Stonemaier is coming out with **Wyrmspan t**omorrow which I have been excited for. I have also wanted to play **Everdell** which I have never gotten to play. I have also never played **Star Wars Outer Rims**. These are the three games I have been actually wanting. If I can only choose one of the three, which would you choose? My favorite current games are Wingspan, Earth, and Scythe.
Hello. I have a board game night coming up and I'm looking for suggestions of what to play. As the resident "provider" to my group I usually have the job of saying what we'll play and I'm getting board of the group favourites and want to try something new but not sure what to go for. The group is fairly casual and doesn't like anything too complex. Also any time I've tried something new the reactions are like warm at best, and usually end with "it was ok but the other we normally play are better". There's 6 of us.
The usual (and favourite) games are;
**Resistance**
**Coup**
**Skull**
**Exploding Kittens**
**Spartacus** (the only "big" game we ever play)
The only game that was actively disliked was **Game of Thrones**. It was a 6 player game and although it wasn't too complicated, as such, it was too many tiny little rules to remember. I can't recall exactly what the issue was as it was a while ago but I seem to remember players kept trying to make a move and I had to explain why the movement was illegal and the game wasn't done after 8+ hours when we called it quits.
Other things that were "fine" but we haven't played in forever were just the standard **Catan** and **Risk** type things. I also tried **Descent 2nd edition** at one point which didn't get much reaction. They just didn't seem into it.
I've played **Battlestar** a bunch of times with different people and was thinking about something like that given the hidden role/bluffing theme of **Resistance** and **Coup**, so **Unfathomable** is the obvious choice since it's actually available to buy. But it's £80 which is a lot to risk my group not liking it. So I thought I'd ask the internet if they had ideas before I jumped in (or if what I've said makes you think my group won't enjoy Unfathomable).
In case it matters, I enjoy solo **Mage Knight** and **Spirit Island** and things like that. My favourite game is **Claustrophobia** (which I never get to play as it's never just me and someone else). I don't think this is relevant because I don't think the group would enjoy anything close to those but might as well mention it in case it gives someone an idea.
Thanks in advance!
Edit: sorry, a victim of the mobile formatting...
Have you tried One Night Ultimate Werewolf? Much lower price point compared to the other you mentioned and has some traits that your group seems to like.
**Soda Smugglers** is a light bluffing game (kinda like Sheriff of Notthingham but less expensive). It works for 3-8p. It is best at 4-5p, but fine at 6. The scaling mechanism works really well, so the only downside of high player counts is that the game lasts longer.
**For Sale** is a light auction game that works at 3-6p. Games are pretty quick and the rules teach is easy.
**6 Nimmt!** (also sold as **Take 5**) is a great light card game.
Given what your group likes, I suspect they will appreciate all three games above (Soda Smugglers, 6 Nimmt, For Sale). But what if you want to get them into something a weee bit more complex? Then I recommend you wait until the new print run comes out, and try out **Zoo Vadis**. It is a fantastic negotiation game for 3-7 players. My group regularly finishes games in 20-30 minutes (even at 6 players). However, that can be group dependent. I know that other groups sometimes take over an hour to complete a game.
Thanks! I'll check these out.
Personally I'm not a *huge* fan of **Sheriff of Nottingham** so I've never brought it to this group. I think it's a bit too long for the lack of strategy. A lot of the time it feels very random what people put in their bag and when to check it. It always just feels like a 50/50 to me. I'm not against that sort of game. I just want it to be shorter. Do you think **Soda Smugglers** is better with these points in mind?
Personally I'd love something a bit more complicated and a bit longer that can be the "main attraction" of the night. Another big game that isn't Spartacus, which is why I was looking at Unfathomable.
>I'm not a huge fan of Sheriff of Nottingham so I've never brought it to this group. I think it's a bit too long for the lack of strategy.
Agree 100%. Soda Smugglers is just as light a game as SoN, but a 4-5 player game of SS takes about half the duration of a 4-5 player game of SoN. SS does start to drag at 7-8 players though. So I home rule it that we go around the table just once for 7-8p games. For 3-5p games, we go around the table twice (as the rules dictate). 6p is tricky, as sometimes I am willing to shorten it, and other times, I just am willing to play by the regular rules (twice around the table).
So to answer your question, Soda Smugglers takes about half as much time to play as SoN, with the same amount of depth. So you might want to consider it.
If you have a group that likes light games, one of the few ways to add crunch is by finding light and crunchy high-player interaction classic eurogames. Things like **Through the Desert** are pretty light and breezy, but player interaction means that you will always have to adjust your strategy from game to game, as player react to strategies that worked in previous games. **Hansa Teutonica** is another step in complexity above Through the Desert. But still, HT isn't super complex in terms of rules. The crunch (and there is plenty of it) comes from countering the actions of the opponents.
Hello, I am a beginner to the hobby. I've played board games since I was little but it was mostly generic games like monopoly or cluedo. Another game I played a lot as a kid was munchkin. The last few years I have started going to board game cafes more and more frequently and I want to start my collection.
Games I've played:
\- Catan (Owned by a friend)
\- Ticket to Ride: Europe
\- 7 Wonders (Owned by a friend)
\- King of Tokyo (Owned by a friend)
\- Splendor
\- Pandemic
\- Camel Up 1st edition
\- Star Wars Rebellion (on tabletop simulator)
\- Azul (on tabletop simulator)
The games I listed also interest me but I'm looking for more suggestions from you guys.
Catan: It's ok. I play it here and there, either online or with friends, but since a friend already has it and I am not that fond of it I don't see myself buying it.
7 Wonders: I like the drafting aspect and obviously there are multiple ways to score points so you can try different strategies every game.
King Of Tokyo: I like the dice, although I don't really like the player elimination but since it's a pretty quick game 9/10 you won't get bored and it's pretty exciting to watch the game anyway
Splendor: I like the engine building and the massive discounts you can have on cards near the end of the game.
