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Weird how this shows up today. I played Monopoly over the weekend and we were discussing the same thing!

by circa 13y ago

eru 13y ago
A bit off-topic: Please note that we have much better boardgames than Monopoly these days. Have a look at boardgamegeek.com for some suggestions. Carcassone is a good beginners game.
- selectstar 13y ago
  I think the enduring popularity of Monopoly etc is the nostaglia factor and the ease of inter-generational play... it's quite ubiquitous and perhaps only behind Trival Pursuit in terms of "family" games.
- HelloMcFly 13y ago
  Much to the chagrin of the BGG crowd, Settlers of Catan is a much better gateway boardgame. It's easy to learn and it has a lot of social interaction. I'd also recommend Ticket to Ride as the second-best gateway boardgame. I love Carcassone, but it's not nearly as intuitive on the first couple of playthroughs, and the scoring at the end is more than tedious.
  - Yen 13y ago
    I've generally had the opposite experience. Carcassone is simpler, and a player can generally play competently on their first game. Catan, on the other hand, I've found difficult to teach, despite the rules being fairly obvious to me, and there's lots of edge-case rules. (I had one friend get fairly pissed at me that I didn't describe, at the beginning of the game, the rule that a new settlement can break a longest road, which is a rule that hardly ever comes up) Edit: That said, Catan probably is a better gateway game into European-style board games in general, since it uses many of the same concepts. Ticket to Ride would probably be my top pick now, though, for a gateway game.
    - HelloMcFly 13y ago
      Have you played Trains yet? I think that may be one of my new go-to games with new people. It's like Dominion but a lot less abstract.
  - eru 13y ago
    Oh, Settlers of Catan is also fine. I just mentioned Carcassone as the first gateway game that came to mind. I don't really play Settlers anymore these days. It's nearly twenty years old; the first decade was fun, but it does get old after a while. There are also a few things that a modern game would do different---but beginners will enjoy themselves very much.
- pa5tabear 13y ago
  How does that compare to Settler's of Catan?
  - Yen 13y ago
    In my opinion, Carcassone is generally simpler and friendlier. The rules are fairly quick to pick up (although, as another commenter mentioned, scoring at the end can be a bit tedious). Also, in a couple playgroups I've seen, Settler's of Catan can have as much, if not more, conflict than Monopoly. In Carcassone, you can't really take very aggressive action against other players.
    - eru 13y ago
      > In Carcassone, you can't really take very aggressive action against other players. You are playing it wrong. ;o) Carcassone, in my player groups, has much more direct conflict than Settlers of Catan. Monopoly is almost devoid of direct conflict. At least of conflict you can have any influence one. Your hotels are targetting all players equally.

Weird how this shows up today. I played Monopoly over the weekend and we were discussing the same thing!

by circa 13y ago

Weird how this shows up today. I played Monopoly over the weekend and we were discussing the same thing!

eru 13y ago

A bit off-topic: Please note that we have much better boardgames than Monopoly these days. Have a look at boardgamegeek.com for some suggestions. Carcassone is a good beginners game.

selectstar 13y ago
I think the enduring popularity of Monopoly etc is the nostaglia factor and the ease of inter-generational play... it's quite ubiquitous and perhaps only behind Trival Pursuit in terms of "family" games.
HelloMcFly 13y ago
Much to the chagrin of the BGG crowd, Settlers of Catan is a much better gateway boardgame. It's easy to learn and it has a lot of social interaction. I'd also recommend Ticket to Ride as the second-best gateway boardgame. I love Carcassone, but it's not nearly as intuitive on the first couple of playthroughs, and the scoring at the end is more than tedious.
- Yen 13y ago
  I've generally had the opposite experience. Carcassone is simpler, and a player can generally play competently on their first game. Catan, on the other hand, I've found difficult to teach, despite the rules being fairly obvious to me, and there's lots of edge-case rules. (I had one friend get fairly pissed at me that I didn't describe, at the beginning of the game, the rule that a new settlement can break a longest road, which is a rule that hardly ever comes up) Edit: That said, Catan probably is a better gateway game into European-style board games in general, since it uses many of the same concepts. Ticket to Ride would probably be my top pick now, though, for a gateway game.
  - HelloMcFly 13y ago
    Have you played Trains yet? I think that may be one of my new go-to games with new people. It's like Dominion but a lot less abstract.
- eru 13y ago
  Oh, Settlers of Catan is also fine. I just mentioned Carcassone as the first gateway game that came to mind. I don't really play Settlers anymore these days. It's nearly twenty years old; the first decade was fun, but it does get old after a while. There are also a few things that a modern game would do different---but beginners will enjoy themselves very much.
pa5tabear 13y ago
How does that compare to Settler's of Catan?
- Yen 13y ago
  In my opinion, Carcassone is generally simpler and friendlier. The rules are fairly quick to pick up (although, as another commenter mentioned, scoring at the end can be a bit tedious). Also, in a couple playgroups I've seen, Settler's of Catan can have as much, if not more, conflict than Monopoly. In Carcassone, you can't really take very aggressive action against other players.
  - eru 13y ago
    > In Carcassone, you can't really take very aggressive action against other players. You are playing it wrong. ;o) Carcassone, in my player groups, has much more direct conflict than Settlers of Catan. Monopoly is almost devoid of direct conflict. At least of conflict you can have any influence one. Your hotels are targetting all players equally.