Wacky Games!

I talk often about cannabis-themed and smoking games.  Being the creator of one of those games, I have a heightened interest in my market segment and look into every cannabis smoking game out there.  The fact is, that I have always loved games and I have a soft spot for the more wacky and unusual ones.  Games like these are hard to categorize and are often hard to describe, but they are completely fun once you play them.  I wanted to give a short list of games that fit this description and see if maybe you need another game for your massive games library. 

King of Tokyo- Play a GigaMonster on a rampage, destroying everything in its way!  Roll the dice to get the best combinations to heal yourself, to attack, to buy special cards, or to gain victory points.  It’s up to you to choose the best tactics so you can become The King of Tokyo.  This game features great artwork for the monster cut outs and the board.  This game’s simplicity makes it a perfect getting baked kind of game.  A typical game session with this game will have several rounds and should take about 30 minutes.

Dungeons & Dragons Versus “Rick and Morty.”  This simple version of D&D allows the neophyte and the veteran a chance to play an RPG together.  This box set has everything you need to play almost immediately.  The player characters are from the Rick and Morty Universe and fans will identify them quickly.  Players explore the Lost Dungeon of Rickness and gain both experience and treasure along the way.  This is not a traditional D&D adventure but it could be easily be made into a campaign style game, it’s up to the GM and the players.  I suggest good edibles for your first session, but don’t get petrified!

Clue-Lost in Vegas Edition.  In the game Clue, players move around a mansion searching for clues to see who was murdered, with what object, and where?  In the game “Lost in Vegas” players search out their lost friend to see what happened to him.  This game has a unique twist on the original: players must make their plane and only have a limited amount of time to search for their friend.  The cards are hysterical, featuring funny pictures and illustrations.  The game board is colorful and has a great sense of fun. The game play is both quick and easy.  The most inebriated party goer can still enjoy a round of Lost In Vegas, I highly recommend it for your next gathering.

Boss Monster.  This great card game has you play a monster trying to lure heroes into your dungeon to kill them.  Monsters add rooms to entice Fighters, Wizards, and Rogues to explore. Each room features an insidious device or trap designed to snare a special victim.  Round by round, players place new rooms to their dungeon in an attempt to get the heroes to explore. The monster that collects ten points by killing various heroes becomes the Boss Monster and wins the game.  The game is fascinating and play is round based. Even with its nuanced strategy, new players learn fast.  A giant joint rolled with Curved Papers’ King Sized is a perfect match for this party game.

If you ever played any of the Fluxx Games, you know they are all fun.  We happen to laugh more playing “Monty Python” Fluxx. This version of the Fluxx card game features jokes from the movie and simple and fun game play.  So be ready to produce a shrubbery, nothing too fancy, or the “Knights that Say Ni” will not allow victory.  Will you charge ahead like Galahad, or run away like sir Robin?  This card game takes minutes to play, but can entertain for hours!  So why not try something completely different?  And do it while smoking your favorite pipe filled with something nice.

The last game of today’s blog is “Hey, That’s My Fish!” This fast playing game has two to four players take control of hungry penguins looking for the biggest lunch.  This seemingly simple game features strategy and only the most devious penguin can win, so grab your fish before the ice breaks up!  Game play lasts about 20 minutes, but several games are normally played to get a hang of the plan of action.  With an after dinner drink and a bong, this sub-zero game of fishy strategy is a delight for 2-4 players!

Games bring people together in an environment of fun and camaraderie.  Please take a game to a friend’s home you haven’t seen in a while and just sit and play.  The simple act of sharing a moment while causally gaming is as old as human culture.  No flashing lights, no one-player games, just company.  Our grandparents knew this, our parents knew it too.  Now it’s our time to be together in an old way playing a WACKY board game together and laughing!

The Games I Still Play

The first time I played Stratego it was after my 11th birthday party.  I was given the game by a friend and I wanted to play it.  The idea was pretty simple - the lower the number, the more powerful the piece.  The numbers were hidden, and you moved one space at a time to capture your enemy’s flag.  The pieces represented various ranks in the French/English armies during the Napoleonic wars.  I liked the idea of the reveal on attack, it was exciting.  I still use my 1977 Stratego game, now I play it with my younger son.  We both love the game.

I bought the Simpson’s themed Clue in 1991.  The group of us got baked and played the game.  Most of us had played Clue, and we all loved the Simpsons, so the group of five was excited to play.  Like the original Clue, you travel the board going into rooms and eliminating murder weapons, murder locations, and the murderer.  The Simpson’s version had Springfield locations for rooms, silly weapons, and familiar characters as the suspects.  The game added some interesting twists like secret passages and other small variations.  I’ve played the game a dozen times over the years and it never seems to get tired.  This is a really fun game.

I am truly a bad speller, but I love Scrabble, I really do.  My mother forced me to play with the family when I was younger, and she crushed us every time.  I liked the look of the board and the letter tiles, but my spelling skills were quite weak.  Through my teenage years and beyond I became an avid reader and was able to continue my education to the highest levels.  I met my wife in the mid-90’s and she was really smart, plus she was and is a perfect speller and grammarian.  Of course she liked Scrabble!  I played Scrabble on the new social network available and I learned all the legal 2 letter words.  With my mother’s Scrabble board, I played my wife and won.  It was the first time I had ever won at Scrabble.  Now I rarely lose, but my wife is still brilliant, so I need to work hard to win.

My older son likes Mille Bornes, the classic racing card game.  I played for the first time on a ski trip to Canada with my parents in 1971.  In this game, players collect cards to be able to play mileage cards to complete their trip.  Special cards are needed to begin, and other players play hazards against you to slow your journey.  The game features, “Coup Fourre!” cards that make you immune to certain hazards.  In the end, you score all your mileage and all the special cards you have played.  The fact that my son likes this game means its has been liked by three generations!

My oldest personal favorite game is Battleship.  I received it on my 8th birthday and we still play it today.  The box is beaten up, but the game is still perfect with all its pieces and still very enjoyable to play.  Each player positions their ships on their game board which is hidden from the other player.  The players take turns taking shots at the others ships, that is achieved by saying the coordinates of your shot.  If you score a “Hit” you go again.  The player that sinks all the other players ships first wins.  “You sank my Battleship!” 

The most important part of all these games is that we still play them.  From childhood, to now, I still play these games and still enjoy them.  I get a particular thrill that my family shares my love of games and that we always find time to play a game of two.  More importantly, we collectively look for our next “Favorite” game and get excited to try something new.  With each new game though, it just makes me love the old ones that much more.