What else, besides films and books, skis and skates, to please yourself during the New Year holidays? Of course, board games – a good half of our editorial staff said in unison. And everyone enthusiastically told about their favorite game. Some of them you probably know. And some can become a real discovery of the holidays.
“Mister X”
“I first saw this game at a party – it lay in a conspicuous place, like a trophy brought back from vacation. At first, I was puzzled by the complexity: the rules for several pages, a field that looks like a subway map, a lot of details. But the process was exciting. Five detectives try to catch the fugitive, occasionally getting clues. On the second or third round, it turns out that everyone has their own style, their own role in the team, their own deceptive maneuvers and complex combinations. At some point, I was even surprised: even half an hour ago these strategists could not calculate how many pizzas to order for the whole company! “Mr. X”, Ravensburger, RUB 1930*
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“Alias: Say Different”
“Come up with an antonym for the phrase “square of shame”! “Circle of Honor”? That’s right, move the chip forward! “Say it differently” is a game, the meaning of which is to explain the words written on the cards to a partner. And for me, the meaning is in the very atmosphere of fun and word creation. The most successful – or vice versa – explanations on the fly become jokes and live in a company for months, or even years. My friends still remind me of a long-standing failure – in one of the parties my partner said: “Imagine that the Patriarch of All Russia comes to visit you. It will be official…” So slyly he tried to explain the simple, in fact, the word “visit”. I, alas, expressed a different version: “the end of the world.” “Alias: Say Different”, Tactic, 790 rubles.
“Monopoly”
“The game was given to me at the age of 8, although in general I dreamed of a new bike. So Monopoly lay idle for a long time. And then one day friends gathered at my house, and we suddenly decided to try to play it. And got carried away so that then played almost every day. Now that I have time, I’m happy to return to Monopoly. I like brain training: it’s not enough to throw a die here, you need to think over a strategy, try to understand your partners. And of course, I love excitement, it is important for me to win: the game for the sake of the game itself is not for me. “Monopoly”, Hasbro, 990 rubles.
“Scrabble”
“Why do I love him? For touching square checkers hidden in a canvas bag. For the pleasure of clinging to the words already on the board, climbing up to new ones, looking for meaningful combinations in random – and sometimes simply mocking – sets of dropped letters. For the magic ghosts of words that appear on our coasters – all these “garacry”, “zashvlok” and “hollow” – even when they have no place in the game, do they not please us with their unearthly appearance, dimly distinguishable in the iridescent fog of imagination ? “Scrabble”, Mattel, 1490 rubles.
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“Sea battle”
“This game unfolds – like a Cinderella dress made of nuts – from a small piece of paper. You draw ships and you already feel the excitement: in ordinary life, I don’t use notebook sheets, and the pen is less and less. The main thing is to hide your flotilla and unravel the enemy: what is he up to? Will my reception quickly bite? Of course, it’s nice to laugh and fool around. And I really like to dot around wrecked ships: there is something soothing about it. It turns out not victory or defeat, but a beautiful pattern.
Cluedo
When I see this game, I remember how, at the age of 10, I refused to leave the guests, having not read the volume of Tales of Sherlock Holmes. Players with cards in their hands build versions: who, where and with what committed the murder. The names of the suspects (Mrs. Peacock, Professor Plum…) caress the Angloman’s ear, the miniature murder weapons (candlestick, revolver…) are pleasant to hold, and the rooms on the playing field (billiard room, study) awaken the imagination. For Conan Doyle, perhaps not enough dynamics, but Agatha Christie Cluedo would approve. Cluedo, Hasbro, 1090 rub.
*Prices shown on mosigra.ru website