Not all of us have actually played board games all their life. I happen to do so, albeit with big cycles of playing a lot versus playing not at all for a couple of years. My gaming rebirth started some 15 years ago to become a more serious hobby, gradually evolving into more and more cooperative games including solo only. Some of my current favorites are Aeon's End, Too Many Bones, Legendary Encounters Aliens etc. There is actually one solo game which I happen to play on an almost daily basis: Friday by Friedeman Friese. I have to admit I mainly play the digital version, because it is fast and you don't have to shuffle all the time. So far I was lucky to win the King of the Island tournament twice which make me believe I know quite well how to play this game and still do like it a lot, even after 1000+ games...
Now Looking back I guess most of us started with the usual suspects like Game of the Goose, Ludo, Monopoly, Risk etc. Me too, but there is actually one game which I remember I liked a lot and I still do, but it has been a long time since I played it last. Eventually I played it with my daughters, but they didn't like it because I won all the time. The game is called Tribulation (1974) and I would like to call this my Guilty Pleasure...
In Tribulation, number tiles are laid out in a 7 x 7 grid, similarly to Boggle. Each tile has a number from 1 to 9 on it (the 9 tile is also used as a 6 in some editions). Number disks from 1-50 are shuffled, and one is drawn. Players race to find three tiles whose equation (first times second, plus or minus third, or any other combination of two tiles multiplied and the other added or subtracted) adds to that total. The first to do so wins the disk. Whomever has the most disks when they are all claimed wins the game. We house-ruled it is also allowed to use powers as operation which makes the game even more fun, that is if you like elementary math, which I do a lot. Reading through BGG it is quite well possible to play this solo as well...I might give this a try as I have so far never done so.
There is actually one more guilty pleasure which I played a lot in high school during breaks or in-between hours: Mad Magazine Card Game (1979). Just writing this down brings back a lot of sweet memories...
I still do have my original copy and we still play this at home every now and then. Great fun as a filler and certainly a guilty pleasure as well.
So, what's your guilty pleasure?
Offhand, I'd say Tripoley is a highly qualified Guilty Pleasure for me, especially when playing with money (we always used pennies, being the high-rollers that we were). I actually own a copy, as seen below. I haven't played it for many years. 🙁
Image Source: Me
I would have to agree with your opinion of Friday as well. This is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. It was such an ugly game at first glance that I was almost embarrassed to put it on the table. Then, once I tried it I never looked back. I instantly realized my love of Deck-builders, as well as a deep appreciation for how much strategy and challenge could be packed into such a small game. I mean this thing literally beat me to death like I was the ugly stepchild and not the other way around. Definitely taught me a lesson. Now I actually think I like the art...
But, the bottom line is: while I wouldn’t call it my all-time favorite, it will probably muscle its little green way up there, anyway.
I'm still trying to figure out what my "guilty pleasures" are. Sleeving cards and sorting out components? I sleeve cards more because I think it's fun that because I think it's useful (unless you need lots of shuffling as in a deck-building).
Maybe jigsaw puzzles? But I don't feel any guilt. Quite the contrary!
Perhaps more fitting: I still like Risk. To me it's a very cool game. Overlong, and with obvious design issues, but very cool nonetheless.
I still enjoy the games from my childhood: Patience and Yahtzee. A lot of gamers don't count them as "real" games, but I love them. I've even started logging my plays for them. 🙂 No more shame!
I don't have any guilty pleasures in gaming at the moment but I always enjoy playing Age of War whenever I have company, even if (or because) it is a very simple game. You basically roll dice and hope to match icons on cards. The dice are custom and very well-made. The cards show Japanese castles. You fight for castle dominance, and sometimes steal dice from your opponents. I always have fun with it. 😊