5 Best Board Games 2008

Looking for the 5 best board games of 2008? Read on to liven up your next family function. From games of strategy to games based on popular TV shows, you'll have a board game for every fan if you add these popular titles to your arsenal.

1. Pandemic. Hands down, Pandemic is the absolute best game of 2008. Players work as a team to rid the world of four different contagions-it's literally the only game I've ever played that sounds like a complete college final exam, but plays like an episode of CSI. You'll be comfortably smug one moment, then on the edge of your seat, certain you've doomed the world to certain death the next. Even if you're not a medical drama fan, this game will hook you and have you sweating bullets by the time the game's through.
2. Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Gam. Really, though, any game with zombies was going to make my "best games" list. And a game that pits player against player for supremacy of an (undead) species is going to be placed reasonably high.  In LNoE, some players will be zombies, some will be small town heroes (with great titles like "Hot Nurse" and "Sheriff"). Not only is this good, clean, zombie-killin' fun, but it's infinitely replay worthy, with five different scenarios and even more available online.
3. Pillars of the Earth. Based on the book by the same name, the object of this game is to have the most victory points when the cathedral is finished. The game rules are somewhat convoluted, but once you've played the game once, it makes more sense.  Each player has builders, craftsmen, resources and gold.  As the game goes on, cards are drawn to determine the fate of the players-for both good and ill. This is a great game for fans of the book, but even those who've never read it will enjoy playing.
4. Battlestar Galactica. If you've seen the show, you know how to play this game. The game tokens are characters from the show, and each has different abilities based on those characters.  As the game is played, each player makes the choice to work with the other players to ensure the survival of the group, or work for the Cylons (on the down-low, naturally).
5. Sorry! Sliders. Like a combination of curling, tiddlywinks and shuffleboard, players slide their oversized Sorry!-styled game pieces down individual "ramps," into a center circle. The goal is to bump your opponents pieces out of the circle and your pieces into the center of the circle. It's a simple game, but a good one to play with the family.