Thread: non-wargames recommendations needed

Hello from the other side of the ocean!

We were playing some games with some other Americans and got to talking about the fact that there aren't really any places to get games over here. Gaming doesn't seem to be a big past time here, but we don't know if that's because people generally would rather sit down and talk instead of playing games or if it's just a lack of exposure to games. Or maybe there are groups playing games that we just haven't run into yet. We wanted to try out the idea of introducing some board games to some college-age guys we know, and are looking for some recommendations.

English is not a major language here, so we're trying to avoid games with too much written on cards like dominion, netrunner, etc. I've only owned a small handful of euro-style board games, which tend to be language-neutral, so anything in that genre might be good. Likely games that have a smaller footprint (something that could be played on a small dining room table) would be good. We didn't bring a ton of games with us, but have some family coming over in a few months that could bring us some new games if people recommend some.

Right now the only games we have with us are Carcassone, dominion, smash-up, king of tokyo, dixit and netrunner.

Thanks guys!

Little Worlds is fun

Settlers of Catan is a great game with very little reading involved. Also, Munchkin is a lot of fun, but it may be hard for those with a non-gamer background to grasp the humor. Some simple and quick games to play that are also a lot of fun are Guillotine, Unexploded Cow, Inca Gold (one of my favorites), and Bang! There is a bit of card reading required for Guillotine, and Unexploded Cow, but it isn't too much. Inca Gold is a very simple game that requires no reading aside from the rules, and Bang! uses pictures to tell you what the cards do.

Forbidden Island is a fun co-op game that up to 4 people can play and doesn't require much reading. It has a sister game--Forbidden Desert--which I have not tried. Both games are also fairly cheap.

If you are looking to play Euro type board games on a regular basis I would check out Great Hall Games on Friday nights or Saturday afternoons as well as Emerald Tavern next to Sherlock's at 183 and Burnet Rd. Emerald Tavern gets crowded so it is best to be there as early as possible to get a table.

Ticket to Ride

I've really enjoyed playing Seven Wonders. Easy to learn and very little text, but takes a lot of strategy. You can play with 3 to 7 (obviously) people, and it can all easily fit on a table. I've had just as much fun playing it with my genius 11-yr-old nephews as with my uber-competitive friends of 30+ years (since junior high). Plus, according to the box, it was Kritikerpreis' "Kennerspiel des Jahres 2011"!

http://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-SEV-EN...ames+7+wonders

Splendor, great game very little English needed in playing it, also hella addictive.