I've been around the world when it comes to gaming. In my youth I devoured the most complicated games of SPI, and eventually the vast volume of lore that spawned from Avlaon Hill's Squad Leader. Over the many years I have come to value games that take little time to set up and play. I prefer fun and replay to that of complexity. So I keep a gym bag full of interesting, usually independent, games that are high on those two characteristics.

Dragon War (by RAK Graphics) --- This game was on my favorites list and it is sad to have to write a eulogy for a fun little game but the people who run RAK Graphics are shady business men at best. They fail miserably at communications and don't come through on any of their promises. I must regrettfully discourage anyone from dealing with this company....

Button Men (Cheapass Games) --- This is actually my second favorite game, next to DiskWars. I REALLY wish I had thought this one up.... James Ernest put great artwork on a button (like the ones you get at convention tables), assigned a series of dice to each button, made up some simple rules, and created a dice capture game that is elegantly easy yet has suprising tactical accumen needed to consistently win. Generally speaking, you have five dice of different sides with one or more at the discretion of the player. There are two types of attack: Power and Skill. With a Power strike, if one of your dice is equal to, or greater, than an opposing die then you capture it and score points equal to the sides of the die. With Skill you add multiple dice to get exactly the number of one opposing die. Strategy comes in maximizing dice combinations and breaking up those of your opponents. Combat continues until all of one sides dice are captured. Points are scored and one can loose the battle, while winning the war.

It depends on who was issued the license, but a typical pair of buttons cost $4.50; less over the net. I have developed a tag team wrestling game, and one should easily be able to adapt these to a role-playing genre. Compact, simple, and a damned good use for all those multi-sided D&D dice.

The Works (Cheapass Games and Studio Foglio): Friends should never let friends game alone... or design. The Works is a "puzzle game" by James Ernest, with the artwork of former employers Phil and Kaja Foglio. Based on the new "Girl Genius" comic book, The Works is delightfully simple yet definitely competitive. A 12 card matrix is set up, and 5 cards dealt to each player. You turn over and rotate cards within the matrix to align icons and "pop" combinations out of The Works. Follow the directions on the cards you pop and replace with cards out of your hand. Simple as clockwork.... But you are constantly setting up yourself and your opponents for future plays. Playing time is purported to be 30 minutes, but plays variably according to how much intense thought is generated by your opponents. After all, your "Genius" doesn't take all day....

Formula Motor Racing Card Game (GMT Games):I like racing games, but hauling around even your basic game sized box is not always practical for me. So, when I saw a racing card game, in a small box, at a moderately priced $16.00, I thought, "Hey, go for the checkered flag!" Upon opening the box and finding only 12 small plastic cars, a small rule book, and one deck of (admittedly good stock) cards, I was slipping down the road of, "Oops, is this worth it?" After reading the rules and realizing that the cars are simply lined up, and that the cards pretty much just change the order, I was thinking I had wasted a double ten-spot. But, one has to merely play once to realize what a mis-perception all that was. Due to being forced to play one card; the cards being linked to a color of a particular race team's cars; and the likelihood that a car which overtakes another will be drafted; THIS GAME IS AMAZING! I was playing with two partners and the games were taking only 10 minutes per race. Saving killer game cards till the end is the norm, but if you wait too long not even the best cards will help you. Another great cross-over game that will appeal to your non-gaming friends. If you are even passingly interested in racing, this game has winner's circle appeal.

Abduction (Eden Studios): Here is another card game, with a minor setback, that will reward you with awesome play and staying power. The first, and only, problem when you shell out $10 and open the card box, is the ultra-thin, cheaper than cheap-ass cardstock that comes in the game. Do yourself two big favors: put them in plastic card sleeves, and get over it. Now comes the rewards!

You and your "friends" are captured and held in the middle of an alien spacecraft. Unfortunately, the first one out will trigger the alarm system and doom the others! Better them, than you!!! The mechanics of the game are through the play of a dealt hand. You will see rooms of the starship, alien patrols, weapons, and event cards that you can use to advance your escape and thwart the others. Failure to evade the aliens puts you back in the Holding Cell. But!, if you are lucky, canny and ruthless enough to survive, you can build your way out of the spacecraft and to freedom.

The Ashes of Empire (UG Game Design): So, when is a card game not really a card game? When you base space colonization and conquest on an established German E-Game. The components are a deck of beautifully colored, regular sized cards in a clear plastic storage box. The rules can be read in just a few minutes and are not overly complicated at all. The play is immeasurably satisfying....

Space exploration and combat is abstract, in that you use dice to represent 1-6 spacecraft (I've found that buying 18 tiny 5mm dice in a separate color for each player does nicely). The genius is in the card setup: as I mentioned, the game is based on the e-mail German version. The cards in the game represent star systems. Any system may be accessed from any other system, but this takes time. In the card game this equates to four bands of coded movement. The numbers in each band tell you if you can immediately move to a system or if it will take you 1, 2, or 3 additional turns. Certain systems are more, or less accessible and can form strategic choke points or backwaters.

The length of the game is dependent on development (exploration is done with cards in hand) and the aggressiveness of your players. A game could be over in an hour or two, or go all night. This really is my style of game. I like being able to conquer the universe in one night and take it home in my back pocket.