When the Bromley brothers founded Mayfair Games back in 1981, it’s unlikely they could’ve envisioned what their burgeoning company might look like in 2017. But, the list of games that have been a part of that history is vast and impressive.

“Evergreen” games are those that stand the test of time — that continue to remain successful, relevant, and readily played many years, even decades, after their initial release. Let’s take a look at some of the classic, timeless games that Mayfair continues to publish.

Empire Builder was Mayfair’s very first ‘smash hit’, and 35 years later is ever-present in Mayfair’s stable of games. It was the very first “crayon rails” game, where players actually use crayons to draw their track on a board (in this case, a map of the USA, southern Canada, and northern Mexico). The heart of the game is simple: pick up goods and transport them by train to a city you have a contract with in order to earn money (and to build more track). Many other Empire Builder games exist, but they all have their roots in this classic Darwin Bromley and Bill Fawcett game.

One of those Empire Builder spinoffs is Iron Dragon, designed by Darwin Bromley and Tom Wham. Originally released in 1994, a revised edition of the game was released this year (2017) with brand-new, steampunk fantasy art and a revised rulebook and materials. Like all of the games in the Empire Builder series, players are picking up goods and delivering them for profit. However, in Iron Dragon, players now control foreman, who grant advantages in certain terrains or areas on the board. Trains may also be loaded onto ships for deliveries to be ported across the ocean. And, an underground region (preferred by orcs and trolls) gives a multi-dimensional aspect to the game (and is also the only place in the lands of Darwinina where you can obtain ale!).

Mayfair Games has always considered itself one of the premier train-theme game publishers, and Steam is the most recent successes. Designed by Martin Wallace, Steam is simple at its core: goods (represented by cubes) in a city need to be delivered to another city whose color matches the color of the goods. Each turn, players choose an advantage tile, build track, and move cubes to a delivery city, scoring points for the number of cities and towns their goods pass through along the way. The original game features a double-sided map, and each of the five expansions introduce new rules and different maps and destinations.

Family Business is another game celebrating its 35th anniversary with Mayfair Games. Another Bromley design (this time David B. Bromley), players are competing to be the last gangster standing in a bloody game of contracts and mob wars. Each player starts with a group of nine gangsters, but that doesn’t last long — each turn, players play cards that place other gangsters “up against the wall” or added to the ‘Hit List’. When six or more gangsters are on the list, a mob war begins, eliminating a mobster each turn until the list is rubbed out. Players can rearrange mobsters on the list, save their own, or even speed up the rate at which gangsters are removed from the game. At the end, only one player is left to claim victory!

A comparative youngster in comparison, Alibi is still a long-standing member of the Mayfair Games family, going on 20 years. One of the original “whodunit” games, Alibi asks players to solve a murder mystery by grilling other players about the information they know. At the beginning of each game, one suspect, weapon, place, and motive card are set aside (representing the details of the murder), with the remaining cards distributed to other players. On their turn, players ask each other questions about the cards or information they might happen to know, so long as the question can be answered with a ‘number’ (ex: “How many night cards have you seen?”). At the end of each round, players pass cards clockwise — only one card on round one, two on round two, and so on. At some point, a player may choose to become the first accuser, triggering the end of the game. Now, players must use the information they have gleaned to determine which four cards were set aside at the beginning of the game.

Mayfair ‘s life changed dramatically with the release of The Settlers of Catan in 1996, but that didn’t stop Mayfair from finding and publishing other games of their own and partnering with other companies to publish interesting and unique games. The Downfall of Pompeii, by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede, was originally published by AMIGO in Germany, but soon found its way under the Mayfair umbrella. The Downfall of Pompeii features two parts: during the first half, you are moving your family and friends into the lovely seaside resort of Pompeii. During the second half, you are trying to flee from the city as Vesuvius erupts, desperate to avoid having your people consumed by the raging volcano (featured prominently on the board). The gameplay is quite simple (play a card, or reveal a lava tile and then flee). The topic may seem a bit dark, but the game experience has been charming audiences for over a decade!

Another long-standing game with a quirky theme is Nuns on the Run. Designed by Fréderic Moyersoen, the theme of Nuns on the Run involves a set of novice nuns sneaking around a convent at night, and the night guard that is trying to find them! One player takes on the roles of the Prioress and Abbess, who hope to capture novices out of their room, while the opposing players try to sneak out, obtain a key for a room in the convent where their secret goal hides, and then get back to their room unseen. Player movement is hidden by recording it onto a record sheet, but each turn there are two opportunities for the novices to make noise and be heard, sending the night guard off their routine route to corral the wayward nuns!

In Lords of Vegas, another modern classic by James Ernest and Mike Selinker, players turn their Las Vegas parking lots into prosperous casinos, aggressively working to block, or even take over, other players’ venues. Money is critical to getting things done in Vegas, but only control of casinos will earn you the points necessary to win the game. Lords of Vegas (and the Up! expansion) give you the thrills of Vegas at a much more affordable price.

These games, and many more, have been successes for Mayfair for many years. If you haven’t experienced these modern-day classics, discover them at your FLGS today!