With a presidential election in a little under a week and Thanksgiving at the end of the month we thought we’d take a look at some of our America themed board games. We’ve got one of our most iconic and popular games, a political intrigue game and even a video game tie-in game.
First up, we’re looking at Ticket To Ride.
First published in 2004 by Days of Wonder, Ticket To Ride has since won dozens of awards, and for good reasons. Its elegant gameplay can be learned in under 15 minutes, but it requires strategic and tactical thought with each turn. Players collect cards of various types of train cars they then use to claim railway routes in America. The longer the routes, the more points they earn. Additional points come to those who fulfill Destination Tickets – goal cards that connect distant cities; and to the player who builds the longest continuous route.
“The rules are simple enough to write on a train ticket – each turn you either draw more cards, claim a route, or get additional Destination Tickets,” says Ticket to Ride author, Alan R. Moon. “The tension comes from being forced to balance greed – adding more cards to your hand, and fear – losing a critical route to a competitor.”
Ticket To Ride is one of our most frequent recommendations for players who are looking to get into board games and don’t know where to start. It’s simple to pick up and hard to put down. Ticket To Ride is for 2-5 players and takes less than an hour to play. We also carry Ticket To Ride: Europe and Ticket To Ride: Nordic Countries expansions, which add unique gameplay elements in addition to new maps.
The next of our America themed board games is Bioshock Infinite: Siege of Columbia.
Siege of Columbia is based on the Bioshock Infinite video game. The board game is set in the same alternate history 1912 in the floating city of Columbia, the game’s glittering metaphor for American exceptionalism. Players will take the part of either the Columbian Founders or the rebel Vox Populi and build up an army to take territory and complete important objectives. At the same time players will have to deal with the video game’s protagonists, Pinkerton Booker DeWitt and the newly freed captive Elizabeth, running around and creating havoc in Columbia.
Bioshock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia has players combating one another, stealing objectives from one another, assassinating leaders, destroying strongholds, bidding against each other for control of unfolding events and more. The first player/team to 10 victory points wins.
For players looking for a Bioshock fix to tide them over until a new video game is released, Siege of Columbia might just do the trick. The game is for two or more players and take around two hours to play.
The last of the America themed board games we’re looking at is Tammany Hall.
This game of intrigue is set in 1850’s to 1870’s Manhattan in the era of William “Boss” Tweed. Tammany Hall is centered around the political machine of the same name that dominated the governmental processes of New York City at the time. Players help immigrants settle in New York, collect political favors from those immigrant groups, send ward bosses into Manhattan to secure votes, and slander political opponents. An election is held at the end of every fourth year, and the player who uses his power base best will be elected mayor. The Mayor’s grip on the city is tenuous at best. After every election, the Mayor must pay off his political rivals by placing them in offices that they can wield to try to take control of the city. Every player is your friend, every player is your enemy. Do you have what it takes to seize control of New York City?
Did we mention your favorite America themed board game? If not, let us know what we missed in the comments.
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