When our chartered clipper holed itself on the island, I was thankful my entire game collection was in the hold -- at first. Everyone chipped in and helped carry them ashore, but over the years my collection has withered. Some were carried off by crabs, others lost components to whirling winds, but most were ignomiously weighted with rocks and dumped into the lagoon by irate friends. I guess they got tired of playing them. I'm left with ten, just ten precious games. My friends haven't thrown a game into the drink for a while now, so I guess they like 'em.
Most of the people on the island didn't know anything about games to start with, believing that games worthy of play by "adults" started and ended with Trivial Pursuit. I worked on changing this notion slowly, and the first step was a game of Midnight Party, by Ravensburger. This game is as simple as they come. Basically, it's a boardgame version of musical chairs, with players each moving several pieces around the hallways of a mansion according to the roll of a die. At some point, Hugo the ghost appears (it's his party) and the guests start diving into rooms to escape his friendly touch. The catch is, each room can hold only one guest and if you're caught you're sent to the basement where you are docked points depending on the order you were tagged. It's simple, it's fun, and up to eight can play. The best part is making spooo-ky ghost sounds when moving Hugo and chanting "HU-go! HU-go!" when some hapless party goer is tagged. This game does not go over well with more serious folks, but is beloved of kids of all ages (even the big kind).
Hare and Tortoise (by Ravensburger or Gibson Games) looks silly, but is surprisingly subtle and difficult to master. It's a virtually luckless race game for 4-6 players that takes 1-2 hours to play. Each player begins with a hand of "carrots" that are "chewed" to move his or her piece. Eat one carrot, move one space. Eat three carrots, move two spaces (1+2 = 3). Eat six carrots, move three spaces (1+2+3 = 6). And so on.
You can move as far as you like each turn as long as you have carrots but, you don't have enough to finish the race unless you move one space at a time. And you won't win moving one space at a time. You gain carrots by moving backwards, or by landing on certain spaces at the right time (for example, landing on a space numbered "4" will net you 40 carrots if you're in fourth place at the beginning of the *next* turn). So the race is a chaotic affair with players constantly changing the lead as they move backwards to gather carrots, then zoom ahead in a mighty leap, or, plod slowly but steadily ahead. The strategies are endless and end is always a surprise. This game is popular with silly gamers because of the subject matter and with serious gamers (if you can get them to try it) because of the deep strategies.
Without cable TV we can't keep up with the Formula One racing season, so we do the next best thing and hold our own World Racing Championships using Formula De (by Ludoliere). This F1 racing game is simple and fun, and takes 1-3 hours to play depending on the number of laps in the race. Each turn you choose what gear you are in (with restrictions based on what gear you were in last turn), then roll a d20 and look on a simple table to see how far you move. Overshoot those corners and you have to burn precious tires or brakes, undershoot and you might have to grind that transmission to stay in the race. One of the pleasures of Formula De are the stunning tracks, each one corresponding to a real F1 track. The basic game comes with the Monaco circuit, and other tracks may be purchased separately (Ludoliere plans on publishing all the F1 tracks eventually). Each track is lovingly detailed on two large, durable, tri-fold boards in full color. Beautiful.
Another favorite racing game is Circus Maximus. This oldy-but-goody from Avalon Hill allows 4-8 to relive those great chariot racing scenes from Ben Hur. Choose your driver's skill, chariot and horses-- and you're off! Ramming other chariots, sliding through the corners and spectacular crashes are all part of the fun. My favorite come-from-behind strategy is to take the last curve at full speed right next to the inner wall. The chariot usually flips and you get dragged behind it, but can you survive to the finish line? A real crowd pleaser.
Rounding out my quad of racing games is Um Reifenbreite (Jumbo). (Did I mention that I like racing games?) In this one 2-4 players take a team of cyclists through a series of four races, trying to accumulate the most points. My serious friends on the island like it because there's a lot of strategy involved -- the drafting rules are clever and allow teammates to help each other along (as well as allowing teams to gang up against the current points leader). A great game that keeps us coming back for more.
There were lots of rail/trading games in my collection to start with, but the only one that survived was Merchant of Venus, aka "rails in space" (Avalon Hill). Players are futuristic merchants plying stellar trade routes between different alien cultures. This game is easy to explain, plays well, and has a nice mix of luck and strategy. Much of this game's replay value arises from the fact that the location of each alien race is random and is "discovered" each game as the intrepid merchants ply their trade.
If you're looking for space games with a bit more action, check out Silent Death (ICE). It depicts space combat between groups of small to medium sized craft (1-5 crew members each) using miniatures on a hex map. The islanders love this one because it's easy to make up your own scenarios and the miniatures look great on our home made black, star-dotted hex map. The movement system is more suitable for tanks in space (no inertia or 3D) but if you can get beyond that the game is loads o' fun. The combat system is truly elegant -- one roll of the dice tells you whether you hit or miss and what the damage is. As damage accrues, your ship slowly deteriorates, losing weapons, crew members, shields and engines until it finally explodes or becomes a lifeless hulk. It's fast, furious and fun.
My all-time favorite multi-player game is Junta (West End). Players vie for power in a small Bannana Republic and try to have the most money in their Swiss bank accounts at the game's end. One of the few multi-player games in which *everyone* can enjoy the action until the very end. Lots of wheeling, dealing, and ever changing alliances. A true classic that everyone should own.
Another favorite is Modern Art (Hans im Gluck). A big hit at Essen '93, it will (hopefully) be introduced to the States by Mayfair next year. Players are dealers trying to get ahead in the dog-eat-dog world of modern art. The system is smooth but deep Q grasping the rules is easy, but new nuances of play constantly reveal themselves. Playable in 1-2 hours, this game can be enjoyed by both the serious and casual gamer.
Now that I'm stuck on an island I finally have time to play my favorite "monster" wargame, the Civil War Brigade Series (The Gamers). Each game in this series uses the same basic rules to depict a major battle in the American civil war on the brigade level. I like it because there's a bit of roleplaying involved -- you take the role of the commander for one side and actually issue simple written orders to your underlings which they act on in their own sweet time, if ever. A nice combat and morale system and beautiful counters and maps rounds out this series. Certainly not a family game, but well worth looking into if you have an interest in the period and want to try something a bit more involved.
Carl Schnurr lives with his wife Carla and two slightly demented cats in Durham, NC, where he recently escaped from Duke graduate school with a PhD in physics. He's gamed as long as he can remember, and is the author of several role playing supplements for Ars Magica. He is currently hoping the ideal job will jump out from behind some bushes while he and his wife take a long needed vacation camping, hiking, rafting and visiting civil war sights.