Board Games

Got Bohnanza and Resistance placed this week. We discussed whether or not Bohnanza should be considered a board game, card game, or go into a third, new category called a "bean game." It was a four player game and decently close. I think Bohnanza holds up at 4, but I wouldn't want to play it at any less. My hot Uwe Rosenberg take has always been that Bohnanza is his best game, but that's probably not true. After all, there's Mamma Mia and at least a few others that contend for the title.

Resistance is my cult of the old pick for social deduction. It's less convoluted than Secret Hitler, doesn't need a GM like BOTC or Werewolf, and has more depth than One-Night Ultimate Werewolf. It's a tightly designed game that expects a lot from the players and needs repeat plays to appreciate. It's short enough that it doesn't feel excessive to run it 2-3 times back to back. In my opinion, the best way to play is with the plot cards expansion. It does need a little more than just the base rules to be interesting, and I like the democatic element of powers being handed out to people during the game instead of being chosen beforehand.