Five Board Games Every Adult Should Play
Any regular viewer of any of my shows (or reader of this blog) will know that my current geek obsession is designer board games. Only in the last 2 years have I discovered how vibrant and full of awesome the hobby is, but I wish I had known earlier! So I'm trying to spread the word. I truly believe there is a board game perfect for everyone, and I've made it my mission to get more people playing great board games!
If you've only ever played Trivial Pursuit, Clue, Scrabble, or Monopoly, this post is for you. Here are five games that will open your mind to what designer board games have become. There are a lot more out there, and I'll be highlighting a lot of my favorites over the coming weeks and months, but if these whet your appetite you can always check out boardgamegeek.com, the ultimate source of everything board game.
This is the one that did it for me. In the board gaming community a lot of people talk about "gateway games", which are used to get non-gamers to see what designer board games are all about and hook them on the hobby. This might be the king of them all. A classic "Euro" game, in that the theme is mostly about commerce and set in a historical period, it can admittedly look a little dry at first. But when you start to play and realize that every single turn involves every single player, and notice how the multiple paths to victory allow for numerous different strategies, you start to understand how modern board games have evolved. This is no longer top among my favorite games, but it is the one that turned me on to the hobby, and it can for you, too. Grab 3 friends and give it a try. Easy to find and not too expensive, this is a great first game.
2. Dominion
This is a relatively new kind of game, known as "deck building", but it is simple, elegant, and extremely fun. It works a little like a collectible card game (think Magic: The Gathering), except every player starts with exactly the same cards as every other, so you don't have to spend a lot of money collecting cards and everyone is on an equal footing at the start. You build your deck as you play, by using cards in your hand to get new cards into your deck, which, in turn, allows you to acquire even more, and progress to victory. There is so much variety in the box, almost every play will involve different cards and strategies, and it plays quick and is easy to teach. Once you grasp the key concepts I promise you'll have a blast and want to play again, immediately.
3. Pandemic
Competition is great in board games, but working together can be even more fun. One of the most popular genres of board games lately is the co-op game, and Pandemic is one of the best. In this game, every player is working together to try to stop diseases from spreading all over the world. You are all actually playing against the game itself. It is a brilliant mechanic that works with people who might not like to lose to their friends. Here, everyone wins or everyone loses, and it is exhilarating trying to manage everyone's strengths to curb the outbreak all over the globe.
I could also recommend Forbidden Island in this category, especially if you have younger players to play with. Same designer, similar concept, less medicine.
4. Agricola
Okay, so now you've played a few of these excellent gateway games and you're ready to sink your teeth into something a bit heavier. May I present to you... Agricola. Yes, it has a funny name. Yes, it is about farming. It also happens to be my very favorite game at the moment. Just superbly designed, with tons of options and different strategies, Agricola is as close to pure board game perfection as I have experienced. It is much more on the heavy side in terms of learning curve - you will need patience to wrap your head around all of the rules (I recommend starting with the "family" rules and watching this informative, if cheesy, overview by Scott Nicholson) - but well worth the investment. It is a worker placement game (of which there are many excellent varieties), which means that each player claims places on the board with their "workers", so if one person gets to do something, the others don't. You are constantly changing your strategy to compensate for other players' actions, which makes things unpredictable and extremely fun. I believe it isn't too tough to learn, even for newbies, and it will open you up to an entire world of heavier strategy games - the games I love most.
Then again, if all else fails... try Wits & Wagers. Maybe strategy and Euro games aren't your thing. You gave Settlers of Catan a go and you couldn't get into it. You lost a couple of times at Pandemic and didn't have any fun. "Jeff," you're saying, "you're crazy. These games aren't any better than the ones I grew up with." Okay, if that's the case this would be my last hail mary try. A sure-fire, no-way-it-can-lose, 100% fun guarantee. Get as many people together as you possibly can and play Wits & Wagers. It is a trivia game - "Ugh, like Trivial Pursuit? That sounds boring!" Ah, then you haven't tried Wits & Wagers! The brilliant design of this game manages to sidestep mere factoid knowledge to create a fun, communal experience that makes not knowing something just as fun as knowing it. Best with teams, and wildly fun, I'll bet you can't just play it once.
