Board games that promise fun but require too much work

Jason
Sunday
8:10 pm

Growing up we always had a closet full of board games. From the simple to the advanced. And even as I moved into high school, I didn’t mind passing the time with a good game or two, here and there.

And even now, as I grow a bit older, the closet still has a large amount of games, both old and new. I have dabbled into some new games to me, in Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride, and found another that has become a staple on game night, Munchkin.

But then there are those games that seem to be the tentpole of games that everyone swears by. They are long, complex and full of strategy. Games could take hours, if not days. And to me, while the premise of these games is sound, and seems like they should be a ball, they are just much too drawn out to jump in, have fun, end the game and go about the rest of your business.

Scotland Yard

I will be upfront about this one, it has probably been two decades since the last time I played the game. But it was so tedious for a 14 year old, that it made me never want to come back to it. It wanted you to work in tandem with the other players in an effort to try and find out just who Mr. X is. Talking? You want a bunch of guys sitting around and try and coordinate strategery? Psshht!

Clue

The line between Clue being fun and being tedious is always a fine one. Many times a game can go on both sides of the line and it just depends on who you are playing with. Most of the time the groups I played with could never agree on the interpretation of the rules which led to some pretty good cheating and some pretty crappy endings. General Jason killed Clue in the solar with his charming wit!

Risk

Risk was a whole new level of game and intricate rules. And I never found it fair that the aggressor was always able to roll more dice than those who are trying to defend. Seemed like a stacked deck to me. All those little pieces, how many units you are rewarded, how many times you can attack. And then there was always that one lucky bastard who was basically handed Australia through the cards they were dealt. You basically needed to plan your whole day around the game, either that you won’t be finishing. And you won’t be coming back to the game even though you save your game board by stashing it in the dining room.

Axis & Allies

If Risk was a new level, Axis & Allies was a whole new planet. To this day I admire those who can trudge through an A&A campaign. Even more if they have purchased the 2,235 expansions and themes to the game.  I can honestly say I never actually finished a single game of A&A. Sure we got to the set up, and the beginning, but something usually came up shortly thereafter. Usually food. And food is good.

So there you go. In the end, I probably didn’t have the patience for these games. They probably are fun. But for some reason I could always take an hour or two to play Monopoly, Stratego, Trivial Pursuit or Life.

My newest game I own? Marvel Scene It. Found it at Toys R Us for eight bucks. For some reason no one will play with me.