The 5 Best Board Games You Might Not Have Heard Of

Below I have listed the top 5 board games which would make great gifts this 2010 Christmas, and all of them provide an interesting twist on the plain old board games everyone has played a hundred thousand times. They all combine basic elements of strategy and luck to create unique gaming experiences each time you play. Everyone from teens to adults should try these out - in time I believe their uniqueness will make these bestsellers.

Carcassonne

This game is easy to learn, fast paced and relatively cheap. It basically involves taking turns placing landscape tiles to build the old French town of Carcassonne in whatever manner the players choose. From there, you gain points for completing roads and castles, farming fields, and manning cloisters. Again the gameplay is simple and the replay value is high.

Alhambra

Alhambra is a card and tile game, in which you purchace different pieces for your individual palace (or Alhambra) with the currency cards you acquire throughout the game. The twist is that there are 4 different currencies, each only able to buy from one market. This game is also simple to learn and not too taxing on the beginner gamer.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is a fantastic strategy game. It is quite complex and difficult to master, but the variety of pieces ensures that you will never play the same game twice. Each player tries to build up their own Puerto Rican colony, through crop plantation and production as well as through buildings and factories that improve the economy. Once you get the hang of this game the replay value is massive.

Agricola

Agricola, like Puerto Rico, is a very complex strategy game that involves many different resources and cards to give the player nearly infinite unique gaming experience. Players spend their lives with the professionals, resources and improvement of the game to create a successful family than workers. Although very difficult to understand for the first time, Agricola is immense fun and engaging the second for the thousandth time

Settlers of Catan

The Grand Daddy of strategy games in this list includes Catan is a risk, such as style, where players try to create the most powerful empire of Catanthrough settlements, cities, road building and resource accumulation. Perfect for those transitional board gamers who are trying to get away from Monopoly and Clue, Catan remains simple and accessible yet engaging and addictive. I know people who, after playing Catan, became hooked on an online version of the game and played hours each day.

All of these games provide solid entertainment for about an hour and a half each time they are played. They are a nice alternative to watching hours and hours of TV or trying to stay awake through another game of Snakes and Ladders.