Choosing Great Board Games

For the last half decade, board games have been my primary hobby; I’d spend my Tuesdays hanging out at Borders or the local game store playing games with up to a couple dozen other people. When I moved, however, I had to downsize my collection, and I decided to keep only the best strategy board games. So what makes a board game great?

First on my list is that a board game should be a test of skill. I’m not interested in games where the outcome is determined mostly (or entirely) by luck; indeed, I don’t really even consider those to be games. Why not just flip a coin and determine the outcome, rather than going through the tedious process of watching the dice decide it for you? Rather, the games that I own have victory determined mostly, if not entirely, by the actions that the players take during the game.

Second, of course, is that the game should be a lot of fun! (Point one is generally necessary, but not sufficient, for point two) This is a hobby, after all, something I do for recreation; just because I’m willing to play a game doesn’t mean it deserves a spot on my shelf. Given the huge number of great games available, I see no reason to own a game that is merely good, unless it fills a niche not yet covered by any great game. Take the genre of train games, for example; I own Age of Steam, Chicago Express, and Ticket to Ride, because these are all great games that accomplish different things, even though they have the same basic theme. On the other hand, I no longer feel the need to own each version of Ticket to Ride, as the base game (with the 1910 expansion) provides the best play in general, while the Nordic Countries version provides cutthroat play for two or three players; the other versions are thus superfluous.

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