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I have always enjoyed games - card games, dice games, board games - I like most of them. Recently I was introduced to Catan and have since purchased several "Euro" games. Now I'm hooked. I find these games to be the right level of strategy, luck and outright fun. We have a family get together every weekend and so the games need to be playable with 5 or 6 players. It's interesting how many games are designed for 5 people (Amun-Re, Carcassonne, Puerto Rico, TTR). However, there are a couple of things that I don't like about some games. The first thing I don't like are games that don't engage all of the players most of the time. I use the "bathroom litmus test" to determine if a game will be engaging or not: If a player leaps up in the middle of a game and shouts "I have to go to the bathroom", is the response "No problem, your turn isn't for half an hour anyways", or does the game grind to a complete halt? If the answer is the former (like 4 player Scrabble), then It's going to be boring for most of the time. If it's the latter, then each player is involved in the game (to some level) even when it's someone else's turn. I like that! The other thing I don't like are games that are designed to eliminate some (or most) of the players as the game progresses (like Monopoly or Risk). Not a lot of fun for the first person out! In fact, I really like games where you are never really out of the game and always have a chance (even if slight) of making a comeback. Some games accomplish this by leaving some or all of the scoring until the game is finished, so the result can be a surprise. Settlers of Catan
We usually play with 5 or 6 players and find that the Special Building Phase helps to engage everyone when it's not your turn. This is a wonderful game and is really worth the money (it is expensive for a board game!). Click here for further information. Carcassonne
We have made one major change to the rules. We found that the element of luck when picking a tile to lay is too great. It is difficult to have a long term strategy when you just can't get the right tile. Hence, we start each player with three tiles in his "hand" and play one, then replace it each turn. The builder allows a second play and replacement. This rule makes it easier to plan your moves ahead and actually speeds the game up too. There is not a lot of other player engagement during a turn, so faster play reduces the wait time. Rail Baron
There is a lot of luck in this game and it can be frustrating when awarded a long destination only to roll 3's and 4's. With 4 or 5 people playing, the game takes about 4 hours (or more). Don't play this as a "quick game"! There are many other board maps available on the Web. However, I prefer the original game where everyone knows eactly where each of the cities is. One drawback to this game is that there is little engagement during other players' turns. Hence if AP sets in, it will make it boring for the others. Puerto Rico
This game is limited to 5 (or fewer) players, and I don't think it could be
easily expanded to 6 players. I found and printed off the expansion
package which includes 13
new buildings and some forest "plantations". We haven't tried these add-ons yet,
but they would add some diversity to the game (although there's quite a bit of
diversity to start with).
Amun-Re
The province auction phase is quite unique and works well. I also like the idea of the two scoring phases (old kingdom, new kingdom). The only rule change we have made is to address the problem of getting (by chance) only poorer provinces in a 2 or 3 player game. In the "old kindom" phase we place 5 random provinces each bidding round and discard the provinces not bid on. In the new kingdom phase we use the regular rules and only use those provinces used in the first round. This tends to even out the balance between rich and poor provinces. Ticket to Ride
The game comes in several variations - the US, Europe, Switzerland - while even more user-created maps are obtainable from the Web. There are a couple of expansions to the US and Europe boards that add some interest. Each of the different mapboards add a few new twists which adds a little complexity and variety to the game. Alhambra
There is a fair bit of luck in this game - the player who always seems to have the "correct change" or the right coloured money often wins. But, there is also a lot of strategy. Maybe the problem with this game is as follows. If a game is mostly luck, with little possible strategy (like Ticket to Ride), then the winner realizes he was the luckiest player. Likewise when a game is mostly strategy (like chess), then the player with the best strategy will win. However, Alhambra has some great possibilities for strategy, but bad luck can blow that away. It's sort of like playing chess where each player also rolls a pair of dice on his turn and if he rolls boxcars, he loses his queen. That sort of takes away from having a great strategy! St. Petersburg
One thing that attracted me to this game was that I had visited St. Petersburg twice and found it just fascinating. As in most games, though, the connection between the historical background and the actual play of the game is very minimal. But still, when the Hermitage or Marinski Theatre or Peterhof cards come up, I can say "I've been there" which gives me some minimal sense of satisfaction, even if I'm losing. Pillars of the Earth
We have the 5/6 player expansion and love the extra board. We normally play with 5
players which means that most of the options are chosen each round. I'm not sure what the
best strategy for this game is. There is some luck, but it is mostly strategy as there are many good
choices.
Tigris & Euphrates
I have the new (2008) version of the game, so it includes the "advanced" board as well, with the
extra pieces. However, we have to learn the basic game first! We have not tried the advanced board.
I find that we still refer to the rules a lot as we play, so there is certainly some meat to the game.
Power Grid The different map boards add a lot of variety to the game. The connection costs vary from map
to map which results in quite and different strategy (and game length!).
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