What I've Been Playing
Advanced Civilization. Not the popular computer game (though I'm a fan of that too) or the board game spawned by that, but the granddaddy of 'em all. It's tough to get enough players together for a game of Advanced Civ more than once or twice a year--it needs at least six, and seven to nine works just fine--which is fine, because I don't think I could take this particular marathon more often than that. We're talking 10 to 12 hours of board gaming here, which is a chore even for us diehard role-players. (For a similar, but much shorter, game experience, try another of my favorites, Age of Renaissance.) Unlike most games that feature hundreds of tiny cardboard chits, this game isn't nearly as much about conflict--though there can be plenty--as it is about resource management and shrewd trading. If you don't already have a copy, good luck tracking one down; I'm told this out-of-print classic fetches a tidy price on eBay. Of course, if *I* were in charge of Avalon Hill, you can probably guess which game I'd bring back in print asap...
City of Heroes. Until recently, I'd done a pretty good job avoiding the addictive time-sink of online gaming. I lost the better part of fall quarter my sophomore year to MUDs, so I knew all-too-well how I'd react should I get involved once again in this area. Fantasy-based MMORPGs didn't really interest me--I guess I didn't need Everquest when I was playing D&D a half-dozen times a month already--but the clarion call of Paragon City was too great to resist. After a memory upgrade...and a graphics card upgrade...and a visit from Comcast to install high-speed internet...I was hooked. What makes the experience really great, though, is that 99% of the time I'm online I'm teamed up with my wife Gwendolyn, who's sitting across the room at her computer. Our long quest for the "perfect" two-player game was over--we had City of Heroes. Today I have three active characters on the Protector server: Johnny Infinity, a 29th-level blaster who recently earned his cape, Sergeant Zombie, a 24th-level scrapper who really benefited from the recent rules patch, and Neutronik, a mid-level controller who insists that he's not "cute," but simply "densely compact." Give a wave if you see me running (or in the case of the Sarge, super-leaping) past!
Puerto Rico. This entertaining resource-management board game (designed by Andreas Seyfarth and published in the U.S. by Rio Grande Games) is surprisingly addictive. It's about a half-step up from Settlers of Catan in complexity, and is playable in about an hour by 3 to 5 players. One of the intriguing elements of the game is that it plays very differently with varying numbers of players, including entirely different strategies to success. When we play it, we frequently end up playing two or three times in a row. If you like strategic board games with a moderate level of complexity, this is a good one to try.
Scrabble. Yeah, it's old-school, but sometimes I just get a hankerin' to spell some words. I've always been a pretty decent player, but playing against my wife Gwendolyn has forced me to take my game to another level (the one where you start stressing over all the 2-letter words you should be making when you're putting down your 7-letter "bingo").
Ticket to Ride, by Alan R. Moon. Scott Larabee introduced me to this game (published by Days of Wonder), and it may be a lock to enter my regular rotation of board games. If you've ever played any of the various railroad games out there, such as the 18XX series, Empire Builder, or Iron Dragon, this game's central concept will be familiar. What makes this superior to those games, in my opinion, is its shorter playing time (45-90 minutes) and the faster turn time. When I play a game, I like doing something at least every 5 minutes, and most rail games have interminable between-turn times. This game eliminates those by limiting the number of available options for each player on his turn, and replaces the onerous requirement of planning with a randomizing element that makes the game much more entertaining. Together, this creates a fast-paced game with just enough strategy for a fun evening.
Werewolf. Not the RPG, but rather a delightfully treacherous party game in which you accuse your friends of being murderous werewolves while simultaneously deflecting similar accusations leveled at yourself. Also known as "Mafia," this game couldn't be simpler: Take 10 or 12 friends. Randomly (and secretly) select two individuals to be the werewolves; the rest of the group are innocent townsfolk. (Of course, the werewolves look just like townsfolk too, so appearances are meaningless.) The game takes place in two phases, repeated until one side eliminates the other. Each night phase, the two werewolves quietly and secretly select one townsfolk to devour. Each day phase, the remaining townsfolk (including the werewolves, of course) vote on which of their own to hang as a no-good murderous werewolf. Naturally, since werewolves take their own form in death, the townsfolk know when they've succeeded--but that's less often than they'd like. (There are a few more details than that, but you understand the basics.) Nothing's more fun than watching your friends lie right to your face about being a no-good murderous werewolf--except, of course, voting to hang 'em up by their necks until they're dead. Think of it like Diplomacy, but without a board or pieces. For more information, do a web search for "Mafia Game" and you'll find rules, history, and the like.