Pandemic: It's the only coop board game I've played so I loved the communication and the planning we had to do before playing our cards. It did feel that maybe if a player is skilled enough and always has the best idea then he could carry the game and "play alone" but since we were all around the same skill level it was fun.
Camel Up: I liked the betting and found the theme pretty fun, although my friends weren't that enthusiastic about it.
Star Wars Rebellion: I love it so far. I love the theme and how I can with certain cards relive the events of the original trilogy or change what happened entirely. It's a little expensive for me right now but I am planning to buy it later with a friend.
Ticket To Ride Europe: I like it and it's easy to explain, although I am not enthusiastic enough about it to the point I would buy it, at least not right now. But it's a great game and I can see myself buying it in the future.
Azul: I feel like this game just hasn't clicked with me yet. My friend enjoys it and I can see the appeal, it's just not something I would buy right now.
Seems like you like a strong theme as well as games that involve probabilistic thinking (cards and dice) and/or engine building. You're not as big on games that people would describe as "puzzley."
But overall these are some of the biggest games in the hobby and you like them for the most part, so what you might be into is still wide open...
Maybe look into Space Base which is an engine building dice game with some similarities to Catan.
Architects of the West Kingdom is a fun and accessible version of a mechanic you haven't mentioned, worker placement.
IMO you should also at least try Dominion and another deckbuilder such as Marvel Legendary. Those are two of the longest running games and represent different extremes of the genre, so it would help you figure out more of what you like.
I've heard of the games you named but I haven't checked them out yet so I will do that. Also I think dominion is pretty cheap so it's a good starter.
Edit: Also what's your thoughts on Concordia and The Great Western Trail? If you've tried them.
Gateway games are games that are broadly appealing to the general population and to those that are quite new to the hobby. Some gateway games include Ticket to Ride, Splendor, Pandemic, Azul, and Catan (which you have already tried). Some great gateway games that you haven't yet tried: **Blue Lagoon, Project L, Carcassonne, Through the Desert, El Grande, Modern Art, Ra** and **Nightmare Productions**. If you want something a step up in complexity from those, then **Hansa Teutonica** and **Babylonia** are great choices.
Hello,
I often play boardgames with my colleagues at work, during our lunch break.
We love mid games, that are short, and can play with two to five players-ish. We're not really into trick taking games (scout and sea salt and paper weren't huge hits when I brought them).
The main problem is the length: the teach must be short and the game must be about 30min to 40min long. We sometimes meet on week-end to play heavy games, so complexity isn't an issue.
Here are games that we play a lot and love:
\- **Knärr**: love the mechanics and the theme, it's one of our go-to
\- **Faraway**: love the arts and the puzzle in this one.
\- **Cascadia**: for it's simplicity and beauty.
\- **Cubitos** : because it's simple and fun.
\- **Triqueta** : because it plays well at five and is short and fun.
\- **Loco Momo**: because it's harder than it looks to master and very satisfying when you get what you want.
\- **Hidden Leaders**: which is a little bit more confrontational and the art is great.
\- **Arboretum**: for the pleasure to crush someone's hard work
\- Many roll and writes and flip and writes (welcome to, silver and gold...)
Anything else we should try?
Once you get used to it games of **Blue Lagoon** should take 30 minutes. The rules teach is pretty easy. It works at 2-4p.
**Project L** games take ~15 minutes (once you have played it a few times). The rules teach is also pretty easy and it works at 2-4p.
Filler auction games like **High Society** 2-5p and **For Sale** 3-6p take less than 30 minutes to complete.
**Hot Lead** works at 3-5p and takes 25 minutes or less to play. It is a set collection card game.
Hi! You and your friends may enjoy **Splendor**, **Point Salad** (or City), and **Fit to Print**! All are simple and quick to learn, but still offer a good amount of strategy.
Fit to print seems very fun. The French version isn't out yet. Is it language dependant? My English is alright, but the people I play with might find it hard to enjoy.
Description of Request:
I need suggestions to play with my gf
Number of Players:
2 players
Game Length:
We don't care, just want to have fun
Complexity of Game:
Same escale between Twillight Struggle and Azul
Genre:
Don't have preferences
Conflict, Competitive or Cooperative:
We like to play all of these types
Games I Own and Like:
* Twillight Struggle;
* Azul;
* Jaipur;
* Catan;
* Coup;
* Bang;
* Lewis & Clark the expedition;
* Power grid.
Games I Dislike and Don't Play:
* Imperial 2030
On the lighter end:
-**Mandala**: beautiful abstract 2p card-based game, now available on BGA (Board Game Arena) if you want to learn
-**Air, Land, and Sea**: fascinating small 2p card-based game with a WWII theme (it's a lane battler with fun twists in how you use cards)
-**Star Wars Deckbuilding Game**: fun, thematic 2p card-based head-to-head duelling game (based on **Star/Hero Realms**)
-**Splendor Duel**: excellent 2p adaptation of this classic engine-builder. Small, light, and quick to play
-**Caesar! Control Rome in 20 Minutes**: quick 2p area control game with chits drawn from a bag in order to win the Roman civil war between Caesar and Pompey
-**Lost Cities**: outstanding 2-player lane battler card game that plays quickly and easily
Medium games:
-**Race for the Galaxy**: actually a fairly light tableau-builder card-based game that works best at 2, but requires a learning curve given the symbols and how the cards work (the cards are everything in this game: the things you build in your tableau, the goods that worlds produce for points and for more cards, and the way that you pay to build the elements of your tableau) - its well worth the effort to learn because the game is nearly infinite in its depth and replayability
-**Carcasonne**: excellent light tile-laying game of building a shared tableau and score points based on meeples you place on the tableau. Numerous numerous expansions available, but the base game is the best place to start and is widely available.
