Recommend Me A Board Game

My love of games extends further than just computer games, you know. I’m also something of a board game fiend – a fan of games in any form, to tell the truth. In the last few months I’ve especially enjoyed getting together with a few friends to play some board games, and that enjoyment is hopefully going to be buoyed further by a recent discovery of mine.

I found a really cool shop in the centre of nearby Reading – one which I’ve walked past many times but only recently investigated. It’s called Eclectic Games and is a board game and collectible card game specialist.

Eclectic Games is very much My Kind Of Place. It’s large and warmly decorated, with a huge selection of games, both niche and well-known. It also has a library of games - which you’re free to try out in the gaming hall out back - and the owners regularly organise events where you can meet other gamers and get involved in tournaments. It’s small enough to be charming and independent too – exactly the type of place I’d like to support with my patronage.
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The only problem is the overwhelming amount of choice on offer, as I’m not exactly in a position to take up another new and expensive hobby like D&D or Magic: The Gathering. So, I need your help picking a new game to play – as well as a few gift ideas, perhaps.

To give you some idea of my tastes, I’ll say that I usually like games that have a random element or a large replay factor. I like games that have a good sense of humour or which provide a chance for players to talk while they play. It needs to scale to two players and if it caters for more than six then that’s great. A playing time of 45 to 75 minutes is ideal and a horror or geek theme is considered a bonus, though the barrier of entry shouldn’t be too high as to intimidate new players.


Other games I usually enjoy playing are things like Atmosfear: The DVD Board Game and I’ve recently fallen in love with Harry’s copy of The Last Night on Earth. I’m partial to a bit of Settlers of Catan, though Trivial Pursuit makes it into the mix on occasion too. When I’m not playing with a larger group of friends then Lost Cities is something I like to play with my girlfriend in short, easy bursts, though I can swing to the other end of the scale with something like Dune.

Games I don’t like are Monopoly, which I’m banned from playing on account of my competitiveness, Zombies!!!, which I found very disappointing and shallow and The Key to the Kingdom on account of it’s complexity.

There are some titles that I’m explicitly interested in, such as Arkham Horror, but I’m mostly putting this out there because I want to find something new to play. Throw your suggestions in to the comments and I’ll let you know what I settle on in a future post.