So there you have it. A starter kit. Let me know what you think - especially if you're new to designer board games - down in the comments section. I'll be back periodically with the newest games I'm playing, and hopefully, together, we can get people sitting down to board games just as often as they reach for a controller.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 at 07:53PM
Reader Comments (35)
Nice list Jeff. I've only played Settlers of Catan but I've heard a lot of good things about Pandemic. Gonna make a concerted effort to give it a shot now.
Have you played the Catan App for iOS? I assume you prefer the in person experience with boardgames but they digitization of boardgames seem to be a pretty big thing right now.
Jeff have you tried the Settlers of Catan card game? Its a great two person game and in my opinion is much more strategic, equally balanced, and less reliant on luck than the board game.
I find the board game hard to play unless people have a timer to limit their turns. And you can usually tell as soon as the first houses and roads are played who has the highest chances of winning and who has no chance at all.
Pretty safe choices, although for good reason.
These five have some pretty universal appeal for gamers (new or experienced), although Agricola needs a bit of easing into.
Have you tried Alhambra? My husband and I, major Catan addicts, love it!
Excellent list. Obviously if you're going to limit it to 5 there's bound to be a few good ones that don't get mentioned.
Ticket to Ride is pretty much the most highly recommended 'gateway game'
I think Small World can be an excellent introductory game as well. The best description I've heard for it is "RISK that doesn't suck".
I also have heard of a lot of people preferring the new Family Edition of Wits & Wagers just because the betting mechanic is changed a bit for the better.
Thanks, I know you have spoke about Board Games on TRS, I will have to pick some up, my 5 year old son is going thru Chemo Therapy, and this could help out with downtime. Thanks again!
Hey there Haxim, a great possibility for your son is a game called 'the mummy' have a look at the following youtube link for a review.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi9ahuNfynA
hope your wee man get's through the chemo without too much distress.
g
I've become something of a board-game aficionado over the past couple years myself. In addition to Jeff's suggestions, I would recommend the following games:
Puerto Rico: If you like Settlers of Catan and you want another similar type strategy game that's different but still a lot of fun, you should try this game. This is probably my favorite board game currently.
Ticket to Ride: This is one of the most accessible and fun board games to come out of Europe. You can teach anyone how to play in like 3 minutes, and they'll have fun playing their first time. My board-gaming friends and I come back to this one frequently.
Monty Python Fluxx: There are several different variations on the Fluxx card game, but Monty Python is easily the funnest of the bunch. It helps your enjoyment if you have a passing familiarity with Monty Python, but you don't need to be an expert or anything. When the outrageous accents come out, hilarity ensues.
Great list Jeff. I have a recommendation for you and anyone who is a fan of the Risk boardgame series. My recommendation is Quest for the Dragonlords. The game is kind of similar to risk in it's game mechanics but it is a much more hardcore experience. It has quests that must be completed and as well as trying to dominate your opponent's forces, you are trying to battle your way through the dragon's lair with a quest party in order to tame a dragon and add it to your attack force. It's a sweet game and would recommend it to anyone who loves Risk or similar games.
Good post, Jeff. You are the Game Guy. Love your work on TRS and I think you could turn this into your niche. All kinds of games, not just video games. Like Ebert is known for movies, you could be America's game expert. Keep making lists. When I get home, I'm Digging and Redditing this article.
Big Fan Jeff, thanks for posting this list. Got my wife to play Carcassonne and she loved it so I'm trying to find some games for us to enjoy together.
Great list Jeff, even if Pandemic is the only game I've played among them! Online play is nice but I really like the fact that games are bringing people together face to face again...
I've been playing board games on and off for 7 or 8 years now but I also only got into them more seriously in the past couple of months.
Way back when, I was introduced to light Euro/party games through the French version of Werewolf/Mafia and the chaotic (and sometimes physically violent!) Jungle Speed... While they still retain most of their appeal, board games have moved so fast in the past few years that they certainly show their age. For example, early player elimination was a important flaw in Werewolf and I suspect it will be replaced shortly by The Resistance, another bluffing/negotiation party game that doesn't have this "feature".
