Games without frontiers...

cooker girl — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:33:03 -0800

What games out there are similar to Settlers of Catan? My 12-year-old son absolutely loves Settlers of Catan. He's hooked the rest of us, too (two parents, one nine-year-old sister). This question solves the "what next" problem quite nicely, but I'm wondering if there are other Catan-like games we'd enjoy playing. They don't have to be limited to 4 players; we often have various friends over who also like to play.

The nine-year-old is pretty smart and likes strategy games but if things tend to go on and on and on and on she gets bored. We're not looking for card games, so Fluxx is out for the moment. Oh, one more thing: my son already has HeroScape but 50% of us don't care for it. So perhaps nothing that's battle-centric.

We grow tired of Risk, but are always up for a risk.

MaHaGoN — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:30:06 -0800

What board game would my friends and I enjoy next? Now, forewarning, I have done a lot of research on this and am just unable to come up with a decision. I have done quite a few mefi searches as well, which pointed me in different directions but never really answered this hankering question, as it is quite specific.

My friends enjoy coming together around a good board game. We love the player interaction and strategy they can bring that other games and activities cannot. The problem is we have played the heck out of Risk, and all the various types of Risk (including the Star Wars Risks, etc etc) We want a new game, but being a college student my money is low, even though my desire to play something new is high.

I have looked into a few games, including Settlers of Catan, Tigris and Euphrates, and Puerto Rico. I know quite a bit about the rules, and ideas of how play would go, but.. I dont know if they really fit my ideal game that I want to look into next. I have been spending a lot of time on boardgamegeek.com searching around, but I still can't find enough information to decide.

We love the player interaction and strategy of Risk. Secret alliances, well known alliances, troop placement and fortification, its all great and it makes for a very thought provoking night. We hate (or love depending on your side of the luck) how much dice comes into play. You could out-place, out-think, and out-play everyone but lose because of a string of bad luck. This often leads to a lot of hostility in the group at the end of the night, even though we meant to just come together for a fun time.

The game I want can have a luck based part to it, as long as it only alters gameplay, or can be overcome by strategy. Also, we like being against each other, and being able to have alliances, as in a military styl games would probably be a plus, but is not necessary as long as it has player interaction and negotiations of sorts.

So please Hive Mind, help me find my friends and I a new board game. New recommendations beyond what I have already mentioned are welcome, as long as they fit what we want. Thanks :)

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Games without frontiers...

We grow tired of Risk, but are always up for a risk.