Mark Jackson's First Half 2000 Review

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18 Plays

• Can't Stop (I keep trying to beat my wife at this, to no avail)

11 Plays

• Elchfest* (can you say "filler"?)

7 Plays

• Piratenbilliards (strangely addictive)

6 Plays

• Arriba* (Set crossed with Spoons... a great small party game)
• Canasta Caliente* (nice twist on my & my in-law's favorite regular deck card game)
• Kardinal & Konig/Web of Power* (I like the regular rules better)

5 Plays

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• Around the World in 80 Days* (lots of luck but a good little game here...)
• Carolus Magnus* (each game of this gets more exciting... still haven't played it 4 player, though)
• Frank's Zoo (the new wore off pretty quickly here... still better than Dalmuti)
• Iron Horse/Metro (much beloved at Game Central Station as THE "hosage" game)
• Quack Shot* (shooting ducks...)
• Ra (once detested, now one I rather enjoy... best with 3 players)
• Settlers of Catan (still one of the best... even if I can't win the stupid thing)
• Tic-Tac-Chec* (odd Chess variant my wife is really good at... quick if not painless)

4 Plays

• Button Men (gained a new appreciation for this at Gulf Games running our Button Men North vs South tournament)
• Citadels/Ohne Furcht & Adel* (much less luck than you think involved in this splendid and beautiful game... it's all about reading other player's plans and intentions, then running the other way... I've won 3 out of 4 games to prove it!)
• Liar's Dice (I'm not a good liar, evidently... a quality most folks LIKE in their pastor!) :-)
• Lost Cities (still one of my wife's favorite games)
• Zirkus Flohcati (if you can get people past the theme (a flea circus), this is a barrel of fun as a filler card game)

3 Plays

• Andromeda* (last game I played was the best... players jockeyed for position rather than simply lunging for the Puck and scoring ended up very tight)
• Battle Cry* (I love this one even when I'm being beat like a drum)
• Canyon (Grand Canyon deserves an award for most useful expansion... takes a simple family game and turns it on it's head)
• Chess (move, wait, watch opponent move, think... repeat -- is it over yet?!)
• Cloud 9 (with the right crowd, a lot of fun if not much thought)
• Espresso* (really fast Nirtz or Double Solitaire with nice cards)
• Fill or Bust (the old dice game 5000 with a way to attack the leader)
• For Sale (for my money, one of the best games ever designed)
• Igel Argern (this has turned out to be a great bridge for non-gamers... we use Fizzy Lifting to keep people in the game)
• Kraut & Ruben* (hard to believe this 15 minute game is from the same guy who designed La Citta)
• Mamma Mia! (less plays this year - so far - but still a favorite)
• Mein Lieber Biber!* (new suggestion from Buster on fixing the tilting of the board... just turn the little stand upside down and play that way!)
• Nicht die Bohne* (another great hosage game)
• On Your Broom* (fast memory game I always lose to children)
• Oodles (works with large crowds when one player acts as moderator)
• Palermo (I keep discovering new things every time I play this... this is a hidden gem from Piatnik)
• Perquackey (one of the few word games I'll agree to play)
• Sky Runner* (Raj with a cool board)
• Spacebeans (my least favorite Uwe game...)
• Torres (good if you play quickly, excrutiating with analysis paralysis)
• Union Pacific (I stopped bringing it to Game Central 'cuz my group would play it every week if I did)
• Vampire* (one word: why?)

