Had a great get-together yesterday, a bit over a dozen people, usual array of games (e.g., Betrayal at House on the Hill, Forbidden Island) …
… except for two new ones:
Evolution — Create new species! Give them attributes that help them feed better, breed easier, defend themselves well … or predate on other creatures more easily! Grow their population (but don’t exceed the food supply)! Grow their body size (or else they can be eaten more easily)!
Good game, pretty easy to learn and play, but with a lot of different strategies that can be pursued. Even (vaguely) educational as an example of how natural selection can work. We’ll definitely be pulling this one out again.
Imaginiff — Classic party snark game game — “If Fred were a tree, what kind of tree would he be” — where you advance by guessing aligned with the majority. Most of the amusement is answering about others around the table (or, if you’re short of players, people who aren’t there).
I prefer “True Colors” for this sort of thing, but it was amusing nonetheless.
Good times, as I said. Probably won’t get together again until after Marching Band season, but looking forward to it.
Love Evolution. I played it at a friend-con last year, and picked it up for Christmas that year. It's been a hit, since as you say, it's not hard, but there are a lot of wonderful strategies to pursue.