30 Still Gaming: My 3 favorite Board Games

Streamlined with difficult choices, this how I would describe my favorite games. Here is why:

Twilight Struggle, Board Game Geek #1 game, 2 players’ game

The game simulates the entire cold war on a world map. The 2 players take control of the US and the USSR in what is a beautifully balanced asymmetrical game. The tempo of the game is determined by cards which always give you a choice between action points and an event. The cards are unique, for example the NATO card does not have similar effect to the Warsaw Pact card. The early war is to the advantage of the Russian who will try to invade Korea, put pressure on Berlin and Europe. The Americans will wait for a better late game while trying to use their initial positioning to contain the communist out of America and South East Asia. One key element is that when you have one of your opponent cards in hand, you will be forced to activate his event in order to get the action points for yourself. Some beginners will hate this, but really you want to have your opponent’s event to choose the timing of the crisis. For example, the US will be happy to prepare strong bases in Mexico and Panama before playing the Fidel Castro card that establishes a threat in their backyard.

Games can be very tight until the end, but it is also a game that you can lose badly, being completely crushed before mid game. This comes from a very high level balance. Russian will win 50% of the time (okay, I admit, 51% in competitive games), but it is not an Eurogame where you wait for the final scoring to lose by 1 point. The game can be harsh, so I would not recommend it for players who like to build their little farm on their own with no interaction. No points for second place in the cold war!

Pro

Steep learning curve
Replayability
Balance
Theme is really present
Long term strategy is necessary

Con

Large gap between a beginner and an experienced player. (Need to give an extra advantage)

Chaos in the Old World, subtleness in Warhammer, 4-5 players’ game

With powerful magic and hordes of demons, the 4 Gods of Chaos want to ravage the world. However, the real contest is to be the best at it. The game has a lot of character from artwork to design. Clearly, you do not play the same game with Khorne, the God of war and blood, as with Tzeench, god of change and deceit. You progress on 2 tracks, victory point, plain and simple but only usefull if the game reaches the last turn and a wheel. The progression on the wheel depends on who you are. Slanesh progresses by corrupting Nobles, while Khorn only needs to kill. By progressing you unlock new abilities, gather more power and ultimately win the game. Some gods are better at scoring points, while other have an easier time advancing on the wheel. So the tricky part is that you need the full attention of all players to control the progression of the game. Give Khorn free kills in the early turns, and it will not be possible anymore to avoid his victory. You need to bargain with the others to keep everybody under control, ally sometimes to ravage a region and split the rewards, but most of all you need to be selfish.

Pro

Replayability
Mechanics are simple
A healthy lot of difficult choices

Con

Need careful play (and some experience) from the players to maintain balance
Artwork and theme do not fare well with everybody. A pity, because the game itself is not morbid / dark at all.
3 players’ game is very weak in term of balance

Game of Thrones, Diplomacy with hype, 4-6 players’ game

Let’s start by saying, that no, you do not need to know the books to enjoy the game. It clearly stands out on his own. Basically it is Diplomacy: There is no winner in a 1vs1 fight. You will never have enough troops to defend your borders and attack on one front. So to push the odds in your favor you need allies until the very end, when you backstab to grab the last remaining victory location. The beauty of the game is that orders are given with face down tokens, so that until the last second you can never be sure if your plan for the turn will unfold as planned. How many times you see a defense token instead of the support token on top of your ally army. He was not in a position to betray you, but he was clearly not sure that you could be trusted. You then lose the battle where he should have supported you, and a new round of diplomacy opens, with your allies now having the upper hand. On top of this diplomacy/hidden order aspect, Game of Throne has many interesting addition: Event cards that set the pace of wildling invasion and political events, recruitment center and supply, battle cards to add a tactical layer to the game. In my view, it is a really nice game. One of the few 6 players’ game that have depth and reasonable gaming time due to the simultaneous order phase.