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Columns > Unplugged > 2007 Holiday Shopping Guide
Fun doesn't have to be plugged in. Check out a few of these suggestions and enjoy some face to face gaming this year.  Unplugged Holiday Guide Family games These games are appropriate for a wide age range, play quickly (under an hour), and have fairly simple rules - just right for a family game night. To Court the King by Rio Grande Games  2-5 players, $30 MSRP A great dice rolling game, accessible to a wide range of players but has enough strategy to satisfy those who want a bit of planning in their game. Players start the game rolling three dice trying to form poker-like sets like a pair, three of a kind, or a high total. Creating a specific set awards players with a character card granting special powers for use in the next round. Powers include basic ideas like additional dice or ways to adjust the dice in play after rolling. The first player to eventually roll seven of a kind wins the king card and starts the endgame. Players then take turns using all their collected character cards in a roll-off where they attempt to roll the most of a kind. Ties are broken in favor of the player who won the king card. With a full five players the game moves just a little slow, otherwise it performs excellently for the full range of players. Owner's Choice by Z-Man Games  2-5 players, $30 Playing the stock market has never been easier or faster in this quick-playing game of buying and selling stock. Players share a single pawn and move it around a game board while investing in four different color-coded companies. No dice are rolled for movement, instead the active player may simply choose which square on which to land. If a colored square is chosen, the president (majority stockholder) of that company may spend money to roll a die to see if the stock increases in price, decreases, or pays out dividends. Each company has a different color-coded die with slightly different emphasis: green pays more dividends while blue occasionally allows the president to move down the price of one of the other stocks. Some colorless squares add spice to the mix rewarding extra dividends to the highest value stocks or letting the active player roll an event die (which typically gives a small reward). After the players' pawn moves once around the board the game ends and all players tally up their net worth. Just like the real market, the market dice can be capricious and disrupt the best laid plans. A fun game with a playing time less than a half hour, Owner's Choice is a good one. Kids Games It's great fun to play with your kids, but not if the game bores you to tears. Here are a few games for kids 6 or older that are also fun for adults. Igloo Pop by Rio Grande Games  2-6 players, $33 Imagine a game based around a dozen tiny Maracas. In Igloo Pop players frantically shake little plastic igloos in a free for all trying to guess how many plastic beads have been placed inside. To make a guess, add your colored disc to an igloo and place it on the appropriate card. Correct guesses win the card while incorrect guesses lose their colored disc. Cards award from one to three points depending on their difficulty and players' discs are also worth a point. After several rounds, the player with the most points wins the game. Great for younger kids as they can enjoy guessing but it also makes a nice quick five or ten minute game to break the ice at the start of a party. Hey That's My Fish by Mayfair Games  2-4 players, $25 In this tile based game players move their penguins around a game board covered in fish trying to win the most fish. After moving one's penguin a hexagonal tile is removed, thus slowly breaking up the game board. Since players can only move over the remaining tiles, a smart penguin can maneuver to block off an entire section of the board, thus guaranteeing all the fish in that area. The rules are simple so young kids can play and benefit from practicing their math skills while enough strategy remains to keep adults interested in playing. Heroscape by Hasbro  2-4 players, $40 for the basic set Part boardgame part action figure set, this simplified wargame is all fun for the target young-teen audience. Players choose an army from a wide variety of plastic figures and then fight it out over customizable, stackable terrain. Rules are simple and the game plays fast but retains some basic tactical choices such as elevation and terrain considerations. Each unit or squad has different strengths and weaknesses lending the game a high replay value right out of the box. The newest master set, Swarm of the Marro, contains everything needed to play. Gamers who want to expand their collection can also buy a set of the many available expansion figures. Thankfully, the expansions are NOT collectible so gamers can choose exactly which armies they want to add to their game. Heroscape's colorful figures and excellent game rules are a near-guaranteed hit for any young male's holiday gift. Party Games There's nothing like a fast-playing boardgame to help break the ice at a social gathering. These games have short rules explanations, play quickly, and can accommodate many players. Wits and Wagers by North Star Games  3-7 players or teams, $30 Almost a Cinderella story, North Star Games entered the crowded party game market and has made a name for themselves in just a few short months. Their hit, Wits and Wagers, can even be found stocking the shelves at Target. While I am not a fan of trivia games, I will gladly play this one. Players write down a numerical answer to a question, and then bet on which answer is closest (without going over) to the correct one. Thus, while you gain points for writing down the correct answer, it is more important to be able to identify whose answer is the best. This results in a trivia game that almost anyone can play. The game lasts for seven questions and then players tally up their net worth, the player with the most chips wins the game. Adding betting into a basic trivia game creates tension and fun even for those who normally shy away from trivia