Six Picks: The best of Days of Wonder

With the new Days of Wonder game, Mystery Express, appearing in the UK this week, I decided to have a go at picking the cream of their releases to date.

Ticket To Ride is the obvious first choice. Although I could have gone for one of the subsequent variants, I like the elegance and simplicity of the original best.

Memoir ’44 is a super game of soldiers and card play and will always be remembered for the classic game when Mark G and I got destroyed by a surprise barrage gun blast when I had insisted we didn’t need any medics.

Small World takes a good game, Vinci, and polishes it up while transporting it to a fantasy setting. And the different boards for different player numbers works really well.

Mystery of the Abbey remains one of Bruno Faidutti’s most popular games and any occasion where we can get Nige taking a vow of silence has to be a good thing. Sorry Nige.

Pirate’s Cove is an old game that needs to get played again. It is a classic blend of second-guessing and picking which battles to fight and, don’t forget, it’s got pirates. Avast me hearties!

Shadows Over Camelot possibly reignited the trend towards co-operative games but has that classic “who is the traitor” element that keeps people on their toes.