By: Rachel Syfargo
Board games have exploded in popularity these past few years. From classic conquer the world and city building games to zombie survival adventures and fantasy sagas, there’s now a board game to suit nearly everyone’s taste.
But with the variety of high-quality games on the market, it helps to know what type of player you are so you can decide on what games to invest in. Are you a competitive gamer who loves to outwit people or a planner who wants to be immersed in the setting? Take this quiz to find out what type of game suits you best, order some pizza and gather your friends for an evening of full of fun!
1. What do you look for in a game?
A. Intrigue, wheeling and dealing, with lots of player interaction
B. An immersive story where everyone works together
C. A game that takes a lot of strategy to win
D. A game where we can just laugh and have fun
2. The zombie apocalypse is here! How will you survive?
A. Go to your cache of weapons and supplies and get ready to whack some zombies.
B. Create a base and gather everyone so you can pool your resources.
C. Stock up on the essentials and find a defensible position until you have the firepower to battle the zombies
D.Grab a weapon and head for the quickest way out of town.
3. If you were an animal, what would you be?
A. A fox, clever with a silver tongue.
B. A wolf, a great team leader who works best in a pack.
C. A spider, a patient and cunning strategist.
D. A dog, playful and fun.
4. You and your colleagues / classmates been assigned a paper due in two weeks. How do you approach the task?
A. Figure out what you want to do and negotiate to work on that part
B. Meet with your group to divide the tasks
C. Do your research, map out the steps and create a timeline for writing the paper
D. Grab a piece of paper and start writing
5. You made a mistake early in the game and now you are currently dead last. What do you do?
A. Get everyone else to slow down the person in the lead to give you a greater chance to catch up.
B. Team up with another player – maybe you could help each other win.
C. Make a note of what you did wrong and try another strategy.
D. Laugh it off. The fun is just playing the game.
5. You are in the middle of a dungeon where you stumble upon a treasure chest. What do you hope to find?
A. An Invisibility Cloak or a Potion of Charming to help you avoid battles with enemies
B. Better gear and Healing Potions to help support the rest of the group
C. A detailed map of the rest of the dungeon to help you plan the rest of the way and quest related items move the story forward
D. Gold
6. You are teaching someone new about a board game. What lesson do you want to impart?
A. Quick Thinking and Creativity
B. Cooperation
C. Critical Thinking
D. Fun and a Healthy Competition
7. You and your team has just beat the big boss in a dungeon and get a lot of treasure. What do you do with it?
A. Choose the item that would give you an edge in the game.
B. Dividing the spoils evenly among everyone would be the fairest solution.
C. Distribute the items based on who would make the best use of it.
D. Let someone else decide.
Ready to find out what kind of board gamer you are. Tally your answers and read on to find out:
If you answered mostly A, you are The Smooth Talker: You like games that have a lot of interaction, intrigue, deduction and deal-making. You enjoy a healthy battle of wits so games like Sheriff of Nottingham, where you play either a merchant looking to make a quick profit by smuggling goods, or the Sheriff, on the lookout for liars and tricksters who to confiscate any contraband he finds would be right up your alley. Rival Restaurants, which recently launched its first expansion Back For Seconds on Kickstarter, is another game which tests your ability to negotiate. Players take on the role of restaurant owners aiming to complete recipes for Likes – a major part of the game is the simultaneous buy and barter phase where you can purchase ingredients from different markets or trade players for the items you need. Different chef abilities and “punny” action cards (one card Clam-Voyance, lets you block negative actions) that hit your competitors make this a fun, fast-paced game perfect for foodies!

One Night Ultimate Werewolf
For bigger groups, One Night Ultimate Werewolf is another great option. In Werewolf are assigned roles – dastardly Werewolves, the tricky Troublemaker, the helpful Seer, or one of a dozen different characters, each with a special ability. In the course of a single morning, your village will decide who is a werewolf…because all it takes is lynching one werewolf to win! But make a mistake and you could be sending an innocent villager to their death.
If you answered mostly B, you are The Team Player. While you like to win games, you are all about the experience. You enjoy being immersed in a story and working together to accomplish a goal. Cooperative and story-telling games are perfect for you. Those who like fantasy can check out Gloomhaven, where players take on the role of wandering adventurers, each with their own special set of abilities. Players work together to clear out dungeons, explore ruins and vanquish enemies, discovering loot and new locations as they move forward. Spirit Island is another fun cooperative game, where players are different spirits of the land, defending the island from invaders. Each spirit has its own unique elemental powers. Every turn, players simultaneously choose which of their power cards to play, paying energy to do so, to prevent invaders from stealing their lands from the natives.

Spirit Island
Or if you want a more modern setting, why not try your hand at preventing a global outbreak of disease through Pandemic, where players race to find a cure for each disease while preventing infections or outbreaks. Fans of zombie apocalypse games can also check out Zombicide, where players take on the role of a survivor – each with a unique set of skills – and use teamwork to beat hordes of undead. Take on maps with various difficulty levels, move, search, kill zombies and level up your character.
If you picked mostly C, you are The Strategist. You like game that involve a lot of planning and thinking and don’t mind ones that have complex setups. You like to think of yourself as an architect, building something that would propel you to victory. Worker placement and engine building games (where players build up a system of generating resources, money or victory points) would be just right for you – some titles you could try include Scythe, a “dieselpunk” themed game set in the 1920s. Each player represents a character from one of five factions of Eastern Europe who are attempting to earn their fortune and claim their faction’s stake in the land around the mysterious capitalist city-state Factory.

Dinosaur Island
If you like nature themed games, try Wingspan, a game where you play a bird enthusiast seeking to attract the best birds. Players will try to play bird cards to their personal boards, use actions to gather food and lay eggs, while also meeting various criteria on bird sizes, feeding habits, habitats, or even names to score more points. If you are a fan of Jurassic Park, check out Dinosaur Island, where you compete with up to three friends to build the most lucrative and exciting dino park. Players will have to research the DNA sequences of extinct dinosaur species, and then combine the ancient DNA in the correct sequence to bring these prehistoric creatures back to life – not to mention marketing, building shops and restaurants and making sure your dinosaurs don’t run amok. If you are looking at a lighter game while still offering different strategies, give Disney’s Villainous a try. Players take on the role of different Disney villains like Maleficent, Captain Hook, Prince John, the Queen of Hearts Jafar and Ursula, with their own player boards, unique goals and allies. But beware as other players can play Fate cards, revealing heroes like Aladdin, Ariel, Peter Pan and other iconic Disney characters. With three expansions (Wicked to the Core, Evil Comes Prepared and Perfectly Wretched) bringing fan favorites like the Wicked Queen of Snow White, Scar and Cruella de Vil among others to the table, this game offers tons of variety with different villain match-ups.
If you picked mostly D, you are The Casual Gamer. For you, games are great for socializing and bringing people together. Lengthy setups and complex rules are not for you; instead you like games that are quick and easy to learn, with a healthy amount of player interaction. Try Codenames, a word-guessing game where two spymasters know the identities of 25 agents. The spymaster provides one-word clues to get his team to figure out which words conceal their team’s agents while players try to avoid cards that represent the other team’s agents, by-standers or the assassin, which causes an instant loss. The team that uncovers all of their agents first win.

Codenames
Dixit is another great option. A storytelling picture card game, each turn begins when one player (the storyteller) describes and submits a card using one word or phrase, with each player choosing and submitting the best-matching card in their hand. All the submissions are shuffled and revealed, with each player voting on which card best fits the story-teller’s clue. Players earn points either by correctly choosing the story-teller’s card or by having other players choose their card. If at least one player (but not all) guess the story-teller’s card, both player and story-teller also gets points. If you want a game with a bit more combat, Kings of Tokyo might be right up your alley. Play as mutant monsters or giant robots set on destroying Tokyo and their enemies.