Board games: what is played in IT offices?

In this topic - the promised review of various board games .

- The first part is the “ported” versions of the well-known computer (according to the story of Starcraft, Warcraft, Civilization, Age of Empires, Master of Orion, Doom)
- The second part - the games that are interesting to many habrazhiteli, judging by the comments on past topics.
- In the comments I propose to share information about interesting games: I think many will be able to suggest something unusual in terms of playing or to warn against a vain purchase.
- The topic will be interesting to those who want to understand what is popular on the market, briefly look at the product for the store and those who are just wondering what is there in general from board games for yourself, the company or as a gift.
- In the end there is a nice bonus habrachitelemy.


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Links from the names of games lead to the page describing the game, from which you can take the full Russian rules in PDF.

Twilight Imperium or Twilight Empire is a game that was prepared by the first Master of Orion, but, roughly speaking, the authors could not agree with the right holders and obtain a license to use the original races and names. As a result, we get the same Master of Orion, but without Silikoidov with square-nesting thinking and Psilon with their fun science. Instead, they are other square-nesting, others are very smart, and other “trade and negotiation”, seeking to seize the planet in the center of the sector. Great emphasis in the game is placed on diplomacy and tactics of battles: thanks to a developed system of negotiations, you can solve very, very many questions peacefully ... and allow the company not to be bored, but to have a lively discussion of what is happening during the tactical actions of opponents. The game was reprinted three times: in 2005, a version was released that was localized with us. The party in it lasts no longer 10-12 hours, but only 3-4. The process as a whole is a simulator of the actions of a star emperor. Twilight is for sale for hardcore players and all those who love all space-fiction. It belongs to the category of rare games in stores.


On the box you can look into the eyes of all races of the Empire.

Hefty recognizable Starcraft is described in detail in the previous topic. In short, this is a fairly detailed transposition of the strategy into a desktop view, released in the epic times of the first Old Kraft. The aesthetics and atmosphere of the original game is fully preserved, the gameplay has changed in the direction of a more elaborate infrastructure and logistics and less detail battles. The two-dimensional playing field is equipped with a system of "three-dimensional" transitions, with the result that "barricading" does not work: you need to constantly move in order to win - lok in defense happens rarely. The game is sold thanks to the hits of the first version and 180 units chips inside.

The second one is the same in size - it is Warcraft - a strategy for the world of Azeroth. A bunch of figures, a bunch of cards, a bunch of dice, thick rules. There is also a smaller box , about adventures, where you need to play as a separate hero - this is such a friendly short multiplayer, it only kills the evening, and not a couple of years. We now use these games as one of the flagships of the display to attract passing gamers into the departments in the mall. Sale of the game as well as Starcraft - thanks to the famous brand. Game processes are similar, but the more popular Warcraft series is simpler than Starcraft.

A train ticket ( Ticket to Ride ) - if someone remembers an old toy from the time of the first Pentiums of the Railroad Tycoon - then it is in the process (not in mechanics and not in brand), it is very simplified in paper. It is necessary to build railways, connecting certain cities and interfering with competitors. Calm, relaxed and pleasant thing, which is cool to play in the family or at a party. Sold as a family game, often goes to the role of a party. Despite the seeming simplicity, he is fascinating. The publisher has already released not the first box, changing maps and types of trains.


While poorly developed railway infrastructure

Roborally - here you need to program the robot. It is implemented very cool: there are command cards, there is a memory stack, there are various cool robot figures and a factory map. Cards are put on the stack, and then they start to be sequentially executed in the reverse order - and the robot at that time does what you said, and not how you wanted. The overall goal is to win the race of robots in the factory: you can quickly go through all the circles, collect the set bonuses and checkpoints, and you can neatly get rid of your opponents. Considering that the situation on the field is changing right during the execution of the stack, you need to think very seriously that they will execute the opponents' robots by the third cycle. Cool, that if the damage to the robot, it starts to fail.


Robots They are cool. The second is very similar to the character from the "Terminator"

At the time of creation, programmer contests such as Robocode (only older) were already popular - and, accordingly, we have a desktop allusion to them. The game was released by Richard Garfield - the very mathematician who later blew up the world of board games by inventing Magic: the Gathering.

