News: Dixit wins the Spiel des Jahres!

I previously reported that the Spiel des Jahres nominees had been selected.  On Monday, the Spiel jury came back and pronounced Dixit the winner!  I haven't had the opportunity to play Dixit, but from my review of the game and in discussions with people who have played it, it seems to be a subtle cross between Apples to Apples and Once Upon a Time. 

First Impressions: Dominion, Ra, and Samurai

This weekend, my lovely and talented wife was out of town for the wedding of her friend.  That left me to my own devices.  Friday saw me in my regular gaming group, and Saturday evening I drove out to Gameology for their Not Closing sale (yay!) and participated in some boardgamey goodness.  I racked up plays of Lost Cities, Fluxx, Citadels, and Caylus, as well as first plays of Dominion, Ra, and Samurai. I felt both very accomplished and highly sated.

First impressions after the cut.

Review: Munchkin - Stab your Friends!

As I posted previously, Munchkin is one of the more underrated games that I've played.  Munchkin is thematically light hearted.  Every card is humorous, and most play off of recognizable monsters and spells for the D&D player.  One quick example is the monster that a player may face: The Grassy Gnoll.  If that got a chuckle out of you, then this game may be right up your alley.

But be warned, Munchkin is all about screwing over the other players while you try to climb to the top.  If your group can take it in good fun, then this will be a fabulous endeavor.  If your players tend to take assaults personally, then Munchkin is the perfect way to breed mistrust, hatred, and loathing where once was camaraderie.

Variant: Underrated Games

One of the nicer aspects of BoardGameGeek (the mega-resource for gaming) is that you can review the rating for each game.  Every user of the site can rate games on a scale of 1 to 10 (with five being 'meh').  The aggregate score is caluclated and you can quickly pull up a game you're interested in and see what the gamers have been rating it. 

Overall, it's a nice feature.  And you'll rarely be disappointed with a game rating above 7 or so.  But, sometimes, I find myself a gem of a game that, nevertheless, doesn't get much love from other gamers - whether online or in person. 

The one that sticks out in my mind is Munchkin.  Munchkin is a devious little game where you and a group of adventurers travel through a comical dungeon looking for treasure.  It also offers a lot of back stabbing and spite throwing.  Munchkin has numerous expansions and several theme spin-offs.  However, the original Munchkin is rated below a 6 on BGG, and rated lower than any other version of the franchise.  And some of my real life gamer buddies do not enjoy the direct attacks that are so flagrant in this game. 

Since I've played more than my fair share of D&D, the deliciously pun-fueled cards really strike a chord.  I enjoy reading the cards and running from the Plutonium Dragon as much as I like the game itself.  Perhaps non-D&D players are missing out on an essential part of the experience. (Stay tuned for a full review of Munchkin).

What about you?  What game do you enjoy that doesn't seem to get much love from your friends or the board gaming community?