Community Closet and Tech Trading Post: Board Games
The Community Closet and Tech Trading Post are two collections of unique and unexpected items that you may borrow the library providing access to a greater variety of shared resources.
Board Games
- You may check out up to 2 games at a time for 1 week.
- Anyone can put a hold on games, but they must be picked up and returned at the Valley Cottage Library.
- Please do not put in book drop.
Great for Get-Togethers and Parties
Apples to Apples
The game of hilarious comparisons.
Click here for a video on how to play Apples to ApplesBears vs. Babies
Bears vs Babies is a card game in which you build handsome, incredible monsters who go to war with horrible, awful babies.
Click here for a video on how to play Bears vs. BabiesCodenames
Two rival spymasters know the secret identities of 25 agents. Their teammates know the agents only by their codenames. The teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first.
Click here for a video on how to play.Exploding Kittens
Exploding kittens is a card game for people who are into kittens and explosions and laser beams and sometimes goats. It is a highly-strategic, kitty-powered version of Russian roulette.
Click here for a video on how to play.Exploding Kittens Party Pack
The Party Pack is the same family-friendly party game as Exploding Kittens but now for up to 10 players!Gloom in Space
Space is the Worst. Empty, black, airless, awash in radiation, and dotted with immense clods of flaming plasma that make everything within millions of miles too hot to support life. You win when your characters suffer the greatest possible tragedies before succumbing to the bleak but fitting respite of death.
Click here for a video on how to play Gloom (all versions)Joking Hazard
Joking Hazard is a not-for-kids party game where three or more players compete to build funny and terrible comics about friendship, violence, and everything in between.Mad Gab
It's not what you say, it's what you hear! In Mad gab, teams work to decipher groups of unrelated words into real phrases before time runs out. Teams have two minutes to sound out three puzzlesRen Faire
You and your friends are newbies at the Renaissance faire. Now you and your friends have one afternoon to assemble the ultimate Renaissance costume, but you're low on cash and the only way to earn more is to perform for the crowd!
Click here for a video on how to play Ren Faire.Scattergories
Team up to be creative in this party game where being different counts! Teams come up with answers that fit the categories listed on their card.
Click here for a video on how to playTaboo
Players try to get teammates to say the Guess word on the card without using any of the Taboo words in the clues.
Click here for a video on how to playWe Didn't Playtest This at All
In this exceptionally silly and awesome game, your objective is to win! Simple enough. Sadly, all of your opponents have the same simple goal, and they're trying to make you lose. Between Rock Paper Scissors battles, being eaten by a random Dragon, or saved by a Kitten Ambush, there are many hazards to avoid.
Click here for a video on how to play We Didn't Playtest This at All.We Didn't Playtest This Either
Many will enter, some will win. All will laugh.
We are back with more random! And you like random. Or you will, soon! Be sure to watch out for sharks! And cake. Especially the cake.
Click here for a video on how to play We Didn't Playtest This Either.You've Got Crabs
Try to collect four of the same card before any of the other teams, then pass a secret signal to your teammate. If your partner sees your signal and yells, "you've got crabs," you gain a point. If an opponent sees your signal and yells, "you've got crabs," you lose a point. The team with the most points wins the game.
Click here for a video on how to play You've Got Crabs
Classics and Kid-Friendly Games
Battleship
Search for the enemy’s fleet of ships and destroy them one by one. Try to protect your own fleet while you annihilate your opponent’s.
Click here for a video on how to playCandy Land
Race to the castle to find King Kandy, lost king of Candy Land. Great for kids!
Click here for a video on how to playClue
The classic detective game! In Clue, players move from room to room in a mansion to solve the mystery of: who done it, with what, and where?
