Im looking to play more puzzle and board games that engage the mind and focus my attention. Challenging things... ive thought about getting a rubix cube because ive never solved one before. I am trying to simplify my life and turn away from technology. I just want to turn off all the TV's, cells, and computers in my personal space much much more often, because they are beginning to bug me.. I will always love to watch movies, TV, and play awesome online MMO video games, and play awesome action or survival horror games(like resident evil and silent hill). Im not going on some anti-technology conquest, not at all. I love technology! But I just want to start getting away from it a bit. It'd be nice to have another player, but I often don't have another player with me, and my significant other isn't really the least bit motivated to get away from the TV... I know theres online table games like backgammon or mahjong that you could easily find another player on... but that won't work for me, because I want to be away from my computer and in the real world.. So im wondering if theres some really challenging one player puzzle games and stuff out there, that could turn into 2 player if someone is around. Ive been playing a game online called eteRNA that helps researchers and stuff if you get good at it. But like I said, sometimes I just want to be totally away from the computer screen. Does anyone else here get those feelings? Like, not the feeling that technology has ruined us and complicated our lives... But don't you ever think that your car, your cell, and computer all just really complicate your life, stress you out, make you forget whats actually important and then you yell at those you love and throw a fit, you don't know what to do... your just trying to make the big bucks to keep all your technology running? My feelings are that technology only improves our lives... And that technology hasn't taken control of us, we just are being blinded by the idea that we have to own a bunch of neat gadgets to be happy. The way im beginning to see it, it doesn't matter wether or not I own all the neat things that have come from the industrial revolution era to today. All the neat awesome gadgets are around me, theres no need to own them, because they are there anyway. Ok ive rambled a bit... What kind of neat puzzly type games are there for me that don't involve playing a computer?
You can play yourself in chess, or set up specific scenarios and try different things. Or solitaire is good to kill a little bit of time. You could always take up a hobby like bird watching or something. You can go on hikes and make a game out of trying to identify different birds, animals, plants.
Settlers of Cataan is very popular. Carcassonne is anther good game. Both have several spin-off versions as well.
A card game rather than a board game. Cards Against Humanity, very much wrong town but it's so funny with the right group of people.
Even if you can't, DO IT! It is SOOOOO worth it! I've wound up laughing so hard I had to use breathing medicine - there are entire inside jokes in my circle of close friends because of that game! We will never, ever look at Pac man and not be able to break down laughing, that's for sure
Ticket to Ride is a fun game. You build as many train routes as you can to give yourself points, and there are many different versions (ie: Ticket to Ride: Africa, Ticket to Ride: Europe).
The TV show King of the Nerds proved Connect 4 was solved, so don't bother with that one. Basically, with perfect play the one who starts will win. Other board games I like, provided there are two or more players, are Chess, Monopoly (but skip the property auction if no one buys it), Scrabble, and Stratego. Also, although not board games, several card games such as 500 Rummy, Gin Rummy, Hearts, Spades, and the classic Klondike solitaire.
