Corner on Wheat! (a review of Pit)

One of my fondest memories of college is family game night. I didn't have any actual family at college, but that didn't stop a group of us from gathering every Saturday night to play games. There were many family game night staples (including Kill Doctor Lucky and Bang!), but one that I was introduced to there and that remains one of my favorite party games is Pit.

FDQ: What Comes after 7 Wonders?

Here at iSlaytheDragon, we sometimes receive correspondence from our readers (which we love!). Usually we handle these letters on our own and no one's the wiser, but we thought this question would be a good one to bring to our readers. Gawie from South Africa writes:

I'm the only one in my circle of friends and family who REALLY REALLY enjoys board games. I'm always trying to twist their arm to join me for a game. 7 Wonders has really solved a lot of my problems because people actually don't mind playing with me, since it's fun and short. However, I agree with you that some variety is needed - not game after game of 7 wonders all the time. Is there another board game that's as family friendly as 7 wonders that you would recommend?

Help Gawie in the comments!

@FarmerLenny answers:

I'm surprised you say your family and friends don't enjoy games that much, yet you call 7 Wonders "family friendly." Your friends and family must be nearly there!

I don't know how many players you hope to get involved, but the games I've seen have the best success are Settlers of Catan (which I'm bored of, but it's popular for a reason) and Ticket to Ride. Settlers of Catan can play three or four (there's an expansion to accommodate up to six players, but really, I'd start with the three- or four-player game), and Ticket to Ride can play up to five. Personally, Ticket to Ride is my go-to game for nongamers because each turn players only have one choice to make, so the game moves along quickly. Every person can make progress on a turn (unlike Settlers, where bad dice rolls can work against you and bad initial placement can hamper you), and as people get more into the game, they can play more aggressively. These are both for smaller crowds, but they're great.

If you're looking for a game that can accommodate the same crowd as 7 Wonders, some great family games  are For Sale (up to six), Pit (up to eight), Incan Gold (up to eight), and Bohnanza (my family's favorite, and it can fit seven). For Sale, Pit, and Incan Gold are super quick, but everyone I've taught them to loves them. These games are not as deep as 7 Wonders, though, and people will probably tire of them quicker. Bohnanza is a bit longer, but it really is a great game with lots of interaction. And if my family is any indication, they can play this one over and over and not get tired of it.

@Futurewolfie answers:

I've had the most success with Ticket to Ride.  While my family is willing to try games that I bring, TtR is one of the few they've actually ASKED for.  Kill Dr. Lucky was also a success, and that game holds up to 7 players - but it can last 1-1.5 hours.


The Resistance is another game popular with my family.  It takes up to 10 players, plays very short (about 30mins), doesn't have a lot of rules to remember, and is one of the few games that can be played leisurely around a living room instead of at a table.  (Leisurely in the sense that people can sit back in a comfortable chair).  It takes a bit for people to get used to the concept, but once they do it's easy for everyone to stay involved.


Other than that, it's almost more of an art than a science getting your family to play games. Just remember that not everyone has to be a gamer to enjoy games, and not everyone will enjoy your favorite games.  Getting your family to play requires patience.  You've got to regularly bring up the idea of trying new games but not be overly pushy - people are a lot less likely to enjoy a game if they're forced into it.  When introducing a new game, focus more on helping them enjoy the game than trying to win - crushing defeats discourage repeat plays.  Even if you have to sacrifice some of your fun the first few times, in the long run it will work out better for you when your family can enjoy a wider variety of games.

FDQ: What Is the Best Party Game?

You're at a party, and someone suggests a game. That person brings out...Trivial Pursuit, an occasion that might merit the "Nooooooooooo!" edited into the Star Wars Blu-ray. (Too soon?) This, or similar situations, sparks today's FDQ: what is a good alternate party game suggestion? Or, really, what is the best party game? Answer in the comments!