Click here for a video on how to playColor Smash
Speed game. On a player's turn they flip a card. If the card contains the correct name of the color as text on the card, players have to slap on the card. The quickest will win all the flipped cards. After all cards are played, the player with most cards won is the winner.Dos
This classic card game invites two to ten players to challenge each other as individuals or on teams. The goal is to be the first to get rid of all your cards, and in this version when there are two cards to go, don't forget to yell "Dos"
Click here for a video on how to play DosFlashlights & Fireflies
Get ready for a backyard dash-through-the-dark in this game of firefly-powered flashlight freeze tag! First, catch fireflies to power up your flashlight, then shine it on other players before they sneak back to home base. All along, watch out for bats, raccoons, and other nighttime critters that are out to trip up your tracks.
Be the first to reach home and you've outshined the competition!
Click here for a video on how to play Flashlights & firefliesGoogly Eyes
Put on the zany, vision-altering google eye glasses and start to draw while your team tries to guess what you're drawing. Is that an igloo or a turtle? A birthday cake or a fortress?
Click here for a video on how to play Googly EyesGuess Who
The mystery face game where you flip over a collection of faces with different color hair, eye color, hair, hats, glasses etc. to deduce who the secret person is that your opponent has chosen. You flip over the hooked tiles as you narrow your choices by asking characteristic questions.
Click here for a video on how to play Guess WhoHedbanz
The quick question game of “What am I?”™
Am I a chicken? How about a bicycle? In this goofy game you never know what you are until you start asking questions! Figure out if the cartoon on your head is an animal, food or a household item. Everybody knows but you! For ages 7+
Click here for a video on how to play HedbanzJenga
Pull out a block, place it on top, but don't let the tower fall!
Click here for a video on how to playMonopoly Deal
Collect sets of properties with different colors.
Earn and swap properties and charge other players rent.
Steal properties or demand money from other players when you get the right Action card.
Click here for a video on how to playOutfoxed!
Mrs. Plumpert's prized pot pie has gone missing, and now it's a chicken chase to crack the case!
In Outfoxed, you move around the board to gather clues, then use the special evidence scanner to rule out suspects. You have to work together quickly because the guilty fox is high-tailing it towards the exit! Will you halt the hungry hooligan before it flies the coop — or will you be outfoxed?
Click here for a video on how to play Outfoxed!Rhino Hero
Rhino Hero presents players with an incredibly heroic – and regrettably heavy – rhinoceros who is eager to climb a tall building and leap other tall buildings in a single bound. First, though, you need to construct that building.
Click here for a video on how to play Rhino HeroRisk
The strategy board game of diplomacy, conflict and conquest.
Click here for a video on how to playSkip-Bo
Get in the competitive spirit with the Skip-Bo card game where players skilfully build their own stacks of sequentially numbered, ascending cards.
Click here for a video on how to playSlamwich
Flip and stack this clever loaf of cards to build slamwiches and double deckers. Tomato, cheese, tomato. slap. Get there first and win the pile.Uno Deluxe
Players race to get rid of their cards by matching numbers or colors - first one to zero wins.
Click here for a video on how to playYahtzee
A dice-rolling battle game. Push your luck for better-scoring rolls.
Click here for a video on how to play
Strategic, Fun, and Something for Everyone
Antimatter Matters
Collect the right elementary particles to assemble an atom. Avoid hazards like quantum entanglement, antimatter collisions, cosmic radiation and solar flares messing up your instruments—not to mention the actions of other player-scientists pursuing the same goal.
Click here for a video on how to playAzul
Introduced by the Moors, azulejos (originally white and blue ceramic tiles) were fully embraced by the Portuguese when their king Manuel I, on a visit to the Alhambra palace in Southern Spain, was mesmerized by the stunning beauty of the Moorish decorative tiles. The king, awestruck by the interior beauty of the Alhambra, immediately ordered that his own palace in Portugal be decorated with similar wall tiles. As a tile-laying artist, you have been challenged to embellish the walls of the Royal Palace of Evora.
Click here for a video on how to play Azul.Battle Line
Battle Line is a 2-player card game of capture the flags using an ancient battle formation theme. It plays like rummy or poker is easy to learn and has strategy and the ability to provide surprises to your opponent. The leaders of both sides direct forces along the battle line to gain tactical advantages. The first player to win three adjacent Flags or any five Flags is the winner.
