Dominion ($30)
Players: 2-4
You’re  a monarch in medieval times who wants to build a cooler kingdom than the other loser kings around your … fiefdom … or whatever. Your goal is to accumulate a variety of cards that allow you to do different things that help you, hurt your opponents — always fun to do — or both. The person with the most “victory points” at the end of the game wins.

Small World ($40)
Players: 2-5
It’s like the game Risk, but with more Lord of the Rings. You first choose to play as a race of monsters, skeletons, orcs, elves, zombies, or wizards. (Each is imbued with a special ability like flight or the control of a badass dragon.) Then you wage war against opponents the other races played by your opponents. If your race gets slaughtered — nice work, Frodo — you can pick a new race with which to resume the game.

The Settlers of Catan ($30)
Players: 2+
Collect resources and barter with your opponents as you race to rule a bizarrely octagonal island. The bigger your empire grows, the more points you earn. The game’s concept is simple, but winning is not. The best part of the game is bartering with fellow players in order to get the scarce resources you need to rule. Negotiations can get heated — especially if you and your trade partner have consumed too many flagons of mead.

Pandemic ($30)
Players: 2-4
Four viruses are threatening to destroy mankind, and it’s up to you and your team of Center for Disease Control specialists to stop the outbreak from becoming a pandemic. Travel the world and work together and find a cure … or get consumed by one of the horrifying diseases and experience your insides turning into sloppy joe. Now, who has the dice?

TAGS: board games, games, parties