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Nathalie and I once decided to ramp up our geeky behaviour to 11 by playing games in thematically apposite locations. We played ‘Carcassonne’ in Carcassonne, ‘No Thanks’ in Birmingham, ‘Lost Cities’ in Croydon and ‘Survive’ in Glasgow, whereupon we knocked it on the head. Some hobbies are just too dangerous! But finding those old photies recently reminded me of how great those games are. This collection of 10 pre-millennium family friendly titles are all “bangers”!
Survive: Escape from Atlantis
“Dah da!.....dah da!.. da da da da da da da da.....”. Someone, in a thick Irish accent, quotes Quint from ‘Jaws’, “Y’know the thing about a shark, he’s got...lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll’s eyes...”. You are playing Survive: Escape from Atlantis and it will facilitate some truly memorable gaming moments.
Published in 1982 and designed by Julian Courtland-Smith, Survive: Escape from Atlantis has still got it! Its most recent incarnation is ‘Survive the Island’. However, in all its iterations the core concept has remained intact. Save your peeps from a doomed Island and turn everyone else’s into seafood (or, wait for it, turn your chums into chum). It’s an easy teach; set up the game, explain the symbols under the island tiles, and off you go. By the time you have taken your turn everyone will know how to play. There is a measure of luck, which contributes to the tension, generating “ooh’s” and “ah’s” as you go along, but players also have agency. In fact, my pals often forget about the victory conditions and focus on creating a chaotic, watery, bloodbath, just so they can watch your face drop and your eyes tear up as your last meeple descends to Davie Jones’ locker.
Modern Art
“Yesss, suck it, loser!”. Rob felt that a bit of verbal was the least James deserved after being pushed to the brink of ruin in an intense battle for a valuable Ono (hey, when have you ever seen these words in writing? Ha, ha. That’s a wee joke for the Boomers).
Auction games are usually a lot of fun because they encourage a high degree of player interaction. Modern Art published in ’92, is one of the oldest and still one of the best. In fact, it’s a stunning example of game design by Reiner Knizia, who is probably the best game designer in the world.
Choose a painting to sell from cards in your hand, run the matching auction and try to squeeze as much juice out of a lemon as you can. Easy. But this is an early Knizia so it’s not easy to master, making it eminently replayable. There are decision points galore as paintings rise and fall in value while you buy, sell and use your cards to try and manipulate the end of each round to your advantage. And you can crank up the banter when selling by giving artists scurrilous back-stories and re-naming the paintings.
Knizia has a bumper portfolio of auction games: Ra, Traumfabrik, High Society, Amun-Re, etc. etc. All very good. But this, IMHO, out-bids them all!
6 Nimmt
This is clever, very clever, very, very clever, very very very.... You get it. This unassuming, ugly duckling can be loud, fast-paced, fun. Published in 1994, 6 Nimmt (roughly translated as ‘6 takes it’) is a Wolfgang Kramer design. Kramer is elite. Check out his other titles (Tikal is on this list), especially El Grande, which is not on this list only because I haven’t played it.
I’m not big into writing lengthy rules explanations, and with 6 Nimmt there’s no need. Each player starts with 66 points and a hand of 10 from a deck of cards numbered 1-104. Every-one plays a card to the table at the same time. The cards are then ordered by number and put into rows. If the card you played is the 6th card in a row you take the other 5 and they score against you at the end of the round. You will play a number of rounds until one player has lost all of their points and the winner is the player with the most points left.
There are squeaky bum moments aplenty as you skirt around the edge of disaster, praying that no-one else has the card that will put you ‘over the top’. The ‘oohs’, ‘ahs’ and ‘oh nos’ become more fractious as the game progresses. It can be the card-gaming equivalent of riding a bucking bronco - you’ll find yourself holding on for dear life but as often as not this bad boy is going to throw you off.
Bohnanza
Bohnanza, from the German word ‘bohne’ which means ‘Heinz’. Unlike this card game, which has set objects flying around our kitchen. Bohnanza is another great German. This time designed in 1997 by the legend that is Uwe Rosenberg. Get your Mexican on for this brilliant family level set collection, negotiation game where, like a marriage contract, trading your beans for a handful of gold and promises will likely break you.