Click here for a video on how to play Battle LineBefore There Were Stars
Since ancient times, the twinkling of the heavens inspired people across the globe to create stories that answered the most important of questions: "Who are we… and how did it all begin?" Before There Were Stars... is a storytelling game in which each player tells the mythic creation story of "their people". Inspired by constellation cards, players craft tales about the creation of the world, the origins of civilization, the rise of a great hero, and the end of days.
Click here for a video on how to play Before There Were StarsBetrayal at the House on the Hill
The creak of footsteps on the stairs, the smell of something foul and dead, the feel of something crawling down your back – this and more can be found this cooperative game of strategy and horror.
Click here for a video on how to playBiotix
Play dirty - and get a reaction!
Carefully grow the largest culture of BIOTIX you can in your petri dish – and sabotage the work of others by pushing their microbe populations above their limit, causing them to explode and bio-react in all sorts of fun ways.
Click here for a video on how to play BiotixBoss Monster
Inspired by classic video games, Boss Monster challenges you to become a villain, build a dungeon, lure in adventurers… and destroy them! Players compete to see who can lure and destroy the most adventurers. But beware! You must make your dungeon as deadly as it is attractive, or the puny heroes might kill you first!
Click here for a video on how to play Boss MonsterCatan
Your adventurous settlers seek to tame the remote but rich isle of Catan. Start by revealing Catan’s many harbors and regions: pastures, fields, mountains, hills, forests, and desert. The random mix creates a different board virtually every game.
Click here for a video on how to playCentury: Spice Road
Players are caravan leaders who travel the famed silk road to deliver spices to the far reaches of the continent for fame and glory. Establish a trade route, make a trade or harvest spices.
Click here for a video on how to playClades
In Clades, players must quickly scan an array of cards on the table — along with their own private card — to make triples as quickly as possible. Whoever spots the most triples wins.
Click here for a video on how to play Clades. Explanation begins at 14:30Coup
In the not too distant future, the government is run for profit by a new "royal class" of multi-national CEOs. Their greed and absolute control of the economy has reduced all but a privileged few to lives of poverty and desperation. But for you, a powerful government official, this is your opportunity to manipulate, bribe and bluff your way into absolute power. To be successful, you must destroy the influence of your rivals and drive them into exile.
Click here for a video on how to playCutthroat Caverns
Without Teamwork, You’ll Never Survive. Without Betrayal, You’ll Never WIN!An artifact of untold power lies in your hands. To claim it, you must escape the caverns alive. No less than nine horrific beasts stand in your way that and the greed ofthe other players.
Click here for a video on how to play Cutthroat CavernsDead Man's Draw
Hoist the Jolly Roger and take on other freebooters in this Pirate-themed risk versus reward card game. Dead Man's Draw is a 2 – 4 player game in which Pirates press their luck to see how much treasure they can accumulate. Plunder the most loot without losing it all to win the game and be the best Pirate on the seas.
Click here for a video on how to playDixit
Every picture tells a story – but what story will your picture tell? Dixit is the lovingly illustrated game of creative guesswork, where your imagination unlocks the tale. Players will use the beautiful imagery on their cards to bluff their opponents and guess which image matches the story. Guessing right is only half the battle – to really succeed, you’ll have to get your friends to decide that your card tells the story!
Click here for a video on how to playDominant Species
90,000 B.C. - A great Ice Age is fast approaching. Another titanic struggle for global supremacy has unwittingly commenced between the varying animal species. Dominant Species is a game for 2 to 6 players that abstractly recreates a tiny portion of ancient history: the ponderous encroachment of an Ice Age and what that entails for the living creatures trying to adapt to the slowly-changing Earth.
Click here for a video on how to play Dominant SpeciesDominion
You are a monarch, like your parents before you, a ruler of a small pleasant kingdom of rivers and evergreens. Unlike your parents, however, you have hopes... dreams! You want a bigger kingdom, more pleasant, with more rivers, and a wider variety of trees.
