In Eight Games different board gamers share the eight games they’d select in eight different situations. The links are given to Board Game Geek listings for you to find out more.
This month David Abadie shares his Eight Games. David is also known as Patate des Ténèbres (Potato of Darkness). He is a professional game-planner, a creator of roleplaying games, a cheese lover, and an aficionado of old stones.
1: A game to take to granny’s house:
A family friendly afternoon.
[kosmopoliːt]
BGG Listing
I really like [kosmopoliːt] for its cooperative and educational nature. Everyone plays with each other, easily changing roles and sharing the fun. It is a game of semantics set in a restaurant, where dozens of different dialects meet and blend.
The waitress uses a free phone app. Wearing headphones she repeats the orders she hears phonetically to the Butler, who must note them, then in turn, pass them on to the cooks. Players must identify the language, the country and the dish! This is a great game for families and those new to board gaming. It’s very original and very well designed!
2: A game to take to a restaurant:
Play around the drinks and cutlery.
Throw Throw Burrito
BGG Listing
Before taking this game to a restaurant, you must first check that there is a lot of space between the tables. If possible, you need several levels with stairs and elevators and crockery made entirely of cardboard. If all that’s in place, you can play Throw Throw Burrito!
This is a very simple card game, although some cards trigger duels between participants. Here, instead of battling with traditional weapons, the guns are replaced by foam burritos. Players must launch their own burrito while dodging their opponent’s. Once the duel is over, the card drafting resumes. keep an eye on the reactions of the neighbours!
3: A game to take to a reunion:
Some people you want to chat to, others… not so much.
La Petite Mort
BGG Listing
In La Petite Mort players are apprentices of Death, each jostling to prove themselves. The aim is to mow down interesting personalities and make their lives more interesting in order to prepare their beautiful deaths. Be careful, however, the other dead may try to mess with your carefully laid plans.
Fast and fluid, this is a good little game that will appeal to everyone, thanks to its funny personality cards.
4: A game to take to a primary school:
Arm yourself with multiple copies and take over a whole classroom.
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
BGG Listing
While it’s not the kind of game I usually play, we went through games of Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, as if we had to prepare for some sort of world championship.
It’s very addictive, fun and easy to grasp. It’s a good choice for younger children and will whip them up into a card-slapping frenzy. It’s not my target as a professional, but I really see this game in a classroom.
5: A game to take to a youth club:
Hook in the next generation of board gamers.
Spirits of the Forest
BGG Listing
If you want to introduce young people to board gaming, the choices are practically endless! To start with, let’s plump for a game with some abstract mechanics – Spirits of the Forest, by Michael Schacht, superbly illustrated by Natalie Dombois.
Too often we drown the elegance of abstract play under an explosion of material, so it’s wonderful to strip it all back to find a very beautiful gaming experiences with clean mechanics.
6: A game to take to a job interview:
Demonstrate your best qualities and answer questions while you play? (This really should be a thing)
Dune
BGG Listing
Behind screens and on the map of Arrakis, in Dune we see the cogs in the heads of the adversaries, turning, turning. They utter beautiful words, promises of alliances, of exchanges… but all of this has nothing to do with the dark thoughts behind.
This game in general is a very good indicator of individual behaviour. Dune, as a game of diplomacy, makes it clear that all our friends are in fact deceitful traitors!
7: A game to take to a hospital:
No brain-power needed.
Trek 12
BGG Listing
If all your limbs are in plaster, I wish you a good recover. If not I recommend a good roll & write to play in hospital, like this one – Trek 12. It’s a very pleasing design and requires quite a lot of thought to play. I’d recommend it, whether you happen to be a fan of mountaineering or not!
The variable difficulties bring a good amount of replayability.
8: A game to take to a cabin in the woods:
You have lots of time and lots of space.
Twilight Imperium
BGG Listing
In addition to needing a lot of space and time this game requires at least three players and no interruptions from mask-wearing, chainsaw-wielding cabin stalkers.
Twilight Imperium is a huge game, reserved for a very special kind of playing. It’s a war game, role-playing game and board game hybrid. The rules will be too onerous for many, but each game is a wonderfully unique experience, taking us to the heart of a galaxy where our actions count, where we remember the names of the worlds we colonise
If you’d like to submit your own Eight Games blog we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch.