I assembled the "Ultimate Board Games" list, and we are currently working our way through it! So here are the Ns.
(Visit the
0-9, & As,
Bs,
Cs,
Ds,
Es,
Fs,
Gs,
Hs,
Is,
Js,
Ks,
Ls,
Ms,
Ns,
Os,
Ps,
Qs,
Rs,
Ss)
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Tablut
This variant from Sápmi, is the best documented version. Carl Linnaeus recorded the rules and a drawing of the board in his journal during his 1732 expedition to Lapland. His description, in Latin, was incomplete, as he did not speak the Sami language of his hosts and described the game only from observing the players. The game was played on a 9×9 mat of embroidered reindeer hide. In his diary, Lachesis Lapponica, Linnaeus referred to the light (defending) pieces as "Swedes" and the dark (attacking) pieces as "Muscovites". What may have been the same game was still being played in the late 19th century, as described in P.A. Lindholm's Hos Lappbönder (1884).
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Taboo
Taboo, the laugh out loud, out-of-your-seat game of
forbidden words. In the Taboo game, you need to get your team to guess
the secret word, but the obvious clues are strictly off-limits. To get
your team to say pinball, would you say arcade, game, flippers, tilt or
roll? In this game you can't because all of those words are strictly
forbidden. Get your team to guess as many words as you can while you
race against the clock. But watch out; if you say a forbidden word, the
other team will "squeak" you and you lose the word.
Taboo can
provide tons of fun and keep you sitting on the edge of our seat. You
want your team to say the guess word on the card, but you can't use any
of the forbidden words in your clues. Get ready for hilarious moments as
you race against the clock to give your team the best descriptions and
clues possible. If you say a forbidden word, you'll get interrupted with
the squeaker and lose your turn.
Are you ready for some
nail-biting excitement and quick thinking? Can you get your team to say
the word "snore" without using the words sleep, night, noise, or nose in
your description? This unpredictable party game will keep you on your
toes as you think fast and build up the points for each card guessed
correctly. The team with the most points wins.
Even if you have
played the popular Taboo game before, this fun fast-paced game has been
updated with 100-plus phrases not seen in previous versions. The content
includes topics that are relevant to today's pop culture and hottest
trends.
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Taj Mahal
Control of India at the beginning 18th century is up for grabs.
The 200 year-long rule of the Grand Moguls has collapsed. Now is the
time for the most powerful Maharishis and princes to take control of the
Indian subcontinent. The players use strategy and cunning to win
influence over India, province by province and city by city. The most
successful player (and the winner) is the one who establishes the most
magnificent palaces and has the most power in the end.
Experience the golden age of the Renaissance. Assume the role of
the head of an Italian Aristocratic dynasty and lead your family like
the Medici or Borgia. The players support the builders, artists, and
scholars so that their completed works will bring their families fame
and prestige. As the patrons of the creators of great works, the players
seek to multiply their fame and reputations, but only one will become
the most prestigious prince of Florence.
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Take it Easy!
It's really difficult to succinctly describe this game -- so take a look
at the pictures! Take It Easy is a true multi-player solitaire in which
each player individually completes a hexagon-shaped board with spots
for 19 hexagon tiles.
There's no limit to number of players if you've
got enough sets on hand. One person (the caller) draws a tile randomly
and tells the others which of the 27 tiles featuring colored/numbered
lines crossing in three directions, with numbers from 1 to 9, it is.
"The 9-8-7," for example. Each player then chooses which empty spot on
his own board he'll play the 9-8-7. This is repeated until the boards
are filled.
The idea is to complete same-numbered lines across your board. Scoring
is calculated by multiplying the number on the tile with the number of
tiles in the completed line. A complete column of three 9s is worth 27,
for example... but a lot of players will hope for five 9s to fill the
big column down the middle.
Take It Easy is often compared to Bingo because of the familiar pattern
of a number being called and then everybody looking at their cards to
play it, and then scoring if a line is completed. But that's as far as
the comparison goes. Bingo is sheer luck; Take It Easy is a game of
skill.
Take Off! Game is the geographical board game challenges players
to race jets along colored route lines to make it around the world.
Includes a 48"x22" laminated world map, 24 plastic airplanes, and 200
fact-filled country cards.
For 2-6 players.
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Tantrix
Tantrix is a hexagonal tile-based abstract game. Each of the 56 different tiles in the set contains three lines, going from one edge of the tile to another. No two lines on a tile have the same colour. There are four colours in the set: red, yellow, blue, and green. No two tiles are identical, and each is individually numbered from 1 through 56.
In the multiplayer version of the game, each player chooses a colour, so you have between two and four players. Each draws one tile from the bag, and the person who draws the highest number goes first.
