This article was taken from the February 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
Board games are undergoing a popular resurgence -- so how can you join in the fun? Quintin Smith and Paul Dean run board-games webshow Shut Up & Sit Down. "Board and card games offer unique, exciting and endlessly inventive ways for you to tease and bounce off each other," says Dean. Here's how to start building up a collection.
Clear the shelves
"Every genre of entertainment has its slightly shoddy commercial phenomena," says Smith. "They go on for too long, eliminate players, and have only the thinnest veneer of fun." Start afresh.
Start off small
"The Resistance is an incredible game that's smaller than an iPad," says Smith. "What little rules there are all have immediate appeal. Think you can lie to your friends? Think you know who to trust? Then let's go."
Try some new genres
Ticket to Ride asks players to build rail empires; King of Tokyo is a battle between mega-monsters; Memoir '44 makes war strategy thrilling. Whatever your tastes, there's a game to match.
Do your research
"BoardGameGeek is the net's best database for games," says Smith. "It may look like it's from the late 90s, but it has exhaustive listings of 59,000 board games and counting, rated by thousands of avid gamers."
Find people to play with
"Email friends you don't see enough, and get them over," says Smith. "Games are most fun when you sit down with people you love." If you can't convince anyone, you'll find a local group easily on the web.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
