I feel a good overall focus for the club when it comes to purchasing board games can be boiled down to two questions:
- Is their a general consensus that the board game is/will be popular?
- Does the game provide a different experience that is lacking from our current games library?
Additionally, I feel that quicker games that are easy to learn tend to see more play than 2+ hour, 50+ page rulebook games. They also tend to be more accessible for newer club members who've never played a board game more complicated than Catan. Ex. Club copy of BSG purchased last year wasn't opened until last night.
With the above in mind, my $0.02 on new board games:
Games I would seriously recommend buying
Lords of Waterdeep
- The hype for this game is well deserved. A fast semi-euro, worker placement game based on the city of Waterdeep that is easy to teach with a typical play-time around 1 hour. Very flavourful too.
Racko
- A quick filler game (rounds typically take less than 10 minutes) with a good mix up skill and luck. No knowledge of the english language needed to be able to play the base game. Add in the special card variants/bonus point rules at your own peril.
Longer, more complex games that might appeal to more seasoned gamers
Eclipse (Not from the Twilight series)
- A spacefaring 4X game (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate) with a "short" estimated time of 2 hours (compare to its older brother Twilight Imperium which has an estimated time of 4+ hours) that is receiving large amounts of praise online (currently rated 5th overall on Boardgamegeek). Very thematic and adds a dimension of board game that the club seems to be missing at the moment.
Mage Knight
- A free for all adventure, questing game that offers deep gameplay and complicated decision making. Estimated time is around 4 hours. PvP optional variant. Nothing like the miniatures world that shares the same title and definitely not for the faint of heart. The people I've played it with have really enjoyed it and it is also receiving praise online (11th overall on BGG).
Mice and Mystics
- Based on peoples' interest in Pandemic and Descent, M&M is a cooperative, adventure/questing game. Scenarios typically take around 1 hour. Sounds interesting but I have yet to try it myself.
Lastly, a few extras that might appeal to various crowds
Samurai
- A tile placing exercise that is simple to learn but features surprisingly deep gameplay. Estimated time is 1 hour or less for four players (max). John likes to complain about Genghis Khan screwing him over by invading in a fishing boat while also insulting Christianity through his focus on collecting buddhas.
Say Anything
- A party game that is useful as an icebreaker. No holds barred - say anything you like. Gives people a good opportunity to get to know each other. Estimated time is less than 1 hour.
Everything else already recommended sounds okay and if you're set on getting them I won't try to sway your decisions.