Hey buddy, what are we going to do this weekend?
The same thing we do every weekend: Try to take over the world!

Luckily, we keep it to the board games and no one gets hurt fighting wars in distant lands.

Here’s a painting of us playing Axis & Alies. (Painted by the love of my life, Aisling, for a project a few years ago in college. You can see more of her art over here)

Its just one of many incredibly nerdy board games we have in our arsenal. If you like Risk but wished it relied a bit more on planning and strategy, there’s a lot of other games you might wish to know about. Warning: They’ll take some time to play and you’ll need to convince two or three other people to sit still for a few hours.

• Axis & Allies – the 1981 classic that got us started
• Shogun – The older one. The movement system makes chess feel simplistic
• Risk 2210 – Its like the classic with lunar colonies and nukes
• Civilization – Yeah its like the video game, but with dice
• Illuminati – I give it a 12/12, the most realistic guide for anyone looking to take over the world
• War! In the Age of Imperialism – Huge time sink, epic game
  

I like the reviews at Board Game Geek because its crowd-sourced. You can see a lot of individuals’ opinions and see what complaints and raves you’re likely to agree with.