Top 5 Games for Grads

1. Carcassonne

This fun, quick, and award-winning game can be enjoyed by serious gamers and casual gamers alike. Players lay tiles to establish fields, roads, cities, and cloisters in the area of France known as Carcassonne. They deploy followers as thieves, farmers, knights, and monks to control these areas and score points. Simple rules and delightful fun.

2. Time's Up

Players compete over three rounds of increasing difficulty to identify the same set of celebrities. It's not as easy as it sounds, but it is hilarious. Time's Up won a Mensa Best Mind Games Award in 2000. A wonderful social game.

3. Settlers of Catan

If you've never played it, Settlers of Catan probably will be unlike any other game you've tried. A random board layout ensures that every game is different, and there's a fine balance between skill and luck. Several game expansions are available. A great gift for graduates who like to think.

4. Star Wars Epic Duels

If your graduate is a Star Wars fan, I don't think there's a better gift available than Epic Duels. Players can match up a dozen main characters in various battle scenes. Since I bought my copy, this has been one of the most-played games in my collection.

5. Risk 2210 AD

In college, I spent countless hours playing Risk. And now I'll spend countless hours through the rest of my life playing Risk 2210 AD. Mechanical armies fight for control of the earth, underwater territories and moon territories.