Ken's Top 5 Board Games of All-Time

5) Candy Land

You need at least one nostalgia pick on the list and this is a good one.

It doesn’t get much simpler than Candy Land. It’s all luck with no skill whatsoever. Shit, you don’t even need to know how to count since you just follow the colors.

Regardless, Candy Land is a cool ass place. Who didn’t want to live there as a kid? It’s a land made out of candy for Christ’s sake. And I’ll tell you, I wouldn’t mind getting a lick of Princess Lolly. (See what I did there?)

For a simple game, it produced a decent amount of drama. I remember many a time when someone was about to taste victory only to draw the Plumpy card and get sent all the way back to the beginning. On the flipside, it was common to see the person in last place draw the Queen Frostine card and suddenly be on the verge of winning.

And don’t even get me started on Lord Licorice – that miserable prick.



4) Scattegories

An every man for themselves battle that is a sure fire crowd pleaser.

The best part of the game is the amount of thought that goes into it. You cant just put anything down on paper and expect no one else to answer the same thing. If you really want to earn points you need to outthink the opposition. That’s my kind of game.



3) Risk

The classic game of world domination is held in the highest regard by those who play it.

There is a ton of strategy, shit-talking levels of epic proportions and the obligatory “the Ukraine is weak” zinger at least once a game. Best of all, you get a serious sense of accomplishment whenever you win – it’s as if you really are Napoleon.

The only drawback is the amount of effort that goes into organizing a game. You need 4-6 somewhat sober people who all have at least 2 hours on their hands. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, a great time is had by all.



2) Trivial Pursuit

May the man with the most useless knowledge win.

Trivial Pursuit has the same effect on people as Jeopardy in the sense that if you win you automatically feel smarter than someone. And why shouldn’t you? It takes a lot of effort to collect all of those goddamn wedges.

Pursuit is also versatile in the sense that you don’t need to have a full game to declare the better man. It works just fine to have lighting rounds where a full card is asked to two people with the winner being the one to get the most correct.

And like Risk, Trivial Pursuit is the subject of a classic Seinfeld line:

George (to the bubble boy): Oh no… The answer is Moops.

That episode was gold.



1) Pictionary

For my money, it doesn’t get any better than Pictionary.

The game lends itself great for a party atmosphere since you can have multiple teams with multiple payers on each one. The drama created is tremendous as you race to beat the clock. All involved are sure to be drawn into the excitement.

It is also a humbling game, but a gentlemanly one at the same time. If your drawing of “corn on the cob” blows, you are going to hear it from the table. However, these same people will give you some well-deserved compliments if you are able to pull-off a drawing of “toxic waste.”

Throughout a game you’re sure to laugh, cry, get mad, argue and - above all else - have a blast… What more do you need?

-Kobel
http://www.hittingtheflow.com