Sunday, December 27, 2009

The 25 Strangest Board Games of 2009

See entries from 2008, 20072006, 2005

+6 Bag O'Munchkin Babes

Following Steve Jackson's other release +6 Bag O'Munchkins. Aside from the weirdness of using these in a game of Munchkin - you can put one in front of you in order to gain a benefit during the game - SJ added a whole level of weirdness to them by allowing you to use the pieces in any other game.

For instance, you can whip out a munchkin babe to add or subtract from your die roll once in some other roll and move game.

This is so cool, that I hope the concept spreads (and I'll be stealing the idea for my next game at BGG.con, so look in your goodie bags).

Aargh!Tech

Architecture in the stone age. One player is the architect who sees a card with blocks in a certain order. The other is the builder who doesn't see the card.

The architect has to communicate to the builder using grunts and movements to tell the builder which blocks to pick up, rotate, and where to put them. If the builder does an action right, the architect bangs him on the head with a bludgeon. If he's wrong, he bangs him on the head twice.

Admiral Ackbar "It's a Trap!" Game

Based on the line from Return of the Jedi, this is a phrase-forming game using letter and punctuation tiles.

Beer & Pretzels

From the BGG description: Players throw coasters onto a table. And then they get money. And then they throw more coasters. And then they get more money. This very complex and detailed process repeats until the end of the game at which point the player with the most money wins, just like in real life.

At that point the winner will claim that Beer & Pretzels is the best game ever, and the non-winners (to be super politically correct) will claim that the game is fundamentally flawed, and most likely broken.

The BoardGameGeek Game

The game based on the web site, in this game, you play a game company trying to sell your games, and you also play players at a game group trying to acquire the best games for their group.

Designed by Richard Breese, the game features a thousand avatars from registered BGG users.

Bridge Troll

You're a troll who throws boulders to attract travelers to cross your bridge. Half the travelers you rob for their money, and the other half you eat. This allows you to pay for repairs on your bridge. From the boulders you've thrown.

The Bugman's Game

Each player has to guide his dwarf to the bar to pick up booze and grub and then make his way back to his table avoiding trouble and piles of vomit.

Bunny Bunny Moose Moose

The hunter looks for the animals who casually saunter away, trying to convince the hunter that he must be looking for something else. While the hunter strolls through the forest, players try to look like an animal the hunter won’t shoot (waving their fingers over their head).

Burg der 1000 Spiegel

A box with randomly arranged objects where the only way to find them is by putting mirrors into the box and looking through the sides. And since you're all vampires, if you find the objects, you collect blood tokens.

Cthulinária
A web-published redesign of Invisible City's Cthul-B-Que. Capture and cook Cthulhu Mythos monsters without losing life, limb or sanity. End the game with the most monstrous dishes in your serving area.

Deadly Russian Roulette: Die or Be Rich

A game simulating Russian Roulette with foam bullets. OMG.

Doorways to WTF

A print and play game based on Sid Sackson's games Doorways to Adventure and Doorways to Horror. You watch specific Youtube videos, looking for clues.

EAT

Pick the dish you want to try to eat from the buffet, roll the dice and see if you manage to force it down or if you lose your lunch. Be careful not to eat too many different flavors and avoid gross food if you can while you race to victory.

Eine gegen Eine

No information is given about the game contents, genre, or rules, and there is no rulebook. Part of the game is to discover how to play using the contents.

Fictional Rummy
A game with no components. The object is to describe the hand of cards you would have gotten, if you had actually been drawing cards. The best fictional hand wins.

The Game of Life: Extreme Reality Edition

It's Life, but you might get married while skydiving or give birth to sextuplets. And it's published by Hasbro.

HFP - Hard Furry Pets
Players become little anthropomorphic animals who try to charm sweet girls of wavering morality.

Hamster Combat

Hamster martial arts. 'Nuff said.

Insult Bingo

Bingo cards, where each space is an insult or vulgarity. Players take turns reading (shouting) the spaces, marking them off on their own card as appropriate.

Mr. Bacon's Big Adventure

Navigate your way through the Mustard Marsh, cross the eerie expanse of Wiener Wasteland and sail on the Sausage Sea. If you make it past the deceptive detour of Vegan Alley and avoid getting grounded in Gristle Grotto, you might just make it to the Great Frying Pan at the end of the trail.

Poo: The Card Game

Players are monkeys in the zoo having a fight ...

Poopsock! The MMORPG Addict Card Game

A card game poking fun at MMORPG players. A poopsock is an item that allows a player not to have to go to the bathroom, thus avoiding wasting valuable level-up time.

Red Shirts

Your goal is to kill off your opponents' Star Trek security personnel. Of course, they all eventually die in the end.

Top Ten: The Ten Commandments

Players battle over creating a new version of the ten commandments. Each player has a different goal.

Win, Lose, or Banana

The game comes with three cards. Pick one to find out if you win, lose, or banana.

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