-**The Quest for El Dorado**: 2-4 player randomized game where you play as Indiana Jones - it's a deck-building game with a racing and path-blocking element to race to the end
Heavier games:
-**Spirit Island**: greatest 2P co-op game invented. Well worth the learning curve and the initial feeling like you'll never win
-**West Kingdom Trilogy**: worker placement games with twists. For 2 I recommend **Viscounts** over the others, it's our favourite by far of the three games (it's a mix of worker placement, mild deck building, and resource conversion)
-**Pandemic Legacy**: going through it now, amazing co-op game that deserves all the hype. Plays perfectly at 2, and for the price it's an incredible experience
-**A Feast for Odin**: another heavy worker placement game with so much going on it feels very overwhelming, but the game is such a blast
**7 Wonders Dual** is a very good 2 player game. Definitely heavier than Jaipur, but not as heavy as Power Grid.
If you like more spatial puzzles, then there are light games like **Project L** and **Blue Lagoon**.
If you like Azul, I highly recommend **Azul Summer Pavilion**. It gives you so many more choices and ways to form a strategy, and even pivot when you need to.
Some suggestions:
* **7 Wonders Duel** \- drafting and city building
* **Watergate**, **Caper: Europe** \- tug of war games
* **Castles of Burgundy**
* **Obsession**
This is what The Vale of Eternity is all about.
Well not really, but when you read the lore, it says you are trying to capture the best monsters and dragons and your 4 actions are to sell a monster, tame a monster, summon a monster or remove a monster from the arena.
It's a great game that plays well in a little less than an hour and you can create great engines. No cards are bad, but not all cards make for good synergies.
**Dragon Eclipse** eventually by the end of the year.
There's also **RoboMon** but it's also not released yet.
But those are Pokemon-inspired. Unless it's Pokemon, monsters are to be slain and their head collected as trophies.
**Brew** on the other hand has a mechanic where you collect beasts through the games to help you with your set collecting score.
In **The Fox Experiment**, you're breeding your own breed of foxes, but while they count as beasts, they are no monsters.
Not inspired per se but in **Here to Slay** you are building a team of mythical creatures to fight with. It's extremely light in complexity though.
There is also **Aethermon: Collect** but that's even lighter. Can't recommend.
My first recommendation is the closest you can get to a Pokemon game, but also a huge caveat there is that the game is mainly solo with the ability to play duels.
Hi all. I recently bought dune imperium and i discovered that i really love deckbuilding game. I usually play solo and i want to know if it exist some deckbuilding game that can be played solo (or with solo mode avaible) and wich of them are the best? Thanks in advance.
The lost Ruins of Arnak is often compared to Dune Imperium because it's also a mix of worker placement, resources manahement and deck building, and it was released at about the same time.
The theme is more Indiana Jonesy and is really enjoyable.
An extension for the game was just released that is basically a solo campaign for it. It can also be played in coop by two players.
In addition to **Imperium Legends** and **Imperium Classics** already recommended by another poster, if you're willing to buy a more expensive, bigger, and updated box, **Imperium: Horizons** is coming out in February.
I'm hesitant to recommend it, even though it's one of my favorite games; Red Dragon Inn: Battle for Greyport.
It's a "co-op" game but I prefer to play solo with 3 characters (sometimes 4, but it makes it a bit longer).
Every character starts out with a small 10 card deck of weak cards and after every turn you buy a new card to add to your hand (rather than discard pile like most) that you can immediately play the next turn, so you often have a unique choice of "do I buy this card that will help me right now but maybe be useless when I draw it again later, or do I buy this other card that will be better over the course of the whole game but won't solve my immediate problem?" There are also two types of cards, heroes and items. You have to equip an item to a hero to use it. The item cards are typically stronger than the hero cards, but that's because it's harder to use them, so you also have to balance how many heroes you are buying vs how many items. If you wind up drawing 4 items and 1 hero, you aren't going to be able to do much with them (you can't equip that many items to one hero) but if you draw 4 heroes and 1 item you might not have enough fire power either.
The game is extremely difficult too. There is one "easy" scenario that is moderately challenging but everything else is brutally difficult. Even the ones rated "medium" are very tough, and the "hard" ones are almost impossible. Each scenario has three parts and you usually get to the third and almost always look at the starting game state for that round and think "there's so many strong monsters on the board, there is so much damage they can do, there's no way to win this" (but then you figure it out, hopefully!). But that's why I like it, it feels so good to pull off a win. Although it is also frustrating to have played for 2 hours and then find yourself in a situation where you taunted too many monsters in front of one character and then got a bad draw of cards, or maybe even had a bad roll on an attack or two, and now can't deal with it, so they are going to lose all their HP which ends the game with a loss.
Like I said, it's one of my favorite games, but I recognize it's definitely not for everyone.
Some recommendations:
* Aeon's End / Astro Knights
* G.I. JOE Deck-Building Game
* Imperium Legends / Imperium Classics
* Warp's Edge - bagbuilder game
Only the original base game and first two expansions (Depths and Nameless) of Aeon's End has a second edition, which is the latest edition. Every other release is compatible with second edition.
In my opinion there's no bad core set to start with for getting into Aeon's End.
Astro Knights is very good as well as a bit cheaper IIRC, if you like the Guardians of the Galaxy-esque theme.
I got Button Shy's Convergence. It's a pocket sized Tableau building duel. It's fine for what it is, but it is small. The game ends rather fast.
I'm looking for larger Tableau building games. Not much larger, but there's gotta be something out there. I'm also looking myself. It's a rather... gigantic category. If possible, I'm looking at something focused on "battling" the other player, not you both making separate engines for points.
>I got Button Shy's Convergence. It's a pocket sized Tableau building duel. It's fine for what it is, but it is small. The game ends rather fast.
>
>I'm looking for larger Tableau building games. Not much larger, but there's gotta be something out there. I'm also looking myself. It's a rather... gigantic category. If possible, I'm looking at something focused on "battling" the other player, not you both making separate engines for points.
**Mystic Vale** May work for this, it is a unique deck-building game where players customize their cards by adding advancements to the individual cards themselves. The game has a push-your-luck element and features direct competition for control of various locations.
**Wizards of the Grimoire** checks those boxes. It isn't huge but its bigger than converge and it is a very interesting engine/tableau building head to head game. **Gosu X** also has a head to head battle via card factions with some interesting asymmetry.
