I have fallen head first down the board gaming rabbit-hole in 2012. To put it in perspective, I have 4 games that I have requested for Christmas, none of them are of the video variety, probably for the first time. 

As Shinji stated above, it is great for spending time with family and friends, much better than playing against 8yr old racists on Live!

Had my birthday last month, so between presents and a trip to the Orcs Nest in London I have acquired Battlestar Gallactica, Carcassonne, For Sale, Love Letter, Mr Jack and Tobago in the last few weeks. 

Mention of Dixit above, I have Dixit Journey and it is fantastic. Great for getting non-gamers playing, the 'Journey' version has more modern art, less whimsical perhaps, and has the best scoreboard of the various versions in my view.

You're lucky you have people to play with. Foisting them on my family doesn't seem to work.

Tempy wrote:

You're lucky you have people to play with. Foisting them on my family doesn't seem to work.

Absolutely true. Very lucky.

Just had the sneakiest, most back-handed game of Ticket to Ride: Europe this morning. After 7-8 rounds it was clear that everyone had given up on their routes and just put trains down to block everyone. Was a proper good time. Especially cause I won

JEAH

TtR is good. Pandemic is surprisingly easy to pick up. Is a lot of fun too and not that pricey.
Dixit might be worth a look too. If you look at Will Wheaton's TableTop show on YouTube he's got shows on all of the mentioned. Gives you a great idea what it plays like

I have a similar question to Vastik - I'm looking for a board game to play with family at Xmas.

There'll be four of us and the game needs to be simple enough for my Dad (who has little patience/understanding of board games and will probably be a bit drunk/sleepy) but deep enough for my Mum and missus to get in to.

I was thinking maybe Ticket to Ride (the train angle could be sold to Dad) but if so, which one? Any other top picks for us board game virgins?

Thanks

Thanks, I'll check it out

Another vote for TtR Europe.

Easy to pick up, quite quick too. Perfect for Xmas.

For those thinking about buying Ticket To Ride, you can always get the iOS/Android version on the cheap and check it out first.

pantyfire wrote:

For those thinking about buying Ticket To Ride, you can always get the iOS/Android version on the cheap and check it out first.

the thing that make ttr appealing are pretty much missed in a computer port played by a one player. The best things are: little plastic trains, being able to play with anyone and those anyones all having a good time. The last is a feature I find is often missing in some boardgames as its easy for the seasoned glboardgamer to boss everything.

It does lose a lot on the iPad.

WorKid wrote:

Also, just bought pandemic for the wife for Xmas. Pretty sure she's got me dixit. Happy times.

Oh I am loving Pandemic. First victory (on introductory) brought about spontaneous high fiving. Might try and sneak the expansion in before christmas, if just for the petri dishes

Shinji wrote:

Might try and sneak the expansion in before christmas, if just for the petri dishes

Man those petri dishes look cool.

Had a family member pop up with a request for a Christmas present idea, so she is getting me Escape: The Curse of the Temple. It is the new hotness on BGG at the mo, co-op dice rolling game with tiles randomly building the temple, played to a 10min soundtrack with gongs and doors shutting etc. that mean you have to get to a room or be out of somewhere by a certain time. Looks like frantic fun for Christmas morning.

Surveyor wrote:

Shinji wrote:

Might try and sneak the expansion in before christmas, if just for the petri dishes

Man those petri dishes look cool.

Had a family member pop up with a request for a Christmas present idea, so she is getting me Escape: The Curse of the Temple. It is the new hotness on BGG at the mo, co-op dice rolling game with tiles randomly building the temple, played to a 10min soundtrack with gongs and doors shutting etc. that mean you have to get to a room or be out of somewhere by a certain time. Looks like frantic fun for Christmas morning.

Sounds amazing. Rough price?

Gamesquest.co.uk another decent site..