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Good board games that take 45 minutes to play.

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

15:32 / 28.08.06

I have a lot of games at home -- there's a group of friends that come over every Sunday afternoon -- but most of them are a little broader and deeper than lunchtime games: Settlers of Catan, Through the Desert, Carcassonne... games that take too long for a one-hour lunch break minus eating time.

Suggestions for good 45-minute games? Games for 2-4 players would be best, as I hate having to say no to people and there'd probably be about 4 people in the office (self included) that would be into this.

Additional challenge for bonus points: I'm the sole anglo in a Francophone office, and most of the others speak English decently... but not well enough to really get the gags inherent in games like those Cheapass produces.

I already have Metro, which I'm planning on bringing in. But other games would be most welcome!

Triplets

21:21 / 28.08.06

Fuck, man, Zombies!

No, not behind you (not yet), the boardgame. Dig?

Fast, fun... and universal, surely? Everyone gets the humour in an all-brain diet.

Triplets

21:23 / 28.08.06

Hey, Stoatie, you've played Zombies! haven't you? You reckon it could be adapted to run a Prince of Darkness specific version? I am so hot to run a game of that.

Father!

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

23:02 / 28.08.06

Man, I've never... EVER... had a game of Zombies!!! run under two hours. Are there some quick-play variants? Because it takes us an hour just to get the helipad out, and then it's another hour of screw-the-leader before somebody manages to escape...

Plus, I work with people a little less into horror/SF than I am. That's why I'm not busting out Dungeon Twister of Blue Moon. The Metro-type games... stylish and not too "swords and wizards!" themed are perfect.

Supaglue

12:43 / 29.08.06

I used to play Dungeon Quest at lunch times with some colleagues

So long as they can live with the fantasy theme, its a pretty good game for an hour. Choose a character, each with special abilites/hit points you have 26 turns to get into the dungeon and get as much treasure as possible. If yer not out by the last turn, yer dead. It's also good for running a league as you can have treasure totals and such.

wally week

13:27 / 29.08.06

Gardens of the Alhambra should fit the bill quite nicely. Like Metro, it's all about finding the best way to place tiles to increase your own points and minimise the number of points available to your oponents. Having said that, it's quite a different game to Metro, being more mathematical and having nothing to do with connecting up long lines. The rules are very simple but the gameplay seems fairly deep. I've only played it twice so far so it's hard to know for sure. Both games I played took under 45 minutes - there's a limited number of turns so it's only going to take longer if people take forever to make up their minds.

There's French rules in the box, so do I get the bonus point? They're not very funny, though.

I have nightmares about Zombies. After three hours there's always one person left who refuses to just let somebody else win so we can all go to the pub.

Cailín

16:25 / 29.08.06

I was terrible at this (something about mock bitch-slapping my better half didn't agree with me), but still a lot of fun: Lunch Money. It only requires its own deck of cards, and it's great for relieving those pent-up schoolyard type frustrations. The language thing shouldn't be too big a problem - when someone can't describe what they're doing, hand gestures work just fine.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

17:31 / 29.08.06

Hey, Stoatie, you've played Zombies! haven't you?

I haven't played it yet... but you've just reminded me that Tango Mango bought it a few weeks ago and we're supposed to be sorting out a time to play it. Another friend of mine has it and says it rocks.

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

18:21 / 29.08.06

My one suggestion for a Zombies!!! game that doesn't turn into a droning horror is to NOT reshuffle the action cards: when they're gone, they're gone. Including discards. Most of the endgame slogging comes from people using the same cards over and over again to add more zombies, send players back to Town Square, etc. We've had a lot more success with it not recycling the deck than when we've tried playing it with the standard rules.

invisible_al

09:49 / 31.08.06

Have you heard of Guillotine? It's a cool little card game where executioners compete to collect the best heads. Text on the action cards isn't that complicated and it's a very quick and fun game to play.

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

23:20 / 05.09.06

Have purchased Lunch Money and, after some Board Game Geek research, Colossal Arena, which seems to be ju-u-uuust not fantasy-themed enough that I might get away with it. Oh, and the Euprhrates + Tigris card game, but that's because it was on sale. I don't think it'll be a lunch-work game.

Cloned Christ on a HoverDonkey

03:32 / 07.09.06

Only really for 2 people but it's such an amazingly simple, yet amazingly involving game that I can't help but recommend abalone.

I believe there's an option on the website to play it online, but I think the standard is pretty high there.

Like Othello used to say - "A minute to learn, a lifetime to master" (only more so).

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