Joe McKay - Top ten games I played this year.
(Board games, video games, casual and intense I threw them all in together so they are in no particular order.)

Agricola

A resource management board game built around the super exciting world of 17th century dirt farming. If you're really good, you might eventually make a carrot. It takes playing it a few few times before you begin to form a strategy, but the game is deep and balanced and fricking fun. Plus the joy of putting your newborn child to work in the field is very cathartic.

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duc de Berry Book of Hours - June

Cosmic Encounters (2008 edition)

Technically not a new game, but the rerelease of this classic board game finally gets the details right. Flares? check. 50 powers? check. attack 40? check. Technology (WTF?). check. My favorite part of CE is the fact that players can collaborate for a win. So you may have a super power, but if everyone teams up against you, you're fucked. Pure crazy gameplay joy - you're never out of a game of CE.

Delville_Satan
[OK, the Delville painting of Satan isn't really in Cosmic Encounters' interface, and neither is the Book of Hours in the interface
of Agricola, BUT WOULDN'T IT BE AWESOME IF THEY WERE???? - L.M.]


Race for the Galaxy

From the creator of Puerto Rico, this card based game is a sea of indecipherable icons and rules. But if you spend the time it's deep and fun, even if (ahem) you always lose (except for that one time you played the military strategy and you drew all the cards you needed in just the right order).

race for the galaxy

Little Big Planet

A reason to get a PS3? Not quite, but if you're looking for a next gen system it should tip the balance towards the sony machine. It's the natural progression of mario style side scrolling platformer. And user created levels will ensure extra hours of gameplay. Trust me, it's really really fun even if it looks childish. [as opposed to very adult like the new improved version of Cosmic Encounters that I'm pitching - L.M.]



Fantastic Contraption

You will know by the end of the 20 demo levels weather this physics puzzle game is for you. For me it was hours and hours (and hours) of fun, but attempts to addict like minded game players has been met with mixed results, in spite of it being the best flash game since Desktop Tower Defense. User created levels ensure more late night you-should-really-go-to-bed fun than you can handle.

fantastic contraption

Gears of War 2

Stupid stupid stupid stupid Xbox 360 3rd person shooter. Stupid. Fun? Sir, yes sir!


[Joe mentioned that this comercial oversold the game, hell, it made me want to join the military, kill things, feel bad, kill more,
come home with PTSD, kill things at home. Kill kill killl, and to a very nice song. - L.M.]


Armagedtron

Light cycles done right - finally! This game may require homework that involves watching Tron again (best Disney movie ever). BTW, you suck compared to me, guaranteed.

armagetron

Cash n Guns

Any game that includes six orange foam handguns has to be fun. This is easy to learn and fun to play party game is the funest way to kill your friends this side of Mafia (werewolf to some). On a count of three everyone points their gun at someone in a massive Mexican standoff. It's actually kinda scary. Then on a count of three everyone has a chance to put down their weapon, wusssing out. Then cards are revealed. Was your gun even loaded? It's like a giant 6-way scissor paper stone game, with guns.

cashnguns

Pitchcar

I love this game for two reasons. 1 it's fun and 2 I've only played with Americans who wouldn't know a Crokinole board from a curling rink. Yes this racing game utilizes the awesome game dynamic of flicking little wooden disks, a skill I mastered as a youth and have long assumed was generally wasted as an adult. In short, I rule this fucking game and fear only my mother (Crokinole wizard).

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I made this. you play this. we are enemies

simple gameplay, but ya gotta love the messy style. Game are always so bloody clean looking, no? Saying more will spoil it, just give it a shot.

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- L.M. 12-19-2008 5:05 pm

I just spent the past 20 min playing "I made this. you play this. we are enemies". What an awesome way to spend a snowmageddon afternoon
- Gabby (guest) 12-19-2008 6:24 pm


Snowmageddon is another word for paradise in my neighbourhood, Bat-boy is even more delirious with joy. (and if this continues and the food runs out after everyone's fun, we can eat the dog. It's win-win)
- L.M. 12-19-2008 7:57 pm


You can eat all the dog food, then eat Dog Food. Yum.

- joester (guest) 12-20-2008 4:22 am


i played little big planet for the first time today, and i felt like i understood that this was something radical, and new, and exciting.
- anthony (guest) 12-20-2008 4:36 am


If you're still holiday shopping and you have all these all ready, or if you are a big fan of card based games you should pick up Dominion.
Quickly rising gameboard geek's best games list (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/browser.php?itemtype=game&sortby=rank) this game is fun and quick.
Unlike Magic, the game it most resembles, a new player can understand this game 15 minutes after opening the box. There are a lot of cards, but they are not all used in any one game so you're not going to be spending your evening reading 7pt fonts. Great game.
- joester (guest) 12-21-2008 8:46 pm