Click here for a video on how to play Dominion.Don't Turn Your Back
Extract dreams in the City Slumbering and use them to buy favors from Nightmares. Procure special services in the Bizarre Bazaar. Score points through skillful play in Mother When’s deadly High School, and the sinister 13th District. Compete for the Wax King’s favor, and the ultimate prize…escape!
Click here for a video on how to play Don't Turn Your BackEl Caballero
Explore and attempt to control the lands and waterways of the New World by picking and placing land tiles that are most favorable and discovering wealth in the form of gold and fish.Evolution
In Evolution, players adapt their species in a dynamic ecosystem where food is scarce and predators lurk. Traits like Hard Shell and Horns will protect your species from Carnivores, while a Long Neck will help them get food that others cannot reach. With over 4,000 ways to evolve your species, every game becomes a different adventure.
Click here for a video on how to play EvolutionFluxx
The card game with ever changing rules! Start out Simple: draw one card and play one card, changing the rules as you go, while collecting up such life essentials as chocolate, music, time, and cookies. Changing goals will keep you on your toes as well, and action cards are still shaking things up!
Click here for a video on how to playGet the Macguffin
Get the MacGuffin is a quick game where players must make clever use of a limited hand of cards ranging from ridiculously powerful to just ridiculous. A calculated risk might gain you the coveted MacGuffin, but can you hold onto it until the last card is played? Is the MacGuffin even out there at all?
Click here for a video on how to playGreedy Dragons
It's time to divvy up the dragons' hoard, but no one wants to share! Can you trick your fellow dragons into leaving you with the most treasure?
Click here for a video on how to play Greedy DragonsIncan Gold
Incan Gold is a quick, fun game of bluff and daring in which explorers push their luck while exploring an old Incan temple in search of gold and treasure. You decide when to delve deeper into the temple, adding to your riches, or retreat to camp!
Click here for a video on how to playKaiju Incorporated
A 300-foot lizard has just trampled the city. As a business owner, your future is clear:
REBUILD AND MAKE KAIJU SKIN HANDBAGS.
Click here for a video on how to play Kaiju IncorporatedKing of Tokyo
Play as mutant monsters, rampaging robots, or even abominable aliens battling in a fun, chaotic atmosphere. Roll the dice and choose your strategy: Will you attack your enemies? Heal your wounds? Improve your Monster? Stomp your path to victory!
Click here for a video on how to playKoi
You are a Koi fish, swimming to and fro, in search of a delicious meal of dragonflies and frogs. The tranquil pond grows more beautiful with every decorative element you add, lily pads, cherry blossoms, ornamental stones, while at the same time causes turmoil beneath the still waters for the other Koi.
Click here for a video on how to play KoiLeaping Lemmings
Set in the Rocky Mountains near Waterloo, Montana, this game pits genetic scientists against one another as they each attempt to get their clan of cloned lemmings to most successfully scurry forward to throw themselves over a cliff, hopefully grabbing enough air to impress the judges with their technique so that their final act will bring glory to their clan.
Click here for a video on how to play Leaping LemmingsLost in R'lyeh
R'lyeh is a terrible and ancient city, risen from the depths of the Pacific by a great curse. There, Cthulhu lies both dead and dreaming, waiting to consume any who venture near. No player can truly win...although the last player to escape will be forever lost in R'lyeh!
Click here for a video on how to play Lost in R'lyeh.Love Letter
In the wake of the queen's arrest, all the eligible young men of Tempest (and many not so young) seek to woo Princess Annette. Unfortunately, she has locked herself in the palace, and everyone must rely on those within the palace to bring their romantic letters to her. Will yours reached her first? Love Letter is a game of risk, deduction, and luck.
Click here for a video on how to playMammoth Hunters
Take on the roles of daring hunters during the ice age. Try to approach and remain near the mammoths - that is where the food and the victory points are.Mottainai
"Mottainai" (pronounced mot/tai/nai or like the English words mote-tie-nigh) means "Don't waste", or "Every little thing has a soul". Use your cards for many purposes. Each player is an acolyte in a Buddhist temple who performs tasks, collects materials, and sells or completes works for visitors. Every card can be each of these three things.
