Hobbies And Interests
Settlers of Catan
Wired Magazine dubbed the German board game "Settlers of Catan" the "Monopoly killer" when they reviewed its North American release. Four players each control a rival colony on a tropical island and must build settlements, roads, and cultural centers in a race to become the island's dominant colony. These structures are built using resources mined and harvested from the island, but it's rare that a single player will be able to obtain all the resources they need by themselves. Therefore, in order to get ahead, players must trade shrewdly with one another. Players must balance the need to prevent the others from getting what they need to progress with the necessity of trading for their needs with others.
Apples to Apples
Apples to Apples is a card game of word associations that is well suited for groups of four to ten players. The judge must play a card with a word for an important person, place, or thing. The other players each play the card from their hand with a word that they associate with the judge's card. Of course, clear-cut associations are rare, so the real game is in the elaborate and convoluted stories the players spin to try to justify their association. In the end, the judge chooses one answer that she feels is the best, and the player who gave it receives a point. After each round, a new player becomes the judge.
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead is a cooperative video game for four players that has been released for every major game console, as well as the PC and the Mac. Players take on one of four stereotypical roles from zombie films: Francis, a biker, Bill, a grizzled and aging Vietnam vet, sexy Zoey, and white collar worker Louis. They must help each other stay alive until they reach the evacuation zone and help arrives. Against them are hundreds of the living dead.
Mario Party Series
Mario Party is a mix of video game and board game that has been released for nearly every video game console manufactured by Nintendo. Between two and eight players take on one of the characters from the Mario franchise and move them around a game board trying to collect coins and stars. After each turn, players compete in one of dozens of short mini-games to earn bonuses. The mini-games vary widely in tone, from archery contests to races. Most mini-games are every man for himself, but a few assemble the players randomly into teams that must work together. The mini-games are designed to keep the game interesting and make it possible even for characters who are far behind to come back and win in the end.