If you've never played a designer board game, you're missing a lot. Designer games (sometimes called modern games, German games, German-style games or Euro-games) have found favor with gamers around the world because they're fun and challenging -- and they can be played in an hour or two, sometimes even less.
Players take turns laying tiles to add roads, farms, cloisters and cities in this award-winning game. Great for 2 to 4 players, with scoring that always seems to come down to the very end, Carcassonne is going to get played a lot for years to come.
Ticket to Ride is an absolutely top-notch game with broad appeal to gamers and families. It plays in less than an hour and providing a lot of depth without being complicated. Players must make a variety of strategic and tactical choices, giving it considerable replay value. Players compete to build railroads across the United States and Canada, both developing their own plans and disrupting the plans of others.
More than any other single game, Settlers of Catan was responsible for the growth of designer games in the U.S. On the uncharted island of Catan, players work to obtain the resources they need to build roads, towns and cities. A variable game board, a good mix of luck and skill, and strong player interaction all combine to make it a classic.
Deep in the jungles of Central America, players compete to uncover treasure among archeological ruins. The gameboard and other components are wonderful to look at, the rules are straight-forward, and the theme will appeal to the Indiana Jones in you. Just don't play with opponents who over-analyze -- doing so can make the game drag a bit.
5. Cartagena
Pirates compete to escape from jail in this game, where you must move forward to get into the boat -- but the only way to move forward is to move backward. Clever and engaging, Cartagena also is deceptively simple.
