Over the last few years I've gotten more into boardgames and you may be surprised to know it's a booming industry with great new games coming out all the time. These games use more modern manufacturing processes and more elaborate gameplay to make Monopoly look like the tic tac toe you used to play in a boring class with the kid sitting next to you. New Kickstarters for games are coming out all the time as well as games from popular designers from bigger game publishers. After a chat with @gingerninja about games the other day I thought it would be a cool idea for a post of game recommendations. That idea has become a reality. Cat not included.

Here's a picture of my game shelf and then the nine games I selected.

I just picked a handful of my favorites from my collection, without thinking too hard about it. I'm lazy that way. All of these games are popular and most have won awards. I do hope you try out one or two, they are lots of fun with the right group of people.

I've found that selecting the right game for the right group of people and the right time and place takes some skill, like choosing the right wine for a dinner party, but this is for nerds, not uptight b-holes who complain about wine. It's wet and will make you more interesting to talk to, just drink it.

Eldritch Horror

If I had to pick a favorite game this would be it. Based on the early 20th century horror writing of HP Lovecraft, it's a cooperative game where the players pick cool characters to be and travel around the globe fighting monsters and trying to save the world. Great gameplay, beautiful artwork, and hundreds of possible game narratives, every game has it's own life to it. I'm a big fan of cooperative games, I get enough conflict in real life.

Star Realms

This two player card game also has a phone app that I literally play everyday. I'm totally addicted to the point of it being unhealthy. Awesome artwork and game mechanics. Its a deck building game where you create a fleet of ships and bases of different factions at the same time trying to sabotage your opponents fleet and destroy it.

Mysterium

Really interesting and unique game. It's also cooperative; one person plays a ghost and the others play psychic mediums. The ghost tries to get the psychics to discover how the ghost was killed so it can rest in peace. To compare it to a game from the past almost everyone knows, it's kind of like Clue but way, way, way, way better. The board and pieces are awesome and the mechanics are really interesting. The ghost can't speak and can only use these weird abstract cards to get the players to guess things like the murder weapon, location and killer's identity. Everyone I've played this with agrees it's awesome. The box even has a link to a audio file online you can play with spooky music.

Zombicide

Another cooperative game, players choose from tons of different characters and you gang up to go on quests in dungeons against lots of monsters. All the players and monsters have little figurines that are really well done. It's a fast paced game where you all just run around fighting and usually by the end of the game you're being chased by a horde of zombies and you can really get into it.

Splendor

A fun 2-4 player game, very simple, but fast paced and interesting. The players are royalty that are collecting gems strategically to build the most impressive fortune, it's quite fun. It's all done with pictures and numbers so it can be played even if there's a language barrier among players.

Sherlock Holmes

Another cooperative game! This is another unique game with original game mechanics. There's no game board, just a casebook, London directory, a map of London, and each case even has the day's newspaper. It's very freeform, you and your team just discuss the case and follow leads, you decide on your own when you've solved the case, then you compare your solution with Holmes' to get your score. It's a great drinking game actually; i've sat around at a bar playing this. There's no game board to be centered around so you can pace around with your whiskey while you consider the evidence.

Love Letter

This originally Japanese game has won game of the year. Incredibly simple, 2-7 players each take turns drawing cards and targeting other players with the cards varying abilities. It's part bluffing, deduction, and guessing. It's a small deck of cards consisting of royal characters competing for the heart of a princess, but the game is so popular the cards have been themed after everything from Batman, to Archer, to Adventure Time. Batman is my favorite. The games go fast and it's small so you can take it anywhere. It's super fast to learn so anyone can play it.

Hanabi

Another small game that makes a great travel game, it's a two player card game, cooperative, where you and your partner are trying to build a fireworks display. You each hold your hand backwards so you can't see your own cards only your partners, you then use limited descriptions to try and place cards down in the proper order in turn. It's quite challenging.

Lost Cities

Another simple, fun card game for two players. You're choosing colored and numbered cards that represent going on Indiana Jones like expeditions. Depending on your success laying down the cards, your expeditions are either successful or not. Choosing your cards will help you but also get in your opponents way if played correctly.

There you go! Get off your lazy A and get one, then sit your A back down and play it. Go to https://www.boardgamegeek.com for all the boardgame info.

There some places to play boardgames online like Steam, any of you Steemers interested in checking it out? Yes, yes, I know... if you're on the computer why play boardgames instead of just playing video games. Because I said so. Also check out "Shut up and Sit Down" boardgame blog it's cool.

The end.