7 Favorite Board Games – Trevor
As the oldest child in our family, Trevor was exposed to board games early and often. Once he started showing interest and aptitude in more strategic games as a child, I was more than happy to oblige.
Thus, started our rapid expansion of getting fun family board games, card games, dice games and party games for our family to enjoy together.
And Trevor still loves playing a lot of different games. His “favorites” list could be quite long.
But, instead, he’s being very judicious in limiting his list of Favorite Board Games – and has kept it to his Top 7.
Before diving into his current list, you may want to take a look at his 2012 Top 8 Board Games. Only 2 games in this current list were on his 2012 list. Can you spot them?
Trevor’s 7 Favorite Games:
As we’ve been doing throughout our favorite board game lists, Trevor’s list is also presented in alphabetical order.
Black Fleet
Ages: 14+, Players: 3 – 4, Time: 60 min
The only reason Black Fleet didn’t make Trevor’s 2012 Top 8 Board Games is because it wasn’t around then. It was just published in 2014 and after playing it our first time, it was immediately a hit with Trevor.
Black Fleet is a fun and light pirate-themed game where players get to play as both Merchant and Pirate on every turn. In addition, each player also gets to control the Navy ships.
As a Merchant, players work to deliver goods from port to port. As a Pirate, players attack other merchant ships and bury the loot on small islands. And when controlling a Navy ship, they try to sink the opposing pirate ships.
As players gain money (points), they also buy special upgrades that give them unique abilities. The first player to gain the hand of the governor’s daughter, wins the game.
Don’t be fooled by the 14+ age recommendation. This is a simple and fun family game that can easily be played by those 8+.
Watch Trevor’s video review of Black Fleet.
Coup
Ages: 9+, Players: 2 – 6, Time: 15 min
Coup made both Jaden’s and Trevor’s favorite games list. And I’m not too surprised because they both like the quick game play and bluffing. (Mostly the bluffing.)
The hidden identity aspect of the game keeps everyone guessing at the table. Not only that, but players will exchange their cards for new ones along the way – adding even more intrigue to the guessing. And as players are eliminated, the bluffing can be a bit trickier.
But don’t worry about this being in the same camp as other player-elimination games because a game of Coup goes by very quickly. No one is out for very long because another game of Coup will begin right after one ends.
Yep, Coup is definitely a “must play multiple times in a row” kind of game.
See our full review of Coup.
Descent: Journeys in the Dark 2nd Edition
Ages: 14+, Players: 2 – 5, Time: 120 min
Descent: Journeys in the Dark 2nd Edition was another immediate hit with Trevor when we first bought a copy of the game for Christmas 2012. The holiday break from school was the perfect time to dive into the fantastic adventure of Descent.
While it may take a little while to come up to speed on how to play the game, once the basic mechanics are understood, the adventure begins. Over the last few years, the boys have spent countless hours playing multiple campaigns exploring the myriad of possibilities and experiences as different heroes, classes, and abilities.
Descent: Journeys in the Dark 2nd Edition is easily Trevor’s most-played game.
Watch Trevor’s video review of Descent: Journeys in the Dark.
Get a copy of Descent: Journeys in the Dark
Dominion
Ages: 13+, Players: 2 – 4, Time: 120 min
Dominion was a game-changer type of game when it was first published in 2008. It was such a hit in the board game industry that tons of other publishers dove into “deck-building” card games of there own. And every one is still (and always will be) compared to Dominion.
It’s also a very addicting game.
The replay value is huge because of the endless possibilities of card combinations due to the random set up of the game and the number of different types of cards. And adding in the Dominion expansions increase that replay value be even more leaps and bounds.
This is also another game where we believe the published recommended age of 13+ is too high. As an example, Caleb (now 12) has been playing (and winning) Dominion for years.
See our full review of Dominion.
RoboRally
Ages: 12+, Players: 2 – 8, Time: 20 – 120 min
RoboRally makes another appearance on our favorite board games lists here in Trevor’s top 7 games.
After seeing this on Caleb’s and Jaden’s lists, we’re sure you’re now familiar with this fun, robot-programming race game.
And be warned that you’ll see it again on my (dad’s) list shortly as well.
See Trevor’s video review of RoboRally.
Small World
Ages: 8+, Players: 2 – 5, Time: 45 – 80 min
Small World was the first game Trevor rated a 5 out of 5. And since he’s only given 4 games that high of a rating, so that’s saying a lot.
Small World is an area-control game where players build up multiple civilizations of wizards, sorcerers, giants, elves, skeletons, and more. Each race in the game has a built-in special characteristic. But in addition to that, as the races are set out to start the game, each will gain an additional special power that is different every game. It’s the mix of race and power combos that grants so much replay value to the game.
And as with most super-successful board games, Small World has spawned many expansions – making the mix of combos even greater.
Watch Trevor’s 5 out of 5 video review of Small World.
Snake Oil
Ages: 10+, Players: 2 – 10, Time: 30 min
Another game that also showed up on Jaden’s favorite board games list this year is Snake Oil. They both love the creativity that this game encourages.
Snake Oil is a fun party game of pitching crazy products to all sorts of customers. Players take turns being the customer and listening to sales pitches from the other players. Then they must decide which product they’re going to buy.
The catch is that players can’t just sell anything they want. They’re limited to what they can come up with from the cards in their hands – which makes for some pretty crazy product pitches.
Watch Trevor and Jaden’s video review of Snake Oil.
As mentioned in the beginning, only 2 of the games on Trevor’s current list are games he had on his 2012 best board games list (Dominion and Small World). Which means the majority of the games on his current list are new games played over the last few years that have knocked other games out of his top 7.
Not only do we keep seeing great new board games being released every year, but it’s also fun to see the changing game tastes as kids get older.
Trevor’s list is a great one to consider if the teen boys in your family are looking for some great games to play.
Here are links to the rest of our 2015 Favorite Board Games lists:
- 12 Favorite Board Games – Mom
- 8 Favorite Board Games – Brooke
- 9 Favorite Board Games – Caleb
- 10 Favorite Board Games – Jaden
- 20 Favorite Board Games – Dad
