Settlers of Catan, Talisman, Chess, Torres, Carcassone, Scrabble, Wise & Otherwise, Cathedral, Backgammon, many more not coming to mind now.

Game of Thrones....Diplomacy in Westros (with a lot of extras..)...Kingmaker is good but can be way to random with nobles being called hither and yon

too*

Citadels, settlers, dominion, munchkin

Go is pretty great, actually.

Game of Thrones? Can you actually buy a board game version of that, greysoni??

As for board games I like - Space Hulk and Blood Bowl, as well as Diplomacy, of course.

Samurai was a game much like Kingmaker, Now that was a game that was way too random (earthquakes, and typhoons randomly wiping out your troops). A friend of mine quipped once in the middle of it "If Japan were any where near thin inhospitable civilization would never have developed there"

My all time favorite is Cosmic Encounter. But I also have Warrior Knights, Settlers of Catan, Dominion and Talisman. But you can't beat D&D, which isn't a board game, of course.

D&D 4E sucks, but AD&D rules.

(The combat system of the current edition of D&D *is* a boardgame, which is part of the problem)

@Jamie Yes. The basic foundation of the game clearly has its origins in the game Diplomacy, though it has definitely been tweaked with many additional rules. It still retains the same feel in many respects. Here is the link http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=172&esem=1

Agricola, Dominion (more card game), Pirate's Cove (with modified house rules for combat and movement), El Grande, Robo Rally (cute, logic/planning game), Small World (fantasy, rish-esque....it's OK), Pandemic (all the players play against the board - the disease - difficult to beat on higher levels), Anything (almost) by Avalon Hill (now out of existence, I believe) such as Squad Leader, Submarine, various WWII simulations, Come on...who doesn't love Risk?....

people who are unlucky

Axis & Allies was pretty good the one time that I played it. I liked Titan & loved Supremacy.

Illuminati, and Munchkin Fu are fun too.

The Settlers of Catan and its assorted spin-offs are our favorites when there is time to play a longer game. San Juan, Carcassone, and the Ticket to Ride games are more common, since our group rarely has time to commit to a long game with lots of set up (which is why I play Diplomacy online).

This might be a good place to ask this: I like war/battle simulation games like Axis and Allies, but no one else that I play with very much is as big a fan, and we rarely have time for a game like Axis and Allies or the good Risks (like the Lord of the Rings one). Can anyone recommend a game like Diplomacy or Axis and Allies or Risk that is simple enough to be played in an hour or less and also might appeal to people who regularly play games like Ticket to Ride or Carcassone?

It's not a "war/battle" simulation, but a card game like Dominion might be a good choice. There is variable play from game to game (due to the selection of cards that will be used) , there is an element of strategy in the choices you make, how you build your deck during the course of the game, and there is still a bit of a random element so that even the "bad" players get a shot to win every now and then (which is essential when you are playing with your kids, for example...) Dominion also has multiple add-ons for extra variety.

El Grande is also a strategy game - fixed number of turns, not "battle" again, but definitely strategy.

Pirates Cove has ship to ship battle (and with various "house rules" the battle can be made more detailed) and with fixed number of turns can be accomplished in an hours. And hell, who doesn't want to play a game that let's them frequently say, "Aaaaaargh, matey..."?

@ ckroberts

Sounds like Kingmaker would be a good one to start with if you can find a copy of it.

This is a recurring topic here, but I like it better than the religious/political wars, so I'll keep it going. Some of my favorites:
- Puerto Rico
- 7 Wonders
- Agricola
And for lighter fare:
- Citadels
- Dominion
- Hive
See my (more or less) complete list here: http://boardgamegeek.com/user/mkeCharlie

Thanks for the tips, folks. I will check them out.

Just one I haven't seen listed, Bang! Is a pretty fun game if you like munchkin.

BTW, on the subject of D&D the best variation at the moment is Pathfinder.

Screw D&D -- I mean, I played it back when, but MERP - Middle Earth Role Playing system was awesome. Much better combat system at the time, etc. OF course, I haven't kept up with D&D but I think itis probably highly modified since I last played in....er.....1987...

On the subject of D&D, my 9 year old is trying her hand at DM for the first time today.

D&D 5.0 Playtest is out right now. Incorporates some elements from 2e, 3.5e, and 4e. The math is total **** right now, but there is promise in the direction that it's going - check it out if you were disenfranchised with 4e.

I was disenchanted that 4e took away my right to vote.

IMHO you can't bet a good game of Star Fleet Battles.

I'm with DiploMerlin, Cosmic Encounter is my favorite. In particular the 1991/1992 Mayfair version, although the new 2008 Fantasy Flight version is decent enough. The 2000 Hasbro/AvalonHill version was crap.

Fjords is a great two player game.

Cosmic Encounter *is* quite *awesome*....I concur.

Best two player game? Hmmmm....that's between my wife and I....but I'll sell you the tape....lol