Board, card and table top games are enjoying a revival.

Saying that you enjoy Magic: The Gathering or Dungeons and Dragons used to put you squarely in the losers camp. But whether it’s the rise of Geek culture or the dismissal of social ‘labeling’, it’s now officially hip to be square. The internet show TableTop, hosted by Wil Wheaton, is one series helping to bring this style of gaming more into the mainstream.

With it being International Table Top Day, it seems like the perfect time for Grizzly Bomb to get our gaming freak on. So let’s go over some of our favorite games, starting with Sopio.

Sopio is a card game created by Alex Day and Danny Hooper, launched in March of 2011 and promoted through YouTube and social media. Since that launch Sopio has grown from a single deck to 7 decks, 8 boosters, wristbands and much more. Each deck has a unique focus in its playing style.

It only takes one deck to play Sopio with others.

The game starts out simple, but can get quite heated depending on how many people you’ve got and which game pack you use. Packs are all themed and some have more ways to screw over your opponent than others. The artwork on the cards also adds a huge element of fun to the gaming experience, with puns galore and basic-yet-charming stick drawings that add even more of a buzz when you play.

Sopio’s simple ruleset is one of its biggest assets. The goal of the game is reach 1,000 points. How you get there is up to you, and this is where the fun comes in. Sure you can play some high points cards on yourself early on, but that points total can be knocked down pretty quick by your opponent. You can be a real evil person and slam them hard with minus points, but then you’ll need to get your own total up to. For a game that seems quite pleasant and cheerful, it really can make you mean-spirited.

The action cards are where you can really stick it to your opponent though and that’s when the game really sucks you in. Learn from my mistake and never go easy on anyone. I held back while playing with my wife once, and she did not play the same game when it was her turn. Easy to play, but highly entertaining.

Decks, boosters and tons more merchandise (like T-Shirts, posters, etc.) can be found at the game’s official website.

You can even get an app for Sopio so you can play on your Apple devices.

And here ends this edition of Table Top Bonanza. Hopefully this will give novice gamers a look into a booming industry, while maybe more experienced players out there have found something new. Keep checking Grizzly Bomb for more round ups of popular board and card games as they come and be sure to check out our International Table Top Day coverage with the review of Love Letter and some weird and wacky board games variations.

Images: Sopio, aniva26.