I really want the expansion(s) to Dominion. I have the basic version right now and my friends like it a lot, but we've gotten to the point where we've played and replayed all the cards (even the broken ones). Villages are annoying >:(
Roborally is great fun, but Puerto Rico is just fantastically spectacular. Probably my favorite board game. Get your friends to play it!
I think it's worth mentioning Catan and Carcasonne because they're borderline specialty. Catan I like (Puerto Rico is better by a mile IMO), but Carcasonne is too random without enough of a theme for me to enjoy.
Intrigue is definitely worth it. It provides some much needed cards to balance out the immense power of chapel decks or gardens strategy. Keep in mind, though, that most cards in Intrigue are very action-heavy. If you find Villages annoying, wait 'till you see some of the +2 action/+2 cards options in the expansion (and I wholeheartedly agree on villages; sitting through a 3-minute, 24-action turn that ends up producing the same I did in three cards is REALLY annoying). Sure, some of them are conditional (+cards only works under certain circumstances, for example the Shanty Town), but unless you include Attack cards, base+intrigue is going to be very +action oriented.
When you use the attack cards and use random generated sets (to prevent handpicking of the 'convenient' spam cards), though, the expansion really spices the game up.
I don't have much experience with the other expansions, but from what I've read Seaside revolves around planning ahead (new 'duration' cards that are active for multiple turns, certain cards that increase the price of other cards, filtering deck pollution, etc) while Alchemy is a game of resources. Turning money into actions, actions into VP's and vice versa. Not too sure about the actual contents of that set, though.
I agree Carcassonne is a typical European boardgame in the way you describe. I could put some photoshop work in and produce a dinosaur-themed version and the gameplay would not seem out of place. Or a ninja-themed one. Or one about power grids or the stock market or pressing orange juice.
Doesn't change the fact that the gameplay is pretty solid though.
We play with a house rule where every player has a closed hand of three tiles that they can pick from instead of the regular 'draw a tile, place that tile' mechanic. It significantly cuts down on bad draws crippling your play. If you know your next three tiles will have at least three roads, you can plan ahead for that.
Some of the expansions also really add to the game, just like Catan. I find the Catan base game a bit bland, but with the Knights expansion stuff gets more interesting. You don't just lose because someone's managed to (intentionally?) block your progress or because you get bad die rolls.
It's not just extra stuff, but extra mechanics and extra depth for the game that really help flesh it out.
I'll try Puerto Rico as soon as possible. Hopefully tonight when one of my roomies comes back, but then again, I also just obtained an SC2 beta key for him, so chances are slim
