose. Maybe I should look up Settlers of Catan. We also played Monopoly, which was sort of crass, but what we really played were card games, usually variations on rummy. Even the littlest ones could play, because an older kid would help them out. Board and card games can be very inclusive for the whole family or crowd if people aim to enjoy the game, not just be the one to win.
Rummikub. Only, always, forever.
Ya, I’m a shtikkel fan.
Competitive games don’t lead to happy groups. Someone has to lose, and they’re not happy about it. And since no one wants to lose there can be arguments, hard feelings, and generally not a good feeling to take away from the gathering. Anyway, in real life we cooperate far more than we compete, so we have more skills for the game.
So what you’re saying is that cooperative games are good if you’re a group of sore losers?
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