Now, don’t make me explain the rules. Go and watch a ‘how to play’. Let me instead wax lyrical about how much fun you will have playing this with your family. My kids were not in their teens when I bought this but in no time they were dealing like little Donalds.
Playing Bohnanza is easy but the game has some depth, so it works with adults as well as older children and the more you play, the better you get at managing your hand and selling at the right time for the right amount. But, no matter how good you get, if you’re going to play hard and welch on agreements, wear wipe down clothing because greasy food will ruin your brilliant white linen shirt.
Liar’s Dice
Liar’s Dice reminds me that human beings can be a bunch of greedy, ruthless reprobates. Dudo (as it was known in its original iteration) was invented by the Incas and brought to Europe in the 16th Century by the Spanish after they wiped them out with guns and germs. Perudo is a 20th Century adaptation of Dudo. It’s a great game but it can be a bit slow and for a player elimination game slow is no good. In the 1980s, designer Richard Borg took Perudo, pumped it full of steroids and forced it down the gym for 6 months. What came out was the Rocky Balboa of dice games. ‘Bluff’, AKA ‘Liar’s Dice’ which takes Dudo/Perudo ‘up to 11’. Liar’s Dice is a noisy, fast and sometimes furious dice game. Players grab 5 dice each, vigorously rattle them in the cup then slam the cup hard on the table. Then the first player makes the opening bid by stating how many of a particular die face there are under everyone’s cup. The player following either increases the bid or challenges. Players will lose dice depending on the outcome. The last player to have dice, when all others have lost theirs, wins.
Games last up to 10 minutes, so being eliminated early is no big deal. Play as many games as you want. I’ve spent many a great evening at home or in the pub, just playing this. What continually draws me back isn’t just the speed, simplicity and playability of Liar’s Dice, it’s the psychological dance that occurs throughout and, of course, triumphantly outwitting your pals. Enjoy the moments when they discover what the liar in Liar’s Dice means. Jonno laughed so hard his supper spluttered from his nose. We still reminisce about 'the Night of the Living Beans'. I love me some history, so for me, Perudo provides not only a thrilling gaming experience but a small window into that lost culture and the humanity that built it. Pause for a moment, the next time you’re knocked out early, and have a peek.
Lost Cities
The second Knizia on this list, Lost Cities, published in 1999, is a two player card game which is fast and a little bit furious. The theme is... well, forget the theme...the idea is that there are five sets of different coloured cards numbered from 2 to 10 and you are trying play them in ascending order on your side of the table while your opponent does likewise.
‘A bit dull”, I hear you think. Well, fair point. So allow me a moment longer to convince you that you might spend many happy hours playing this game. Knizia’s ‘thing’ is ‘easy to play, hard to master.’ You will begin with a hand of cards and on your turn you’ll play one then take one. And that’s it. Except...do I play a card in front of me where I might lose points or into the middle of the board where it might help your opponent? Do I play this card now or wait until I have lower cards to play? Do I go all out to invest in expeditions (you’re an archaeologist trying to find lost whatever-don’t worry about it) on round 3 to close the points gap from round 2 or hold my nerve, stick to 1 or 2 expeditions, and hope that they opposite are having a nightmare? Etc. etc. True story: some years ago Nathalie and I were in the departure ‘lounge’ at Kathmandu airport. Our flight was delayed so we broke out Lost Cities. Within 20 minutes an orderly queue of fellow ‘delayees’ had formed up to have a go. I should have bought shares in the publishing house.
Civilization
Ok, let’s start with why you shouldn’t buy this game. It’s from the 'before time’. It’s not a looker. It takes a long time to play. You need 7 players for the full experience. People complain about balance issues and the disaster cards.
Now let me tell you why none of that matters. It might have been designed in 1980 but, 45 years on, it is still a relevant design. I’m a big fan of civ. games. I’ve played and enjoyed loads of them. Yet, in my view, no-one has designed a better civ. game to date.
If you know what you’re getting into I think you’ll really enjoy it, and you won’t see the time go by. It plays well with as few as 4 players. Set up then follow the Sequence of Play and you’ll be up and running before you know it, learning as you go. OK, during the first round or two you may have to reference the rulebook, but it’s clear and concise so learning won’t be too onerous.
The engagement to playing time ratio is high. Some of the phases can be played simultaneously, which is always welcome, and those that can’t usually pop along nicely, since what players are required to do is not complicated. So, turns come around quickly and when it’s not your turn your opponents will usually be doing something to upset someone, keeping you either entertained or infuriated.
