20 board games you might not know about

Put down that Monopoly money, and stop playing trivial pursuits. Check out these alternative board games.Tell us what your favorite board game is. We appreciate your feedback. We listened to all your stories and heeded all your advice, whether it be ancient classics like Chess and Go or more modern staples like Scrabble and Monopoly.

One of you has even created your own space add-on for Risk.

As a result of the recent popularity of games, there were also some lesser-known titles among the tributes to games like Cluedo and Ludo. To that end, we have put together a list of twenty excellent, yet lesser-known games suggested by our readers that we have either played and can vouch for their awesomeness or that sound amazing and you should check out. Check out the GuardianWitness assignment to see all those that didn't make the list, but sound brilliant nonetheless (Bloodbowl anyone?)

You have our permission to roll your eyes at us (and then roll your dice) if we've mentioned a game you feel represents the pinnacle of obviousness in gaming. However, not everyone is on the same page. Many people are like the person writing this sentence, who only recently discovered all the magic (:the gathering) he had been missing. I feel sorry for the man who only got wood a few short years ago.

Now we're here. You should think about playing these games with your friends, families, and even future enemies. These games range from the pretty common to the rare. Maybe we can start this weekend? You'll be glad you did.

1) Carcassonne

is well known. Apologies. But the tile-based farming / castle-building / road-based thievery simulator has endured, and is still winning new fans worldwide. Even if you have to wear the curiosity of fellow locals with a fixed smile at times, it's a dream to play in pubs. Add-on packs make the game more challenging. "For me, it is the ultimate," says a Frenchman who owns a lot of board games.

Good design, well-crafted, never the same scenario twice. One reader commented, "Clever extension packs keep the game fresh.".A brilliant game with near infinite replay value," remarked Yarble.

2) Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones has never been on my radar. It's fun even if you haven't watched the HBO series. Hetherington describes it as "a superbly nuanced strategy game, with additional enjoyment if you are a fan of the source material."

AlabasterC describes it as "high fantasy air traffic control". "Don't ask me about ports again, please."

3) Dominion

Even though it is not based on the main antagonists from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, this card-based game was voted as a favorite by our readers. "This is an extremely interactive and continually dynamic game, and it is not possible to tell who will win until the last card is dealt," said Robert Thé.

4) Dead of Winter

As did many of our respondents, DarkGlen, who provided the image above (excellent poster), loves Dead of Winter. It sounds great. He explains why:

It is up to players to see that no one goes hungry and the camp doesn't smell bad, while trying to achieve some kind of overall objective, such as finding a cure, collecting enough gear to move on to another town, or simply finding enough fuel to keep the generators running. There is a secret agenda for every one of the players. It may be nice and safe and a little selfish or it may be to cause all of the other players to fail by reducing their morale to 0 before the main objective is accomplished.

It is the Crossroad cards that add the final touch, as they add narrative and unexpected events to the game by allowing the player to your right to draw a card and only trigger the event if certain conditions are met.

“Also has zombies which some people think are pretty cool.”

5) Twilight Struggle

Twilight Struggle makes you feel constantly attacked on every front, that your decisions are crucial or even catastrophic, and that you have to choose between the good and the bad... then you succeed. Being a superpower in a confrontation with an ideologically opposed hegemon probably feels like that."

Also a fan is kitty82. Although it takes as long as three days, causes tears and shouting, and has repeatedly ended with my deliberate nuclear annihilation in my grand, but ultimately pointless desire to choose my own method of defeat. Still, brilliant.”

6) Netrunner

What are your definitions of board games? The question has been around for centuries. In this case, yes. It seems that the technical staff enjoys Netrunner quite a bit. Great!

7) Settlers of Catan

Move along, eye-rollers. This game is awesome! Check it out. Basingstoke Discovery Centre regulars swear by it.

8) 7 Wonders

Yes, I understand. I could have easily made number seven. Victoria McRitchie describes how she came up with this superb game instead of apologizing.

My passion for board games was rekindled in my 20s when I discovered Carcassonne, the now-infamous gateway game. Soon after, expansions were arriving in the mail on a weekly basis, before I graduated to Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride."

