Ticket To Ride is probably our favorite game right now. We got it a year ago and have played it more than any other board game since then. The basic idea with this game is simple. Each player attempts to build as many train routes as possible across a map of the United States and Southern Canada. Points are awarded for the routes built. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.

It sounds easy (and it is) but you have to watch out for the other players. Inevitably someone will build a route where you need to go and you'll be stuck in an impossible situation. That can be very frustrating but a creative mind can oftentimes work around it.

The Settlers of Catan was the first German-style board game I played and I was totally blown away by it. I heard about the game through one of those silly internet surveys. A mailing list that I'm on passed around a survey asking all sorts of things, including what was your favorite board game. I was amazed when several people on the list all mentioned this game, The Settlers of Catan, that I had never heard of. Considering the rave reviews by those on the list I decided to buy it for the family without ever playing it. It was a risk but it was worth it. We all loved it.