James Ernest first made a name for himself as the head of Cheapass Games, a company devoted to the publication of low-cost board games -- many of which had off-the-wall themes. He also runs James Ernest Games, a company with higher production standards. These are my picks for the best of all his games.
Kill Doctor Lucky is a kind of reverse Clue -- instead of trying to find out who did it, you're trying to do it. Players chase Doctor Lucky through his mansion, attempting to kill him while out of sight from other players. The prequel, Save Doctor Lucky, also is worth picking up.
Based on the comic series Girl Genius by Phil Foglio, this unique game challenges players to manipulate a board of cards by trying to align edges of the same color, "popping" cards for special effects and forcing moves on their opponents. It was chosen by Games Magazine to be in the 2001 Games 100.
Nearly 200 characters are now available for this simple, addictive dice game. Each player is one character; they roll dice to battle each other. Small dice (four-sided, six-sided) represent speed and agility, while large dice (12-sided, 20-sided) represent power.
Another game of battling dice, but in this one the dice really are battling. Part of the game's strategy involves rolling your cardstock paper dice so that they hit your opponents' dice and roll them over to weaker sides. A mix of mental and physical skill is required to win.
A "real-time" card game in which players try to beat each other up. Once you know the rules, each game takes less than a minute. Brawl appeared in the 2000 Games 100.
