And the winner of best cricket game is …

I’ve noticed that Tom has asked the age old question on a few sites recently, and that is: what is the Best Cricket Board game? It’s a tough one as the standard of games varies enormously, and typically most cricket games of the past 20-30 years seemed to appear on the market for only a year or so and then vanish.

For the collector this means there is an abundance of choice on eBay, but it does make things tricky for the newbie.

The only games that seem to still be published apart computer games are the very basic Test Match style game, which includes little figures, metal balls, and so on. Fun and tactile if you’re a kid, but hardly gripping or realistic.

So, for a start to help Tom and anyone else with a similar question, here’s my personal top 5 list right now (it’ll change of course, over time. Cricket. It’s a funny old game).

1. Stumpz – because it’s has the most lovely, well made playing pieces of all cricket board games. Its rules are solid and predictable. It allows field placement. And, best of all, your bowler can  select line, length and type of ball, your batsman can then select shot to play, and there is a great “the umpire” to make decisions (okay, it’s a spinning top with the words “Out” and “Not Out” on it, but it’s fun to spin! While Stumpz is not a true replay game it has so much going for it you’ll forgive it for that. It is similar to Wicketz (see below) but predates it by a good 3-4 decades. I’ll post a full review sometime, but this is a really top notch game and worth picking up on eBay if you can (esp. the Deluxe version).
2. International Cricket – the most detailed of all cricket games and a true replay game. Player cards can still be purchased each year from Owzat and every nuance of cricket bar one has been worked out in the most incredible detail – pitch condition, weather, batting aggression, influence of the captain, etc. The missing element is, of course, fielding. It is abstracted out (see my review for more detail). All in all International Cricket is the best true reflection of cricket in paper and dice form published to date. Its biggest down side is it can become a bit of a dice rolling fest and as a result, wearisome for some (and, conversely, a delight for others).
3. Wicketz – I’ve included this mainly because you can still buy it easily on eBay and it is a direct descendant in terms of style, playing pieces, and so on to Stumpz. Best of all Nigel Collier has worked out some really detailed Advanced Rules (find them here on our sister site or download them by clicking here) that makes the original game far better.
4. Max Walker’s Cricket Game – a classic from the 80s. Lots of teams rated, super easy and fast to play, and there are quite a few new teams rated by fans of the game. You can also find a formula by visiting our sister site to make your own teams. There is no fielding, no board and no 3D plastic players … it’s all cards, but really nice anyway. Read more detail here.
5. Capri Knock Out Cricket – I’ve chosen to include this one simply because it is a good game to help learn the rules of cricket, and demonstrates why you would bowl certain bowlers, what choices the batsman has when you do and where and why you would place fielders at certain positions to match the above. It sticks to the fundamentals of the game of cricket well, and if you are a novice that is quite useful. It’s also tactile, with a nice board, okayish quality 3D plastic players, and a nice set of cards. The downside is, it only plays as a two player game. It’s also HUGE in terms of size as it comes from the 70s when a game box was a GAME box. If you buy it you’ll know what I mean. You can typically pick this up on eBay for £5 to £15, so be wary when someone tries to sell it for more!