@FarmerLenny answers:
Call me old-fashioned, but I might suggest a game of Pit. Pit is riotous fun for players, is easy to learn, and even though players typically start out underwhelmed, by the end of the night they are laughing hysterically. Another good option is Wits & Wagers, the trivia game for people who don't know anything. I love bidding/betting games, and playing with whiteboards, so this is another favorite. I also enjoy The Game of Things, though I've never played the official version. More recently, The Resistance has gone to the top of my go-to list as well. There are plenty of other options. All this to say: friends don't let friends play Apples to Apples.

@Futurewolfie answers:
I haven't played a lot of party games recently. I enjoy Apples to Apples, but it can be pretty exclusionary. I've never played Wits & Wagers (I know, a travesty!). Of games I've played, The Resistance is pretty high on the list but has a limited number of players (ten sounds high...until you're actually at an actual party...). Catch Phrase usually works well with all ages and skill levels (I have some great memories of my 85-year-old grandma). The Great Dalmuti is a pretty enjoyable card game with large groups, and you can play a variant of it (President or Scum, anyone?) with a normal deck of playing cards. Pit is good if your people don't mind a lot of yelling...at least where my family comes from. I can't imagine a quiet game of Pit, anyways.

On the Beaten Path: General Market Games

It's so hard to find a happy medium in life. And we know that what's true in life is also true in board games.

I've noticed that many in the board game hobby, in order to distance themselves as far as possible from Monopoly, have completely eschewed general-market (read: readily available) games. While it's true that a good Euro is hard to find on the shelves of your local Target store, this doesn't mean that what's there is all bad. True, I might steer clear of Monopoly, Risk, and and Candyland, but there are plenty of other options, whether you're looking for a good card, strategy, word, or party game. Below is my list of games I enjoy that are readily available. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

Friday Question: What Game Has Produced the Most Memories?

Let's face it: gaming is not about winning and losing (despite what Scotty Sore-loser-pants says when you try to console him). It's about the common experience of bringing people together. So this Friday's Friday question addresses just that: what game has produced the most (or fondest) memories for you or your group? Feel free to answer (and share some of those memories) in the comments.

@FarmerLenny answers:
I've probably spent the most time with Monopoly or Risk, but strangely enough, those memories have (for the most part) been repressed. The game for me that carries some of the fondest memories is Kill Dr. Lucky. My brother-in-law introduced me to this game on one of my summer visits, and I promptly ordered a copy from the publisher (whose name on the shipping box produced raised eyebrows when it arrived in the mail). This was before the fancier version came out, but after the original edition. I bought the director's cut, the version with all the creative modes of failure ("The doctor vanishes inexplicably in a cloud of feathers," etc.). When I introduced it to my friends at college, they were skeptical at first, but it soon became a Family Game Night staple (along with Pit, Bang, and Silent Football). Kill Dr. Lucky was always a good time--even when someone else did the doctor in. Runners up in the fond memories category are Dutch Blitz, Pinochle, and Rook, memories of which I've described elsewhere.

@Futurewolfie answers:
Oh man.  Despite my relatively recent foray into the deeper world of quality board games, I actually do have a lot of memories of playing board-and-card games with family and friends.  We would play Pit very loudly around the dining room table, and the hit French road-racing game Mille Bornes (which I recently discovered is absolutely not fun at all with only 2 players).  When it was just me, my sister, and my parents, we would play Sequence, very competitively.  I remember playing The Game of Life with my sisters and from what i recall never actually playing with all the rules correctly intact by the end of the game.  My mom, who gave me my creativity and love of writing,  bought me UpWords and we would play together.  My friend Bryan introduced me to Heroclix and I dumped boatloads of my allowance towards that collection.  We even built a custom 3D heroclix map with skyscrapers and a truck, which is probably the most productive thing we ever voluntarily did in high school.  I realize I kind of broke the "favorite memory" shtick by listing off a dozen memories, but as I didn't really get into board-gaming until recently, all these little memories flow together in the melting-pot of my memories.


Oh yeah, and The Omega Virus. 


Your turn. :-)