2 Plays

• Arbos* (evil tree-building game)
• Attacke (the uber-filler... you are at the mercy of the cards, but at least it's quick)
• Ave Caesar* (fun, but not worth what it goes for cost-wise)
• Basari (best game I own I've never won)
• Bose Buben* (weird art but tricky little card game)
• Brawl* (Falling for two)
• Cathedral (I have this out on my coffee table... along with Pyraos)
• Celebrities/Time's Up (excellent party game which Time's Up makes easier to talk people into playing)
• Clash of the Lightsabers (I still enjoy this fast-paced card game)
• Corruption* (I like it with 3-4 players)
• Das Riff* (long for what it is but fun)
• Die Fursten von Florenz* (intriguing... don't think it'll win SdJ next year - too gamer-y, but it certainly deserves recognition and repeated playing)
• Die Gluecksritter* (over-produced Raj variant... still fun with 4, though)
• Dungeon Dice (cute Parker Bros. dice game my wife likes)
• Edison & Co. (better than it's bad press and a friend painted my miniatures!)
• Galopping Pigs* (another quick kid's filler)
• Groo (this one is fun but much too random to play often... you must ditch the Orphanage card, as it's a game killer)
• High Society (fast becoming my favorite Knizia auction game... quick, tense, and lots of fun)
• Himmelsturner/Great Balloon Race (one of Nik Sewell's successful efforts)
• King of the Elves (toss-up between this & Elfengold as my favorite Elfen-game)
• Klunker (this one gets better with more playings)
• Monster-Fressen* (Pushover with some strategy involved from Alex Randolph)
• Papua (yet another great hosage game)
• Protzen* (weak design that leaves you at the mercy of your card draw)
• Pyraos (it's a good-looking game)
• Samurai (I'm not very good at it but I do enjoy it)
• Showmanager (another 'less luck than meets the eye'... careful play and money management wins this one time after time)
• Siesta (one of the few abstracts I enjoy)
• Smear* (Uno-like card game with a bit more strategy)
• Talisman (every once in a while when I need to get D&D out of my system...)
• Trick or Treat (obnoxious but fun)
• Up The River (cute Ravensburger kids game)
• Vino* (just received this as a gift... I'll have to give it another try)

