Matthew Baldwin
Seattle, Washington, USA
http://www.acesup.com/

Settlers of Catan

Unless I luck out and wind up stranded with a group of people who are already avid board gamers, my companions will need converting. And there's no better introduction to the board game hobby than Settlers of Catan. Even though I haven't been trapped on a archipelago for weeks, now, this is still the game I use to turn folks on to the wonderful world of ludology. And it's more than just a tool for evangelism -- it's a great game!

Once I have everyone under the thrall of board games, it'll be time to wheel out El Grande, a modern-day classic that has held my "Favorite Game" spot ever since I first played it about two years ago. The strategy in this one is pretty subtle, so it needs to be played multiple times with the same group of people to be fully appreciated -- in other words, it's perfect for an island sojourn.

Catan and Grande are paragons of streamlined German mechanics, but for sheer variety you can't beat Cosmic Encounter. With its multitude of different permutations (as a result of the various alien combinations), this one will keep us busy until the rescue boar arrives. Heck -- if we're in the middle of a game when our ship comes in, we might even opt to wait for the next one.

I don't really like financial games. And I don't really like "abstract" games. But I really, really like Acquire. Go figure. And although the mechanics between Acquire and Settlers of Catan couldn't be more different, they both share one trait in common that keeps them fresh: the way the board develops as the game progress changes every time. In Catan the board starts with a few settlements which gradually expand outward; in Acquire, the board starts with a few companies with grow and consumer smaller companies. Plus, Acquire has a very distinct beginning, middle and end game, and gets better with every playing. A combination on attributes that earns it a spot in my suitcase.

Because when else will I even talk people into playing a nine-hour game?

Desert Island Board Games Index