Click here for a video on how to play MottainaiMunchkin
Go down in the dungeon. Kill everything you meet. Backstab your friends and steal their stuff. Grab the treasure and run. Admit it. You love it.
Click here for a video on how to playNoir Black Box Edition
NOIR: Killer vs. Inspector is a two- to seven- player game of hidden identities and deduction. Each player receives a secret identity from among 25 suspects and an open role that determines his available moves and victory conditions.
Note: there are many ways to play this game and videos for each below.
2 Player Game - Killer vs. Inspector
2 Player Game - Master Thief vs. Chief of Police
2 Player Game - Hitman vs. Sleuth
3 to 9 Players - Spy Tag
6 or 8 Players - FBI vs. Mafia
5 to 7 Players - HeistPandemic
Four diseases have broken out in the world and it is up to a team of specialists in various fields to find cures for these diseases before mankind is wiped out. A truly cooperative game where you all win or you all lose.
Click here for a video on how to playPhotosynthesis
Plant and shape the ever-changing forest as you cultivate your seeds and your strategy. Take your trees through their life-cycle, from seedling to full bloom to rebirth, and earn points as their leaves collect energy from the revolving sun’s rays. Carefully pick where you sow and when you grow, as trees in the shadows are blocked from light, and from points.
Click here for a video on how to playRace to Adventure
Every year, a worldwide scavenger hunt brings together daring adventurers from all parts of the globe - members of the famed Century Club. Their adventures are filled with danger, excitement and wonder! Centurions race to be the first to complete every mission, stamp their passpors and cross the Century Club finish line.
Click here for a video on how to play Race to AdventureRenaissance Man
In Renaissance Man, each player is an example of the title character – skilled as a scholar, a merchant, a knight, and a baker – and throughout the game will hire, recruit and train others with the goal of producing a Master of one of these four areas of study.Sagrada
As a skilled artisan, you will use tools-of-the-trade and careful planning to construct a stained glass window masterpiece in the Sagrada Familia. Players will take turns drafting glass pieces, represented by dice; carefully choosing where to place each one in their window. Windows have unique color and shade requirements, and similar dice may never be adjacent so placing each die is more challenging than the last.
Click here for a video on how to playSentinels of the Multiverse
A mad scientist holds the world hostage with his terrifying inventions. An alien warlord from a far away galaxy brings his limitless army of bizarre minions to conquer the planet. A giant rampaging robot cuts a swath of destruction across the coast, destroying major population centers. And who will stand in their way? A team of heroes, all with impressive powers and abilities stand between the world and the forces of evil. Will you help them? Answer the call to protect the multiverse in this cooperative, fixed-deck card game with a comic book flavor.
Click here for a video on how to play7 Wonders
You are the leader of one of the 7 great cities of the Ancient World. Gather resources, develop commercial routes and affirm your military supremacy. Build your city and erect an architectural wonder which will transcend future times.
Click here for a video on how to playShadow Strike Melee
Shadow Strike Melee is a card game for 9 of you and your sneaky friends. All you need to do is knock out your opponents by playing better cards than they do. The catch? Your cards start facing outward, so only your foes know what cards you have! Will you outsmart your ninja rivals and see through their
Click here for a video on how to playSheriff of Nottingham
An exciting game of bluffing, bribery and smuggling! You have come to Nottingham with your Goods on market day, and the only thing standing between you and your hard-earned profits is the Sheriff. All you need to do is bluff or bribe your way past him. ..or maybe, tell the truth!
Click here for a video on how to playSplendor
Splendor is a game of chip-collecting and card development. Players are merchants of the Renaissance trying to buy gem mines, means of transportation, shops—all in order to acquire the most prestige points. If you're wealthy enough, you might even receive a visit from a noble at some point, which of course will further increase your prestige.
