That said, I definitely agree that the multiplayer aspects of a lot of video games really have taken that place. I can’t comment on shooters, because I tend not to play online, but fighters and other local multiplayer games really help take that place for me (and of course, sometimes we play multiplayer pinball sims). The most obvious one for me is Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes. It’s a competitive puzzle game, and I’ve never found anything that rewards skill in multiplayer quite so well (accepting that again, I can’t comment on things like CoD or Battlefield). Fighting games always frustrated me, because I’d learn all the combos, figure out the super moves, perfect the characters… and then get stomped by someone just spamming one move over and over again. Clash of Heroes though, there’s no button mashing tactic there. You figure out the patterns, you learn the tricks, and if you’re the better player, you dominate. The only thing luck has to do with it is where your units will land when you call for reinforcements, and the game seems to be programmed to NOT give you what you need most of the time. So it all comes down to skill. So that’s my go to game for a quick bit of multiplayer fun when I have friends over.