The big beating heart of this game is the trading phase. Mastering this is central to the success of your civ. It also accounts for much fun interaction, sweating and swearing (optional), which are elements missing from so many civ. games. And you can be a God, just for a bit.
Tikal
Wow! Has it been 26 years since I bought Tikal? feel like it. I might have acquired a few greys over the years but Tikal is still as lithe as it was in 1999. Well, it’s had a rather lovely make-over, in line with modern preferences for ‘bling’ (or ‘immersion’ as publishers prefer to say), but the game play is still the same.
On your turn you will explore the jungle (place a tile), then ‘spend’ up to 10 action points placing explorers, moving around, pitching tents and uncovering long lost temples, scoring victory points along the way. The aim is to control the temple tiles when the scoring tiles (volcanoes) are drawn.
Tikal is a ‘Goldilocks’ game. It plays well at 3 and 4 players, in about 90 minutes. Gamers and non-gamers will enjoy it. It’s a looker with some table presence to draw in the gen. alphas and its core mechanics are easy to grasp while offering some opportunities for strategising. It also feels a bit Indiana Jonesey, which is a good thing.
Celestia
“This is your captain speaking. Today, we voyage to magical, mysterious, floating islands, on the weathered deck of this magnificent ship. And the boldest amongst us will be rewarded with treasures beyond our wildest imaginings.... if we can just survive the journey”.
The chunky cardboard vessel is usually enough to pique the interest of those around the table. Even the most curmudgeonly crack a smile as the propellor spins to the 'broom brooming’ sounds emanating from the captain as our colourful, lightweight, ‘push your luck’ journey gets underway.
This is a push your luck, social deduction game of sorts. And it’s a really good one. It’s a social deduction game for those that don’t like social deduction games. Each round represents a journey to Celestia, the ultimate destination. On your turn as captain, roll the dice and then your passengers will decide whether to stay on board or jump off for the short reward. Of course, you might offer advice based on your knowledge of the cards you s. And the advice does not need to be good.
“How dare you, sir. This game was published in 2015. You are a charlatan and a cad.” Well, I might be taking a liberty here, you decide. Celestia is a reimplementation of a game called ‘Cloud 9’, designed by Aaron Weissblum and published in1999. Celestia has swapped out air balloons for Victorian flying ships, top hats and bustles. Much more fun. “This is your captain speaking once more, please remain calm and stay seated...the hazard confronting us is of no concern....oh, sorry, I lieeeed....aaghhhhhhh...”
Formula D
Formula D is a reimplementation of Formula De, designed by Laurent Lavaur and Eric Randall and published in 1997. Formula D upgrades the components and streamlines the rules a little but the core game remains intact
As you might have guessed, It’s a racing game and for all of its simplicity it captures the excitement of Formula One reasonably well; better, in fact, if you consider you will only be playing this for around 60 minutes or so. Note that you can extend playing time to replicate the bum numbing 3 hour experience should you have nothing better to do with your life.
It’s a roll and move game, which I would normally avoid (I mean, where’s the strategy in Snakes and Ladders?), but what saves Formula D is that the dice represent the gears on your racer, and, most of the time, you will win or lose depending on when and which gear/die you choose. So, it’s easy teach and you’ll be firing up your engines quickly and tensing buttocks as the flag waves and you’re off! Formula D plays up to 10 and I probably wouldn’t recommend this for 4 or less players, unless players want to take two cars but I’m not a fan of doing this to make a game playable. The more players you have the more time the game will take, but what is lost in speed and thrills can be made up for in tactical play as the track gets ‘tight’. Just make sure that players plan ahead as much as possible to keep things moving along. I always put a timer of some description on race games, they are supposed to be played with speed so instinctive decision making and the subsequent cock-ups are all part of the experience.
Once you have played the basic game you can explore a plethora of modules to enhance your experience including, pit stops, tyre wear and transmissions and engine damage and more. Play this once or twice and you’ll think you’re ready for the real thing. You won’t be but it’s good to dream.
10 more great games you should look into.
No Thanks
Cosmic Encounter
Can’t Stop
El Grande
For Sale
PitchCar
China Town/Water Park
Catan
Medici
I’m the Boss
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