| Best Board Games of the 2000s Nov 1st 2011, 10:08 11. Blokus (2000) 
Image courtesy of Educational InsightsFor 1 to 4 players, ages 6 and up. Designed by Bernard Tavitian, published by Educational Insights.
This family-friendly abstract strategy game never ceases to win fans when I play it with a new group. Everyone starts with the same set of Tetris-like pieces, which will be placed on the board throughout the game. Players start by putting one piece in the corner of the board closest to themselves. On each subsequent turn, they add a piece -- but that piece much touch one, and only one, corner of a piece they had previously played. Before long, all four players will be competing for the quickly evaporating real estate on the board. At the end, the player with the fewest remaining pieces is the winner. 12. Descent: Journeys in the Dark (2005) 
Image courtesy of Fantasy Flight GamesFor 2 to 5 players, ages 12 and up. Designed by Kevin Wilson, published by Fantasy Flight Games. In Descent, one player is the Overlord while the others are adventurers searching a dungeon, fighting monsters and recovering treasures. The adventurers must work well together to navigate the maze-like dungeon and defeat the sometimes overwhelming forces of evil. Each game involves playing a single scenario, and the modular board makes it easy to create new scenarios. The scenarios already published by Fantasy Flight Games and Descent's many fans make it easy to enjoy game after game of Descent. Numerous expansions have been published since the original game was released. 
Image courtesy of Avalon Hill / HasbroFor 3 to 6 players, ages 10 and up. Designed by Bruce Glassco, published by Avalon Hill / Hasbro. Betrayal at House on the Hill is just great fun to play. Players explore a haunted house which is revealed during the game. Each player is a specific character; each character has specific strengths and weaknesses. Initially, they all work together. But at some point in the game, one of the characters betrays the rest of the group (no one knows who will do it in advance), and at the end of the game, either the traitor or the innocents win. Betrayal at House on the Hill was my pick as the #3 board game of 2004. A new edition is scheduled to be released in 2010. 14. Agricola (2007) 
Image courtesy of Z-Man GamesFor 1 to 5 players, ages 12 and up. Designed by Uwe Rosenberg, published by Z-Man Games / Lookout Games. The users of BoardGameGeek.com rate Agricola as the best game of all-time. Designed by the creator of Bohnanza, a delightful bean-farming card game, Agricola also has a farming theme -- but it is a much deeper and more strategic offering. At the start of the game, each player has a spouse, a shack and not much else. From there, everyone tries to build a successful farm through the game's 14 turns and six harvests. Agricola won the 2008 Deutscher Spiele Preis, a 2008 International Gamers Award, a 2008 Golden Geek Award, and a 2007 Meeples Choice Award. It was my pick as the #3 board game of 2007. 
Image courtesy of Fantasy Flight GamesFor 3 to 6 players, ages 10 and up. Designed by Corey Konieczka, published by Fantasy Flight Games. Based on the Sci Fi Channel (now SyFy) television series of the same name, Battlestar Galactica is a semi-cooperative board game. Each player takes the role of a character from the show (10 characters are available) as they work together to save humanity. Among the obstacles players will face are enemy ships, robot invaders, and dwindling resources. Further complicating things, greatly, is the fact that one or more characters in every game are secretly enemy Cylons. Battlestar Galactica was my pick as the #3 board game of 2008. 16. Caylus (2005) 
Photo © 2006 Erik ArnesonFor 2 to 5 players, ages 12 and up. Designed by William Attia, published by Rio Grande Games / Ystari Games. Players must manage money, allocate workers, construct buildings, collect resources, build the castle and collect victory points to earn a victorty in Caylus. Money's always too tight, and there are never enough resources to do everything you want to. Plus, the other players tend to place their workers where you wanted to place yours. Caylus is full of tense decisions; it's a strategy game masterpiece. Caylus won the 2006 Deutscher Spiele Preis , a 2006 International Gamers Award, and a 2005 Meeples Choice Award. It was my pick as the #2 board game of 2005. 
Image courtesy of Days of WonderFor 3 to 7 players, ages 10 and up. Designed by Serge Laget and Bruno Cathala, published by Days of Wonder. Shadows Over Camelot is a cooperative game, but it begins with each player being dealt a "loyalty" card. That means that it's possible (but not certain) that one player will be a traitor. The traitor wins if everyone else loses; otherwise, the players win collectively. On each turn, you must first help the forces of evil before you can work to complete a quest. Depending on the outcome of these actions, white or black swords may be added to the board. At the end of the game, the traitor wins if there are not more white swords than black. Shadows Over Camelot was my pick as the best board game of 2005. 18. War of the Ring (2004) 
Image courtesy of Fantasy Flight GamesFor 2 to 4 players (best with 2 players), ages 12 and up. Designed by Roberto Di Meglio, Marco Maggi and Francesco Nepitello, published by Fantasy Flight Games. In this epic (three-hour) wargame set in the Lord of the Rings universe, one player takes control of the Free Peoples while the other controls the Shadow Armies. It is possible to win a military victory, but the Free Peoples are really focused on the efforts of the Fellowship of the Ring to reach Mount Doom and destroy the the One Ring. The Free Peoples must also balance protecting the Ringbearer with the need to defend against the Shadow Armies. This is a wonderful, tension-filled game. War of the Ring won a 2005 International Gamers Award. 
Image courtesy of ScreenlifeFor 2 to 20 players (best with 4 to 6 players), ages 12 and up. Designed by Dave Long and Craig Kinzer, published by Screenlife / Mattel. Scene It? was the first game to successfully incorporate a DVD into gameplay, paving the way for an entire genre. Using the included DVD, players answer a series of movie trivia questions to advance along the track on the game board. The various types of questions take good advantage of the visual nature of watching a DVD. Numerous Scene It? games have been published since the original, including editions based on Disney, ESPN, Harry Potter, James Bond, Seinfeld, Star Trek, Turner Classic Movies, and more. Scene It? earned a spot on my list of the 50 most significant games since 1800. 
Image courtesy of Face 2 Face GamesFor 3 to 6 players, ages 10 and up. Designed by Sid Sackson, published by Face 2 Face Games. I'm the Boss is a great game of wheeling and dealing. As players move around the board, they try to put together deals -- but need help from their opponents to do so. Adding to the joyful chaos of this deal-making frenzy is the fact that those opponents not being included in the deal may be able to send would-be deal-makers out of town, or even take over control of the deal by playing an "I'm the Boss" card. Great fun, as long as it's not taken too seriously. I'm the Boss was my pick as the best board game of 2003, and it is on my list of the Top 10 Must-Have Games and my list of the best negotiation games.  | |
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