BOARD GAMES

PANDEMIC

Okay, so 2020 might not be the best year to recommend Pandemic. But despite the subject matter, it’s great fun, and it’s refreshing to play cooperatively with your friends rather than against each other. Together, you travel the world, suppressing four diseases and sharing knowledge. Between the epidemics and the threat of running out of time, it often ends with a nail-biting race to the finish.

EVOLUTION

Hard shell, long neck or an ambush predator? Your goal is to give your species useful traits so they will thrive. The points system is based on the total amount of food that your species eats, which is a measure often used by biologists to quantify the success of a species. Just try not to get too attached to your creatures, as the threat of extinction is never far off.

COMPOUNDED

In this game, you play as a lab manager, racing your rivals to synthesise chemical compounds. Each compound is represented with a card showing its name, structure and state of matter, and you can claim those points once you’ve collected the necessary elements. Keep track of your score on a periodic table as you trade with rivals and hurry to finish your compounds before a lab explosion!

LOVELACE & BABBAGE

In this quickfire game, you play as a 19th-Century computing pioneer to programme the Analytical Engine. Your goal is to complete tasks using the Engine and your character’s abilities. A bit like the numbers round in Countdown, you perform mathematical operations to reach targets and win points. As the game goes on, you unlock more complicated operations to earn extra points.

ONWARD TO VENUS

Play as a 19th-Century colonist in the steampunk world of the Dr Grordbort graphic novels. Your targets are the planets and moons of the Solar System. Claim resources, attack other players and go hunting. Be careful: if you don’t keep good control of your colonies, each planet and moon could have its own potential crisis, from a robot uprising to space pirates. Grab your ray gun and go!