#8. Small World ($40 @ Amazon.com)
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.