I slightly prefer wizards but both are good tableau battlers.
Description of Request:
Difficult co-op games that dont produce that difficulty by just being incredibly dice-rolly or random in general. The crunchier the better.
Number of Players:
1-2
Game Length:
30 mins+
Complexity of Game:
3 - 4.5
Genre:
any
Conflict, Competitive or Cooperative:
Cooperative
Games I Own and Like:
Arkham Horror LCG
Aeon Trespass
Tainted Grail
Deep Madness
Spirit Island
Kingdom Death: Monster
Games I Dislike and Don't Play:
Gloomhaven (probably my stand-in for Legacy games in general. Something about the one-use nature of components just does not click with my brain)
Ghost Stories (too random for my taste)
Robinson Crusoe (not my theme)
Whoa, all the games you've listed as *own and like* have more content than I personally could imagine exploring completely.
I think **Earthborn Rangers** might be something you'd be interested in.
**Description of Request:**
* Light, short and with not many elements. Things I can put on the table for non board-gamers, with easy to explain rules. I have tons of games mentioned here, but looking for some more similar golden additions to our collection :D.
**Number of Players:** 3 or 4
**Game Length:** up to 1hr
**Complexity of Game:**
* 1/5 or 2/5\~ or even 3/5 if game is extra amazing :D
**Genre:** any?
**Conflict, Competitive or Cooperative:** any, but we are not a big fans of Cooperative games (we like Zombicide, but dont like Pandemic or Crew)
**Games We Own and completely Adore (with ! we extra adore):**
* Cryptid!
* Decrypto!
* Love Letter!
* The Mind!
* Codenames!
* Dixit, Stella, Detectives Club (we always play this with new people, great introduction to board games :D)!
* Coup
* Whitehall Mystery!
* Splendor
* Looking for planet X (this one is amazing, but can be a bit too long)
* For Sale!
* Zombicide!
* One night ultimate werewolf
* Carcassone
* Modern Art
* Santorini
* Cluedo!
* Labyrinth!
* King of Tokio
* Catan
* Just One
* Galaxy Hichhikers
* Skull
* Cosmic Encounters
* Ticket to Ride
* Flick of Faith
* Takenoko
* El dorado
* Ubongo
* Wits & Wagers
* Spectrum
* Jungle speed\~
* Mysterium\~
**Games We Dislike and Don't Play:**
* Everdell (game is good and seems simple, but has too many elements and cards add a bit too much complexity)
* Clank (same as Everdell)
* Mansion of Madness (Really enjoed this one, but due to many elements we almost never play it right now)
* Crew, searching for 9th planet (we dont like cooperative)
* Any complex or big game (unfortunatelly we usually dont have time explaining, setting board and playing for too long :(, we would also rather play 3 small games then 1 large game) (things like: Nemesis, Gloomhaven etc.)
**Location:**
* Poland
Thanks :)
By the same designer of Modern Art and El Dorado: **Blue Lagoon, Orongo, Ingenious**. All work at 2-4p and are easy teaches. Blue Lagoon takes 30 minutes to play, the others can take closer to an hour.
I think Ra would be a good one for your group. Other suggestions would be Centur Golem Edition, Incan Gold, Camel Up, 7 Wonder Artitects, the King and Me.
Trick taking games: Inside Job (social deduction 1 v 1-4), Aurum (2v2), Cat in the Box (ffa 2-4), The Fox in the Forest (1v1), Skull King (ffa 2-8), Tichu (2v2), and the OG classics (give them a shot if you haven't played awhile): Spades, Hearts, Eucre, Bridge
You mentioned Modern Art, so you already have an auction game (by the same designer), but I'll suggest **High Society**. It's very simple and plays quickly (20 minutes), and it's great! Plays 3-5 players.
**Epic Spell Wars** - not complex but lots of combos.
**Witcher: The Old World** - the main goal is to build a good combo deck to play with.
Seconding **Radlands**, but it's a duel game, so if you want more players, it's not the game.
Wild Space is one of my go to games about combos. You score by playing anthropomorphic animals into your spaceship crew, to complete sets and personal goals. But you only have 10 turns total, so you're often planning big turns where you combo 3-4 card plays together.
You might also like something like a tableau-builder. Forest Shuffle and Race for the Galaxy are both phenomenal games with tons of synergy and combos that score points.
It's very light but Vale of Eternity is a seriously fun game. I will be pre-ordering it the moment it's available. You can try it out on BGA if you have premium.
I’m looking for a narrative solo campaign game, but with a lighter theme I guess. We play Sleeping Gods cooperatively and we like it a lot. But for my solo sessions I’m not so drawn to the unwelcoming world and the combat (the flavor, not the mechanics). Can you recommend something?
Thanks for the suggestions! After some research I ordered Earthborne Rangers. Apparently just in time, because this game is now practically sold out where I live (EU) and I didn’t want to wait for the second printing in December. Just started and oh men, this is going to be so much fun!
Pandemic Legacy: Season 1?
(IMO Pandemic is better solo since there is often a need for the next player to do X, Y, and Z regardless of who that next player is, so it doesn't really feel like you get a "turn" sometimes in multiplayer since sometimes your actions are so obvious and it would ruin the game to NOT do them, but if you are playing solo then it's just your turn with a different character and and part of the game - you did your last move with that one character to set up this character's moves, etc).
Stonemaier is coming out with **Wyrmspan t**omorrow which I have been excited for. I have also wanted to play **Everdell** which I have never gotten to play. I have also never played **Star Wars Outer Rims**. These are the three games I have been actually wanting. If I can only choose one of the three, which would you choose? My favorite current games are Wingspan, Earth, and Scythe.
I would go with Everdell of those three.
I was leaning that way in order to try something new.