And here is Magic itself : the Gathering . Collectible Card Drug Game. The first editions were very beautiful in terms of balance and implementation, the latter (from about 7-8 editions, that is, already 10 years) turned into a real incarnation of the “feature quest” at the request of users and a reliable tool to extract money from the public. As already mentioned, created by a mathematician, sold out in the 90s in an explosive manner quickly. There were several computer games for it, including an amazing piece with a map, where you had to play for a traveling magician around the world (it reminded King of Bounty). Allusions on MTG are in the domestic series "Demiurgi". Despite the addiction syndrome, the game teaches cool thinking in the spirit of optimization.

The civilization came out already in two well-known variants: a huge thick and heavy box of Sid Meier and a small thin inexpensive toy from Serge Laje . Yes, yes, these are all the consequences of Sid Meier’s long-time departure from Microprose. In general, both are classic turn-based strategies with the struggle for resources and territory. They are sold to a very wide audience: there are parties, educational goals and everything you want. In general, there were more “Civilizations”, but only two survived: “premium” and “economy”, all intermediate options did not withstand the competition.


Meyer's playing field

Age of Empires - the creation of the same strategy. Due to the similarity of the boxes, the Age of Discoveries is often confused with Meyer's Civilization. The difference is: in Civilization more fun battles, there is more diplomacy and more difficult scientific part.


Detailed figures

Two similar games - Doom and Space Hulk . The first is a tactic based on the Duma, the second is based on the Varhammer 40k. Interestingly, Space Hulk or Star Wanderer is a long-term construction period of the dinosaurs (80s), but ideally resembles the style and atmosphere of the Starcraft mission without a base. Essence - you need to arrange the fighters and modules of the ship to its original position in the book of scenarios, and then to achieve with your detachment the achievements of the tactical targets indicated in the briefing. Opponent plays for monsters and in every way opposes the bad space infantry fighters. Of the interesting - in the Hulk the radar mechanic is very beautifully implemented, when you see the movement of the enemy, but you do not see how much it is behind the wall. Doom is about the same in style, but easier to implement.
Sold, of course, as a gift to a boy or boy. We enjoy high popularity among desktop geeks.


If you do not see both games, then it’s difficult to understand from what it’s the first time.

Desktop Colonialists (Settlers) - is a thing in itself. In the sense that the degree of simplification reaches the stage that one could take the games not as a combination of “computer-desktop”, but two different ones. Nevertheless, the atmosphere in board and computer games is similar: very calm and pleasant. The task of the players is to develop in parallel on the island, building technically advanced cities. According to impressions, most of the desktop players in our country did not even hear about the computer versions. Sold as a game for family and get-togethers with friends, but went well at the festival "Invasion" in the niche "unstressed with beer."

Monopoly is known as the world's most popular board game. There were a lot of computer games, mostly self-made. Google stood out in particular, deciding to make its Monopoly in the spirit of 2.0 - but the fast-moving Hasbro copywriters won a lawsuit. On the basis of Monopoly, they are trying to arrange geo-games with movement along real streets with enviable consistency: given the growing popularity of geo-services, it may be worth waiting for something like that with us too soon.

Now just good games, iconic for the market

Guo is considered an elite game in the east and plays the same role as chess in Europe (although Guo was not banned by the Inquisition, unlike chess). It is noteworthy that if you lived in the Eastern Middle Ages, then one of the ways to “submit a resume” would be a gain in Go from a local official. As suggested in the comments, it is algorithmically more difficult for chess: people still win over computers.


Round checkers

Jackal is our pride. Developed at Moscow State University around the 60s, in the 70s it was actively played by mathematicians in Moscow and Novosibirsk at lectures. In the desktop version, the game completely preserved the mathematics model of the word, but it was overgrown with a bunch of remarkable entourage details and received the atmosphere of “Treasure Island”. At the heart of the game is the heavily modified traveling salesman problem. Practice has shown that it has been playing well since the age of eight: given the simplicity of the rules, the atmosphere and the “transparency” of the Matmodel, it is perceived by almost everyone.

Kukhandel is a freaky game: you need to trade animals at the harsh German auction, trying to bargain for the entire breed entirely. Probably, Monopoly would have looked like this if it were released in Germany: ideally tenacious salespeople calculate everything to the last gold, perfectly bluff, clearly catch the moment and bargain violently. The game is very useful in that it makes you calculate the smallest steps, teaches you beautifully and in time to bluff within the framework of a general economic strategy and, importantly, learns to look at money as a variable, the value of which changes constantly.