"But it was still not enough, I needed more. Then I discovered BoardGameGeek.com and their rankings of games. As I work my way through the top 20, my shelves are creaking under the weight of European behemoths such as Terra Mystica, Agricola and Through the Ages. In comparison to relatively mundane bestsellers like Cranium or The Game of Life, their artwork, mechanics, and themes are stunning. Now that I've met friends through Facebook groups, I host regular games nights at my house. The ultimate night in for me is an Indian takeaway and a 5-player game of 7 Wonders. It's pure bliss, especially when I win!”

9) Ticket to Ride

“Wise guy, eh? Are you trying to punch my ticket? I’ll send you all the way to Chattanooga! All aboard!”

With this game, you can pretend that you are a 19th century rail magnate. Our tendency is to put on bad 1920s American gangster accents while building or blocking routes across Europe (there is also an American version), but after six or seven hours this gets old. The game doesn't. “Like rummy, but with trains!trains!trains!

10) Atlantis: Escape

Atlantis' foolish people were rightly punished by vengeful gods for their decadence. Several changes have been made to the game since it was first published in the 1980s as “Survive!””,”,”,”,”,”,“Survive!””,”,”,”,”,”,“Survive!””,”,”,”,”,”, ”,”, but our readers seem to like the current version more.

Escape Atlantis: Survive!

An incredible game where players try to escape a sinking island occasionally helping each other but mainly feeding one another's explorers to sharks and sea monsters!

11) Pandemic: Contagion

“This is another game that launched at Essen in 2014,” enthuses TheWitchfinderGenral. “The objective is to become the most deadly infectious disease, in a twist on the old “Pandemic” theme.

“The sad face on the right belongs to Martin who just lost. The smiler is Will, who won! Yay!”

12) Civilisation

Civilisation, not to be confused with the (admittedly awesome) computer game of the same name, won strong approval from several of our readers, jolo5309 among them.

The high level of interaction between players sells me on this game. During his or her turn, there is a frenetic five-minute round of open trading in which players try to get matches to the goods they have and dump their problems on other players," he or she said. "The game play is long (usually 6+ hours), but everyone remains engaged until the very last moment."

13) Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia

Euphoria - Build a better dystopia

Probably my favorite game at the moment. Worker placement dice-chucking fun, but as with all my favourite games, it is the interaction between the players that I like most, superfun times make superfriends.

14) Firefly: The Game

Firefly: The Board Game

Since my teens, I have been a gamer. The sci-fi series Firefly is also my favorite board game. It takes some time and a lot of room, but it is a lot of fun!

15) Warhammer Quest

A person who spent a lot of his youth in Nottingham's Warhammer store wondering how a few plastic skeletons could be quite so expensive, it was important to choose a Warhammer-related title for the list. A video was sent in by Gregg Lewis-Qualls.

16) Heroes Wanted

Heroes Wanted

Join two wacky, wannabe superheroes from opposite halves to face off against an equally absurd supervillain and their entourage in order to earn more fame than anyone else.

17) Merchant of Venus

Merchant of Venus

At Midcon (November 2012 at the Hallmark Hotel), Avalon Hill's 'Merchant of Venus' was played. Players explore trade routes and customize their ships to exploit them best in this exploration and trading game. Except for the Humans' main export - rock videos - most goods are in demand somewhere. First to reach a set amount of game money, $2000 to $4000, wins. A few hours to most of the day, depending on the number of players.

18) Colt Express

Merchant of Venus

19) Antiquity

Antiquity

My 'Grail Game' took me a few years to discover, but I eventually found it. I feel like 'Antiquity' should be more widely known in both the hobby and casual gaming circles. Its limited availability hinders its reputation, but for those who own copies, it remains a treasure in their collections. It is meticulous, refined, and stimulating. It has simple rules, but the play is anything but simple. It's a game that most pass over, but for me, it's my white whale.

20) City of Remnants

City of Remnants

It has its flaws, but I love it for its built-in storytelling and blend of different mechanics. Gang warfare in a grim future; desperation on cards you never have enough of, and fights where you can lose everything. Creates a unique and fascinating game by balancing the different game elements.

Have we missed any games we should have mentioned, and are we scurvy fools for not doing so? Feel free to comment below.

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