When my friends and I get together, we inevitably wind up doing one of three things: playing Rock Band, playing card games, or playing board games.
With summer approaching, and with it, barbeques, fireworks and get-togethers, I thought I would share one of my favorite board games: Lunar Rails.
Lunar Rails, by Mayfair Games, is one in a series of crayon-rail games. Essentially, you build an empire by drawing railroad tracks on a laminated map with erasable crayons. There’s something magical about this combination; I get to use strategy at its most evil, and yet my inner child is happily coloring away.
Some may feel that once you’ve played one crayon-rail game, you’ve played them all, but I like Lunar Rails better for two major reasons:
- It’s a map of the moon, not, say, China, so it’s a sphere – you have the Near Side and the Far Side, and they’re connected. Woe to the person who forgets that.
- It’s the freaking MOON! I’m automatically happier with the sf theme. Something about it reminds me of Heinlein’s juvenile novels, like Red Planet.
I’m warning you now, these games tend to be more fun if there’s at least one person in the group who’s played one before – that way it keeps the pace from dragging too much. That being said, I have the most fun when it’s a silly group of people who don’t care about the pace, cursing those who cut them off and swiping other’s crayons. As with any game, try not to take it too seriously.
I realized it’s actually been a few years since I’ve bought a new board game, and I’m dying for suggestions! What are your favorites?
About j
when/if we don’t roll a D&D campaign with my friday night crew, we break out Iron Dragon (same game, but with a Medieval/fantasy setting). Everything you described it excatly how it goes, cursing, blocking and oh hardcore cheating LOL…
Have you played Dominion? It’s technically a card game, but still very, very good.
When it comes to rail games specifically, my favorite by far is TransAmerica–It’s a lot shorter and simpler than other rail games but without sacrificing fun.
I’ve always enjoyed Chrononauts, a time-travel game with a great sense of humor. It is technically a card game rather than a board game, though you basically build a gameboard out of cards.
Days of wonder makes some great games. If you liked the crayons in lunar rails, then you’ll probably enjoy Cleopatra and the society of architects, wherein you get to play with some pretty cool toys.
Thanks, people! I am writing your suggestions down. Okay, doing some copy + paste.
Oh, except for thunt27, because I actually have Iron Dragon! Or maybe a close friend does and I just borrow it, I can’t remember. Lunar Rails was first purchased because the store was out of Iron Dragon, but it wound up becoming my favorite.
If you like Lunar Rails, keep your eyes open for Martian Rails, due later this summer. Instead of two circles attached at the edges, think of two tetrahedrons fammed together with the resulting six sides unwrapped. Looks to be quite interesting.
@seppo – Thanks! I will definitely keep my eyes peeled. Sounds neat.
Not quite a board game, but if you haven’t played Munchkin (they have a whole bunch of different themes from the classic Munchkin which is basically D&D, to Star Munchkin and even most recently Munchkin Booty if you are feeling the need for a pirate kick). The whole Munchkin line is just way to much fun and can get really harsh as you can stab your friends in the back (you have also sorts of fun gear like a plastic nun you can place on your steed to protect you from curses). The game is full of great puns.
I also enjoy Apples to Apples, Killer Bunnies, Fluxx, Wooly Bully, ect. I could really keep on listing for quite a while. ^_^
@ Dice Girl – I love Munchkin and Fluxx. (And Apples to Apples, but don’t tell DaveTheGame.)
The one thing you have to understand with munchkin is that it’s both a game and a collection of jokes. And unless you shell out for an expansion set every few times you play, those jokes get old pretty quick–Not a problem if you like the game itself, but if you only enjoy playing because you’re laughing at the cards you draw, it’s not the wisest purchase.
I do own Apples to Apples – I won it in a college poker tournament, weirdly enough.
I’ve played Munchkin once, but I don’t own it, I don’t think. It was a hilarious time, though – I had forgotten all about it! Thanks for reminding me!
.-= j´s last blog ..Dear Anon-O-Box: I Just Don’t Care About Dating Anymore =-.
Just got back from our local gaming convention, PolyCon, and got to play some pretty cool games:
Arkham Horror, which I’d played before, is a cooperative boardgame where you play investigators in 1920s Arkham trying to stop the ascension of a Lovcraftian Horror–It’s very pretty, reasonably complicated, and amazingly fun.
Also got Three Dragon Ante as a prize for running some D&D events. Again, it’s a card game and not a board game, but it’s pretty fun.