What is the best game? - Other Topics Forum - Discuss Pop Culture, Arts and Entertainment

Note that I'm talking the board/strategy/etc type games, not including sports (so soccer, basketball, etc don't count here).

Criteria I'm using are:
Popularity
Longevity
Fun to play ranging from casual to expert players

Scrabble:

Great combination of words, math, and strategy.

Poker:

Great combination of psychology, math, and strategy.

Chess:

Perhaps the greatest combination of strategy and tactics.

Others I considered but didn't quite make the cut IMO were Go, Monopoly, and Risk.

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07-16-2014 , 05:39 PM

Mark_K

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Bridge imo.

There are even clubs that people attend that charge money for people to play. (With no cash awards)

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07-16-2014 , 05:42 PM

tylertwo

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I love to study poker, but I play chess. (Not near as well as I used to.) I used to be an unbeaten Monopoly player back in the day.

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07-16-2014 , 05:43 PM

NLSoldier

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poll is a massive fail for not including monopoly, risk, bridge, etc. lock thread ban OP.

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07-16-2014 , 05:45 PM

El Diablo

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NLS: Still waiting for your sure to be loltastic argument for monopoly.

Mark: Bridge is a great suggestion. I don't think it has enough widespread popularity to merit inclusion in the top tier, but it is definitely worthy of consideration.

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07-16-2014 , 05:45 PM

fun101

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Quote:

Originally Posted by El Diablo

Great combination of words, math, and strategy.

Poker:

Great combination of psychology, math, and strategy.

Chess:

Perhaps the greatest combination of strategy and tactics.

Others I considered but didn't quite make the cut IMO were Go, Monopoly, and Risk.

Popularity: Chess. This is based on my experience and could be wrong.

Longevity: Chess. Although cards have been around for a long time, I think poker is relatively new. Scrabble is also pretty new.

Fun for casual players/experts: Poker and it's not even close. In poker, anyone can win in the short run so it's a lot of fun for the casual player. In chess and scrabble, if there is a large difference in skill the best player always wins.

Monopoly is one of the worst board games out there IMO.

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07-16-2014 , 05:46 PM

Alobar

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voted chess because its just as popular (if not more so?) than the other options and has been around a lot longer

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07-16-2014 , 05:49 PM

Alobar

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Quote:

Originally Posted by fun101

Fun for casual players/experts: Poker and it's not even close. In poker, anyone can win in the short run so it's a lot of fun for the casual player. In chess and scrabble, if there is a large difference in skill the best player always wins.

that doesnt really change the fun that 2 people of equal skill matched together have. I think all 3 are pretty equal in terms of the fun had if they are your forte.

Poker could potentially be more addicting because of the gambling aspect, but I dont think it ups the fun any, and any potential fun argument that is "yeah, but you can beat the best player in the world at poker, how exciting is that!" is orders of magnitude offset by badbeats and suckouts and the emotional soul destroying nature of variance.

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07-16-2014 , 05:49 PM

lastcardcharlie

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Chess AINEC.

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07-16-2014 , 05:52 PM

#10

Andro

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Risk or Stratego.

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07-16-2014 , 05:52 PM

#11

capone0

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i guess video games don't count

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07-16-2014 , 05:54 PM

#12

Mark_K

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Quote:

Originally Posted by El Diablo

Mark: Bridge is a great suggestion. I don't think it has enough widespread popularity to merit inclusion in the top tier, but it is definitely worthy of consideration.

It's definitely a game that's been in a long decline. It's also difficult to learn. Probably worse than golf on the steepness of the learning curve.

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07-16-2014 , 05:54 PM

#13

El Diablo

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Capone,

I think video games can count. I just couldn't think of any that people keep enjoying playing for years and years.

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07-16-2014 , 05:56 PM

#14

Mark_K

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I think the issue with poker is that it's a pretty weak game if you remove the aspect of gambling real cash from it. All the others hold their own independent of wagering.

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07-16-2014 , 05:58 PM

#15

El Diablo

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Mark,

I almost excluded poker for that reason, but felt like it has enough popularity played at levels where the $ amounts at stake are so small they are really just a proxy for keeping score.

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07-16-2014 , 06:06 PM

#16

fun101

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Alobar

Almost noone plays games with people of equal skill unless they are playing the game very seriously. Scrabble has very little luck involved, and chess has almost no luck so if you are playing these games with a friend who is better or worse than you, you are fairly confident on the outcome before the game begins.

My main point is that in order for a game to be fun to be played among friends there must be a degree of luck involved or everyone must have fairly even skill. Noone likes to always lose.

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07-16-2014 , 06:08 PM

#17

Alobar

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Quote:

Originally Posted by fun101

scrabble has a ton of luck, and most people who play either game anymore do it online where it is very easy to match up with opponents of the same skill

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07-16-2014 , 06:10 PM

#18

Mark_K

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Quote:

Originally Posted by El Diablo

Mark,

I almost excluded poker for that reason, but felt like it has enough popularity played at levels where the $ amounts at stake are so small they are really just a proxy for keeping score.

I dare you to play at a Pokerstars play money table for more than 15 minutes.

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07-16-2014 , 06:11 PM

#19

fun101

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Alobar

scrabble has a ton of luck, and most people who play either game anymore do it online where it is very easy to match up with opponents of the same skill

I didn't know people played scrabble online. As for the luck aspect, I haven't played scrabble in a long time so I am probably wrong about the amount of luck involved.

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07-16-2014 , 06:12 PM

#20

El Diablo

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Mark: nooooooooooo

Fun: I play scrabble with friends and family at holidays etc and with serious scrabble players daily. Very different types of games, but both very fun.

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07-16-2014 , 06:14 PM

#21

Grue

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Resistance Avalon

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07-16-2014 , 06:20 PM

#22

fun101

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Quote:

Originally Posted by El Diablo

Mark: nooooooooooo

Fun: I play scrabble with friends and family at holidays etc and with serious scrabble players daily. Very different types of games, but both very fun.

Do your family/friends have any chance of winning against you? I am assuming that they play a lot less often than you do

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07-16-2014 , 06:21 PM

#23

Bighurt52235

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Voting 5 card draw

Also, I really love Monopoly. I was obsessed with it when I was 6-7 years old. Memorized the rent for every property, for each number of houses/hotels, etc. I would also set up the NES game for all computer players to play, and I would just watch.

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07-16-2014 , 06:25 PM

#24

El Diablo

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fun,

If I play all the obscure words I don't even know the meaning of, never create unnecessary openings, and lock down boards defensively to protect a lead, then very little chance. But the way I play against casual players is very different than how I play against people who play every day.

It's just like how I have some people I play serious tennis matches against and others I just casually hit around with. Both are fun.

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07-16-2014 , 06:30 PM

#25

capone0

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Scrabble at the highest levels has a ton of luck involved--since most people are even but good players can do certain things (2 letter words, D, understanding your opponents likely holdings in late games) that make bad players have little ability to upset a good player. The issue with online is there are programs--and you can typically tell when people are using them--they have no idea how to play yet lay down ridiculous words.

Scrabble/Scrabble like games are easy to play on smart phones (Words with Friends/Scrabble Applications).

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