Obligatory Favorite Games 2015 Edition Post Part I: Em’s Top 5 Favorite Games List (Guest Blogger)

Yeah, you can tell we really take life seriously around here!

My husband has been asking me to write this guest blog post for at least a month at this point, so today I finally found the time to sit down and give it a shot. First of all, you should know that until last year I was never into tabletop games. My best friend Becks can attest to that fact, since she had to bribe/threaten/bug me constantly to get me to play a game with her when we were kids. Part of that reason is that I never won…ok, I won ONE game of Trivial Pursuit in our entire 20+ years of friendship. That tends to turn one off to games. We also would go through these weird stretches where we were obsessed with one game…Monopoly comes to mind. Please don’t judge me too harshly, I was in middle school at the time! 

Anyway, my interest was piqued in modern boardgaming when my husband introduced me to Munchkin, which he’s talked about on this blog several times. We really enjoyed playing it and then he eased me into Heroclix, which preyed on my love of all things superhero/geeky. We started actively buying modern boardgames and setting up date nights just to play, then it branched out into our own little monthly game group. Before I knew it, I was into tabletop gaming. I even watch some of his favorite YouTube channels on the topic.

I thought I’d give you all a glimpse into my Top 5 Games thus far, just for kicks so check them out below: 

Takenoko

#5 – Takenoko: This is one of the first modern boardgames Aaron introduced me to after our first foray into Munchkin and Heroclix. He knew the panda figure and artwork style would hook me in, and it totally did. I love how entry-level this game is; it has a simple mechanic but still allows an element of strategy. We routinely use it as our go-to intro game to newbie tabletop gamers and everyone has loved it so far, we even gave it as a gift to friends of ours this past Christmas! 

Dungeon Petz

#4 – Dungeon Petz: I love this game. I can’t even really tell you why, it just is so much fun to play! This was the first worker-placement game that Aaron taught me how to play (by the way, he is insanely patient and good at explaining new games to the less experienced of us, thanks babe!) and I was surprised how quickly I picked up on the rules and feel to the game. The artwork is fun and being able to raise the cute/insane monsters in order to compete on the auction block was definitely unique to me. Whenever we want a fun game that might take more than an hour or so, I always vote for this one.

#3 – Pathfinder: This game is addicting. I’ll admit it, I am completely hooked. We even brought this game with us on our anniversary trip this past year and played it constantly! I had never gotten into a game where you actually build your character through multiple rounds. It plays on my love of the “choose your own adventure” mechanic and I like the cooperative element. This was the first cooperative game I was introduced to and as a bizarrely competitive person; it probably was a good thing for the health of our marriage for us to try the cooperative approach. My character is Merisiel, by the way, and she totally kicks ass. 

Carcassonne

#2 – Carcassonne: So simple, yet so complex when it comes to strategy, I could play this game all day. We just recently started getting some of the expansions, so those have been fun to throw into the mix. I still love just the classic straightforward original version too. This was my first real introduction to a map-building concept (other than Takenoko) and as someone who angrily hates puzzles, it was so freeing to be able to have a mellow puzzle-type mechanic, but with so much freedom to build where you want.
 

Seasons

#1 – Seasons: I. Love. This Game. Even though I’ve lost the last 2 times I’ve played (which irritates me, believe me!), I can’t not put this game as my number one. The artwork pulled me in, then the strategy hooked me completely. This is our go-to game when we want to play but aren’t feeling anything specific. I love it and we recently were able to teach it to a friend of ours, which was the first time we played with more than 2 players. It was crazy! And I lost pretty badly…but I just can’t get enough of this game.

Of course there are more than 5 games I really like, Quarriors almost made the list, so did 7 Wonders and Elder Signs. I’m thinking this time next year it’ll be a lot harder to narrow my list down to 5!

So, as my husband says…until next time, game on!