Originally Posted by
NightTrain
Absolutely the BEST board game ever is called 'Rail Baron'. My brother and I will still play that one at times with all our kids and it's still as fun as it was the first time we played it back in '82 or so. Really teaches the kids US geography along with actual railroads & routes as well.
A close second is Stratego - and I'll whup Gunny's ass if I can find an online version!
Chess for 3rd place. My Dad was very good at it and it took me about 6 years of regular playing before I could sometimes checkmate him - he could think further ahead than I was capable of, so my strategy turned to distractions when I recognized a setup he was maneuvering for that I couldn't see what he was up to. A sudden random move from the other side of the board would blow up his strategy and I had to keep him on his toes with the occasional random move. His favorites were the knights, where I would favor a lurking bishop / queen combo. We had some awesome games.
Played a lot of monopoly when I was growing up out in the boonies as a kid, and my Dad used to really fry my ass with those sweetheart deals he'd make with my siblings... he was ruthless and knew he had to keep me away from the Oranges & light blues or I'd nail him. But I burned out on monopoly.. occasionally we'll play a game and I'm as ruthless with the kids (maybe not the wife, though!) as my old man was. They get pissed, but there's no freebies from me around here... you want to win, you have to earn it.
Risk was always pretty good, but really, the winning ticket to Risk is biding your time, let the other knuckleheads beat each other up and come storming out of Australia to clean up. Never try to hold Asia, even with those 7 troops each turn. North & South America was a winner with only 3 points to defend, but everyone knew you had to be taken out within 3 turns or you'd dominate, so that didn't happen very often. Africa and Europe were losers pretty much every time with so many points to defend. A couple of times I won by retreating to Madagascar and just sitting there collecting 3 troops each turn while everyone else duked it out, turn in bonus cards and storm into a South America / Africa position with an eye to taking over North America next.
I've never seen Rail Baron, but I love Stratego and Chess and Risk. If anyone finds any online versions of any of them, I'm in!
Nice strategy on the Risk, NT. I agree, I think - best to start in South America and then expand to North America. Alternatively to Africa. No one gets worried about you until its too late. Starting in Australia is easy but can't go anywhere, and its impossible to start in North America, Europe, or especially Asia.
Ecclesiastes 10:2 - A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but a foolish man's heart directs him to the left.
Wise men don't need advice, and fools won't take it - Ben Franklin
"It's not how you start, it's how you finish."