Cooler weather, holidays, and hot chocolate remind me of board games. I came across this article discussing how board games show insights into evolved behaviors, and how irrational behavior may be advantageous at times. Interesting to consider. https://quillette.com/2019/10/15/how-boardgames-teach-the-limits-of-rationalism/
Do you have any favorite board games you play on dreary days? What do they bring out in the gamers that play them? I had not heard of Chinatown, but looks like an interesting game to have around for the holidays.
My wife and I play card games nearly every day, but no board games. We used to play Sequence and in my family growing up we played several. Now we play 500 rummy and up and down the river. Whoever loses gets to choose a feel-good game of something shorter and to go first in the next game. We try to pick up new games to challenge old brains. When my brother and wife visit we’ll play tournament of hi lo Omaha poker, no money required since we’re all competitive.
Our daughter and Hubble enjoy playing Dominion. It is basically an empire building game with lots of options. The has the appeal of not being very confrontational and is more strategy oriented if you dislike conflict. The games that create conflict seem to be interesting also as they add drama.
I will second the suggestion for Dominion. It also has some interesting expansions.
If you have a while to play, one of my favorites is Power Grid. The players represent power companies and compete to… power the most cities. Lots of strategy and resource management involved.
Some of my friends and family have become obsessed with Settlers of Catan. Not sure if it’s still trending or not but it was too much for me. I don’t really enjoy games that take 5 hours or involve bartering and trying to persuade other people of things.
I really enjoy the strategy of Rummikub but my kids aren’t quite old enough for it yet. Mostly I play things online at this point – boggle-type games are my favorite.
I thought some of the observations towards the end of the cited article were interesting. One sentence that stood out: “In the sterile context of the Ultimatum Game, spite and unpredictability are interpreted as indicators of irrational behavior. In real life, they can help intimidate competitors and discourage predators.”
That sounds familiar when dealing with some family and some forum members! And maybe even certain heads of state. It seems that such behavior may have evolved as a competitive advantage.
I am a go player and I often watch professional games on the internet.
go in english
igo in japanese
paduk in korean
wei chi in chinese
This is a game of 19 horizontal lines crossing 19 vertical lines and black and white stones which players take turns placing their color of stone on one of the intersections in order to control territory on the board.
We love board games. My inlaws are a huge game family.
Codenames
Settlers of Catan
Dominion
Ticket to Ride
Betrayal at the House on the Hill
These are our big favorites right now! My husband is much more strategic than I, so I lose very frequently. I played Settlers with him for 7 years before winning one time. Oh the things you do for love.
Gee, maybe that’s why they’ve been avoiding me. One of these days I’m going to get ahold of a hexagonal cookie cutter and make cookies shaped like the game board – that will be my only contribution.
Agricola is the reigning favorite for us especially now that we have graduated to the most complex adaptations. Still finding new strategies even after two years of playing.
Settlers of Catan - original version (the variations have never caught on for us)
Pandemic - we are about to the point that we have figured it out too well and so losing interest
Seven Wonders
We have Pandemic. I did not include in our list because I hate it. I mentioned my husband is more strategic and he basically just bosses you around and you’re just the pawn. I just like to tell him to play by himself. haha It’s not the game’s fault…haha
My 11 year old and I still like to play Risk when we have time come over that’s only about once or twice a year. We still like Monopoly too. My wife and two of our children are playing karuba right now
And maybe even certain heads of state. It seems that such behavior may have evolved as a competitive advantage.