The game has only animals and money. The man in the middle is not a beast, but money, a zero bill for a bluff.

In the domestic market it is little known because of a purely German box: Kukhandel was simply not localized - inside there are only pictures of animals and numbers of money on the cards. Available in two versions: with a good drawn art - and with an addon and a less enticing three-dimensional art. I recommend it classic. Positioned as a road-mate game.

Game of thrones : a strategy with a large map, which haborovchane few mentioned in the topic about Starcraft. It seems that there is no practical limit to the exhaustion of interesting, unlike other strategies. Uses a wildly cool mechanics stack orders and an excellent model of diplomacy. Very beautifully published and played in any company, if you have enough patience for 20 minutes of studying the rules and 3-4 hours of the game.

Castle for all times : one of the best games about joint construction: the action goes in the castle, where each player does something of his own and gets approval from the residents. In the end, everyone does a common thing together, but only one person, the most thoughtful, will become the king. The game process consists in the distribution of resources and workers, plus an attempt to evaluate the following opponent's actions. The game subtly reminds Majesty in spirit - the same “indirect” influence on the situation and beautiful art.

Interestingly, fans of such games are divided into those who will not accept chance or, on the contrary, prefer unexpected situations to which they need to respond quickly. It was decided beautifully: the “summer” side of the field for those who love when everything is strict and on the shelves, the reverse “winter” - for those who believe in rand.

Munchkin : a parody of D & D, sold out very widely beyond those who know what hack & slash role-playing games are. We are positioned as a fun game for friends. An interesting fact: in the store either go strictly to him, or do not ask. If a person comes to the rack with Munchkin and asks to tell what it is, then there is no doubt - this is a test purchase.


Seen one of the important artifacts

Twister : Hasbro released him as a kid's game, but then quickly recovered. The point is to step on the colored dots on the field, which spreads to the floor with your hands and feet. After 4 minutes of games, a company of 3-4 people is twisted into such a position that the Kama Sutra simply rests there. Positioned as a great way to meet a lady at a party ... or to touch a girl friend and not get in the face. Plus one batch is about equal to good charging.

For parents there is a series of " Simple Rules ". I think if I have a child, I will buy him a “Lego” (and throw out all the instructions), an iron designer with holes and a modular radio designer. And before he will deal with all this, I will play with him in this series.

Power grid (Power Grid) - a game about the electrification of a single country. In essence, it represents a system of tenders for power plants and work on the graph changing from the actions of opponents. Once our team had to lay cable channels in Kazakhstan - since then, I understand how accurately this game reflects the essence of the work of power plants. A wonderful gift to any IT person ... or a particularly cynical mockery of someone who regularly hears the words "network topology."


On all fours, with wires - bug?

Genga : despite the complete lack of communication with IT, it is very popular in the environment (for example, one well-known designer plays with his salary). Represents a tower of identical wooden bars, which must be carefully removed and put up, trying not to drop. At first it seems like a set of children's cubes, but already through the game it becomes one of the best fun for all ages. For some reason, girls are very fascinated. If you have not seen this thing yet, I highly recommend it. There are three types: 4 bars (not really), the correct original Jenga and the complex round “Leaning Tower of Pisa”, which is already aerobatics.

Overboard! (Lifeboat) - a real brain removal for those who are going to manage a team in a startup. 6 people on the same boat after a ship wreck try to swim to the ground: cruel psychology, black humor and a lot of unforgettable drive. The game is made in awesome design and with a lot of love. Three months it was not to buy due to the fact that it was disassembled on pre-orders. In the process, a model of the 5th level manager based on the book “ Good to Great ” is quickly developed: interested in success, not selfish, calm and not authoritarian. The rest get a paddle on the head. By the way, many Munchkin lovers "change" exactly on this thing.


This is the bright face of the add-on. New in the project.

With any order in Mosigre in Moscow , Kiev , Yekaterinburg and Omsk (it does not matter, in the online store or in real), you can say the secret word " Habrahabr ", which will inevitably lead to a discount on the entire order. The word is valid until the end of February. The list of cities will be gradually replenished. In Moscow, the action still coincides with free delivery within the Garden from 24 to 30.

Comments are welcome on other great games that you personally like. By the way, if you know a good game that you definitely need to localize, or at least just deliver to Russia and the CIS countries, be sure to tell.

PS here there are topics for the authors of the game and a case for opening a franchise - this is if someone is interested in something more than a game home.