Disney Sorry
Disney
2001

This was a gift to my sister and I from our godparents; it’s the only version we’ve ever owned. One of my favorite things is that this version allows players to compete as a team of Disney characters, the heroes, villains, princesses and animals, and. It made the game more enjoyable to imagine myself playing as Snow White, Hercules or Captain Hook and it made our family more invested in it. My favorite team to play with was usually yellow, the Disney princesses, or green, the animals.

When you draw a 3, 5, 8 or 12 in your color your team gains a special ability. This can be drawing extra cards, moving extra spaces or moving directly home. These made the game immensely more enjoyable than the original Sorry and I think they’re a big part of the reason we played this as often as we did. The box for ours has been a bit crushed. One of the corners has been caving in and one of the long sides is barely attached anymore.

The Settlers of Catan
Klaus Teuber
1995

Catan is the game that first introduced me to boards games beyond the world of Monopoly. I had seen it on an episode of Wiil Wheaton’s Tabletop and begged my parents to get it for me for Christmas. Every December my Boy Scout Troop would spend a few days in a cabin and play board games. I loved the idea and went every year but was often excluded from many of the games, especially the more popular ones like Catan and Risk. When I finally got Catan for Christmas I think we played it exactly twice. At some point I bought the 5-6 player expansion because It was one of the only games we owned back then. In the 11 years I’ve had the expansion we have used it zero times, not once. It’s been so long since I’ve played Catan I’ve actually developed a desire to play it again. Maybe one day…

RISK
Hasbro
1957

Every December my Boy Scout Troop would spend several days camping in a cabin and playing board games. RISK was always the game played at the big wooden table in the middle of the cabin. I only ever got to play once or twice but I thought it was one of the coolest things ever. The last time I played was with a friend before he moved away in middle school. It was just the two of us playing against each other in his basement, I conquered Australia and won the game easily. Him and I also also used to spend many hours playing PlayStation 2 games together, one of the best being Sonic Riders. I remember the art style being amazing and the levels were so different then anything I had ever seen.

Mickey Mouse Monopoly 75th Anniversary
USAopoly
2004

In Mickey Mouse Monopoly you can purchase properties inspired by Building a Building, Orphan’s Benefit or Steamboat Willie; Disney’s classic cartoons from the early 1900s. It always reminded me of the good parts of the past, without wars and such. My family enjoyed the metal player markers based on Mickey characters. The Chance cards often mention events like recitals or charity drives, things that feel old even if they’re still around. It was nostalgic for my parents, but also for us as kids, a testament to the influence the company has had over the years.