1 Play

• A to Z* (nice party game that needs a couple of fixes to work well)
• Ab die Post (ok, it's goofy, but I still like it)
• Abalone* (this one seems broken)
• Acquire (gets better with more plays... as long as it's 3 or 4 players)
• Age of Rennisance* (yuch... tedium in an expensive box)
• Air Baron (the shine is wearing off... our last 3 games each clocked in at 2.5+ hrs)
• Alladin's Dragons* (nice system, but kind of gives me a "so what?" feeling)
• Alles Fur Die Katz* (this is by the same guy who designed Hare and Tortoise?!)
• Apples to Apples (still fun, but only in moderate doses)
• Aquarium Derby (prototype)* (once you get your brain around the cards, this is a lot of fun)
• Auf Achse Kartenspiel* (Milles Bornes-ish, but the timing mechanism adds a bit to the game - fun)
• Bambuti* (ouch - my brain hurts)
• Bandu (still the best stacking game around...)
• Beggars & Thieves (my memories of this PB card game were more positive than the actual game)
• Big City (fun even when I lose... it's SimCity on a board)
• Boggle (a decent word game... wish I had a Big Boggle, though)
• Bohnanza (I've burned folks out on this one, but I still love it)
• Breton Boule* (awfully expensive for ping pong balls, sand, wood, & felt)
• Buried Treasure (need to play this with people who think... has that "dumb player on the other side of the table can kill your game" problem)
• Business* (bidding enlivens otherwise VERY dull game)
• Capone* (works well with 3... can't imagine enjoying it with more than 4)
• Caprice* (it was a gift... lots of wood... and quick... I've run out of nice things to say)
• Chicken Out!* (it only cost me 99 cents and the pieces were cool... very weak)
• Chinatown (weird deals can hose out an otherwise very enjoyable game... but not sure how to fix that)
• Concerto Grosso* (Craig Berg calls this "a drinking game in search of a college"...)
• Contracts (prototype)* (monkeying w/ KK&K... still in need of tweaking but some nice innovations)
• Crosstrack Challenge* (weak abstract game)
• D'Arf* (surprisingly fun mix of El Grande and Thunder Road)
• Daytona 500 (best of the Formel Eins series, due to greater hosage potential... best with 3 players)
• Der 13th Holzwurm (mathematical but enjoyable little trick-taking game)
• Der Ausreisser (I like it with the variant that enables you to play the Headwind card on other players)
• Die Erben von Hoax
• Die ErbRaffer (weird but enjoyable)
• Die Mauer* (ok, it could be played with a deck of cards, but it's kinda cool building the wall, isn't it?)
• Die Oster Insel (giant Easter Island heads... need I say more?)
• Die Ritter von der Haselnuss (memory game with some nastiness involved... I like it)
• Die Siedenstrasse* (great game for 6-7 players with some excrutiating card play choices)
• Dilemna* (I want to try this again... more there than you see at first glance)
• Dolce Vita* (I don't understand why everybody likes this game)
• Don Pepe* (#1 argument for keeping Family Business in print)
• Doolittle & Waite (bluffing with a legal eagle paint job... hard to explain the number system without playing)
• Dschungel* (nifty memory game with Labyrinth-like properties)
• Dschungelrennen (oddly fun roll & move from Ravensburger)
• Dump (prototype)* (still needs work to keep the rich from getting richer... as of 2/00)
• Dungeonquest (good for a laugh... very much an 'experience' game)
• El Grande (still my #1 game)
• Entdecker (still on my top ten list... gorgeous and a lot of fun to play)
• Eschnapur* (luck-driven but still enjoyable... the statue *should* keep the game from being a blowout...)
• Europa 1945-2030 (when played with the restrictions on when diplomacy can take place, a pleasant diplomatic romp)
• Evergreen (tried again... the timer didn't help much)
• Fireball Island (pure MB schlock... but isn't the island cool?)
• Flinch (grandparent of Skip Bo)
• Freight Train (my wife's favorite Alan Moon game...)
• Galopp Royale (silly but uproarious fun with some decent bidding and bluffing thrown in... just don't think of it as a race game)
• Gambler (PB schlock... with no redeeming value except that I loved it as a kid... probably the fact that my family *didn't* gamble)
• Greyhounds* (very interesting racing/betting game... on par with Win, Place and Show, but it actually works with 4 players!)
• Hallo Dachs (evil memory game that I wish I could play more often... chances for adult players to hose each other out by grabbing available chips)
• Hare & Tortoise (now that I've got a "jugging the hare" chart, I just need the new board to make for a really great game)
• Hattrick* (one of the least interesting "odd trick-taking" games to come out of Germany)
• Hell Rail* (uses the same 'multi-use' card mechanism from Yukon Co. with much better effect)
• Hobbit Adventure Boardgame* (Talisman with all the fun sucked out of it)
• In Teufel's Kuche (still one of the best kid/adult games ever made)
• Inc.* (local Monopoly-like game... not bad, not great)
• It's Mine (Slap Jack for intelligent people)