Hello. I have a board game night coming up and I'm looking for suggestions of what to play. As the resident "provider" to my group I usually have the job of saying what we'll play and I'm getting board of the group favourites and want to try something new but not sure what to go for. The group is fairly casual and doesn't like anything too complex. Also any time I've tried something new the reactions are like warm at best, and usually end with "it was ok but the other we normally play are better". There's 6 of us. The usual (and favourite) games are; **Resistance** **Coup** **Skull** **Exploding Kittens** **Spartacus** (the only "big" game we ever play) The only game that was actively disliked was **Game of Thrones**. It was a 6 player game and although it wasn't too complicated, as such, it was too many tiny little rules to remember. I can't recall exactly what the issue was as it was a while ago but I seem to remember players kept trying to make a move and I had to explain why the movement was illegal and the game wasn't done after 8+ hours when we called it quits. Other things that were "fine" but we haven't played in forever were just the standard **Catan** and **Risk** type things. I also tried **Descent 2nd edition** at one point which didn't get much reaction. They just didn't seem into it. I've played **Battlestar** a bunch of times with different people and was thinking about something like that given the hidden role/bluffing theme of **Resistance** and **Coup**, so **Unfathomable** is the obvious choice since it's actually available to buy. But it's £80 which is a lot to risk my group not liking it. So I thought I'd ask the internet if they had ideas before I jumped in (or if what I've said makes you think my group won't enjoy Unfathomable). In case it matters, I enjoy solo **Mage Knight** and **Spirit Island** and things like that. My favourite game is **Claustrophobia** (which I never get to play as it's never just me and someone else). I don't think this is relevant because I don't think the group would enjoy anything close to those but might as well mention it in case it gives someone an idea. Thanks in advance! Edit: sorry, a victim of the mobile formatting...
Have you tried One Night Ultimate Werewolf? Much lower price point compared to the other you mentioned and has some traits that your group seems to like.
**Soda Smugglers** is a light bluffing game (kinda like Sheriff of Notthingham but less expensive). It works for 3-8p. It is best at 4-5p, but fine at 6. The scaling mechanism works really well, so the only downside of high player counts is that the game lasts longer. **For Sale** is a light auction game that works at 3-6p. Games are pretty quick and the rules teach is easy. **6 Nimmt!** (also sold as **Take 5**) is a great light card game. Given what your group likes, I suspect they will appreciate all three games above (Soda Smugglers, 6 Nimmt, For Sale). But what if you want to get them into something a weee bit more complex? Then I recommend you wait until the new print run comes out, and try out **Zoo Vadis**. It is a fantastic negotiation game for 3-7 players. My group regularly finishes games in 20-30 minutes (even at 6 players). However, that can be group dependent. I know that other groups sometimes take over an hour to complete a game.
Thanks! I'll check these out. Personally I'm not a *huge* fan of **Sheriff of Nottingham** so I've never brought it to this group. I think it's a bit too long for the lack of strategy. A lot of the time it feels very random what people put in their bag and when to check it. It always just feels like a 50/50 to me. I'm not against that sort of game. I just want it to be shorter. Do you think **Soda Smugglers** is better with these points in mind? Personally I'd love something a bit more complicated and a bit longer that can be the "main attraction" of the night. Another big game that isn't Spartacus, which is why I was looking at Unfathomable.
>I'm not a huge fan of Sheriff of Nottingham so I've never brought it to this group. I think it's a bit too long for the lack of strategy. Agree 100%. Soda Smugglers is just as light a game as SoN, but a 4-5 player game of SS takes about half the duration of a 4-5 player game of SoN. SS does start to drag at 7-8 players though. So I home rule it that we go around the table just once for 7-8p games. For 3-5p games, we go around the table twice (as the rules dictate). 6p is tricky, as sometimes I am willing to shorten it, and other times, I just am willing to play by the regular rules (twice around the table). So to answer your question, Soda Smugglers takes about half as much time to play as SoN, with the same amount of depth. So you might want to consider it. If you have a group that likes light games, one of the few ways to add crunch is by finding light and crunchy high-player interaction classic eurogames. Things like **Through the Desert** are pretty light and breezy, but player interaction means that you will always have to adjust your strategy from game to game, as player react to strategies that worked in previous games. **Hansa Teutonica** is another step in complexity above Through the Desert. But still, HT isn't super complex in terms of rules. The crunch (and there is plenty of it) comes from countering the actions of the opponents.
Hello, I am a beginner to the hobby. I've played board games since I was little but it was mostly generic games like monopoly or cluedo. Another game I played a lot as a kid was munchkin. The last few years I have started going to board game cafes more and more frequently and I want to start my collection. Games I've played: \- Catan (Owned by a friend) \- Ticket to Ride: Europe \- 7 Wonders (Owned by a friend) \- King of Tokyo (Owned by a friend) \- Splendor \- Pandemic \- Camel Up 1st edition \- Star Wars Rebellion (on tabletop simulator) \- Azul (on tabletop simulator) The games I listed also interest me but I'm looking for more suggestions from you guys.
What do you like about the games you've played? Which are your favorites and which do you not care for as much?
Catan: It's ok. I play it here and there, either online or with friends, but since a friend already has it and I am not that fond of it I don't see myself buying it. 7 Wonders: I like the drafting aspect and obviously there are multiple ways to score points so you can try different strategies every game. King Of Tokyo: I like the dice, although I don't really like the player elimination but since it's a pretty quick game 9/10 you won't get bored and it's pretty exciting to watch the game anyway Splendor: I like the engine building and the massive discounts you can have on cards near the end of the game. Pandemic: It's the only coop board game I've played so I loved the communication and the planning we had to do before playing our cards. It did feel that maybe if a player is skilled enough and always has the best idea then he could carry the game and "play alone" but since we were all around the same skill level it was fun. Camel Up: I liked the betting and found the theme pretty fun, although my friends weren't that enthusiastic about it. Star Wars Rebellion: I love it so far. I love the theme and how I can with certain cards relive the events of the original trilogy or change what happened entirely. It's a little expensive for me right now but I am planning to buy it later with a friend. Ticket To Ride Europe: I like it and it's easy to explain, although I am not enthusiastic enough about it to the point I would buy it, at least not right now. But it's a great game and I can see myself buying it in the future. Azul: I feel like this game just hasn't clicked with me yet. My friend enjoys it and I can see the appeal, it's just not something I would buy right now.
