People who know me IRL (in real life) know that I'm a big fat nerd. Harry Potter? I'm in. Lord of the Rings? So there. Doctor Who? Duh. Star Wars? Obvi. Video games? For days. Board games? A lifestyle.

You get the idea.

I didn't think it was possible, but I've become an even bigger nerd now. I married the King of Nerds. John worked at a video game store in high school and zoomed through the ranks at Best Buy after college. And now we are just two "grown-ups" living in Berkeley, the Land of Nerds, and it's insane.

We play board games because, slightly serious, I used to watch a lot of Netflix and hulu and the like (and I still dabble a little) but I would get depressed and worn down and so emotional that I had to cut back. Some people can totally watch movies and shows on end and it's totally fine but I would get wigged out. Maybe it was a decrease in melatonin or something. SO! Games.

So, without further ado, here are some of my/our favorite board games. (I also linked each to webpage for further investigation/buying. I'm not sponsored. But I'm totally down to *nudge nudge*)

//ARRAY//

This is the newest game we have and I got to pick it out. We have a lot of strategy and really nerdy games and I wanted one that wasn't so rule-intensive. This one is fun. It's a lot like playing dominoes (matching colors instead of numbers) but with an element of Uno (draw 1, draw 2, draw 5, etc.)

I like it because it's visually appealing and it's easy enough to play and have a conversation at the same time. The only downside is sometimes the colors make your eyes hurt and/or you start to question whether or not you are colorblind. Linkity link.

//BOHNANZA//



I had my doubts about this game. A friend of ours got it for us as a wedding present and the serial killer bean on the front did not look enticing. But it's actually pretty fun! It's a little hard to explain but you are planting beans (I know that sounds boring) in your two bean fields and you want to sell them (I know that sounds boring) when your yield is highest so the price is higher (blech math, but it's fun!).

It's a good two player game because you don't spend the whole game plotting your competitors demise (like Settlers of Catan) but it is still really rewarding if/when you win. Beans bean beans.

//STAR REALMS//





And now we've made it to the nerdy games.

My mom got Star Realms for John for Christmas and my brother and John played it for 3 hours straight. It was nuts. It's a deck building game that takes place in space. You purchase bases and ships to do damage to your opponent and defend your own authority (health) while beefing up your deck with kickin' ships.

It's a great two player game that only takes 20-30mins, which is super nice since a lot of our games can take forever. Pew pew pew!

//SMASH UP//




This game is my favorite. You take two factions (ninjas, pirates, zombies, robots, dinosaurs, etc.) smash them together (like the name suggests) and then take over different bases. Your minions have certain features or powers and you have action cards to make them stronger or destroy your opponents minions. It's fun with two people and it's fun with a group of people.

I like it because it knows it is a ridiculous game. It knows that making a faction called "Bear Calvary" and styling it after Soviet Russia will make nerds everywhere laugh ("You're Pretty Much Borscht"). It's great. 10/10 recommends.


Hey, thanks for reading. Thanks for being you. Hope you have happy gaming! Tell me what games you like!