As a self-proclaimed dork, I love board games.
They’re cheap, oodles of fun, (sometimes) educational, and help forge new bonds of friendship with whomever you play with.
That said, I’m about to list some of my favorite board games below and encourage you to go out and play some on your next rainy day.
1. Sorry! (2-4 players)
The object of the game is to get all of your pawns from your Start to Home base.
However, there are many opportunities to negate the progress of other players, such as bumping pawns back to start, switching your pawn’s place with another pawn’s place, and the namesake of the game—the Sorry! card.
The Sorry! card, which moves any one pawn from Start to a square occupied by any opponent, sends that pawn back to its own Start.
It’s a very intense game that will guarantee some excited screaming, pounding of fists on any surface, and (if you’re playing with a sore loser) the board getting flipped over at the very end of the game.
2. Monopoly (2-8 players)
If you’ve got some time to kill, Monopoly is an excellent choice.
If you’re good at buying properties (hint: red and green properties!), setting up hotels and buying utilities, you will probably enjoy this game a lot and maybe even end up winning.
Also, for those naysayers and their friends who think Monopoly is antiquated and boring: throw out the Chance cards they give you and make your own. It becomes much more fun that way.
3. Scrabble (2-4 players)
You spell out words and tally points for the words; the concept is elementary.
Here are some variations on regular Scrabble if you tire of seeing your competition put down “AA” and still get credit for it: Dirty Word Scrabble, Preposition Scrabble, and Pronoun Only Scrabble.
4. Settlers of Catan (3-4 players)
This is a German board game that has rapidly surged into the modern US.
In this game, players assume the role of settlers on the game board, each attempting to build and develop their settlement while trading and acquiring resources.
Players are rewarded points as their settlements grow; the first to reach a set number of points is the winner. It’s a very logical, nerdy game and I highly encourage everyone to give it a try.
If it turns out sheep and wheat aren’t your thing, I’ll happily buy the board from you.
And hey, if board games REALLY aren’t your thing, try going for a walk, planning a picnic or going to see a movie with friends. Get your tickets with Fandango!
