One thing I can say about board games is that I like most of them at first. The truth is that board gaming as a hobby is actually less about the games for me and more about spending time with friends. It’s a social occasion, which is why I have never enjoyed playing games online (I have tried many times). The experience is just not the same.

That said however I do find that over time, most games I tire off. In fact, despite having played hundreds of games over the years, my actual collection is quite thin. I don’t hold onto games I don’t have an itching desire to play and the result is that there is a tremendous amount of culling of the collection that happens.

There are some games however that have made it into my collection and have proven themselves to have lasting power, some for over decades. Today I will talk a bit about some of these great old school games that, even though they didn’t make my top ten lists, I would never get rid of. It’s not so much that they are amazing games by today’s standards, though they are good in their own way, but it’s that they have a certain element to them that just makes them keepers for me.

Ikusa (Formally known as Milton Bradly’s Shogun or Samurai Swords)

This 1980’s classic has been in my collection since I started gaming nearly 30 years ago. It’s a game that hasn’t aged particularly well in light of modern mechanics and is often referred to as “RISK like” which has its own negative connotations to gamers. It’s a long game and it can be a bit mean given the potential for player elimination, but I still love it for its purity as a classic war game.

There are many war games made today but very few of them go for the pure war mechanic. Most are filled with card play, overly complicated, have various euro style abstractions, some even go the gimmick route and while I like many of these games, classic RISK style dice chucker war games still appeal to me. I grew up on games like Fortress America, Axis and Allies and Ikusa.

Ikusa is actually seriously underrated as a board game even for today’s standards. It is a dice chucker for certain, but it has a pretty considerable depth to strategies that can be employed and there is far more to it than simply building units and fighting, there is a kind of sequence of events that transpires. First there is this war preparation period, the consolidation of troops, the choosing of battlefields, the defining of borders and alliances. In the second part of the game all hell breaks loose, pure chaotic war, when players make all of their big moves. Than in the final rounds there is that last man standing period where players get clever and try to push the limitations of their forces and prepare for the end game. The climatic finish usually comes in the form of two or three contending players fighting out a couple of critical make it or break battles that define the winner. It’s always clutch in the end and though usually a couple of players lose the war much earlier, there are always two or three contenders for the win in the final rounds.

The game can stagnate in the sense that these “periods” in the game can get pretty extensive, but it’s a war game made for gamers who are accustomed to 4 to 5 hour games. Faulting it for taking a long time is like faulting golf for being played over 18 holes instead of a more manageable 5. It’s part of the game and you kind of embrace it or don’t play it.

Ikusa has never disappointed me, it’s always fun to play and just easy enough to teach to anyone. While its mechanics have aged a great deal in comparison to some modern improvements in war games it still holds up quite well in my opinion and remains one of my favorite games to pull out for that pure war game itch. I actually love many of the old Milton Bradly classics but games like Axis and Allies and Fortress America are really two player games, Ikusa is the only one in that group that works well with multiple players and yes, it’s a far better alternative to RISK.

Ticket To Ride
I have never played a game of Ticket to Ride I didn’t enjoy. Despite its simplicity and casual nature, it’s one of those games that just finds its way to the table out of convenience. It’s so easy to teach, it’s very kid/family friendly and really requires very little of your attention so it makes for a good beer and pretzels, not too serious type of board game night. While light on the theme, it’s clearly a game about trains which I think is a topic that has always appealed to me.

Despite this casual nature though the game has some mini depth, there is actually quite a few strategic options and if analyzed a little closer can actually get people involved on a higher than normal casual game level. It’s a doorway game one I played a decade ago and fully expect to still play a decade from now, it’s a staple game.

The Great Dalmuti

A very simple trick taking card game it is THE game that goes into a backpack on any road trip, camping trip or anywhere else where I might find myself with a group of bored friends wanting to relax and pass the time. There are many such games out there but The Great Dalmuti is definitively a social game and plays as well with 4 players as it does with 8 players. It has this addictive nature to it, I’ve never introduced it to any group who ended up only playing it once, it always gets repeated plays and over the years I have had to replace my copy 3 times because of wear and tear. Great, simple game, an old stand-by classic.

REX (Formally DUNE)
A long time ago when I first got into board gaming on a bit higher level there was a game based on the beloved franchise DUNE (called not surprisingly DUNE). It’s a quasi-war game, though it plays more like chess where multiple players fight to control of the thematic spice planet. Each player had unique and very different special powers depending on which house they represented. With immense replay ability, great strategic depth and a lot of intrigue, negotiation and surprises, its one of those games that I vividly remember playing.

When the game was reprinted using the Twilight Imperium Franchise I naturally jumped on the opportunity to revisit it and while a bit different than Dune, REX is just as good and carries the game thematically just as well as the old classic.

REX is relatively easy to teach, but it is definitively a gamers game, in fact, I find most people either absolutely love it, or absolutely despise it. It can be a rather infuriating game because there is so many things to consider and the human element has such an enormous impact on the outcome of the game. It’s a purely strategic game with no luck element and is perhaps one of the most balanced games I have ever played. Absolutely fantastic and the truth is that if I had the opportunity to play it more often it would very likely creep it’s way to my top 10 list. If you find a likeminded group who appreciates intrigue games, REX can be a beautiful thing.

Illuminati
Steve Jackson is a notorious game designer, notorious because his games are always very different than anything that has come before it. Whether it’s GURPS and its focus on realism, Munchkin which pokes fun at other games or Illuminati, quite possibly one of the meanest and infuriating games you will ever love to play.

Illuminati no doubt deserves far more praise from me than I give it, but the truth is that I haven’t played it for years. It’s main drawback is that Illuminati is a bit mathi and it’s a bit difficult to teach. Those two flaws however when overcome like a lot of great complex games, results in a fantastic gaming experience. It’s pure brutality, but it’s so well balanced and so fun to watch people squirm. It’s one of those games where you have “I can’t believe you just did that” moments.

It’s in the same category as Race For The Galaxy for me and see’s little play for the same reason, I love playing it, but hate teaching people how to play it. It’s been in my collection for over a decade, built into its gameplay are nostalgic memories of friends from years ago I miss very much. A game I never see myself getting rid of.

Carcassonne

I don’t know why this game lingers as it does, it’s really kind of simplistic and while the expansions (of which there are many) add a lot of variety, I rarely ever play anything but the base game. I suppose it’s got that “Monopoly” thing where it’s a game everyone knows, requires little explanation and is quick to play. I don’t love it but always enjoy playing it, there is no denying its appeal as a simple, quick game.