Bored Games: Tabletop fun to keep you entertained during quarantine

Back in the days before everyone was fretting and stressing over a virus slowly spreading itself across the country, our society was quite good at keeping ourselves entertained. Problem is, a lot of those fun and exciting times were had outside which is right where COVID-19 wants us.

While plenty of people have flocked to video games as a source of entertainment when they’re holed up with nothing to do, sometimes it’s also good to tear yourself away from the screen every once in a while.

Which is where board games come into play. While many might scoff at the idea of board games, thinking them to be old fashioned and dull, the board game scene has grown tremendously over the last decades. Plenty of exciting and innovate games have been designed to be played on tabletop, the sorts of games that can’t be played anywhere else. Just take a gander at some of the games on our list if you’re looking for something other than Fortnite while in isolation.

Love Letter

We at Stuff are always up for a spot of poker, betting everything from jelly beans to jelly babies (most jelly products are worth gambling for) but sometimes we grow a little tired of the same old rules and bland cards. To spice things up, we invested in Love Letter, a quick to learn, difficult to master card game that combines the joys of character cards and lying to your friends. What more could you want out of a card game?

With the main goal of the game being to woo the lovely Princess Annette, you’ll have to dodge her curmudgeonly father, the gossipy handmaiden and that wicked countess all in a bid to ensure that the tokens of affection she receives are all yours. Be ready to bluff your friends in Love Letter, everything’s fair in card games and war, right?

We’re Doomed

With the world on the verge of absolute annihilation, everyone on planet earth will need to work together to escape this very quickly deteriorating world. Too soon? To do that, you’ll need to work with your friends to gather resources and build the most capable space ship you can in a bid to deliver humanity to safety. Only problem is, there certainly won’t be enough room for all of you…

While you’ll spend the first half of We’re Doomed cooperating for the good of humanity, it becomes very clear after a while that some sacrifices will have to be made. Do whatever you can to ensure you’re not left behind; make alliances, break alliances and just lie through your teeth if you have to. Just make sure your friends won’t hold any grudges in real life when you’re done.

Cards Against Humanity

We’ve all heard about it, we’ve all seen it and maybe you’re fortunate enough to played it before. Cards Against Humanity is all about bringing out the most deprived parts of your humour to try and make your friends giggle. There’s no room for conscience when you’re placing suggestion card upon premise card to make the most awful joke possible. It’s a 1980s comedian’s favourite past time.

While it used to be very difficult to source a deck of Cards Against Humanity it’s recently become much easier in recent years due to the game’s boom in popularity. Endlessly replayable and hilariously fun, Cards Against Humanity is just dark enough to perfectly fit into this nearly dystopian future we’re living in.

Catan (any of them)

Classics earn that title for a reason and Settlers of Catan deserves it more than most. There’s a reason this game has been around for decades now, spawning plenty of spin-offs and alternative takes on the trading and settling wars that have ruined many a family game night.

While seemingly complicated to start, it doesn’t take long to figure the best way to go about growing your settlement to such a point that it eclipses your friends. Only problem is they’ll be doing the same thing, so maybe plan on stabbing a few people in the back as you deny that vital shipment of sheep. They don’t deserve all that A-grade wool.

Betrayal at House on the Hill

Easily one of the best board games to come out in the last twenty years, (in the humble opinion of the Stuff nerds) Betrayal is exhilarating to play with a group of friends. All taking on the role of different characters, each with unique skills and faults, you’ll be thrown into a random scary event every game thanks to a large book of scenarios which accommodates for nearly every possible decision you’ll make. There’s a lot of adventure to be had… just keep an eye on that one friend who’s making some questionable moves.

Odds are someone will turn evil and try and stop the remaining goodies from completing their objective. An enjoyable co-op experience that devolves into competitive strategies and tactics with a vast number of stories and situations to explore, Betrayal at House on the Hill is some of the most fun we’ve had in ages.