Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Early Retirement Extreme Forums » Lifestyle Questions

1. 

   Frugal Vegan Mom
   

   Apprentice
   Joined: Aug '10
   Posts: 31

   I was reminded of my love of 500 after posting in the "What do you do on weekends?" thread. http://forum.earlyretirementextreme.com/topic.php?id=306

   Does anyone play? Not rummy, the kind with four people, two sets of partners.

   My parents learned in a class in high school, as I guess was typical then, so I grew up playing. I feel like it's a dying game amongst my generation.

   I love games like this where you can think and strategize. I can't stand playing "roll the dice" games where it's mostly chance.

   Others I enjoy are Taboo and occasionally, Risk. I learned chess when I was younger, but too boring for me. I like games with more people where you can yell and discuss, etc.

   These games are a great source of really inexpensive fun.

   Anyone have any to add?

   Posted 2 years ago #
2. 

   Debbie M
   

   Apprentice
   Joined: Aug '10
   Posts: 55

   Robo Rally. Program robots to go where you want, taking into account conveyer belts, pits of death, etc., and guessing about how you might get pushed around by other robots. The cards you get are random, and the more damage you get, the fewer cards you get, so you have less control over where you're going. (Note: it is depressing to watch certain people throw themselves into the pit, over and over.)

   Posted 2 years ago #
3. 

   csdx
   

   Apprentice
   Joined: Aug '10
   Posts: 46

   Board gaming is actually a fairly expensive hobby, but I keep it within my budget and support the developers I like and my FLGS (friendly local gaming store) even though it's usually $25-$50 a pop for new. But robo rally, settlers of catan, agricola, et. al. all great fun. They're pricier but more in-depth than your standard milton-bradley game. Helps if you have a group to split up purchases.

   Although the best bang for your buck has to be a deck of cards. My personal favorite game is bridge. Used to have a bridge group in college with some of the professors, nowadays it's mostly random online games (I use http://www.bridgebase.com/ a free online system). I wasn't familiar with 500, but a quick wikipedia check looks like it's related to Euchre, which that and Pinochle I have played.

   Edit to add: Also I'm a geek so I guess I'll admit to role-playing games as well. As in D&D and the like, fun if you've got the right crowd for them (and are into that sort of thing).

   Posted 2 years ago #
4. 

   akratic
   

   Master
   Joined: Jul '10
   Posts: 480

   Try adult board games. The king of these is Settlers of Catan which at ~$50 is not cheap, but on a per hour basis, it will end up costing you almost nothing!

   After you get hooked on Settlers, there is an entire world of these games, the best being Puerto Rico, Agricola, and Ticket to Ride. (In my opinion, of course.)

   A deck of cards is still the best bang for your buck though.

   Posted 2 years ago #
5. 

   csdx
   

   Apprentice
   Joined: Aug '10
   Posts: 46

   Also rather than try to list out a dozen recommendations, I'll just say, check out http://www.boardgamegeek.com/ as a general go-to resource. Also another caveat is that many board games tend to have expansions, so once you're hooked on the game, of course you'll want to buy it. Dominion's really been the game going around my circle, and there are already 3 expansions out for it.

   Posted 2 years ago #
6. 

   George the original one
   

   Expert
   Joined: Jul '10
   Posts: 1,938

   LOL... great to hear that y'all are enjoying Robo Rally!

   That was one of Richard Garfield's earliest games that "the Portland clan" felt was worthy of publication (first pass was in the early '80s). It wasn't until after Magic: The Gathering was published that Robo Rally went to press. You'd laugh at the early artwork attempts on cardstock and Richard's notoriously bad penmanship. My small contribution to it was the idea of the registers sticking when you take damage.

   Posted 2 years ago #
7. 

   George the original one
   

   Expert
   Joined: Jul '10
   Posts: 1,938

   Diplomacy
   There's no better way to learn the skills of negotiating.

   Nuclear War
   Add poker hands where the stakes are population cards. Add a dummy hand (plays randomly). Make a nation of zombies.

   We found that it's possible to liven up most board games by pokerizing them. In Risk, for instance, the armies can be poker stakes. For Monopoly the cash and/or real estate (including houses/hotels) can be poker stakes.

   Posted 2 years ago #
8. 

   Frugal Vegan Mom
   

   Apprentice
   Joined: Aug '10
   Posts: 31

   Robo Rally huh? Never heard of it, but will have to check it out if I tire of everything I have this winter.

   Oh yes, poker! I forgot about poker! If you keep the stakes low, losing is minimal, but winning could still buy a few drinks at the bar! Love it.

   Posted 2 years ago #
9. 

   George the original one
   

   Expert
   Joined: Jul '10
   Posts: 1,938

   Dang, nearly forgot about "Junta!". Don't know if that's still available, but there's nothing like trying to rule a banana republic while stashing as much cash as possible. Lots of negotiations and voting, staging military coups, and the ever popular "seizing the chamber of ministers".

   And just when you think some of the actions are made up or happened only in the past, along comes a banana republic where those very actions make today's headlines.
   ****

   Uh-oh, "Junta!" is getting harder to find: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junta_(game)

   Posted 2 years ago #
10. 

    Debbie M
    

    Apprentice
    Joined: Aug '10
    Posts: 55

    Um, be careful with Junta. You can lose friends over it. There are a lot of games where you have to or almost have to be evil to win, but this one seems worse than usual.

    Posted 2 years ago #
11. 

    jacob
    

    Expert
    Joined: Jul '10
    Posts: 3,297

    Chess, especially if you like the mental discipline of memorizing enormous amounts of otherwise useless data, just like college.

    Posted 2 years ago #
12. 

