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F       "Family Business" Manufacturer:  Mayfair Number of Players:  2 to 6 Complexity:  Low Average Time:  30M - 1H Synopsis:  A card game based on Mob warfare. Each player controls a gang of 9 mobsters from the 1930s. You then proceed to take out contracts and put "hits" on the other players' mobs. There are ways to save your mobsters from being executed by playing special cards during your turn (i.e. "Take It on the Lam"). The player with the last surviving mobster is the winner. A fun game that leads to a lot of "grudge" play (you killed my guy, so I'm going to kill your guy.) The important thing to remember when playing this is that it is just a game!!     "Fluxx" Manufacturer:  Looney Labs Number of Players:  2 to 6 Complexity:  Very Low Average Time:  1M - 15M Synopsis:  An interesting card game where the rules change as the game proceeds. You start the game with one rule: "Draw one card, Play one card". The cards you play can change the rules and can even change the goal of the game. A good filler game, although you may need to incorporate some "house rules" to keep the game from being too short sometimes (like, under a minute).     "For Sale" Manufacturer:  Ravensburger Number of Players:  2 to 5 Complexity:  Very Low Average Time:  5 - 10M Synopsis:  A wonderfully simple bidding game. The game consists of players bidding on houses of differing amounts with chips in the first round. The second round has the players then selling those houses, using a simultaneous display method, for checks of various amounts. Incredibly simple and incredibly addictive. This game is a must have!     "Formula Dé" Manufacturer:  Euro Games Number of Players:  2 to 10 Complexity:  High Average Time:  1 - 2H Synopsis:  Arguably the best racing simulation on the market. Different dice represent different gears. The higher the gear a player is in the further they move on the board. However, you must downshift to make it through corners without putting undue wear on your car (or worse, crashing!) This game has a very realistic feel to it. Optional rules allow for such things as drafting, weather, etc. for added realism. There are many extra tracks available for purchase to go along with the basic game (which includes two tracks.) This is one of the most played games in our group.     "Fossil" Manufacturer:  Rio Grande Games (Goldsieber) Number of Players:  2 to 6 Complexity:  Medium Average Time:  45M - 1H Synopsis:  This game has some rather unusual mechanics. The board is a 9 X 9 grid on which tiles are placed at the beginning of the game. Each tile is part of a fossil. Each fossil is made up of 9 pieces and some pieces are worth more than others. There are two stones on the board and on your turn you may move one of the stones either horizontally or vertically to land on, and remove, a fossil piece. When the last piece of a specific fossil is taken from the board points are scored for that fossil. Added to this is the fact that if you are the person taking the last piece of the fossil from the board, you can exchange one of your pieces with one of your opponents, possibly lowering his score. A great game with an in-depth strategy that is not readily apparent on the first playing. This one needs to be played several times in order to fully grasp it's intricacies.     "Freight Train" Manufacturer:  Mayfair Number of Players:  2 to 5 Complexity:  Medium Average Time:  30 - 45M Synopsis:  Another card game with a train theme, although this one has more of a train feel to it. You must switch cars from the "Main Yard" and your "Private Yard" to your locomotives. Points are scored for the length of trains. A variable length turn makes the end of this game unpredictable. This game definitely requires a lot of planning, because initially you score points for having cars in your "Private Yard", but by the end of the game you are penalized for having cars there. A fun game that has a sort of economic feel to it.