Each player then takes five more tiles from the bag, and places all six tiles face up in front of them. The first person plays one tile, usually with their colour on it. Play then rotates clockwise. After playing a tile, each player takes a replacement tile from the bag, so that they always have six in front of them. Tiles played must match the colour of the edges adjoining it.
When three tiles surround an empty space, so that it is effectively half covered, this is called a forced space. If the person whose turn it is has a tile that fills that space, then they must play it. They repeat this process until there is no more forced spaces that they can fill; at which stage, they make a free move, where they can play any tile, as long as they don't breach the three restriction rules given below. Once they have had a free move, they must then fill any more forced spaces that they can.
The three restriction rules are:
You cannot create a forced space with the same colour leading into it three times
You cannot create a four-sided forced space
You cannot play along an edge that, when forced spaces are filled, will create a four-sided forced space.
Once there are no tiles left in the bag, the three restriction rules do not apply.
The aim of the game is to get the longest line or loop in your colour. Each tile in a line counts as one point, and in a loop is two points. Only the highest-scoring line or loop counts.
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Tapple
Name It. Tap It. Pass It. The fast-paced game where quick wits are
pressed for time.
Choose a category for the round and in 10 seconds,
name an answer starting with an available letter on the TAPPLE wheel.
Then reset the timer and pass it on.
Can't think of an answer in time
and you're out.
Last player left scores the round.
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Jenga Tetris
Two famous brands join up for a modern twist on the stacking game you
know and love. Build the Jenga tower using colorful Tetris blocks that
add flare and fun to this familiar game. Get ready for laughs and
surprises as you take turns pulling out a Tetris-shaped block and
balancing it on top without making the stack crash! This game is easy to
learn and can be played with a group or by yourself. But watch out! The
Jenga Tetris game is so much fun it can be habit forming!
Add
fun to any party by challenging friends and family for an exciting,
nerve-racking test of skill and suspense with the Jenga Tetris game!
Together you create the classic Jenga tower using the colorful Tetris
blocks. Then the action really amps up as each player pulls a block out
of the stack and places it on top, without making the whole tower come
crashing down. This game never gets old and can be played just about
anywhere. You can also play solo as you try to beat your own record of
building the tallest tower. The Jenga Tetris game can be played by our
rules, or you can make up your own. Stack it high, build it wide, remove
the loosest block or risk pulling out a block with a tighter fit. Gaps
are okay in this Jenga game, but fill in a level completely and you’ll
get to pick the next player. Whatever way you play, this is the ultimate
block-stacking, tower-crashing game.
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The Generals
Each player commands an army of 21 pieces - from Five Star General to
Private - including 2 powerful Secret Agents. You must capture your
opponent's flag or manuever your own flag to his front row to win.
Using
strategy - and courage - you position your army for battle. An attack
is made! Your piece is challenged when your piece and an enemy piece
occupy the same square.
The AMAZING COMPUTER goes into action. It
electronically signals - with light and sound - which piece is the
victor. That piece wins the position. The defeated piece is removed from
play. Because the strength of each piece is hidden, suspense builds
with every move.
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The London Board Game
The London Board Game is a board game which requires players to rebuild London after the Great Fire of London up until the start of the 20th century. London is a card-driven game with a board in the form of a map of London.
To rebuild London players purchase boroughs on the board and play cards from their deck. The cards represent buildings of economic, political, scientific, and cultural significance throughout the history of the city.[2] This includes general constructions such as bridges, coffee houses, and hospitals, along with famous landmarks such as Woolwich Arsenal, and Tower Bridge.[2][5] Players must choose which buildings they wish to construct based on the benefits that each card will give them. The management of poverty is central to the game and players can lose a significant number of victory points if they have accrued more poverty points than their opponents.
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THE MAD MAGAZINE GAME
The Mad Magazine Game, titled Mad Magazine: The "What-Me Worry?" game on the cover, is a board game in which gameplay is similar, but the goals and directions often opposite to, that of Monopoly; the object is for players to lose all of their money. Play proceeds to the first player's right and the first player is determined by a left-handed roll for the lowest number. The game includes cards, money, dice, and tokens, and the game board features Alfred E. Neuman and illustrations from Mad magazine. By design, no conclusive strategy exists for the game, since even if a player is winning, several spaces and cards direct players to exchange money or chairs with others, causing advantages to be lost instantly.
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Tune
into memories of your favorite television shows with the Ultimate TV
Trivia Game. The game is jam-packed with clever questions that span the
length of television’s long and colorful (or black-and-white) history.
Players
roll the die and proceed around the board landing on one of five
categories including “Who Said That?”, “Where Did It Happen?”, “Blankety
Blanks,” “It’s All Relative” and “Real Life. ” A great way to entertain
friends and family as well as to reminisce, recall and remember facts
about TV’s most popular shows.
