11 Games You Should Be Playing

It's Friday night. You're procrastinating homework because, let's be honest, no one does homework on Friday night. So what do you do? You, my friend, pull out some awesome games and invite all your friends over for the time of your life. Who wants to party and get wasted when you can actually have a good time, build relationships and not feel like death in the morning? So here's a list of 11 games you need to know about to have that good time:

Exploding Kittens

It’s Russian roulette with kittens that are little pyromaniac fluff-balls. If you’re a fan of The Oatmeal web-comic or have a child-like (and frankly, disturbed) sense of humor, this is the card game for you. There’s also a NSFW version. It’s terrible. You’ll love it.

Red Flags

Imagine Apples to Apples meets blind dating with a dash of cynicism. Oh, wait. That’s a lot more than a dash. Oops. Red Flags combines two perks of a date, such as “most attractive person you’ve ever seen” and “Olympic gymnast” etc. with something that might make you a little more hesitant like “is a zombie” or “amateur cannibal.” You know, nothing big, just some minor red flags. These perks and red flags are presented to one single (or the judge) who must choose the best of the lot to date. It’s the only game where you can date someone who owns real dinosaurs but can only speak in Disney song lyrics, which, let’s be honest, isn’t that much of a red flag.

Super Fight

This game is by the same creators as Red Flags and has a similar concept of ridiculous pairings. Imagine Ghandi is three stories tall and has a light saber but he’s fighting Chuck Norris, who is riding a whale. But there’s a catch. There butts are glued together. Two people argue for why their ridiculous fighter would win and everyone else casts their vote. Whoever wins keeps their fighter and continues to debate until a new champion is chosen. If you like laughter, ridiculousness and/or debating, this is the game for you.

Blood Rage

For your board game, strategy folks, this one takes some set up, but is well worth it. You play as a Viking clan trying to gain the most glory by fighting in battles and dying gloriously in Ragnarok (the Norse version of the end of the world). If chess and Norse gods and Seven Wonders had a slightly demented baby, this is what it would be.

Bang!

Basically, take part in a Mafia version of a spaghetti western via a card game. This game involves a lot of fighting (or banging) and you can’t trust anyone. It’s fun. It’s chaotic. Play it.

Samurai Sword

By the same creators as Bang!, this game is full samurais, shoguns, ninjas, ronins and lots and lots of fighting.

Gang Beasts

This is a video game, but it’s just as fun if you’ve never even held a controller before. Trust me, I know. This might be the only game that has consistently reduced me to tears of laughter. You fight as gelatinous beasts that have some pretty wonky moves and hope for the best. Punch, kick, lift your enemies. Dance. Dive to your death. Just have fun.

Punderdome

For those of you who are constantly annoying your friends with terrible puns, this is the game for you. Based on an old TV show, Punderdome combines two unrelated things and whoever can come up with the best (or worst) pun using both of those things wins. It’s any stereotypical dad’s dream.

Ticket to Ride

If you’ve ever wanted to build trains across the United States, this is the board game for you. It involves a lot of strategy and screwing your friends over. For the planner and strategist, this is a dream. And for those of you who want some vengeance, look no further.

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Romeo and/or Juliet

For my fellow bookworms, especially those of you who do or don’t like Shakespeare (so, yes, everyone), this is a choose-your-own-adventure book that explores every idiotic possibility the original story could have led to. And then some. You can play as Romeo or Juliet (there’s also a secret bonus character you can unlock—because that’s totally something you can do in a book) and your choices may lead you to marriage, death, piracy, nudity, riding a stallion named Butt Soft and other wonderful conclusions. This gem combines reading with gaming and adventuring in a whole new way. Everyone should read it, no exceptions or excuses. There is also a Hamlet version that was just re-released, called To Be or Not to Be. Read it, too.

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The Room

This is an app for those iPhone/iPad gamers out there. It’s a series of complicated puzzles with clues that lead you through a story. The puzzles get more detailed and haunting as the game progresses. Give yourself lots of time to play this one. Once you start, you’ll be hooked.