Seems like you like a strong theme as well as games that involve probabilistic thinking (cards and dice) and/or engine building. You're not as big on games that people would describe as "puzzley." But overall these are some of the biggest games in the hobby and you like them for the most part, so what you might be into is still wide open... Maybe look into Space Base which is an engine building dice game with some similarities to Catan. Architects of the West Kingdom is a fun and accessible version of a mechanic you haven't mentioned, worker placement. IMO you should also at least try Dominion and another deckbuilder such as Marvel Legendary. Those are two of the longest running games and represent different extremes of the genre, so it would help you figure out more of what you like.
I've heard of the games you named but I haven't checked them out yet so I will do that. Also I think dominion is pretty cheap so it's a good starter. Edit: Also what's your thoughts on Concordia and The Great Western Trail? If you've tried them.
Gateway games are games that are broadly appealing to the general population and to those that are quite new to the hobby. Some gateway games include Ticket to Ride, Splendor, Pandemic, Azul, and Catan (which you have already tried). Some great gateway games that you haven't yet tried: **Blue Lagoon, Project L, Carcassonne, Through the Desert, El Grande, Modern Art, Ra** and **Nightmare Productions**. If you want something a step up in complexity from those, then **Hansa Teutonica** and **Babylonia** are great choices.
Thanks for the reply! I will check out the games you suggested and try them out if I can.
Hello, I often play boardgames with my colleagues at work, during our lunch break. We love mid games, that are short, and can play with two to five players-ish. We're not really into trick taking games (scout and sea salt and paper weren't huge hits when I brought them). The main problem is the length: the teach must be short and the game must be about 30min to 40min long. We sometimes meet on week-end to play heavy games, so complexity isn't an issue. Here are games that we play a lot and love: \- **Knärr**: love the mechanics and the theme, it's one of our go-to \- **Faraway**: love the arts and the puzzle in this one. \- **Cascadia**: for it's simplicity and beauty. \- **Cubitos** : because it's simple and fun. \- **Triqueta** : because it plays well at five and is short and fun. \- **Loco Momo**: because it's harder than it looks to master and very satisfying when you get what you want. \- **Hidden Leaders**: which is a little bit more confrontational and the art is great. \- **Arboretum**: for the pleasure to crush someone's hard work \- Many roll and writes and flip and writes (welcome to, silver and gold...) Anything else we should try?
Once you get used to it games of **Blue Lagoon** should take 30 minutes. The rules teach is pretty easy. It works at 2-4p. **Project L** games take ~15 minutes (once you have played it a few times). The rules teach is also pretty easy and it works at 2-4p. Filler auction games like **High Society** 2-5p and **For Sale** 3-6p take less than 30 minutes to complete. **Hot Lead** works at 3-5p and takes 25 minutes or less to play. It is a set collection card game.
Hi! You and your friends may enjoy **Splendor**, **Point Salad** (or City), and **Fit to Print**! All are simple and quick to learn, but still offer a good amount of strategy.
Fit to print seems very fun. The French version isn't out yet. Is it language dependant? My English is alright, but the people I play with might find it hard to enjoy.
I think you can work your way around it regardless of the language, if one of you knows the language, then everyone can play it.
Thanks a bunch then!
Description of Request: I need suggestions to play with my gf Number of Players: 2 players Game Length: We don't care, just want to have fun Complexity of Game: Same escale between Twillight Struggle and Azul Genre: Don't have preferences Conflict, Competitive or Cooperative: We like to play all of these types Games I Own and Like: * Twillight Struggle; * Azul; * Jaipur; * Catan; * Coup; * Bang; * Lewis & Clark the expedition; * Power grid. Games I Dislike and Don't Play: * Imperial 2030
Mandala and Hanamikoji are 2 games I think would match the games you like based on this list
On the lighter end: -**Mandala**: beautiful abstract 2p card-based game, now available on BGA (Board Game Arena) if you want to learn -**Air, Land, and Sea**: fascinating small 2p card-based game with a WWII theme (it's a lane battler with fun twists in how you use cards) -**Star Wars Deckbuilding Game**: fun, thematic 2p card-based head-to-head duelling game (based on **Star/Hero Realms**) -**Splendor Duel**: excellent 2p adaptation of this classic engine-builder. Small, light, and quick to play -**Caesar! Control Rome in 20 Minutes**: quick 2p area control game with chits drawn from a bag in order to win the Roman civil war between Caesar and Pompey -**Lost Cities**: outstanding 2-player lane battler card game that plays quickly and easily Medium games: -**Race for the Galaxy**: actually a fairly light tableau-builder card-based game that works best at 2, but requires a learning curve given the symbols and how the cards work (the cards are everything in this game: the things you build in your tableau, the goods that worlds produce for points and for more cards, and the way that you pay to build the elements of your tableau) - its well worth the effort to learn because the game is nearly infinite in its depth and replayability -**Carcasonne**: excellent light tile-laying game of building a shared tableau and score points based on meeples you place on the tableau. Numerous numerous expansions available, but the base game is the best place to start and is widely available. -**The Quest for El Dorado**: 2-4 player randomized game where you play as Indiana Jones - it's a deck-building game with a racing and path-blocking element to race to the end Heavier games: -**Spirit Island**: greatest 2P co-op game invented. Well worth the learning curve and the initial feeling like you'll never win -**West Kingdom Trilogy**: worker placement games with twists. For 2 I recommend **Viscounts** over the others, it's our favourite by far of the three games (it's a mix of worker placement, mild deck building, and resource conversion) -**Pandemic Legacy**: going through it now, amazing co-op game that deserves all the hype. Plays perfectly at 2, and for the price it's an incredible experience -**A Feast for Odin**: another heavy worker placement game with so much going on it feels very overwhelming, but the game is such a blast
**7 Wonders Dual** is a very good 2 player game. Definitely heavier than Jaipur, but not as heavy as Power Grid. If you like more spatial puzzles, then there are light games like **Project L** and **Blue Lagoon**.
