Checkers

If Checkers isn't the king of the 'Greatest Classic Board Games of All Time', then I don't know what is. It's like every family reunion has that one game that ends up with flipped boards and silent car rides home. This game is deceivingly simple yet diabolically complex. You start off all casual, and ten minutes later, you're in a strategic Cold War with your eight-year-old nephew. And don't get me started on the 'king me'—more like 'crown the master of the universe.' No one just 'plays' Checkers; they survive it.