BoardGames

From Hudsonic

Settlers of Catan--a modern classic

I played the Settlers of Catan weekly for about 4 months straight after discovering it at Christmas 2004. I then proceeded to the larger Eurogame world in 2005 and 2006, then to Card Games (CCGs/TCGs)in 2007.

Based on recommendations and reviews at http://www.boardgamegeek.com/ I decided to buy Carcassonne after Settlers of Catan and for awhile thought it every bit as good. But later, after learning the tile distribution, my interest dropped off. Carcassonne may have staying power for some, but for me the "replay value" just isn't there like it is for Settlers. Having said that, even Settlers does have its limitations, and I haven't found the expansions to my liking. Thus I embarked in a 1.5-year quest to find other good-to-great Eurogames.

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Local links:

• coffee shop near USC --a place to play: RagazziRoom
• GameShopsNearLA
• Recommended Gateway Games
• see also VideoGames and CardGames and GameWishList
• BoardGames of my childhood
• OnlineGameBuying experiences and thoughts

Off-site links:

• http://www.thedicetower.com/ Tom Vasel blog, reviews, podcast
• http://boardgames.about.com/
• http://www.BoardgamesToGo.com/ Mark Johnson blog and podcast
• http://www.michaelareed.com/boardgamesearch/
• http://www.boardgamegeek.com/
  • Pico http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/606
  • Carcassonne H&G http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/4390
  • PiecePack http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/2860
• http://server.boardgamestuff.com:8000/gray/blog/Games/Reports/Other
• http://www.thegamesjournal.com/Archives.php --some analytical, thoughtful articles; almost scholarly!
• http://fluffysnoop.blogspot.com/ Mark Jackson blog