A few years back, as a Christmas gift for my Dad and Step-mom, I got them the board game Ruin. Ruin in the simplest of descriptions would be a game like Sorry or Parcheesi. Each player has a two game pieces that they must get around the board and then into the center before the other players, but players can be sent backwards through a variety of ways, including having another player’s piece land on their piece (a la Sorry).
Image from Amazon.com
I don’t happen to be very big into board games, and games like Sorry just make me mad. They are far more frustrating than fun. Ruin, however, adds a strategic element to counteract the luck aspect from Sorry. In Ruin, the path of the game board can be changed by the players. When it’s your turn you have a 50% chance that you will be able to change a piece of the game board, effectively changing the path either for your own benefit or to hinder someone else’s progress. Along with that, there are colored locations on the game board that correspond with the colors of the game pieces. When a player is sent back they only have to go so far as the nearest location of their color. This means you don’t have to go all the way back to the beginning just because you were landed on. You can also change where those colored locations are when you change the game board.
I’m not really sure what I’m getting at here except for stating a random opinion. I don’t expect anyone to jump up and go by the game. If you are a fan of games like Sorry and Parcheesi you will most likely enjoy this game, but if you are like me and don’t like those games, the added strategy of Ruin may make it a more enjoyable game.
-Dax
