If you were to buy one game…

[Guerrilla Guy]

Alright, once a year for Christmas, I pick up a board game as a gift for myself, and last year I forgot to do so. I plan to pick one up this month, and I wonder what my fellow AaA members might suggest. I’m shooting for a $40 or less cost. I already have the following games which would be considered wargaming/German designed:

Axis and Allies Revised
Axis and Allies D-Day
Axis and Allies Battle of the Bulge
Memoir '44
Settlers of Catan + 5-6 player expansion
Seafarers of Catan + 5-6 player expansion
Cities and Knights + 5-6 player expansion
Domaine
Carcassonne
Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers
King and Scout Expansion
Traders and Builders
Inns and Cathedrals
Ticket to Ride
1910 Expansion
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico Expansion

Any suggestions welcome!

GG

P.S. yes, I know, I gravitate toward the “party games” quick OOB rule stuff. I gravitate toward the expansive rule set games, but trying to get people to play is challenging.

[CWO Marc]

I don’t know what it’s selling for these days, but you might want to consider Fire & Axe: A Viking Saga (2004), described here:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12495/fire-axe-a-viking-saga

The board looks good (even though the geography is problematic; the river systems of central Europe are enormously magnified, to the point where western and eastern Europe look like separate continents) and the sculpts are very nice.  I’ve never actually played the game according its OOB rules; instead, I’ve created my own rules and I use them in conjunction with a big container of fake treasure (plastic gold and silver and bronze coins; plastic gemstones and jewelry) that I’ve assembled to use as the loot you get when you successfully conquer a city.

[poloplayer15]

i like ticket to ride. its a good, simple, fun game to play that also doesn’t take hours to play. another really fun and fast and simple game is called cover your assets. its fast paced and tons of fun, i highly recommend both games.

[ABWorsham4]

We have had loads of fun playing Apples to Apples and Loaded Question. Both games will have a group laughing very quickly.

[Gargantua]

Traitors!  This is Heresy!

Clearly -REVISED- is the only valid option!

[Guerrilla Guy]

FYI, that list is the games I ALREADY have.  :mrgreen:

GG

[Gargantua]

Oh…

Right.

Well then - I would ARGUE with yourself and your wife that Europe 1940 and Pacific 1940 are really one game. :) Then spend the $160ish to get both! Thus - for the purchase of “one game” this year - you get THREE!

:)

[wheatbeer]

Carcassonne is very fun, works for a variety of player numbers, and can be fun for both a hardcore strategist and a casual gamer. Most expansions are good too. The only caveat is that the rules are harder to learn.

Ticket to ride is also a solid choice. More casual oriented, but still enough strategy to keep less casual gamers happy. However, it is really meant for 3 or more players. 1 on 1, it’s less fun. But if you have people to play, and more casual people, it could be better than Carcassonne. Also, I recommend Ticket to Ride: Europe + the 1912 expansion instead of the Ticket to Ride (set in America) + the 1910 expansion.

[Gargantua]

SPACE ALERT

looks really cool…

[Guerrilla Guy]

I settled on Dominion, seems like a great option for the people I am stuck with playing. :)

I’m curious about Twilight Struggle, which is the top game on BGG. Has anyone played it? Why is it so revered? Seems like another drawn-out chit and counter game from the late-80’s.

GG

[Jermofoot]

I like Ticket to Ride for it’s simplicity, although I prefer Europe because it’s more cutthroat and slightly more complex.  Puerto Rico is good too.  On a Board Game of Thrones kick, it’s pretty awesome.  Dominion is a great choice and games can go pretty quickly, and changed up for variety.

@ABWorsham:

We have had loads of fun playing Apples to Apples and Loaded Question. Both games will have a group laughing very quickly.

Both are inferior to Cards Against Humanity, even though I like those two.

And you can get CAH humanity for free by printing out the source materials directly from the maker’s website.

[Imperious Leader]

Ticket to Die: Europe 1943 Edition…

Avoid allied Bombers or shoot them down with armored trains. Move rolling stock to the eastern front and support the Fatherland. Great game concept!

[Guerrilla Guy]

@Imperious:

Ticket to Die: Europe 1943 Edition…

Avoid allied Bombers or shoot them down with armored trains. Move rolling stock to the eastern front and support the Fatherland. Great game concept!

If you design it, I’ll buy it!

GG

[Linkon]

About a decade ago, I purchased a bargain bin CD ROM for Sid Meier’s Windows Civilization  and Colonization (DOS)

$10 from one of those office stores then .

I replayed both a gazillion times on 2 sequential PC’s.

It was hard enough to get a group together as a single…
Even harder now that I am married. 
Most of the get together folks I hung out with now have kids, and even less time for such a game gatherings anymore.
After work, I can play a solo game on my PC for a while, save it , and then get back to my chores.

Not sure why you would limit yourself to just board games that would need other folks to match your schedule.