Comes with over 1,000 trivia questions, 28 TV tokens, game board, 1 moving piece, 1 die and instructions. Made in USA.
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Through the Desert
From the award-winning game designer Reiner Knizia comes game of
strategy, patience, and cool plastic camels!
The desert is still
treacherous, mysterious, and without mercy. But for those willing to
risk the dangers of the shifting, sun-baked sands, the desert holds
riches beyond compare. In Through the Desert, two to five players each
control tribe of nomads vying for control of the desert. By establishing
caravans and taking over oases, the players gain points as their tribes
increase in power. Strategy is essential in deciding how and where to
build your tribe's caravans.
There are multiple ways to gain points and
several ways to win. Should you try to build the longest caravan? Or
should you dominate the desert's oases? Don't forget to keep an eye on
your opponents' caravans, or you may find your own tribe cut off from
valuable water holes.
Through the Desert is playable by For Ages 10 and
up, and is suitable for the whole family. You can play an entire game in
under an hour.
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Thurn And Taxis
In Thurn and Taxis, players build post office routes across Bavaria and
the regions around, collecting bonus points in various ways. The board
shows a map of all the towns, with roads leading from each one to some
its neighbors.
There are various colored regions around the board, most
with one or two towns, and a large region with all the Bavarian towns in
the center. With the right strategy, this game lets players build
routes and stagecoaches, found offices in cities and expand into new
countries. All the while making good use of public departments and
having a lucky hand when planning new routes.
Thurn and Taxis: The
mail's here!
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Ticket To Ride
The Ticket To Ride Board Game is a cross-country train adventure
that celebrates Fogg's impetuous and lucrative gamble to travel "Around
the World in 80 Days" by proposing a new wager. The stake is a $1
million prize in this winner-takes-all competition. The objective of
this train board game is to see who can travel by rail to the most
cities in North America in just seven days. This Ticket To Ride game can
be played by two to five players. There are 225 colored train cars and
players have to collect cards that allow them to use the different
railway routes connecting the cities across the USA.
This Ticket To Ride
Board Game comes complete with a detailed board, game cards, help
cards, rules, train miniatures and more.
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Euphrates and Tigris
An expansion for Chicken Cha Cha Cha You can now play with 5 or 6
and with new rules. Chicken Yard Rumba. The chickens are no longer
dancing alone - the water-based fowl have decided to join in the fun.
Not only do the chickens now compete with the ducks in the Olympic dance
trials, but there are now squishy obstacles to their quest to collect
all the feathers. Otherwise, the game is the same fun as the original,
but watch your step or you will need to clean your feet.
In Mespotamia, between the Euphrates & Tigris rivers, lies
the cradle of civilization. Farmers cultivate the land, traders sell
their wares, and priests offer the masses their religious support. For
kings seek to lead their dynasties to fame and power. Conflicts are
unavoidable and only the most clever and successful king will emerge as
the winner!
Now, we present the
card game version the game for all the fans of the original!
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Tikal
Each player is the director of an expedition intent on exploring Tikal
in search of the secret paths that lead to the temples and precious
treasures that have remained hidden for over 1000 years. A player
receives points during four scoring rounds for eac h recovered treasure
and for each temple that he controls. But, both temples and treasures
can change hands. The expedition that earns the most points exploring
Tikal wins the game.
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Time's UP! is a fast-paced party game where it really is about
"who you know." Movie stars, scientists, and fairy tale folk are just a
few of over 800 characters that players will encounter in a game of
Time’s Up! In Time’s Up!, teams compete to collect the most celebrity
cards from the Deck of Fame.
To collect a celebrity, players must get
their teammates to name the famous people on their cards before the
clock runs out and the deck is handed over to the next player.
Hilariously entertaining, Time’s Up! rewards quick thinking and
improvisation as players scramble to describe who’s on the cards.
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The hunt for the gems continues. Malicious rapids challenge the
skills of the canoeists who want to get a good haul. The only hope for a
desperado is to call the river spirits. People say that Bathing Beaver
and Hurried Elk have already helped many adventurers to become rich and
saved them from falling over the waterfall during a storm. But this also
encourages pilferers who can now make a lot more profit.
As in any spy story, the action in this game can be turbulent and
confusing at times. The players search for top secret information on
seven spies, hidden in a safe, which keeps being moved from place to
place. Whenever an agent is able to crack the safe, more information
becomes available. Each player is the chief of secret service in his
country and sends his best agent in this race for information. The
players should be careful to keep the identity (color) of their agents
secret. To better conceal his agent's cover, each player can move all
agents in the game. The player who has managed to move his agent marker
the farthest at the end of the game and has collected the most
information wins!
Players
2-7.
Ages 8+
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Torres
A series of devastating tornadoes, unleashed by enemy mages in the
recent war has left all the king's castles in ruin. Only the foundations
of these once magnificent monuments remain. He has charged his sons
with rebuilding his castles and promised the throne to the one who can
rebuild the tallest and largest castles.
