+Jared Randall, his wife Karen, and their five kids hosted a housewarming/tabletop game party at their new house Saturday.

It was a fun time!

I played a board game I had heard of but not seen or played before, Lords of Waterdeep. Waterdeep being one of the cities in Forgotten Realms.

It looks complex for all the various cards and pieces, but is fairly simple once you understand. I do not recall the man’s name and his son who showed Jared’s oldest daughter and I how to play. But he said that by the third turn you will understand it. He was right.

There are enough options to it that a beginning player can do well against seasoned players. Yet there is enough complexity and depth that one could play a lot of games and not grow bored. Shuffling of decks and drawing random cards that define how to focus your play make each game unique.

Both the quick play and full rules are available in PDF from WotC. WotC has a quick start video and also links to Wil Wheaton’s Table Top episode where they played the game.

At the end of eight turns, a final tally is made and the person with the high score wins.

It says for ages 12+. I think some younger players that get it could do well at this game.

There are a couple of expansions for it, but I can’t see running out of options unless you played this game all the time.

I liked it and had fun. If I thought I would play it even a few times a year, I would get it. It is fairly fast to play. With four players, my guess is that it took an hour, but I wasn’t timing it, and did not check start and stop times.

It is not an introduction to RPG’s as there is no role playing and no characters. There is no way for players to operate outside the rules as written, since it is  within the realm of a “standard” board game.

$49.99 suggested retail price seems a bit steep, but it is not as simple or straightforward as the old standbys, like Monopoly or Scrabble, that you can get at the major chain store for $9.99. If you play it often, it can soon seem like a bargain. With a cost like that, I can understand if you want to see it played, or better yet play it yourself, before buying. There’s nothing worse than getting a board game, getting it home, and it being either too complex, or too simple, or something that you wouldn’t get had you only known.

I don’t have a lot of board games, and don’t play them often. Most are designed for two or more people, so when you live alone, they gather dust on the shelf. Are there any single/solo player board games?

If your family likes board games, they might want to give this one a try. I can see a marathon weekend series being an option, if I were still in high school, with no responsibilities.

Side note: There were a couple of kids,none of them Jared’s, there who did not know how to shuffle cards. It makes total sense why this is: computers and solitaire. Not many kids play card games anymore, unless they are in a household that plays them. I was younger than these kids when I was halfway competent at card shuffling. My suggestions for teaching them were not accepted. Oh, well, kids these days…. I wonder how long until the skill of shuffling cards is lost to all but the dealers at casinos.