Lucky Dragon Games

Online Board Games

Reviews & Stuff

Awards

Where To Buy

  • Fun Again Games - I've purchased four batches of games from them. Each time the order has shown up on time and in mint condition. Great prices and helpful reviews.
  • Game Surplus - Haven't ordered anything from them, but I've heard a few people recommend them. Could be worth checking out.
  • Dragon's Lair - A combo comic book and board/card/rpg game shop here in Austin, Texas. Friendly people, good selection. They have a board game gathering on the first and third Saturday of each month (courtesy of the Austin Boardgame Group).
  • Great Hall Games - The best game store in Austin. Fantastic selection of games and puzzles, including a wide variety of Go, Chess and Backgammon equipment. They also have a great jigsaw puzzle section in the store. The staff is friendly and offers helpful advice. They have a Go gathering every Tuesday evening. Board games are played every Friday night and on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. They also have a bunch of pirate-themed bits, which is odd, but cool.

Favorite 'Light' Games (Criteria: You can play these with pretty much any group of people. The rules take less than five minutes to explain, and the game itself lasts less than an hour.)

  • Cartagena - A fun pirate-themed game. It's a prison breakout, and everyone is jumping over each other to be the first to get all of their pirates to the escape boat. The only way to move forward is to play a card, and the only way to get more cards is to move backwards. Definitely my favorite light game.
  • Blokus - Four players take turns trying to place all of their colorful Tetris-shaped pieces on the board. The catch is that your pieces can only touch at the corners. Whoever gets the most pieces on wins. Probably one of the easiest games to explain the rules to, with quick games (30 minutes or less) and an addictive quality. There is also a two-player travel edition.
  • Hey, That's My Fish! - This excellent game puts you in control of a team of penguins racing around a disappearing field of icebergs trying to capture the most fish.
  • Once Upon A Time - A card game where everyone contributes to a fairytale-style story. Gain control by interrupting, and try to steer it towards your own ending by incorporating your cards (for example: queen, sword, magic spell) into the story. Works best in a not-too-competitive atmosphere with creative people. Tons of fun!
  • Carcassonne - Great medieval tile laying game. Build castles, roads and farms. There are several expansions (I recommend Inns and Cathedrals), as well as a standalone prehistoric remix called Carcassonne: Hunters & Gatherers.
  • Royal Turf - Horse-race betting game. It's an interesting game, as you can play it loose and just have fun, or dig into the stats of the horses and crunch some numbers. Either way, who doesn't enjoy betting fake money on plastic horses?
  • Pit - A loud, fast-paced card game where the players are simultaneously trying to collect all nine of a given commodity (corn, oranges, coffee) by trading cards with each other.
  • Kill Dr. Lucky - Best summarized as "The prequel to Clue". Good stuff. Make sure you get the 'Director's Cut', which has a bonus board on the back. (To keep the game under an hour, play with five or fewer people)
  • Bang! - A fantastic card game with an over-the-top Western theme. As soon as I found out that you play 'Beer' cards to regain health, I was sold. Everyone's role is secret (except the Sheriff), and your goal depends on which role you have. If you're an Outlaw, take out the Sheriff! If you're the Deputy, protect the Sheriff and help him take out the bad guys! And then there's the Renegade... (Note: Works best with 5 or 7 people)

Favorite 'Medium' Games (Criteria: You can play these with almost any group of people who are ok with a bit more complexity and strategy. The rules can be explained in ten minutes or less, and the game lasts less than 90 minutes.)

  • Settlers of Catan - Dude, it's Settlers. I have played this game more than any other board game in my life. Although the theme sounds a little tame (build roads, settlements, and cities on the island of Catan, vying to be the first to get to 10 victory points), the ever-changing board and balanced strategies offer an incredible amount of replayability.
  • Citadels - Each round, players secretly choose an identity (Assassin, Thief, Warlord, etc), each of which has a unique special power (kill another character, steal someone's gold, destroy a district, etc). Everyone is trying to get gold to build districts that are worth points. The first player to get eight districts built gets some bonus points and causes the game to end that round. The game includes the original eight characters and a newer set of eight bonus characters designed to mix things up a bit. Lots of fun, but the double and triple thinking can mess with your head (i.e. "Ok, it should be obvious to everyone that I should choose to be the King, therefore I shouldn't be the King. Except they might realize that I know that they know and are expecting me to *not* choose the King. So I can safely choose to be the King, right?").
  • Ticket To Ride - Build trains to connect cities across America, getting points for the length of the train line built. At the end of the game, players reveal their secret destination tickets, gaining points for completing them and losing points otherwise. Will you try to go for one or two high-scoring tickets, or try to complete a bunch of shorter routes? Perhaps you will focus on building long train lines to get big points - and then there's always the possibility of blocking other players. Scales well from three to five players.
  • Scotland Yard - One person takes on the role of Mr. X, and all the other players become detectives, teaming up to try to catch him. Everyone races around a huge map of London, riding in taxis, buses, and subways. Great fun.
  • Torres - Build three-dimensional castles and position your knights to score the most points. The catch: you only have five points to spend on moving/building/bonus cards each turn, so you better make them count. Great game, but it is a bit of a brain burner. Perhaps the most beautiful game I own in terms of component quality, board/card art, and the pleasing aesthetic of watching the castles on the board grow over the course of the game.
  • San Marco - Everyone attempts to score points by building bridges and moving their aristocrats around the various districts of Venice, Italy. The interesting flavor of this game comes from the method for card distribution: one player divides a group of cards into two stacks, and a second player gets to choose which stack to take.
  • Pueblo - Work with other players to build a big pueblo for the Chief. Be careful that he only sees the neutral colored bricks, otherwise penalty points will be handed out. Sort of a three-dimensional Tetris style.
  • Cosmic Encounter - In this classic game, every player represents an alien race that is trying to be the first to spread themselves across five different worlds. Each race has a special ability that lets them bend or break a rule in the game.