Name That Classic Board Game (1)

[C] Settlers of Catan | Nobody wants your sheep. Ever. This gateway drug to European board gaming turned "wood for wheat" into fighting words worldwide since 1995.

[A] Ticket to Ride | Collecting train cards has never been this cutthroat. Who knew connecting Des Moines to El Paso could ruin marriages?

[C] Pandemic | The only game where everyone loses together, usually while someone explains why Madagascar was obviously the better choice than you fools realized.

[B] Chess | Been causing family arguments since 600 AD. The horse moves in an L shape because straight lines are for peasants, apparently.

[D] Scrabble | Where "qi" and "za" are legitimate words but your perfectly reasonable "texted" gets challenged by your pedantic aunt every single time.

[D] Risk | Australia strategy since 1957: turtle up and watch the world burn. Kamchatka remains unpronounceable but strategically vital for some reason.

[A] Carcassonne: Hunters & Gatherers | Stone Age Carcassonne where your meeples hunt mammoths instead of claiming monasteries. Because regular Carcassonne wasn't confusing enough about farmer scoring.

[B] Ticket to Ride: Europe | Now with tunnels and stations because Americans complained the original was too simple. Stockholm to Petrograd remains the ultimate flex route.

[C] Dominion | Shuffling simulator that spawned a thousand deckbuilders. Village-Smithy chains were the original infinite combo that made your friends hate you.

[A] Monopoly | Teaching capitalism through tears since 1935. Free Parking money isn't in the official rules but try telling that to literally anyone.

[A] Codenames | Where "Neptune: 3" makes perfect sense to your partner but leaves everyone else wondering if you've ever actually met before tonight.

[C] Splendor | Gem trading where reserving cards is somehow more aggressive than actually buying them. Those poker chips feel fancier than your actual money.

[B] Betrayal at House on the Hill | Fifty different haunts means fifty ways for the traitor to misread their rules while everyone else dies in the basement.

[D] Stratego | Hide your flag, sacrifice your miners, and pray your opponent doesn't remember where you put that marshal forty-five minutes ago.

[B] Checkers | Kings can move backwards because regular pieces haven't earned that privilege yet. Tournament players call it draughts to sound sophisticated.

[B] Axis and Allies | World War II that takes longer than the actual war. Russia always falls first unless Germany forgets about winter again.

[D] Scattergories | Timer ticking while you argue whether "Queen Elizabeth" counts for both Q and E. Spoiler: the loudest person wins the argument.

[A] King of Tokyo | Giant monsters fighting over Japan using yahtzee dice. Staying in Tokyo is basically announcing you have a death wish.

[D] Small World | Fantasy Risk where declining your civilization is strategic, not depressing. Flying Halflings remain the most annoying combo ever printed.

[C] Forbidden Island | Sinking island teaches teamwork until someone forgets to shore up Fool's Landing and everybody drowns. Paradise turns panic real quick.

[B] Dixit | Abstract art interpretation where being too obvious or too obscure loses you points. That bunny card works for literally every clue somehow.

[C] Scythe | Dieselpunk farming simulator where mechs harvest wheat. Combat is discouraged but your neighbor's resources look awfully tempting right about now.

[A] Gloomhaven | Twenty-pound box of dungeon crawling where your party retires just when they get interesting. Campaign takes roughly one human lifetime.

[B] chinese checkers | Neither Chinese nor checkers, this German game's identity crisis hasn't stopped anyone from hopping marbles across that star for decades.

[A] The Game of Life | Spinner decides your entire future including salary and children. College path usually pays off unless you become an entertainer.

[D] Mancala | Ancient game of dropping stones in holes. Every family has different house rules and nobody knows which version is actually correct.

[A] Agricola | Farming game where your family starves if you don't math properly. Sheep multiply inappropriately fast while vegetables mock your planning skills.

[D] Clue | Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick, unless you're playing the version where he's mysteriously renamed Orchid for marketing reasons.

[B] Sorry! | Apologizing while sending opponents home since 1929. Drawing a 2 at the start remains one of gaming's greatest betrayals.

[C] Blokus | Tetris pieces fight for corner territory. That one-square piece becomes surprisingly crucial when you're completely boxed in by jerks.