Moving Past the Mainstream

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Eyes Opened

Posted by Brian Frahm

18 Dec 2011

Brian Frahm

(framebrain)

United States
Queen Creek
AZ

I grew up in a family that played Hearts, a little Cribbage, and Pitch. We dabbled a bit in Monopoly, Life, Scrabble... stuff you can find in a big box store, and no more.

Over the last couple of years, I had heard vague things about this game called "Settlers of Catan" but never took much time to take a look at it.

A few weeks ago, a co-worker mentioned Ticket to Ride and Carcassonne as a couple of fun IOS apps that had been made from successful boardgames. I found this peculiar, as I hadn't heard of either of them.

I stopped by the local game store in the mall and picked up a copy of Carcassonne... this has opened my eyes to a whole new avenue of game options!

My bright seven-year-old daughter loves the game, so Ticket to Ride and Blokus are a couple of her (my?) Christmas presents.

I have yet to buy Catan... with Christmas so close, I'll hold off until the season passes and see what other games might show up!

Cribbage Scrabble Monopoly Blokus Ticket to Ride Carcassonne

5 Comments

Mon Dec 19, 2011 4:08 am

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Joshua Gertz

(Gertz)

United States
Las Vegas
Nevada

Welcome to the Hobby

Just moved from Queen Creek back to Las Vegas last year when my wife and I had our daughter.

I hear Target now has Dominion and Forbidden Island at some select locations, they are both very good if you get the chance to expand your collection a little more.

Posted Mon Dec 19, 2011 4:15 am
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William Hostman

(aramis)

United States
Eagle River
Alaska

Gaming in Greater Anchorage area, Alaska since 1978. Looking for Indy-willing RPG players in Eagle River (or willing to drive to Eagle River). Geekmail me if interested.

Yes, this really is what I looked like when I uploaded that avatar. Not that it's quite current anymore.

If you have a Toys-R-Us nearby, they usually have a much wider selection than Target, Wal-Mart, Fred Meyers, etc.

Many toy stores also have a wider selection.

Given that you like TTR, I'll suggest looking at some of Days of Wonder's other games. Cargo Noir is a big hit with my 7yo daughter, and with my 70-yo dad...

Posted Mon Dec 19, 2011 8:37 am
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James 3

(flamejuggler)

United States
Atlanta
Georgia

i find Barnes and Noble has the best selection of good board games locally, much better than ToysRUS. but truthfully, you need to buy most hobby games online or at true gamer stores, not bigbox retail.

welcome. its quite the rabbit hole to fall down, and Carcassone and TtR are just the very tip of the iceberg. have fun!

Posted Mon Dec 19, 2011 4:35 pm
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Todd Blackhurst

(AggieIE)

United States

Texas

Welcome! My family had our eyes opened in a similar way. The ones you listed are definitely great starts. Big box stores are barely starting to stock games like The Settlers of Catan and Dominion but I would purchase online for a better selection. Or, depending on where you are, you might find speciality stores if you want to shop locally.

Posted Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:26 pm
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Dimitri

(Dimikosta)

Manchester
New Hampshire

I have to say Carcassonne was also my gateway game, after trying it on the iPhone I made a print and play version and now I have the Big Box 3 sitting under the tree.

I've starting spending more and more of time on the 'Geek and I've researched all the games I want to get in the next couple months. I feel like I've found an incinerator for my money... but at least its fun!

Posted Mon Dec 19, 2011 10:55 pm
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