Board at School: Top Five Board Games for the Holiday Season

So being a self-professed dork comes with a couple perks. A) I've always had plenty of room on public transit, as geeky waves of nerdiness surround me like dirt on Pigpen, and B) I am occasionally asked for my opinion on certain topics as if I'm some sort of expert, which I'm not, but the ego boost is nice. I was recently asked about what games would make suitable gifts this holiday season, games that would be engaging, thought provoking, and of course fun. After a couple titles popped into my head, I decided to compile a short list for you fine folks. These games are not just great gifts, but one or two at the right Christmas or New Years get together might be just the thing to go down with the eggnog, turkey, and/or champagne. So...without further ado...

Top Five Board Games for the Holiday Season:

1. Dead of Winter

This is currently my favourite game, and with The Walking Dead taking a break until the Spring, this game is an excellent way to fill the void until its return. Even if you are not a fan of zombies, Dead of Winter is a phenomenally good game with the right mix of people.

In Dead of Winter, two to five players each control a small group of survivors, and the combination of these groups form the colony. The game is semi-cooperative, as the players must all work together to find food, medicine, weapons, and perform other tasks to see their way through a brutal snowstorm during a zombie apocalypse. Like all great stories from the genre, the true threat of Dead of Winter is not the zombies, but from the human drama that unfolds, for one player is most likely a traitor who has a hidden agenda and is attempting to secretly foil the plans of the other survivors. There are also special cards (called Crossroads cards) that are drawn every turn that pose players with moral dilemmas that have to be resolved. It has the all the tension of a taught thriller, and is the perfect game for a chilly December evening.

2. Codenames

Codenames is a great party game I recently discussed in one of my weekly reports. Here's what I wrote about it a few weeks ago: "The game is incredibly simple to play, but it's also a game that rewards creative thinking and risk taking. Players are divided into teams, and each team has a "codemaster". Looking at a five by five grid of cards, (each card featuring a word) each codemaster tries to encourage their team into guessing certain cards representing operatives, all the while avoiding innocent bystanders and an assassin." Codenames is great for large groups as the players break into teams. It's a very easy game to learn with simple components. The card design is smart in that the words are presented so they can be read from different angles. It's a game that is bound to generate some interesting "house rules" over time. I see this game replacing classic party games like Scattergories and Cranium.

3. Sheriff of Nottingham

The term "Instant Classic" might get thrown around a little loosely at times, but after one game of Sheriff of Nottingham, you'll be hooked. Up to five players take on the role of humble merchants attempting to import simple goods like bread, apples, cheese, and chickens. Each merchant might also be attempting to smuggle in contraband like crossbows, alcohol, and spices. Each round a player takes on the role of Sheriff, who basically acts as a customs agent, inspecting shipments of goods each merchant is bringing in to Nottingham. The joy comes from the combination of bluffing, suspicion, bribery, and corrupt shakedowns. There's some sublte roleplaying as well, as each player tries to appeal to the Sherrif. "I'm just trying to import some cheese...oh...how did these coins get here? Well, why don't you just put this in the Sheriff's Retirement Fund, and let me be on my way with my...'cheese'...". This is a great game.

4. Camel Up!

The award winning Camel Up! kills quite a few birds with one proverbial stone; it can play up to eight people (few games can), it's suitable for all ages, it's easy to learn but has enough strategy to keep hardcore gamers entertained. Again, I mentioned the game a few weeks ago; "The game actually has you playing as the spectators, playing bets on first camel, last camel, placing obstacles on the track, and advancing the race through rolling dice. The dice are rolled via a pyramid you construct before you play. Dice are dropped into the pyramid, and a neat locking mechanic allows one die to be released at random, changing the position of the camels. When two or more camels occupy the same space, they stack up, with the "lead" camel being the camel on top of the stack. " An expansion was recently released for the game, making the racetrack a little longer.

5. Mission Red Planet (2nd Edition)

The second edition of Mission Red Planet was recently released, and is a very fun game. It's a good game for fans of Settlers of Catan who are looking for a new challenge involving area control and resource management. The players (up to six!) send rockets to Mars and the nighbouring moon of Phobos. Players not only attempt to control territory, but can also sabotage rival rockets to be redirected or even blow-up. The game has great components and a geat Steampunk aesthetic for fans of the genre. It's not overly-complicated, but like 'Settlers, it has room for some clever strategies. Meeting condition cards drawn at random at the start of the game add a great deal of replayability.

To get a better idea about each of the games mentioned, check out the videos below. Each either demonstrates the game or gives it a more in-depth review. Thanks for reading!

Dead of Winter