I'm not great at creating these titles, but lets be honest, whilst we all pretend board games are about fun with friends, really they're an exercise in backstabbing and bitchslapping. From the look your cousin gives you as you land on their Mayfair hotel to that stomach-dropping moment that you realise your best friend has backed out of your truce and is about to sweep his way through Asia, they're designed to break not make friendships.

That said, I love them. I love them mainly for that. However, my board game knowledge has, to this point, been relatively limited to the games I played growing up as a child - all of which seemed to be of the same sorts (aside from Risk, but everyone needs risk) - they involved money, and either making it (Monopoly, The Game of Life) or losing it (Go For Broke). That's not to say I dislike them for it - I still love playing the shit out of those games. However, through this exchange, I hoped to broaden my horizons.

My gifter was awesome in helping me do this, prying even more into the suggestions I'd given, and feeling their way to what they felt, and turned out to be, the perfect gifts!