There are many board games out there for people with all interests to enjoy. From detailed, engine-building games to simpler options, there’s more than likely something to satisfy everyone’s board game preferences. With spring break approaching, what’s a better time to find new games to enjoy with friends and family? Here are my top five favorite board games.
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Hooray for more time during spring break to spend time with family and friends, relax and find new games to play. With board games continually rising in popularity, it’s always prime time to try out some new ones. You may come inside from a long day of adventures, grab some delectable, savory snack and comfy up to play some board games. Here are my top five favorite board games to play with my clan.
Terraforming Mars
Your genius corporation is racing against other corporations which have set their sights on terraforming Mars. By playing project cards, completing standard projects, raising heat and oxygen levels and filling oceans on Mars, you must terraform the red planet to create a livable environment in order to be the master corporation. Build cities, plant greenery, fill oceans, complete projects and win milestones and awards to raise your terraform rating and build a leading corporation. After Mars is terraformed, the corporation with the highest score takes over Mars.
Terraforming Mars is a great way to spend time with those you’re close to while engaging in highly strategic gameplay. With the many different corporations and strategies you can employ, Terraforming Mars feels like a different game each time you play.
The Settlers of Catan/Catan/Settlers
As a fearless seafarer, it is your job to settle and tame the newly discovered island of Catan before your contenders do. As settlers of the new island, it is each player’s job to be the first to 10 victory points. A game of bartering, buying and building, players collect and trade cards to construct settlements, cities and roads to expand their village into the pastures, mountains, hills, forests and fields of the land of Catan. You can also buy Development Cards to gain special achievements and victory points. The Settlers of Catan is a multiplayer board game that can be played with two to four players (the expansion pack allows up to six players).
The Settlers of Catan is a relaxing strategy game to enjoy. I’ve savored playing The Settlers of Catan for several years with my family and enjoy finding new strategies to employ each time I play. Win or lose, The Settlers of Catan can be a fun way to unwind and spend time with friends and family.
Sagrada
As a skilled artisan, your goal is to create your own masterful stained-glass window. Players begin the game with their own window board. Using the die’s color and value, carefully construct your art, but strategy is important because you cannot place dies of the same color or value next to each other. It’s also your goal to complete objectives to gain extra points. Whoever has the highest score at the end of the game is the master artisan and wins the game.
This game has quickly become one of my favorites because of its ease of learning, the appealing design of the game and the personal strategies each player may employ. Striving to construct the highest-scoring stained glass window, it’s a race against your competing master artisans. You must be careful, though, or your detailed work of art could become shattered.
Carcassonne
Set in the highlands of France, Carcassonne is a strategic tile-laying game in which you construct your ever-growing fortified city made up of roads, monasteries, fields and water. Your followers – monks, knights, farmers and thieves – work for your city, bringing in profit. It’s your job to build your city, but don’t take too long, or your contenders may steal your city before you’ve fortified it. Through strategic placements, whichever ruler has the most points at the end of the game is crowned king in your own kingdom of Carcassonne.
New to this game, I’ve enjoyed learning the strategies behind Carcassonne. It’s a race between strategy, good draws and time to build your kingdom. While no one can take away what you’ve already built, your contenders can steal a city by completing it first, so plan your turns, and don’t wait too long.
Ticket to Ride
As railroad engineers, it is your duty to create the most prestigious cross-country railway system, but you must not lose your reputation and let imposters steal your fame. Race across the country to build railroad systems, complete bonus Destination cards and manufacture the longest railroad system. The player with the highest score at the end of the game is the tycoon of the railroad system.
Ticket to Ride is a simple and fun game to play with two to four players. Players complete their own goals, but there is strategy involved because other players can block your route and make you go the long way around to your destination. Ticket to Ride can be a short game to play and is easy to learn, so I’ve always enjoyed it when I want to play a game where I don’t have to be too serious.
Where to buy:
Board games are an entertaining way to spend quality time with those to whom you are close. It’s worth a thought to invest in board games that can provide a lot of fun over the years. These five board games provide a fun way to spend time, strategize, relax and involve yourself in creative pastimes. Photo by Emma Tihen
Alexa Tippett 
Jack Gienke