    George the original one
    

    Expert
    Joined: Jul '10
    Posts: 1,938

    @Debbie M - People that can't separate gameplay from friendships shouldn't be playing games. If "Junta!" causes a problem, then none of the games I know of are suitable.

    Posted 2 years ago #
13. 

    Cashflow
    

    Apprentice
    Joined: Aug '10
    Posts: 97

    Cashflow 101 and Cashflow 202 are educational board games if you are into wealth building. The games themselves are expensive, but you can often find a Meetup group that plays them.

    Note that many of the people who sponsor the games have an agenda (e.g., they work in real estate or multilevel marketing and use the games as a prospecting tool), so go in with your eyes wide open.

    I played the games about 50 times over a four year period and learned things that helped me expand my understanding of financial freedom.

    Posted 2 years ago #
14. 

    The Dude
    

    Master
    Joined: Jul '10
    Posts: 392

    I really like Axis & Allies. They also came out with computer game versions, but I still like the board.

    Posted 2 years ago #
15. 

    The Dude
    

    Master
    Joined: Jul '10
    Posts: 392

    @vegan mom

    It almost sounds like the card game hearts?

    Posted 2 years ago #
16. 

    MadHermit
    

    Novice
    Joined: Jul '10
    Posts: 12

    I enjoy playing Quarto. It's a simple game to pick up, but really gets your brain working. My Dad made me a board and pieces a few years ago (a nice woodworking project), but there are online versions as well.

    Posted 2 years ago #
17. 

    Ralphy
    

    Journeyman
    Joined: Jul '10
    Posts: 191

    You can play Cashlow online for free now. I started maybe a month or so ago. I don't necessarily like the emphasis on leveraging your way to prosperity, but it keeps me in the wealth-building frame of mind.

    Posted 2 years ago #
18. 

    Ralphy
    

    Journeyman
    Joined: Jul '10
    Posts: 191

    Forgot to add that I'm a big fan of Settlers. Used to have some games with guys from the pizza shop that would start after work (i.e. 4 a.m.) and last well into the morning.

    Posted 2 years ago #
19. 

    Marius
    

    Journeyman
    Joined: Jul '10
    Posts: 258

    @Ralphy "You can play Cashlow online for free now."

    Cool! It also exists as a PC game, but not for free AFAIK.

    Posted 2 years ago #
20. 

    KevinW
    

    Master
    Joined: Aug '10
    Posts: 577

    Go is another classic strategy game. It has a depth similar to chess, but is somewhat purer since all the pieces work the same way. If you're a student of military history or martial arts, you can appreciate the differences in how medieval Japan/China viewed warfare vs. how Europe did.

    Posted 2 years ago #
21. 

    jacob
    

    Expert
    Joined: Jul '10
    Posts: 3,297

    Speaking of games---maybe I should open a new thread for this---I have the hardest time getting into games, because I figure why not spend brain power on something useful instead; that is, instead of memorizing opening moves in chess why not memorize something with money potential, like reading annual reports.

    I find it hard to do things for their own sake anymore; a possible bad side-effect of ERE.

    Posted 2 years ago #
22. 

    Cashflow
    

    Apprentice
    Joined: Aug '10
    Posts: 97

    @jacob "I find it hard to do things for their own sake anymore; a possible bad side-effect of ERE."

    This is actually a good side-effect of ERE and financial freedom. One of the lessons I learned in sales training a long time ago is the motivational slogan: I must do the most productive thing possible at every moment.

    In my case, I gave up various distractions over the years (such as television, alcohol, and tobacco) that don't move me towards the goals I have set for myself.

    When it comes to the Cashflow game, I always treated it as a financial freedom simulator. Sometimes I would be aggressive and other times conservative when I played. Sometimes I would get out of the rat race right away and sometimes it would take awhile.

    By observing myself and others, I concluded that being aggressive generally resulted in getting out of the rat race sooner, but the risk of bankruptcy was higher. This may just be a financial freedom version of that old Wall Street saying: Bulls make money; bears make money; pigs get slaughtered; and chickens lose out to inflation.

    Posted 2 years ago #
23. 

    Zev
    

    Master
    Joined: Aug '10
    Posts: 437

    Tennis is a great intellectual game, and is better for your body than Risk or Pinochle.

    Posted 2 years ago #
24. 

    Q
    

    Master
    Joined: Jul '10
    Posts: 346

    I like the classics myself - Monopoly, Scrabble, Risk, Uno, Chess, Checkers...I learned Shogi too, but no-one to play with and now I forgot...

    My mom and I have "heated" Scrabble duels - this last camping trip I won 5-1...my ex GF's mom and dad were both PHd's and would play all this two letter words that killed me, so that wasn't fair - gotta play at skill levels I guess...

    TSD had a lot of good board game recommendations, and I am interested in a lot of the ones listed...

    Someone should bring something to the meet-up too :)

    Posted 2 years ago #
25. 

    csdx
    

    Apprentice
    Joined: Aug '10
    Posts: 46

    @jacob "...why not memorize something with money potential"
    Because life's not all about making money? Otherwise might as well use your free brain power in a 9-5 job, right?

    I find games are enjoyable for the challenge and the interaction with people. If you don't find them fun, then, yeah there's no reason not to go either do something productive or at least something which you do find enjoyable. Although on the financial angle, a few of my friends are in the game development field (board and video).

    Posted 2 years ago #
26. 

    csdx
    

    Apprentice
    Joined: Aug '10
    Posts: 46

    @NYC ERE
    I'm a bit curious as to what you mean. My experience with tennis (high school & college intramural) wasn't all that different from many other sports, but maybe I'm missing some aspect of the game? Or do you mean that it and all sports are on some level intellectual?

    Posted 2 years ago #

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