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[bryant]

WISH 69: Non-RPG Games for Gamers asks about the other side of the gaming world:

Recommend three non-RPG games for RPGers. Why do you recommend these three?

Well, blackjack is lots of fun — no? Oh, got it.

Diplomacy, first off. It takes a while to play, and some RPG groups are used to those six to eight hour sessions. Plus you can roleplay the countries. Plus it’s a sneaky introduction to the idea of diceless gaming.

Shadowfist, second. Eeek, a collectible card game! But it’s a ton of fun, it has a goofy exciting setting, and a lot of roleplayers I know enjoy it.

Finally, Cosmic Encounter. It’s a classic board game for a reason. There’s a good measure of skill and a good measure of randomness and every game is different, to borrow the marketing slogan.

Comments

Diplomacy

[editswlonghair.livejournal.com]

Sad admission- I've never played Diplomacy. And I'm fascinated by WWI. Everytime I see it at a store I think "I should pick it up' but can't justify spending the $$$ at that moment.

We should do it as an ad hoc sometime...

[agrimony.livejournal.com]

The moon that does absolutely nothing but must not be shown to people who don't own it is the best. :)

[head58.livejournal.com]

That would be "Trip to Vermont. No Effect" I believe

I'd put CE in my top 5, but I got severely burnt out playing it (especially when it was a drinking game - lose a token to the Warp, take a shot of tequila...bad idea).

My 3:
1) Republic of Rome. I tend to like games where the players have to work together to keep everyone from losing, but still have a cutthroat edge to them. Nothing tops this marathon of depression and failure. Nothing. Six hours in and EVERYONE can still lose in the blink of an eye. Or you can all lose on the first turn. I've done both, and loved it each way. Never have I wanted to kill another human being as much as playing this game.

2) Star Wars: Queen's Gambit. Maybe my favorite board game of all time. Mostly because you, as the "Good" side, can sit back and let the wholesale genocide of the Gungan race unfold before you and it has ZERO effect on the victory conditions! Sadly it is either for 2 or 4 players, and that alignment of people doesn't happen often. Also, the setup takes about 20 minutes and can be knocked down by an erant butterfly (there's this nightmarish 3-level cardboard Theed Palace with dozens of little Battle Droids and Palace Guards precariously perched on each level. It takes a very steady hand...)

3) Castle of Magic. This game is far more fun than it has any right to be. It's like Clue. If all the room names were secret and you had to go there to find out what the room was. Ditto for the weapons - you know there are weapons 1-8, but not the names. Oh, and each player has a different victory condition - some want the murder solved, some don't, some want other players to die, etc. And you don't know what anybody else's victory conditions are or whether they atre allies or enemies. Picked up at Origins a few years back by Ali on a whim. Production values approaching zero. A total blast if the crowd is in the right mood.