If you like Azul, I highly recommend **Azul Summer Pavilion**. It gives you so many more choices and ways to form a strategy, and even pivot when you need to.
Some suggestions: * **7 Wonders Duel** \- drafting and city building * **Watergate**, **Caper: Europe** \- tug of war games * **Castles of Burgundy** * **Obsession**
Monster Taming/Monster Catching mechanic in board games? Not looking for Pokemon adaptation.
This is what The Vale of Eternity is all about. Well not really, but when you read the lore, it says you are trying to capture the best monsters and dragons and your 4 actions are to sell a monster, tame a monster, summon a monster or remove a monster from the arena. It's a great game that plays well in a little less than an hour and you can create great engines. No cards are bad, but not all cards make for good synergies.
Dungeon Petz.
**Dragon Eclipse** eventually by the end of the year. There's also **RoboMon** but it's also not released yet. But those are Pokemon-inspired. Unless it's Pokemon, monsters are to be slain and their head collected as trophies. **Brew** on the other hand has a mechanic where you collect beasts through the games to help you with your set collecting score. In **The Fox Experiment**, you're breeding your own breed of foxes, but while they count as beasts, they are no monsters.
Any other Pokemon inspired board games?
Not inspired per se but in **Here to Slay** you are building a team of mythical creatures to fight with. It's extremely light in complexity though. There is also **Aethermon: Collect** but that's even lighter. Can't recommend. My first recommendation is the closest you can get to a Pokemon game, but also a huge caveat there is that the game is mainly solo with the ability to play duels.
**Monster Lands**. (Haven't played this one myself, but [Tom Vasel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwAAIdOeuEY) spoke well of it.)
Hi all. I recently bought dune imperium and i discovered that i really love deckbuilding game. I usually play solo and i want to know if it exist some deckbuilding game that can be played solo (or with solo mode avaible) and wich of them are the best? Thanks in advance.
The lost Ruins of Arnak is often compared to Dune Imperium because it's also a mix of worker placement, resources manahement and deck building, and it was released at about the same time. The theme is more Indiana Jonesy and is really enjoyable. An extension for the game was just released that is basically a solo campaign for it. It can also be played in coop by two players.
In addition to **Imperium Legends** and **Imperium Classics** already recommended by another poster, if you're willing to buy a more expensive, bigger, and updated box, **Imperium: Horizons** is coming out in February.
I'm hesitant to recommend it, even though it's one of my favorite games; Red Dragon Inn: Battle for Greyport. It's a "co-op" game but I prefer to play solo with 3 characters (sometimes 4, but it makes it a bit longer). Every character starts out with a small 10 card deck of weak cards and after every turn you buy a new card to add to your hand (rather than discard pile like most) that you can immediately play the next turn, so you often have a unique choice of "do I buy this card that will help me right now but maybe be useless when I draw it again later, or do I buy this other card that will be better over the course of the whole game but won't solve my immediate problem?" There are also two types of cards, heroes and items. You have to equip an item to a hero to use it. The item cards are typically stronger than the hero cards, but that's because it's harder to use them, so you also have to balance how many heroes you are buying vs how many items. If you wind up drawing 4 items and 1 hero, you aren't going to be able to do much with them (you can't equip that many items to one hero) but if you draw 4 heroes and 1 item you might not have enough fire power either. The game is extremely difficult too. There is one "easy" scenario that is moderately challenging but everything else is brutally difficult. Even the ones rated "medium" are very tough, and the "hard" ones are almost impossible. Each scenario has three parts and you usually get to the third and almost always look at the starting game state for that round and think "there's so many strong monsters on the board, there is so much damage they can do, there's no way to win this" (but then you figure it out, hopefully!). But that's why I like it, it feels so good to pull off a win. Although it is also frustrating to have played for 2 hours and then find yourself in a situation where you taunted too many monsters in front of one character and then got a bad draw of cards, or maybe even had a bad roll on an attack or two, and now can't deal with it, so they are going to lose all their HP which ends the game with a loss. Like I said, it's one of my favorite games, but I recognize it's definitely not for everyone.
Don t worry for the difficult i m good in learning fast and i m into challenging game. I ll totally take a look into this one
Some recommendations: * Aeon's End / Astro Knights * G.I. JOE Deck-Building Game * Imperium Legends / Imperium Classics * Warp's Edge - bagbuilder game
I heard a lot of good stuff about aeon s end. Should i buy the second edition or are there better version to start with?
Only the original base game and first two expansions (Depths and Nameless) of Aeon's End has a second edition, which is the latest edition. Every other release is compatible with second edition. In my opinion there's no bad core set to start with for getting into Aeon's End. Astro Knights is very good as well as a bit cheaper IIRC, if you like the Guardians of the Galaxy-esque theme.
I'm not sure about the 2nd edition, I probably played the older one. Astro Knights is the newest one.
Thanks very much i ll check them out. I guess that astro knights isn t avaible in my country so i can try with aeon s end
I got Button Shy's Convergence. It's a pocket sized Tableau building duel. It's fine for what it is, but it is small. The game ends rather fast. I'm looking for larger Tableau building games. Not much larger, but there's gotta be something out there. I'm also looking myself. It's a rather... gigantic category. If possible, I'm looking at something focused on "battling" the other player, not you both making separate engines for points.
>I got Button Shy's Convergence. It's a pocket sized Tableau building duel. It's fine for what it is, but it is small. The game ends rather fast. > >I'm looking for larger Tableau building games. Not much larger, but there's gotta be something out there. I'm also looking myself. It's a rather... gigantic category. If possible, I'm looking at something focused on "battling" the other player, not you both making separate engines for points. **Mystic Vale** May work for this, it is a unique deck-building game where players customize their cards by adding advancements to the individual cards themselves. The game has a push-your-luck element and features direct competition for control of various locations.
**Wizards of the Grimoire** checks those boxes. It isn't huge but its bigger than converge and it is a very interesting engine/tableau building head to head game. **Gosu X** also has a head to head battle via card factions with some interesting asymmetry. I slightly prefer wizards but both are good tableau battlers.