Each prince has 6 knights to
supervise the building. Two or more princes may work together on a
castle with their knights competing to control the highest towers of the
castle. Once each year, the king will tour the castles, to judge the
progress of each son. After he finishes the third tour, he will choose
his successor and the winner!
Players: 2-4
Aged 12 and up
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Totopoly
Totopoly is a commercial board game, based on the events leading up to,
and during, a horse race. The game is based on a double-sided board,
with each side representing a different half of the game, each player
has a set of horses with players placing their bets on the race.
This a
fun family game.
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Trajan
Set in ancient Rome, Trajan is a development game in which players try
to increase their influence and power in various areas of Roman life
such as political influence, trading, military dominion and other
important parts of Roman culture.
The central mechanism of the game uses
a system similar to that in Mancala or pit-and-pebbles games. In
Trajan, a player has six possible actions: building, trading, taking
tiles from the forum, using the military, influencing the Senate, and
placing Trajan tiles on his tableau.
This is a Euro-style strategy game
and playing time is 30 minutes per player.
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America in the 19th century: railroads are booming. Pioneer spirit and
vision are everywhere. Everyone wants to be the first to build a
railroad network across the country. Each player has five cities and
tries to connect them with a shared network of tracks. As soon as a
player has done this, the round ends. The other players lose points. At
the end of the game, the player who has the most points left is the
winner. A very simple railway game. The player who can make the best use
of the other players' networks is generally victorious.
All aboard that's coming aboard! Choose your engine and start building
your very own railroad network across America. As you lay down your
tracks, you must strategically decide how you are going to connect five
undisclosed cities before anyone else. Tunnels and bridges require extra
tracks, but connecting to someone else's hub will afford you a much
broader playing field. Be careful, though. Whoever you connect to can
take advantage of your network, too!
Takes about 30 minutes to play.
For 2 to 6
players.
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Trivial Pursuit is a board game in which winning is determined by a player's ability to answer general knowledge and popular culture questions. Dozens of question sets have been released for the game. The question cards are organized into themes; for instance, in the standard Genus question set, questions in green deal with science and nature. Some question sets have been designed for younger players, and others for a specific time period or as promotional tie-ins (such as Star Wars, Saturday Night Live, and The Lord of the Rings movies).
The object of the game is to move around the board by correctly answering trivia questions. Questions are split into six categories, with each one having its own color to readily identify itself; in the classic version of Trivial Pursuit, the Genus edition, these are Geography (blue), Entertainment (pink), History (yellow), Arts & Literature (brown), Science & Nature (green), and Sports & Leisure (orange). The game includes a board, playing pieces, question cards, a box, small plastic wedges to fit into the playing pieces, and a die.
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Trouble
Pop into the racing, chasing game where everyone's in Trouble!
Set up your pegs and then hit the Pop-O-Matic die roller. Depending on
what you roll, you can move your pegs to the Start space, move your pegs
forward – or watch other players move while you can't! Each of your
pegs has to go all the way around the board to the Finish space, but
watch out – if another player's peg lands on the same space as yours,
your peg has to start over.
The player who gets all 4 pegs into the
Finish space wins! Pop all around the board for the win when you play
Trouble!
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Tsuro
Create your own journey with Tsuro, the Game of the Path. Place a tile
and slide your stone along the path created, but take care.
Other
player's paths can lead you in the wrong direction - or off the board
entirely. Find your way wisely to succed.
Stay the path - your journey
begins here.
The legacy of a ruined empire silently echoes across the stars,
its presence still felt as a timeless entity. It is hope. It is a
promise. It corrodes the dreams of a peaceful universe into visions of
alluring conquest, propelling the entire galaxy into an endless struggle
for power.
Shards of the Throne is an epic expansion for Twilight Imperium, adding
new races, new units, and many new options to create an even more
incredible power struggle in the far reaches of the galaxy.
Mercenaries, Mechanized Units, and all-new Flagship units give players
more options for customizing their fleets and Ground Forces, while the
Political Intrigue option will crank up the agendas and espionage of the
political phase.
Also adding Race-Specific Technologies, alternate Strategy Cards, new
System Tiles, Space Domains, and an all-new scenario that puts one
player in control of the legendary Lazax Empire, Shards of the Throne
creates a completely new way to wage your galactic conquests!
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Twister
Add a twist of fun into any party or family night with the game that
ties you up in knots. This Twister game is the classic game with 2 more
moves.
Give the spinner a whirl and see what's next as you try to keep
your hands and feet on the mat. Right foot red. Can you do it? Left foot
green, you got it. If your knee or elbow touches the mat or you fall
over, you are out.
Be the last player standing to win.
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