We played Brass Birmingham recently. It's very good, though at the time I got a little annoyed that the rules changed when it goes from the canal age to the train age. In hindsight that's kind of the point, it's a very well-designed game and I look forward to playing it again.
On the topic of well-designed games, we've been playing
Heat lately. On the face of it, it's very simple: drive your car round the track, slowing down for the bends. Brake or change gear too hard, you overheat and have to slow down. Weather means you need to change tactics, and not being in front can help if you time it right. All in all, very clever and great to play.
At the other end of the scale,
Skull is a kind of poker with beer mats. Apparently invented by some bikers sitting at a table with a bunch of actual beer mats. £20 seems like a lot to pay for a small box of beer mats, but the game is excellent.