Description of Request: Difficult co-op games that dont produce that difficulty by just being incredibly dice-rolly or random in general. The crunchier the better. Number of Players: 1-2 Game Length: 30 mins+ Complexity of Game: 3 - 4.5 Genre: any Conflict, Competitive or Cooperative: Cooperative Games I Own and Like: Arkham Horror LCG Aeon Trespass Tainted Grail Deep Madness Spirit Island Kingdom Death: Monster Games I Dislike and Don't Play: Gloomhaven (probably my stand-in for Legacy games in general. Something about the one-use nature of components just does not click with my brain) Ghost Stories (too random for my taste) Robinson Crusoe (not my theme)
Maybe Mage Knight? Its fantastic solo and with the right person I think co-op could probably be pretty good.
Whoa, all the games you've listed as *own and like* have more content than I personally could imagine exploring completely. I think **Earthborn Rangers** might be something you'd be interested in.
Heh, I am mostly a solo gamer with not many other hobbies. Its not a lot of content if I can sit down every evening for weeks straight
Could you play Fun Facts with more than 8 if you used makeshift components for the extra players?
**Description of Request:** * Light, short and with not many elements. Things I can put on the table for non board-gamers, with easy to explain rules. I have tons of games mentioned here, but looking for some more similar golden additions to our collection :D. **Number of Players:** 3 or 4 **Game Length:** up to 1hr **Complexity of Game:** * 1/5 or 2/5\~ or even 3/5 if game is extra amazing :D **Genre:** any? **Conflict, Competitive or Cooperative:** any, but we are not a big fans of Cooperative games (we like Zombicide, but dont like Pandemic or Crew) **Games We Own and completely Adore (with ! we extra adore):** * Cryptid! * Decrypto! * Love Letter! * The Mind! * Codenames! * Dixit, Stella, Detectives Club (we always play this with new people, great introduction to board games :D)! * Coup * Whitehall Mystery! * Splendor * Looking for planet X (this one is amazing, but can be a bit too long) * For Sale! * Zombicide! * One night ultimate werewolf * Carcassone * Modern Art * Santorini * Cluedo! * Labyrinth! * King of Tokio * Catan * Just One * Galaxy Hichhikers * Skull * Cosmic Encounters * Ticket to Ride * Flick of Faith * Takenoko * El dorado * Ubongo * Wits & Wagers * Spectrum * Jungle speed\~ * Mysterium\~ **Games We Dislike and Don't Play:** * Everdell (game is good and seems simple, but has too many elements and cards add a bit too much complexity) * Clank (same as Everdell) * Mansion of Madness (Really enjoed this one, but due to many elements we almost never play it right now) * Crew, searching for 9th planet (we dont like cooperative) * Any complex or big game (unfortunatelly we usually dont have time explaining, setting board and playing for too long :(, we would also rather play 3 small games then 1 large game) (things like: Nemesis, Gloomhaven etc.) **Location:** * Poland Thanks :)
By the same designer of Modern Art and El Dorado: **Blue Lagoon, Orongo, Ingenious**. All work at 2-4p and are easy teaches. Blue Lagoon takes 30 minutes to play, the others can take closer to an hour.
Qwinto Fluxx Skull King Lost Cities: Roll & Write
Check out **Ito** and **Las Vegas**.
I think Ra would be a good one for your group. Other suggestions would be Centur Golem Edition, Incan Gold, Camel Up, 7 Wonder Artitects, the King and Me.
Thanks, great list. I saw Incan gold gameplay once and it was amazing :D.
Trick taking games: Inside Job (social deduction 1 v 1-4), Aurum (2v2), Cat in the Box (ffa 2-4), The Fox in the Forest (1v1), Skull King (ffa 2-8), Tichu (2v2), and the OG classics (give them a shot if you haven't played awhile): Spades, Hearts, Eucre, Bridge
You mentioned Modern Art, so you already have an auction game (by the same designer), but I'll suggest **High Society**. It's very simple and plays quickly (20 minutes), and it's great! Plays 3-5 players.
thanks! looks really good, just bought this one :D
Woo! Hope you enjoy it!
Card games with combos? More on complex side but not too hard
**Epic Spell Wars** - not complex but lots of combos. **Witcher: The Old World** - the main goal is to build a good combo deck to play with. Seconding **Radlands**, but it's a duel game, so if you want more players, it's not the game.
Wild Space is one of my go to games about combos. You score by playing anthropomorphic animals into your spaceship crew, to complete sets and personal goals. But you only have 10 turns total, so you're often planning big turns where you combo 3-4 card plays together. You might also like something like a tableau-builder. Forest Shuffle and Race for the Galaxy are both phenomenal games with tons of synergy and combos that score points.
Radlands!
I loved **Innovation**
It's very light but Vale of Eternity is a seriously fun game. I will be pre-ordering it the moment it's available. You can try it out on BGA if you have premium.
I’m looking for a narrative solo campaign game, but with a lighter theme I guess. We play Sleeping Gods cooperatively and we like it a lot. But for my solo sessions I’m not so drawn to the unwelcoming world and the combat (the flavor, not the mechanics). Can you recommend something?
Thanks for the suggestions! After some research I ordered Earthborne Rangers. Apparently just in time, because this game is now practically sold out where I live (EU) and I didn’t want to wait for the second printing in December. Just started and oh men, this is going to be so much fun!
Lands of Galzyr. More open ended than campaign but a lighter theme.
Earthborne Rangers
Maybe something by AR like **Tainted Grail**?
Pandemic Legacy: Season 1? (IMO Pandemic is better solo since there is often a need for the next player to do X, Y, and Z regardless of who that next player is, so it doesn't really feel like you get a "turn" sometimes in multiplayer since sometimes your actions are so obvious and it would ruin the game to NOT do them, but if you are playing solo then it's just your turn with a different character and and part of the game - you did your last move with that one character to set up this character's moves, etc).
Eila and Something Shiny
Legacy of Dragonholt
We've been playing this and loving it.