Click here for a video on how to play Splendor.Steal the Show Act II Theatrical Party Game
Are you ready for Act II? Play as iconic characters as you challenge players to a Battle of Strength or a Battle of Wits using Shakespearean insults and the art of bluffing!
Click here for a video on how to playStone Age
The Dawn of Mankind. Our ancestors were hard workers, resting only very little. Luckily for us, their ingenuity allowed them to make their work easier, day after day. In Stone Age, players are sent back to that arduous period of history. With tools, quite archaic at first, you will be able to collect wood, stone and gold. These resources will allow you to attain higher levels of knowledge and build sturdier roofs over your head.
Click here for a video on how to playSushi Go!
Pass the sushi! In this fast-playing card game, the goal is to grab the best combination of sushi dishes as they whiz by. Score points for making the most maki rolls or for collecting a full set of sashimi. Dip your favorite nigiri in wasabi to triple its value. But be sure to leave room for dessert or else you’ll eat into your score! Gather the most points and consider yourself the sushi master!
Click here for a video on how to playTechno Witches
Modern witches and wizards no longer ride simple flying brooms. They have now entered the modern age of technology and ride jet-powered sweeping machines! But, these new machines must be filled before each flight with magic dust.Tesla vs. Edison
Tesla vs. Edison: War of Currents is a fast-playing, route building, economic and worker placement game focused on invention and industry in the roaring 1880's.
Click here for a video on how to play Tesla vs. Edison.Ticket to Ride
The stakes: $1 million in a winner-takes-all competition. The objective: to see the most cities in North America - in just 7 days. Ticket to Ride is a cross-country train adventure game. Players collect train cards that enable them to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America.
Click here for a video on how to play Ticket to RideTiny Epic Defenders
Aughmoore is in ruins. The evil could not be contained and its darkness has spread to every region of the world. Shattering villages and infecting all forms of life. There has never been a more dire need for Heroes. Everyone who remains must rise up, must unite, and must risk everything to preserve what little spirit remains. Tiny Epic Defenders is a riveting small-box cooperative game.
Click here for a video on how to play Tiny Epic DefendersTortuga 1667
The year is 1667 and you are a pirate sailing the waters of the Caribbean. A Spanish Galleon floats nearby, and you’ve talked your crewmates into working together to steal all of its treasure. What you haven’t told your fellow pirates is that you have no intentions on sharing the treasure once you have it.
Click here for a video on how to play Tortuga 1667Trash Pandas
Trash is treasure! In this raucous card game, paw through the deck to find sets of day-old pizza, half-eaten candy, and other luscious leftovers. Roll the die to tip over the garbage or raid a rival's rubbish, if there's no Doggos standing guard. The more you roll, the more actions you can take - but get too greedy and your turn is scrapped! Stash the most trash and you're pick of the litter!
Click here for a video on how to playVillainous
Take on the role of a Disney Villain.
To win, you must explore your character’s unique abilities and discover how to achieve your own story-based objective.
Click here for a video on how to play VillainousWelcome to Centerville
Welcome to Centerville is a fast-playing board game for 2-4 players. Welcome to Centerville abstractly models the growth and management of a small city - perhaps not unlike the one you're in right now. Players act as entrepreneurs, tycoons, politicians and other local movers and shakers working to develop a modern urban area. Fortunes will be made and fame will rise.
Click here for a video on how to play Welcome to CentervilleWitches of the Revolution
The colonies of the Americas were a haven for the persecuted. But now there’s a war for independence, and those who would have freedom must fight for it. Witches of the Revolution is a cooperative game. You and your fellow players lead covens of witches determined to see a fledgling nation achieve freedom from tyranny.
Click here for a video on how to play Witches of the Revolution.The Yeti Slalom
The players have teams of downhill snowboard racers and are competing with each other for the coveted Yeti cup. the Yetis, watching from the hills on each side of the race course throw snowballs at the racers, trying to knock them out of the race.Zombie Dice
Eat brains. Don’t get shotgunned. You are a zombie. You want braaains. Don't get shotgunned. Eat 13 brains and win!
Click here for a video on how to play.