| Best Board Games of the 2000s Aug 4th 2011, 10:01 Remarkably, traditional board games are thriving even as electronic games become more and more sophisticated. Today's board games are better and more diverse than ever, with games suitable for everyone from players who just want to relax and laugh to those who seek deep strategic challenges. Here are my picks for the best board games published from 2000 through 2009. What do you think were the best board games of the 2000s? Share your thoughts here. 
Image courtesy of Rio Grande GamesFor 3 to 5 players, ages 12 and up. Designed by Andreas Seyfarth, published by Rio Grande Games. Players compete to run successful plantations, growing corn, coffee, sugar, tobacco and indigo. On each turn, players choose from several roles (such as the mayor, builder, or captain), and each role gives them different abilities. The goal is to use these abilities to construct buildings and ship goods efficiently, becoming the player to earn the most victory points. Puerto Rico won the 2002 Deutscher Spiele Preis, the 2002 International Gamers Award for Multi-Player Strategy Game, and a 2002 Meeples Choice Award. It was also my pick as the best board game of 2002. The card game version, San Juan, is also excellent. 
Image courtesy of Days of WonderFor 2 to 5 players, ages 8 and up. Designed by Alan R. Moon, published by Days of Wonder. Building railroads across the United States and Canada is the goal in the original Ticket to Ride, as players both develop their own plans and disrupt the plans of others. This is an absolutely top-notch game with broad appeal, playing in less than an hour and providing a lot of depth without being complicated. Players must make a variety of strategic and tactical choices, giving it considerable replay value. A number of expansions and sequels (and a card game) are available with new maps and creative new twists in the gameplay. Ticket to Ride won the 2004 Spiel des Jahres, and it was my pick as the best board game of 2004. 
Image courtesy of HasbroFor 2 or more players (best with 2 to 4 players), ages 8 and up. Designed by Stephen Baker, Rob Daviau and Craig Van Ness, published by Milton Bradley / Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro. HeroScape's subtitle is "The Battle of All Time" and it certainly is. Everything about this game is well done. If you're at all interested in the theme (battles involving warriors from different time periods), I strongly recommend that you try HeroScape. The fun starts by setting up your battlefield: the interlocking terrain pieces can be assembled in any number of combinations. Players then draft armies -- choosing from robots, airborne troops, samurai, and more -- and do battle. HeroScape was my pick as the #2 board game of 2004. 
Image courtesy of Z-Man GamesFor 2 to 4 players, ages 10 and up. Designed by Matt Leacock, published by Z-Man Games. Pandemic is an addictively fun board game in which all the players work together to eradicate four diseases. Each player is given a different role, such as the Scientist (who can cure diseases more easily) and the Operations Specialist (who can build research stations). Playing against the game system, they must travel the world to contain infections while developing the cures. If the players don't find all four cures in time (e.g. before there are eight outbreaks), they all lose. Various levels of difficulty are available. Pandemic was named the 2008 Family Game of the Year by Games magazine. It was also my pick as the best board game of 2008. 5. Age of Steam (2002) / Steam (2009) 
Image courtesy of Mayfair GamesFor 3 to 6 players, ages 12 and up. Designed by Martin Wallace, published by Warfrog / Winsome Games / Eagle Games (Age of Steam), Mayfair Games (Steam). The eastern U.S. is the scene of this fabulous railroad-building game. Players try to develop efficient and productive rail lines, adding track to the board and delivering goods while their opponents are doing the same. The balancing act is a difficult one: borrowing money at the best times, reaching the best-paying goods before your opponents, and upgrading locomotives are just a few challenges. Age of Steam was streamlined and released as Steam in 2009. Age of Steam won a 2003 International Gamers Award, a 2002 Meeples Choice Award, and it ranks high on my list of the best train games. 
Image courtesy of Z-Man GamesFor 2 players, ages 12 and up. Designed by Christian Leonhard and Jason Matthews, published by Z-Man Games. This is the best political game I've played. The players take on the roles of John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in the 1960 election, trying to win enough electoral votes to claim victory. 1960: The Making of the President is full of tough decisions. It captures many of the emotions in a hard-fought campaign, with swings of euphoria and depression, as well as the tactics and strategy needed to win in the Electoral College. A second game co-designed by Matthews, Twilight Struggle, set in the Cold War, also deserves to be mentioned. 1960 won a 2008 International Gamers Award, and it was my pick as the best board game of 2007. 
Days of WonderFor 2 players or teams, ages 10 and up. Designed by Richard Borg, published by Fantasy Flight Games / Days of Wonder. BattleLore puts players in control of armies that mesh history and fantasy on a battlefield in medieval Europe, using a card-based system like Memoir '44. The BattleLore characters include wizards, clerics, warriors, and monstrous creatures. The basic game system was also used in Borg's Commands and Colors and Battle Cry. The battles take place on a variety of terrain and landmarks as players fight to capture the enemy's banners in a series of adventures. BattleLore was my pick as the best board game of 2006. Memoir '44, which won a 2004 International Gamers Award, was my pick as the #4 board game of 2004. 
Imagecourtesy of Rio Grande GamesFor 2 to 5 players, ages 10 and up. Designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede, published by Rio Grande Games. Players place a total of 72 tiles to develop an area of France in this game, placing their eight meeples (wooden, people-shaped pawns) on the roads, cities, cloisters, and fields. The game is a model of simplicity: a player's turn is simply to draw a tile and then place it on the table, adjacent to a previously played tile. They then have the option of placing a meeple on the board. At that point, any completed feature (city, road, etc.) is scored. Meeples score based on the quality of the areas where they are placed. Carcassonne won the 2001 Spiel des Jahres, the 2001 Deutscher Spiele Preis, and a 2000 Meeples Choice Award. 
Image courtesy of North Star GamesFor 3 to 21 players, ages 10 and up. Designed by Dominic Crapuchettes, Satish Pillalamarri and Nate Heasley, published by North Star Games. If you've stopped playing trivia games because there's someone in your group who always wins, consider giving Wits & Wagers a try. Every question can be answered numerically (e.g. "In dollars, how much was each extra paid to run across the beach and scream in the movie Jaws?"), and players all answer secretly. Those answers are then sorted onto the casino-style board, and players bet on which one they think is correct. The winning bets are paid according to the odds, and play continues. Wits and Wagers ranks high on my lists of the best trivia games and the best games for family gatherings. 10. Power Grid (2004) 
Image courtesy of Rio Grande GamesFor 2 to 6 players, ages 12 and up. Designed by Friedemann Friese, published by Rio Grande Games. Players compete to supply as many cities as possible with power, making often tense choices. For example, as you buy power plants, you simultaneously make more efficient plants available to all players. Raw materials like coal and uranium are also necessities, unless you rely on solar and wind power. Power Grid is a fairly heavy strategy game, and it is highly acclaimed. The base game comes with maps of the U.S. and Germany. Expansions are available with a variety of new maps. Power Grid won a 2004 Meeples Choice Award, and it was my pick as the #6 board game of 2004. It also ranks high on my list of the best economic games.   | |
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