Board games, particularly strategy games, have always been something I enjoy. As a kid through elementary and middle school I played a fair amount of chess. 2v2 chess, with two boards and where captured pieces can be used by your ally, remains my favorite version of the classic competition. Risk was an early standby, though honestly I can't stand the tediousness of it anymore. For years I've longed to play Diplomacy more frequently, but it simply requires too many people and so much time. In college I was introduced to (Settlers of) Catan and that continues to be great fun, including lately when we've done it remotely. We've probably accumulated too many games at this point, and though many such as Dominion, 7 Wonders and Ticket to Ride are all liked, they don't come off the shelf very often. My wife and I take advantage of those that can be two player, but most of the time it's just better with more people.
I'm learning the problem with board games, as you age and have children, is the difficulty of finding time for them. This is painfully clear living in Maryland with no nearby family. The friends we'd most play with live 30+ minutes away and have kids of their own, so unless we can luck into overlapping nap times or schedule putting kids down at someone else's house, games generally don't happen. It's when we have visitors from out of town, or when traveling ourselves, that they usually do.
Another problem is the seemingly increased complexity of popular games. It's a regular complaint that the first time there's a laundry list of rules for setup and gameplay. You may spend 30 minutes or more talking and explaining before actually starting. Then the uninitiated still have no idea what's going on and it's over just as some insights can be absorbed, without time to go again. This has commonly been my experience.
While visiting family in Alaska, I had an epiphany that apparently had already occurred to my brother-in-law. While complex and time intensive games are fun and shouldn't be discarded, at this stage of our lives we need to seek alternatives without overly complicated rules, ideally also shorter in length. Playing multiple times gives everyone a better shot of understanding and getting a victory. Games you can play while the kids are up and about (or with them!) are even better. Just because it's quick and easy to learn doesn't mean there won't be tricks to discover or amusement to be had.
We played some games that fit this idea during our stay. These first few were fun enough and warrant a note. How I rank them:
Qwirkle - similar to dominoes, add blocks to ones already laid, make sets of colors/shapes
Quiddler - word-making with cards, each round increases cards (letters) in your hand
Five Crowns - almost same as Quiddler, but use colored playing cards to make sets/runs
Another, however, was the best example of what I'm talking about, and it's one I've already purchased myself. Called The Mind, you're not competing with the other players, you're trying to win as a team. Even though we've yet to do this (in Alaska or at home), it's been entertaining each time. The tremendous challenge keeps us coming back.
Here's how it works. There are 100 numbered cards, from 1 to 100. You get as many starting 'lives' as people playing (2-4). You always begin with 1 'throwing star.' In round 1, 1 card is dealt to each person. Without communicating in any way (verbally or non-verbally), the players lay down the cards in ascending order. Any mistakes result in a lost life. In round 2, 2 cards go to each person, and so on. To use a throwing star all players raise their hands before turning over their lowest remaining card. Winning with 4 players means completing 8 rounds. 3 players:10 rounds. 2 players:12 rounds. A limited number of lives and throwing stars are gained by completing rounds. All this necessitates developing a cadence of how much time correlates to an increase in the numbers. You repeatedly run into numbers in close proximity and progressing becomes extremely difficult. Maybe someday we'll beat it.
In the end, I'm still interested in both new and familiar games with complex rules. It's just that time for those is annoyingly sparse. Going forward I'll be more purposeful in looking for games like The Mind as well as open to playing them. It's somewhat curious I didn't realize this before, because two others I already own take little time to grasp or play and are highly recommended: Hive (2 players only) and Skull (3-6 players).
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