games. Ca$h n Gun$ by Asmodee Games  4-6 players, $40 The year has been great for party games, and Ca$h n Gun$ is one of the reasons why. In this game players place a bullet card face-down on the table and then aim their Styrofoam gun at one of the opponents. Players then either bow out of the round or stay in and risk getting hit. Players then reveal their cards to show a bullet or a blank. Players who bow out early are mildly penalized and players who are shot take damage. The remaining players split the central pot of money on the table. Everything is set back up and a new round begins. Take three points of damage and you're out of the game. After everyone's limited supply of bullet cards are used up, the game ends. The winner is the living player with the most money. The advanced game adds in special powers for each player to keep the game fresh. With a little bit of strategy and a whole lot of bluffing fun, Ca$h n Gun$ shines best with a bit of acting flair as you stare down your opponent trying to get them to bow out when your gun is only holding blanks. Ricochet Robots by(Rio Grande Games)  2+ players, $25 Part puzzle game, part party game, this is a must-buy for any person who likes a good logic puzzle. A central game board contains four colored robots on an open grid maze. Players race to find a path to get a colored robot from point A to point B. The player who can find the shortest route in the least amount of time is awarded a point and the next puzzle is set up. In a nice catch-up mechanism, players who are behind in points win any ties for shortest path. While it isn't every gamer's cup of tea, for the right players the game is completely addicting. Strategy Games A few games for those that like a deeper, longer game experience. The examples here are on the lighter end of heavy game spectrum, clocking in at about 1 to 2 hours. Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery by Tropical Games  2-5 players, $60 In this game of colonizing the new world, gamers take turns placing their workers on limited occupation boxes. Each box gives a player an associated action, such as exporting to the new world, acquiring trade goods to increase income, purchasing capitol city upgrades, exploring the New World, and more. Once all players' workers have been placed, the turn resolves and players can take their actions. Players earn victory points during the game for successful explorations and for majority control of colonies. Other victory points can be earned in the last round through the purchase of specific capitol city improvements. Due to these improvements, there are many solid strategies for winning the game. The diverse number of victory paths and a series of hard choices throughout the game make Age of Empires III one of my favorite games of the year. Pillars of the Earth by Mayfair Games  2-4 players, $50 Mirroring the book by Ken Follett, players compete to help complete a central cathedral. In the boardgame, the cathedral serves only as a timekeeper, the game ends when the last cathedral piece is placed onto the board. Players must manage their gold as they purchase raw materials and workers and craftsmen to process them. At the end of every round, craftsmen turn raw materials into victory points. In a fun selection mechanism, players take actions in the order their pawns are removed from a bag. However, the earlier pawns, and thus the best actions, cost more to perform. A player may, and often does, pass and then pay nothing for their action, but the action is taken after everyone else has made their selection. While some randomness occurs due to the pawn draw, a solid player will be able to manage their risk and consistently perform well. Many possible actions can occur in the game but only a few can be made at any one time, keeping the number of choices at any one time to a manageable number. With four types of raw materials and many different craftsmen available, there is room for multiple winning strategies. Finding which one is the best for a specific game is always fun. Yspahan by Rio Grande Games  3-4 players, $50 In this game themed around desert trading players roll a set of dice to determine the available actions in each round. Players in turn order select one action which typically consist of collecting resources (camels, gold, or special cards) or claiming an area on the game board. After several rounds of play a scoring round occurs where each full area on the board scores points and then the markers are removed. Markers placed on a caravan area also score points, but are not removed. After three scoring rounds, the game ends. What makes the game interesting (other than the unique die rolling mechanism to determine available actions) are several buildings that can be built with resources. These buildings grant special powers to any player who owns them. The game moves along quickly and despite the fun dice-rolling has plenty of solid strategy opportunities. Choices are fun, but are typically limited to only a few things, which helps younger or newer gamers to be able to play the game. 2-player Games Some games suitable for two players, great for when the kids are asleep or when a buddy comes over to spend an afternoon. Mr. Jack by Asmodee Games  2 players, $37 Jack the Ripper is on the loose and someone had to track him down. In this two player deduction game, one player plays Jack and the other plays a detective. Several colored tokens are placed on a city map. Players take turns moving the tokens around. After each player moves twice, the detective learns if Jack is in the dark or in the light (properties that depend on location and adjacent characters.) Colored tokens which have been proved to be not Jack are flipped to their reverse side which has no effect other than to help the detective remember which suspects are left. If the detective can figure out which suspect is Jack before their opponent manages to move him off the board (via one of the four corner escape routes), the detective wins. To make things more difficult for Jack, he can't escape unless he began the round in the dark, and each character in