• Katzenjammer Blues (I know opinions are divided here... it's a good little game)
• Kit & Caboodle (Yahtzee for the enviromentally aware)
• Knights of the Rainbow* (even the fixed rules don't help much... not worth the time!)
• Kuhhandel*
• Kwiietsch* (squeaky toys and people making sound effect noises... late night fun!)
• La Citta* (long but very interesting... wish there was a way to shave 45 min. off the game w/out losing the intricate flow)
• Labyrinth-das Kartenspiel* (seems to be pretty much luck of the draw... I'd rather play Dschungel)
• Magic: the Gathering* (I *still* don't get this)
• Manitou (best game of buffalo hunting ever... and actually a good game in it's own right... esp. good for 3)
• Mark* (nice name... dumb game)
• Maskenball Vienna* (people got paid to design this?!)
• Medieval Merchant (very nice... excrutiating choices and very little luck involved)
• Merchants of Amsterdam* (I'd play it again... but I probably wouldn't buy it)
• Mini-Inkognito* (not better than Inkognito... which I don't like much anyway)
• Minion Hunter (wife's favorite game of blowing up zombies... she likes that the players have to work together!)
• Mississippi Queen (this game does NOT come out often enough... what a blast!)
• Mole in the Hole (one of the nicest Ravensburger games published in the US... good for kids and adults together)
• Money (I'm still a fan... just hard to get people to play when I win every time)
• Monopoly Card Game* (I'd rather play Mystery Rummy or, heck, Gin Rummy)
• Monsters Ravage America! (everyone needs a good dicefest now and then)
• Munchausen* (*very* simple bluffing game that can be a lot of fun...)
• Omega Virus ("You lose!")
• Pick It (the wife likes it, I find it tedious)
• Poker (not a bad game, but I *hate* all the goofy versions people want to play)
• Pool Position* (I liked this more than I thought I would)
• Quartier Latin (luck of the draw, but you get to beat on other players)
• Razzle (does anyone have the rules to this cute PB word game?)
• Ricochet Robot (like holding up garlic in front of a vampire... guaranteed to clear 1/2 of my game club out of the room if I even *mention* playing it... I like it a lot, though)
• Robin Hood (similar to Zirkus Flocati, but I'm not sure it's any better...)
• Round About (BAD MB game that I wouldn't give to my worst enemy)
• Samarkand (group solitaire but still quick fun)
• Santa Fe (the shine has definitely worn off this one... I'll have to see what the re-do plays like before I'd buy it)
• Schotten-Totten* (I'd rather play Lost Cities)
• Schwarzmarkt* (I usually like Steffan Dorra's stuff... but not this time)
• Secrets of the Deep (silly Ravensburger game with cool pieces)
• Settlers: Alexander the Great (best of the expansions)
• Settlers: Nurnberg* (huh? worst of the expansions, IMHO)
• Settlers: Sternfahrer von Catan* (gorgeous game that's too long for what it is)
• Sidewinder (PB race game that causes major stress for adults... fun, though)
• Solches Strolche!* (Set for kids)
• Space Hulk (closest I ever got to buying a bunch of miniatures... reminds me a bit of Battle Cry with its simple system and heavy duty mayhem)
• Split* (not bad family game... don't play with 6... yawn)
• Spy Alley (new packaging is much classier... still same old family bluffing game)
• Square Off (classic PB tile-sliding race game... I'm a pro at this... have been since I was 10 yrs old)
• Stephenson's Rocket* (confusing but interesting... I'd rather play something else)
• Stimmt So!* (Showmanager, only you get money dealt to you randomly)
• Stratego: Legends* (nice idea, bad design)
• Sufferin' Spirits* (the real "sufferin'" people are the ones playing the game)
• T-Rex* (huh? I don't get this one)
• Taj Mahal* (just wish it didn't take 2 hours to play)
• Take 6 (with 10 quick players, a scream!)
• Take It Easy (Bingo for gamers... and that's a compliment)
• Take Off* (don't understand the fuss on this one... a bad hand is MURDER)
• Time Pirates* (well, *I* liked it...)
• Um Reifenbreite (best racing game on the planet)
• Uno Hearts (how to ruin a perfectly good game... cross it with Uno)
• Venice Connection (Nim with cool pieces)
• Vernssiage* (I didn't like this one much, but I could see where others would)
• Vinci* (almost made me want to play HOTW again... but I'll play Vinci instead)
• Wind und Wetter* (neat idea, bad game)
• Wiz War (hosage & killing!)
• Wortelboer* ("bore" is right... what a yawner!)
• Wurmeln (I don't get the appeal of this one, either)
• X-Men: Under Siege! (dice-fest)
• Zoff Im Buffalo* (pretty fast-moving placement game with some interesting choices)
• Zwickern* (nearly theme-less card capture game)

NAVIGATE THIS BOARDGAMES ARTICLE
Page 1	Introduction, plus Mark Jackson's favorite and least favorite games so far in 2000.
Page 2	Mark Jackson breaks down the games he's played by number of times played.

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Many thanks to Mark Jackson for allowing me to reprint this list.

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