Complicated Boardgames: Top Three Best Bets

By Ashley and Ka of The Meeple’s Republic

WORTH THE WORK: BEST COMPLICATED BOARD GAMES!

8 hours of a day is generally reserved for work or a cross-continental flight. Could it also be spent playing a SINGLE GAME?! Oh yes friends, a far cry from Settlers of Catan, there are big, component-filled, burly, complicated semblances of board games out there, complete with text books and cheat sheets. Not all big games take 14% of a week to play, but there’s generally a high level of commitment necessary from you, dear player, if you’re going to hunker down and open one up. To save you wasted hours learning something that doesn’t even know how to spell fun, we’re giving you our top picks for complicated games that are well worth the effort to learn and play. Be warned: some of these may scare off your casual gaming group, and all are best learned from someone who already knows how to play!

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA – The show has a cult following, and so does this board game. While the members of the both BSG cults tend to be one in the same, this semi-cooperative race-to-find Earth-and-avoid-destruction-by-Cylons is fun even if you haven’t seen the show. While you’re trying desperately not to lose food, population, fuel or morale, you’ve also got to deal with saving civilian ships, making repairs to Galactica (your ship) and trying to fend off Raiders. There is a ton going on in the game itself, on top of trying to figure out who among you might be an evil robot! Is it worth all the bits and pieces just to play a hidden roles game? Yes, most certainly. The feeling of success and camaraderie when you manage to stop yet another horrible thing from happening is incredible. Plus the opportunity for each player’s role to change as the game goes on makes the accusations and betrayal aspect especially interesting. We commend any gaming group who tries to learn this out of the box, but highly recommend learning this from someone who already knows how to play.

SPACE CADETS – This uber-complicated “party game” doesn’t have 800 pieces or 15 action points to spend per turn, and that’s what makes it great. First off, it’s not reeeeeally a party game but feels like one, with lots of shouting, laughing, and racing against the clock. In Space Cadets each player is a member of the crew flying a space ship on a mission. It’s particularly complicated because people are all doing something COMPLETELY different. Each position has its own mini-game to play, all of which are played simultaneously during a timed round. The results of each game are pooled together to redistribute energy, gather crystals, evade energy ships, amp up the shields, and other typical space ship type actions. Many of the mini-games are based on luck, making the things mighty tricky. Things get even trickier when roles change, or if there’s a core breach, and you need to frantically pass cards around the table to complete a second game in the same amount of time you were just barely getting through the first! AHHH! It will certainly induce laughs, and cheers of victory if you manage to beat the clock. If you’re patient Space Cadets can be learned fairly easily using the rule book and these training videos (assign roles, and then have everyone watch their own video). Good luck on your mission!

MAGE WARS – And now for something completely different: Mage Wars. It’s a 2 person battle of rival wizards on a simple board proving the best complicated games don’t need a metric tonne of people, components or time. Both parties get a customizable book of 50 different spells from which to summon magical creatures, harvest mana, create curses, adorn yourself in armor…the list goes on, and the spells build up on one another. Much like chess,

and you know how complicated chess really is, you’ll both move within the board casting spells, trying to anticipate what the other is doing. Except you not only have to choose the right spell, but also watch that you can afford the mana for your overall grandmaster wizard plan. Oh, and once you’ve cast a spell it’s gone forever, so you’ll have to figure out if now is really when you want to use that spell anyway. The plethora of spells means not only are you heavily strategizing, but you are almost always frantically changing that strategy given your opponent’s last move, and your dwindling spell options mean the game doesn’t drag. Knowing complicated games aren’t always fun the first time around, there’s even an “apprentice game” with half the rules so you can easily learn this one right off the shelf.

Ka & Ashley are the Most Honourable Chairwomen of The Meeple’s Republic, a social events company in Ottawa, ON. They love good food, good beer and good people. Oh, and of course bringing people together with board games! You can find their serious opinions and silly faces on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

The Quiet Players: Board Games for Introverts

INTRO BOARD GAMES:  BOARD GAMES FOR INTROVERTS!

 

Source: the incredible Hyperbole & A Half

When thinking of games for introverts, some people automatically think of video games; what activity could be more conducive to staying solitary? But we’re here to tell you about another option: board games! Board games run the gamut from restrained to rambunctious, subdued to sonorous, clever to corny, and all-sorts of alliterations we’ve yet to come up with. Plus introverts are the same way! Some are quiet, while others talk passionately about their hobbies. Some prefer to be alone all the time, while others really enjoy being social with the right people. So what makes someone an introvert? They tend to think and then speak, favor one-on-one interaction, and most importantly, need solitude to recharge which is the exact opposite of their extroverted friends. If you’re an introvert you probably already know what makes you tick, so on to the games we think you might like!

 

THE SOCIAL: RIALTO 

In Rialto you watch gondolas float past the beautiful waterways of Venice, as you wheedle for ULTIMATE POLITCAL DOMINATION! Okay, so theme-wise this area control game isn’t particularly exciting, but the game play is fabulous. The system for gaining points relies mostly on area control, with an interesting card-drafting mechanic. Those cards are then played in an auction/bidding style that allows for high levels of player interaction WITHOUT having to negotiate or plead your case. This allows our introvert friends to show off their thinking and planning prowess instead of manipulative speaking skills.

THE ONE-ON-ONE: ANDROID: NETRUNNER 

For the introverts who like strategize during their alone time, Android: Netrunner provides that in spades with the option to build your decks before the game has even started. A living card game with a multitude of expansions, where you can win without having spent the most money, Android: Netrunner is fantastic whether you choose to build your own decks or play with the base collections.  Set in a super cool cyberpunk future, you play corporation versus runner. The former advancing secret agendas secured with “ice” while the latter hacks, runs, and hopes their efforts are doing something, anything, to take the corporation down. Beautiful art and careful detail with the theme will suck you right into the dystopian future. Since this fantastic game can only be played one-on-one, it’s also perfect for the introvert who prefers just a little socializing with their strategy.

THE LONE WOLF: PATHFINDER ADVENTURE CARD GAME 

Just because you’re an introvert that may not always want to meet up with other gamers on a regular basis doesn’t mean you have to be excluded from the crazy world of RPGs. The Pathfinder Adventure Card Game packs in all the excitement of embarking on a campaign and fighting monsters and magic alongside your fellow wizards and rogues, but allows you to do all that just playing solo. No need to go in search of a good moderator or mass email a list of strangers in the hopes to find other like-minded adventurers, you’ve got all the makings of a great RPG in one box. And for the times you DO want to share your fighting skills with a select party of friendly gamers, this adventure plays up to 4; that’s you and 3 very lucky people.

Ka & Ashley are the Most Honourable Chairwomen of The Meeple’s Republic, a social events company in Ottawa, ON. They love good food, good beer and good people. Oh, and of course bringing people together with board games! You can find their serious opinions and silly faces on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.