To Convert A Boardgame Hater

[CivCube]

I love boardgames (love them)...but my friend hates them with a passion. This is somewhat infuriating to me, as he has only played Monopoly. He decided that boardgames were therefore a pointless waste of time.

I call upon fellow boardgame enthusiasts to help. Truly, there must be a way to show my friend the light.

 

[Maniacal]

This seems to me to be one of those strange dislikes for no apparent reason. How is monopoly a waste of time? Well, maybe it's not everyone's cake. A waste of time? You can say that about ANYTHING.

 

[JtheJackal]

If he doesn't like Monopoly than all hope is lost.

Seriously though, maybe he'll play a shorter game like Stratego and like it.

 

[Dreadnought]

It is neigh impossible to convert someone to like a boardgame!

 

[kcwong]

If he thinks Monopoly is pointless, I think he has never read the rules, and doesn't know how Monopoly is played in the tournaments. *shakes head*

If you think there's still hope for him, try to find out what kind of games he likes. That'll give you an idea about which boradgame you should use (and possibly buy if you don't already have it) to get him hooked. Hopefully it's one you can have fun with too.

Post back and we might be able to give you some recommendations.

 

[CivCube]

Ah, and there is, in fact, a wonderful resource for boardgame fans: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/ Pretty much an encyclopedia of every boardgame ever made.

I personally have little taste for Monopoly. That annoys me more because of that. He is willing to dump an entire pastime based on one product. It's like dismissing novels because you don't like Animorphs, or scoffing at videogames because of Superman 64.

Now, there are some real gems of game design out there. Puerto Rico...Settlers of Catan...Ticket to Ride...Twilight Imperium...Caylus...the list goes on and on.

 

[CivCube]

Well, I just got "Descent: Journeys in the Dark". If neither this nor "Fury of Dracula" will convert him, nothing will.

 

[Shaunold]

I love boardgames (love them)...but my friend hates them with a passion. This is somewhat infuriating to me, as he has only played Monopoly. He decided that boardgames were therefore a pointless waste of time.

I call upon fellow boardgame enthusiasts to help. Truly, there must be a way to show my friend the light.

I have a friend thats exactly the same we always want to play risk with him but he freakin hates it for no reason and yet he loves monopoly and he is really good at it. We gave up trying to show him the light that guy is stubborn

 

[Azale]

Havnt tried checkers or chess?

 

[kcwong]

Or try dexterity game like Polarity.

I can get 3 on the same foundation, or 3 in a row.

 

[Captain2]

I got lucky, all my friends like risk so much to the point I dont even need to bring a board over, they already have one

 

[Aabraxan]

CivCube,
Start with what your friend does like. Does he play computer games? If so, which ones? If he already plays strategy games, it's not too big a jump to convince him that some of the old boardgames are predecessors to the current computer strategy games. Risk, Axis & Allies, and others come to mind. If crossword puzzles are his thing, challenge him to Scrabble. On the other hand, if he doesn't play computer games, and his idea of fun is, say, bowhunting, you may just be SOL. Good luck.

 

[Captain2]

axis and allies kinda blows, i remember by the time we had the world set up we were too tired to play

 

[Aabraxan]

What I never liked about A&A is that there were mandated moves at the beginning, IIRC.

 

[warpstorm]

If he is into RPGs you might try Arkham Horror. Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Carcasonne are good gateway games.

 

[Slax]

I have had very good results getting the uninitiated to fall for Settlers of Catan. I suggest you start there and move slowly towards other games. I think Settlers works well because even when its another players turn, you gain resources and can be involved in trading, and thus everyone stays interested. Common expression a little later: "I don't want ANY of your stinking sheep!"

 

[Captain2]

never heard of settlers of catan, not even a clue where getting it would be possible

 

[kcwong]

Is your friend looking for complexity or not? Settlers (there're many variants, with Catan being probably the most famous of them) can take a while to learn, and you need to think hard to get together your winning strategy.

 

[warpstorm]

kcwong, are you implying that Settlers is complex? Most BGGs consider it to be the intro game to real gaming.

Captain2, the internet is your friend. You can get it from Mayfair games ( http://www.mayfairgames.com ) directly (for full price) or from one of the many, many boardgame sellers online (I use fairplay, bouldergames, and funagain) or if there is a hobby shop in your locale they can set you up with a copy.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Settlers_of_Catan

 

[Captain2]

interesting, i shall see what i can do with this so called inter-net

or check that place that sold me axis and allies