play has special abilities that bend the rules of the game. Of course, the Jack player is also allowed to use those same special abilities. Playable in about a half hour, it hits a sweet balance of simplicity with a healthy portion of strategy. Mr. Jack is a great two player game that is part deduction, part strategy game, and all fun. Duel in the Dark by Z-Man Games  2 players, $50 More of a war-themed game than a true wargame, two players battle it out to either attack or defend German cities from British bombing runs during the second world war. The British player examines the game board and the weather and then secretly programs in a bombing run using a deck of cards. The German player then lays out various defenses such as flack, searchlights, antiaircraft guns, and radar all over the board. The game then commences in earnest with the British player moving their bomber as programmed and assisting it by moving a fighter escort to protect it and serve as a diversion or ruse for the German player. Meanwhile, the German player is maneuvering several different groups of planes in an attempt to intercept the British bomber. To make things complicated, the Germans must sparingly use their gas reserves so flying willy-nilly all over the board is out of the question. Each player earns victory points for achieving objectives such as bombing enemy cities, intercepting the other player's planes, hitting the bomber with antiaircraft fire, and other bonuses. Nothing is ever eliminated from the game, only victory points are earned. After one bombing run, players switch sides and give it another go. After two plays, the player with the most victory points wins the game. Solo rules are also included in the game for the gamer who wants to play but can't find an opponent. While the game is a nice mix of bluff, strategy, and planning, one of its best features is a great presentation. With tiny planes flying past floating clouds all up on plastic stands over dark night-covered German lands, it is a beauty to behold. Definitely one of the best looking games of the year, with a very nice game underlying all the great art. Miscellaneous OK, so these aren't officially boardgames, but they are fun activities that can be enjoyed in a group or family setting. Guitar Hero by Activision  1-2 players, about $100 for game with guitar, available for PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, and PC This video game (shudder) snuck into the holiday guide due to its raging popularity and its ability to get kids up and moving around rather than just sitting on their backside. Like the Dance Dance Revolution craze of a few years ago, Guitar Hero is a rythmn game that has players attempt to match rhythmic patterns onscreen. The newest incarnation, Guitar Hero III, continues the previous game style. Players rock out on a guitar shaped controller by pressing buttons on the neck of the guitar and strumming with a toggle switch on the guitar's body. The game starts out easy for beginners but offers plenty of challenge at harder difficulty settings. The guitar tracks are extremely well written, giving players the feeling that they're actually laying down a smooth rock melody. A word of warning, the selection of rock songs spans a large range. While foul language is at a minimum, stereotypical heavy metal satanic references crop up in a number of the songs. BluTrack by BluTrack  1+ players, $40 for 18ft of track, $70 for 24ft plus ramps Toy cars and kids just go hand in hand. And if a kid has a car, sooner or later they'll want to see how fast it can go. This is a job for BluTrack! BluTrack is a company that makes flexible plastic runways suitable for the standard Matchbox or Hotwheels style toy cars. While a tad more pricey than other track options available in mega-mart stores, BlueTrack offers serious lengths of track that is much more flexible than found in other brands of track. To top it off, the blue track has two lanes making it perfect for racing. The track is made of a sturdy blue (surprise) plastic that can be coiled up when not in use. The flexibility is also useful for constructing loops and turns. Pillows, boxes, or the specially made ramps can all be used to create jumps and loops for racing fun. One end of the track has a hook that can be Velcroed to a wall or hung on a provided suction cup making setup that much easier. It isn't all fun and games, in practice the ramps are a bit finicky to set up and it takes a little bit for the track to settle out flat after being coiled up in its box. However, it is still a good value for the money. A bit of tweaking here and there with pillows, boxes, or whatever building materials you have handy and you've made yourself the best racetrack in the neighborhood! Quercetti Marble Run or Skyrail Marble Coaster by International Playthings   1+ players, $20 to $80 depending on kit Building things is fun for any kid. Building things that "work" is even better. While building a custom rollercoaster is probably beyond the reach of any parent reading this guide, the next best thing might be to construct a rollercoaster for that common childhood toy, the marble. Quercetti makes two lines of marble-coaster type toys suitable for building. The Marble Run line of toys are based around tubes and funnels and seem to be a bit sturdier than the Skyrail line of toys. The Skyrail Marble Coaster kits are lighter weight to allow more graceful, swooping, higher paths - making it more appropriate for kids who are slightly older. The deluxe models of each have moving elevators which turn the fun building toys into a possible engineering centerpiece - a modern day replacement for the toy train going around the tree. Conclusions No matter what toys and presents the holidays bring, be sure to keep time in your schedule for playing with friends and family. While the games here come highly recommended to provide fun for a wide range of players, there are plenty other choices available. For recommendations from past years, stop by the Unplugged Holiday Guides for 2006, 2005, 2004, and 2003.
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