I grew up playing a wide variety of the standard board games with my family, including Monopoly, Sorry!, Parcheesi, chess (which I tried to teach my 90 year old grandma when I was six), Mancala, checkers, etc. The family always took a stack of games on our yearly beach cabin vacation; the week invariably included the long game of chess with my dad and the "Pente championship of the world" with my brother.
My two brothers and I set up long-term games of Risk in the basement for days at a time when we were 10, 8 and 6. A couple years later we discovered Axis & Allies, which became our New Years Eve tradition while the ladies watched Little Women and cried. When I was in my mid teens, a friend from church introduced me to the Euro-style games including the then-new Settlers of Catan.
I became the "game buyer" here at Exodus a little over a year ago, and have since become heavily addicted to board games. I consider it my sacred duty to buy and play as many of the games we carry as possible (which has led to a bulging game closet at home). My wife and I play a lot of board games together, and we find them a delightful way to relax (most games at least) and spend time together after a good day's work.
I enjoy almost any game if I'm playing with good people who are also enjoying it. I've always reveled in the long war games (Axis & Allies, Risk 2210, Merchants & Marauders) with my brothers and guy friends, but a game of Taboo with a larger group of people you don't even know can be just as satisfying. My wife and I have been hosting game nights at Exodus for several months now, so I've been really enjoying games with an easier learning curve, including Ticket to Ride, 7 Wonders, Alhambra, Oregon, Dominion, Imaginiff, and Settlers of Catan. But what I enjoy most is sitting down with my wife, a glass of something, and maybe one or two other game enthusiasts, and playing a meatier game like Agricola, Puerto Rico, Pillars of the Earth, or Wars of the Roses.