the germans are coming

I love playing games. When I was a kid, my brother and I could stay up for hours playing Monopoly. Most of the time, when we didn't finish the game, we would leave it out and the game would last a couple of days. Then came along Phase 10, which turned into a family reunion tradition (I have no doubt that other families share that tradition as well) and Skip-Bo. My mom LOVED playing Skip-Bo because she could pretty much rake me over the coals with that game. BUT the world of gaming has done a 180 since we were introduced to German board games. Right after we were married, way back in 2001 (yeah, truly...we are old!), we were introduced to The Settlers of Catan:For those of you who have not yet been introduced to this trading and building board game, beware! I have heard it referred to as The Settlers of Satan. This game has the power to turn old friends into new enemies, and from sisters to your worst nightmare. I won't even get started on how many additions there are to this game. A new leaf has been turned and Zug-Um-Zug is now the "it" German board game or better known as Ticket to Ride:There are a few different versions of this game as well. There is the Europe one, America, Germany and also a Switzerland addition. This is a game of taking over the board, from one city to another, with your little colored train pieces. One has to pick a route and try to achieve it without being cut off by another or running out of pieces. Has anyone else been sucked in by the Germans? They put an addictive chemical in these games so you crave it fort-nightly. ;)