Help Me Choose Some Games
 

Okay, so my mom is taking us to the beach for a week in August--our first vacation in 5 years, and something we could not have afforded without her. To avoid any direct guilt on our part, she's wrapped it up as sort of an extended family reunion type thing, with various people coming and going during the week as they can.

I need some good games that the adults can play in the evenings after the kids go to bed.

1.) Several of my relatives are not so much into deep strategy and long playing times. My MIL definitely would not enjoy, for example, Settlers of Cataan.

2.) The games need to be on the quiet side, as anything with animated shouting, like Charades, would wake up the kids.

3.) The classics are nice and all, but a.) I've already considered them, and b.) a lot of them have been played to death. I want something newer and more interesting than Scrabble.

Ready? Go!

Is Sequence considered a "classic"?

We recently enjoyed playing Bananagrams

Rook (but make the rook, the highest point trump card, a value between the nine and the ten, increases strategy.)

Rummikub

Left Right Center (if anyone doesn't mind putting in three quarters for a game)

Apples to Apples. It's an addiction.

Phase 10 is a favorite, and you can play every other level so the game doesn't take as long.

Would variations on Scrabble be acceptable? If so, Upwards and Snatch-it are word based and challenging ...

Can't go wrong with Stratego, but it's only two players.

Very similar, Ticket To Ride. It's geared towards adults, but a 1st grader can play too and actually take part as a serious contender.

My wife and I like Lost Cities, which is a card game for two players. It's addictive. Won't work for groups, but I recommend it anyway.

Phase 10 is a good one. Easy to pack too.

If packing room or cost is an issue, take a deck of cards and play:

Oh Pshaw

Crazy eights

Hearts

If not:

Mexican Train Dominoes

+1 for Apples to Apples - a great game especially if your group has a good sense of humor

Loaded Questions - this is also a family favorite.

Consequences!
Lots of reasonably short rounds if people want to dip in and out.
And no-one is embarrassed by not being able to keep up.

Can cause loud laughter in ribald company though.

Seconding Apples to Apples. But there may end up being more arguing and shouting than you want.

Rummikub is an absolute favorite.

Taboo is good, but tends to be loud, especially with team play.

You can't go wrong with a couple of decks of cards. There is a South American game that expands to fit the number of players. You need a deck for every two people playing. It's a type of contract rummy ... Telefunken. I play the Ecuadoran variation.

I've lately been teaching my friends to play Farkle. There are numerous variations on the rules. There are also numerous variations on the name. I learned it merely as "The Dice Game," have also heard it called "Fuck Me," "10,000," and "Greed." Equipment is simple ... six standard dice, paper, and a pen. You can buy Farkle sets that include a dice cup. I have one, but only because the game with the dice cup was cheaper than buying two sets of five dice.

there is a variation of Farkle called Cosmic Wimpout that is also a lot of fun.

Classic games like Scrabble and Monopoly usually do well ... and I had fun recently playing The Game of Life with my friend's kids.

Front Porch Games has some really cool games, including Dread Pirate (not a fav but my pirate obsessed friends like it), and Valley of the Pharaohs (which I do genuinely enjoy).