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For those less pixel-minded, this year’s EGX has a range of board games available to play too, which Zatu Games quietly but confidently condones. Here are my picks from the selection of EGX board games on display.
Carcassonne
Named after a French town, Lyon, Carcassone is about building terrain and laying your claim. Players draw tiles depicting a section of landscape, and must join it to those already on the board. They may then place a meeple (a small, person-shaped piece) on a section of the tile (city, road, cloister, grass) to claim it.
Just like in real life, the terrain on which a person is placed affects their type. Those placed in cloisters are dazzled by God’s grace and become monks; those on the road become robbers, because of course; those in cities become knights like their parents wanted; and those on grass become farmers… grass farmers.
It is widely considered to be an excellent ‘gateway game’, due to its simplicity and fast pace. View our Carcassonne collection today!
Zombicide
Fratricide: killing your brother. Matricide: killing your mother. Regicide: killing a monarch. Zombicide: a board game. Hugely popular since its initial release in 2012, Zombicide is a collaborative game, casting each player as a survivor (or several) of a zombie outbreak.
Each survivor has a unique set of abilities, meaning that teamwork is essential to survival. As the game progresses, the number of undead increases, making the consequences of player mistakes ever more grave. A number of successful expansions and sequels make this one of the most popular board game franchises out there.
Visit our online store to view our Zombicide collection!
Catan
Released back in 1995, Catan, which seems to have dropped its ‘The Settlers of’, has sold more than 20 million copies, making it the most popular of the EGX board games on display. Players must build up settlements and roads using the five resources: sheep, stone, grain, brick and wood, which are literally the only things anyone needs to live.
Catan is a game that manages to straddle that tricky, barbed fence between experienced gamers and the uninitiated due to its simple yet strategic mechanics.
Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu
On the list of things you want reigning, Cthulhu is near-ish the bottom, just above Mary Tudor and just below water. The latest of the Pandemic games (bar the upcoming Iberia) pitches its players against the Old Ones, who are threatening the world with their face tentacles.
Another coop game, the core mechanics are the same as those of earlier instalments, though under different guises. Players no longer have to cure diseases, rather close a series of portals to prevent awful creatures from pouring into fictional cities pulled from Lovecraft’s New England.