This month Nathan Boster shares his Eight Games. Nathan is a board game fan from across the pond, near Atlanta, Georgia. Before the pandemic-times, he organised the monthly board game night at his office. Now he begs his wife and their seven children to play whenever possible. (His winning streak against the 2-year-old is quite impressive.) He can be found on all the online board game sites as ‘nboster’.
A family friendly afternoon.
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Our family is full of Scrabble fans, but the shorter length (and easier gameplay) of Qwirkle makes it my pick for an afternoon with the grandparents.
Play around the drinks and cutlery.
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With only eighteen cards, you and your opponent build competing ‘Wild West’ towns. The situations that trigger bonus points are different every time. It’s quick so you’ll definitely finish the game before the main course arrives.
Some people you want to chat to, others… not so much.
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Each player builds their own crossword-type grid using letter tiles, but it’s a race to finish first. And it plays up to 8 players.
Arm yourself with multiple copies and take over a whole classroom.
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The fun components and colourful board and cards will capture your kids’ attention and the cooperative nature of the game means they can help each other to succeed.
Hook in the next generation of board gamers.
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If you’re only familiar with old-fashioned ‘roll and move’ style games, the novel theme of spice trading and the strategy that unfolds from within a simple ruleset, will open your eyes to a whole new world.
Demonstrate your best qualities and answer questions while you play? (This really should be a thing)
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Will I win against my interviewer? Who knows. Will I set it up in a visible place so that others are attracted to a game that can play as many people as can fit around the table? You bet. Will I then charm everyone present with my witty banter? That remains to be seen.
No brain-power needed.
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This game takes up very little space and not a lot of brainpower. But there’s just enough choice there to keep it interesting.
You have lots of time and lots of space.
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On the other hand, if the only other inhabitant of this cabin is my lovely bride, then I’d choose Patchwork, because it’s our favourite game, and we never tire of playing it.
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