Are you hosting a casual get-together at your place this weekend? It could be tough, thinking about food, table set-up, and making sure everyone’s comfortable. Plus, what are you going to do? Movie or series marathons, karaoke, and booze are great. But you know the other thing that doesn’t go out of style? Card games and board games.
From the good old days of Monopoly and Battleship, board games have come a long way. But what remained the same was the loads of fun that every game has in store for its players, young and old. Hosting your own game night is one of the best things about condo living, with a space that is just enough for an intimate group. Not to mention all the city conveniences that are a stone’s throw away.
If your friends are coming over to your condo this weekend, here are the no-fail board and card games you can play with your barkada for one hell of a good time.
1. Settlers of Catan
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This is a massive hit. First published in Germany in 1995, this multiplayer board game is about building colonies on the island of Catan where players build cities, roads, and settlements in order to gain supremacy in the island. Settlers of Catan offers a very familiar storyline: you collect resources (wool, lumber, bricks, etc.) to be the island’s leader. Barter trade dominates the island, so you have to skillfully strategize to make sure you have everything you need to build your settlements, but at the same time you don’t give too much to make your opponents even more supreme.
2. Hollywood Blockbuster
If you and your barkada are movie fans, Hollywood Blockbuster is the perfect board game for you. This is the US edition of the German game Traumfabrik or Dream Factory. If you dream of making movies and is just completely in love with Hollywood, you are in for a treat.
In this game, every player is like a movie studio trying to have the most successful year. How is success measured? The number of stars in a movie and the number of awards a movie gets matter. There are four quarters and in every quarter, there are auctions and parties. In each auction, the players or the studios, bid for contracts for special effects, actors, directors, etc. Winning auctions means you get tiles that determine your movie’s success. At the end of the year, awards are given out.
3. Cards against Humanity
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Does your barkada like talking about politics? Are you also guilty of sometimes acting like you know it all?
Well, Cards against Humanity is a great card game to prove if you indeed know it all. This is a party game wherein players complete fill-in-the-blank statements with words or phrases that are typically considered offensive. In the age of political correctness, this game is a true winner.
The game starts with a card czar and plays a “black card” face up. He reads the question or the incomplete statement out loud. The other players then pass a “white card” face down to the Czar. The czar shuffles the cards and shares each card combination to the group. The Czar picks the funniest, which is equivalent to one “Awesome Point.”
4. Star Wars: Rebellion
Crazy about Star Wars? Did you know that there’s a board game you can play with your friends who are as cool as a Jedi. It’s called the Star Wars: Rebellion, which will make you experience the galactic civil war right in your condo living room.
In Star Wars: Rebellion, players control the galactic empire, commanding starships and troop movements. The game features more than 150 plastic miniatures and two game boards that feature the galactic systems. Players will control forces led by heroes and villains such as Leia Organa and Emperor Palpatine as they pursue secret missions. This game is as cinematic as it can get. May the force be with you, as you decide the final fate of the galaxy.
5. Codenames
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If you are mad about spy games and intrigue, you and your friends might want to try a game of Codenames.
In Codenames, two teams of two or four players will go up against each other. Their task is to interpret clues. In each round, players set up cards with codenames. The team’s designated spymaster will give out single-worded clues followed by a number of cards associated with the clue. Sounds easy? Not really. But it should be a lot of fun.
6. Time’s Up!
Charades is a favorite party game. If you want its board game version, then you’re looking for Time’s Up! It is a game of two teams wherein players get to look at several cards featuring historical or fictional characters. Players choose some of the cards that are then shuffled to form a deck. This deck is to be used for three rounds. In each round, team members try to get their teammates to guess as many names as possible in 30 seconds. Teammates are only allowed a single guess.
7. Smarty Party
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Is your barkada full of smartypants? Then, it’s time to know who is the smartest of them all.
Smarty Party is a fun trivia game that keeps everyone guessing. In each round, a player selects a category. Teammates then try to give all the correct answers such as 70s TV series, US Presidents, handyman’s tools, etc. If you’re wrong, you take a penalty. But if you are correct, you get to wear smartypants! And of course, you earn some bragging rights.
8. The no-fail classics
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Board game after board game is released every so often. But the classics remain among the best.
Chess is perhaps the most popular board game in the world. It is well-respected with several international tournaments in its name. Make it extra fun with an extra fast timer. Then of course, there’s Scrabble and Monopoly. Both are very mental and also a lot of fun. If you like strategizing, Poker is most definitely not going to fail you.
These board games and card games are perfect weekend activities that can be enjoyed in your condo community. The space is intimate, personal, and familiar. It does not intimidate or make you feel like you have to play by the rules. The only rule is to have loads and loads of fun.