Last weekend, the guys played Axis and Allies, so instead of playing I sat on the couch and read. I don't play A & A. I don't enjoy the game and they never seem to play all the way to the end which would just annoy me. And it takes forever. We had been talking about playing Race for the Galaxy with takeovers, but then Amber ended up going to Texas for the weekend, which meant it was perfect for a looong game instead.
We play Race for the Galaxy a lot, with all the expansions including the latest, The Brink Of War. I enjoy the game. It's a card-based game where you basically build a galactic civilization using game cards that are worlds or social advances or technological developments. The third expansion started takeovers. You could conquer other players military planets with your military. We tried it like twice, and that's it. It was confusing and kind of boring for...
Dominion: Prosperity
Designers: Donald X Vaccarino
Manufacturer: Rio Grande Games
Year: 2010
Time: 20 - 30 minutes
Ages: 8 and up
First you need to know this is an expansion. You need to have either he original Dominion or Dominion: Intrigue to play, if only for the treasure and victory cards. Second thing I need to tell you is that I really like Dominion a lot, so it's really no surprise that I enjoy this addition. Dominion, is probably one of my favorite games.
Here's the blurb for this one.
Ah, money. There's nothing like the sound of coins clinking in your hands. You vastly prefer it to the sound of coins clinking in someone else's hands, or the sound of coins just sitting there in a pile that no-one can quite reach without getting up. Getting up, that's all behind you now. Life has been good to you. Just ten years ago, you were...
The Great Dalmuti
Designers: Richard Garfield
Manufacturer: 1995
Players: 4 - 8
Time: 15 minutes
Ages: 8 and up
We tend to go on rolls with the games we play. We'll play a game a bunch of times over a month or two and then put it away for weeks on end only to pull it out again and play several weeks in a row. Lately we've been playing The Great Dalmuti a lot. It's quick, fun, a lot of people can play, and there's no score-keeping involved. Of course, we've been playing it as a group since probably about 1995, if that's not replayability I don't know what is. (Yes, I know I made up that word, but it fits.)
Here's the blurb, since it explains the game better than I could.
Life isn't fair... and neither is The Great Dalmuti! One round you're at the top of the heap, and the next you're peasant scum in this fast-paced card...
Apples to Apples
Designers: Matthew Kirby, Mark Alan Osterhaus
Manufacturer: Mattel
Artist: John Kovalic
Year: 2008
Players: 4 - 10
Time: 20 - 30 minutes
Ages: 12 and up
As I was looking through the list of games I've talked about, I realized that I've never mentioned Apples to Apples. It's probably because I have kind of a love/hate relationship with the game.
It's a great game when you have a bunch of people. It consists of two decks of cards, Things/People and Descriptions. Each turn, the current referee draws a Description from the face-down deck and players try to quickly pick, from the cards in their hands, the Things that best match that Description. We actually play that the slowest player doesn't get to submit a Thing that round. Players get to argue for the cards of their choice, then he referee chooses the Thing that appeals most and awards the card to the player who played it....
Dominion: Seaside
Designer: Donald X. Vaccarion
Manufacturer: Rio Grande Games
Year: 2009
Players 2-4
Time: 20-30 minutes
Ages: 10 and up
I've talked about Dominion a couple of times before, both the original and Intrigue. It's one of the games we play on a regular basis, but we've finally played the new Seaside expansion a few times. I think it's as good as the other two, although this one is a true expansion. It does not come with any treasure, victory or curse cards, so you must have one of the other editions.
From Rio Grande Games:
All you ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by. And someone who knows how to steer ships using stars. You finally got some of those rivers you'd wanted, and they led to the sea. These are dangerous, pirate-infested waters, and you cautiously send rat-infested ships across them, to establish lucrative trade at far-off merchant-infested ports. First, you...
Cranium Super Showdown
Publisher: Cranium, Inc.
Year Published: 2006
# of Players: 4-6
Playing Time: 20 minutes
Suggested Age: 8 and up
I tend to like Cranium's games, and this is another good one. It a funny, goofy game perfect for families. It gets everyone thinking in illogically logical ways.
You use cards in your hand to pick wacky challengers to take on crazy contests, like monster truck rallies and bubble-gum bubble blowing. Who would win a pie-eating contest: a monkey with backup dancers or a pirate on a pogo stick? Everyone gets to state their case and the judge decides who would win. The person(s) whose character wins earns coins for that round, and everyone gets a chance to be the judge.
It sounds silly but it really is a blast. We've even played without keeping score, just to see what silly combinations end up being the best at the contests. Or who can come up with the most creative explanations that are still reasonable in a...