More recently, I was reintroduced to Euro games via Citadels, a simple yet moderately deep card game which accommodates up to 8 players. Speaking of group games, I love Dixit and it was a hit when I introduced it to non-gamers but I suspect you have to pick the right players for it to be an interesting experience.
My most frequent gaming partner is my wife and it's obviously very important that most of our games play well with two players. Among her favorites are Jaipur, a short set collection game with press-your-luck elements, and Thurn and Taxis, a very nicely produced route building/area control game. Apparently, Lost Cities and Ticket to Ride are must-have "wife" games but we haven't had the chance to try them yet...
I look forward to playing Stone Age, a game that would probably make for a more gentle introduction to the Agricola worker placement mechanic. 7 Wonders and Tales of the Arabian Nights are also among the next games I will try. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on Tales of the Arabian Nights as you seem to love storytelling in videogames.
Keep up the good work!
Great post Jeff! Those are definitely 5 games that every person, game fanatic or not, should try.
Alongside Wits & Wagers, I would recommend another game by Dominic Crapuchettes, Say Anything. It borrows the "betting chip" mechanic from Wits & Wagers, but instead of testing a player's trivia knowledge, it pushes creativity and humour to the limit. Like Wits & Wagers, Say Anything is a certain hit with gamers and non-gamers alike.
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/33604/say-anything
I'm glad you mentioned Forbidden Island in the Pandemic section, as it is awesome. It is my first designer board game and it's really opened up not only my eyes, but many of my friend's and family's too! It's always, "Wait, what now? We work together? Where'd you find this again?" which quickly turns into, "Wow, that was fun. One more game?" A surprisingly suspensful game.
Hey Jeff,
Nice list. I've got one issue with settlers of catan though: it does nothing to force players to trade. If you've got a table full of very conservative players that won't trade with you, it gets very very boring.
Look at Carcassonne in contrast: Here, every player has to forge local temporary alliances, and is even motivated by points to do so. Somebody building a great city? Whoops, I just put a man on a cathedral tile in an almost adjacent field and boom, I connected that tile in the next turn to your city! Now we both best finish that sucker or nobody gets any points at all. While one can play this destructively, it's much better to force different players into coop building, as long as another player is left out.
This kind of aggressive freeloading always lead us to have more fun with Carcassone, because it forces players to, well, play. Settlers of Catan does not punish players who turtle as much, and is by far too reliant on the initial tile grab. While Settlers got shelved, we played Carcassonne (+ add-ons) pretty much every day for a few months straight.
Pro tip: Don't be too harsh when playing with your girlfriend. I repeatedly got mine to quit the game prematurely :).
I think I have been mentioning this since the first season of Totally Rad Show...but if you haven't played BANG! then you must! Especially after this True Grit/Red Dead Redemption Western roll we've been on in 2010.
Honestly, I haven't played any of these board games before, but I plan on trying them out. One game I found at a yard sale and have not been able to stop playing is "The Thinking Man's Golf" by 3M. A cool game for those who'd like to play golf but are too bad at it (like me). Keep up the good work.
Hey, Jeff. I really like that you promote board games on Weekend Confirmed. It's good for the hobby, by maybe introducing more into the fold. And I second the "Say Anything" recommendation. I like it quite a bit more that "Wits &Wagers", it's quite fun and creative. Also, as another mentioned, "Stone Age" is very good, and sort of an intro game.
@Ty B:
Actually, Catan does have a few built-in mechanics to keep card-hoarding players in check--at least some of the time (and sometimes a lot, depending on the die roll gods).
Don't know about you but in most of the Settler games I play the Robber is a constant threat to your hand and is enough of an incentive against too much hoarding (or "no trading"). Also, the Monopoly and Knight development cards can help in this regard, too, if a player is keeping lots of cards and not wanting to trade at all.
Myself and the people I play with all agree that excessive and willful hoarding is not a very good idea in this game and usually winds up hurting you at some point (if not multiple points!). When I see someone doing it I just laugh to myself, knowing that they'll probably regret it eventually. :)
While you're on the board game tip, if you also have an iPad there are a number of interesting games in the designer board game space to try; especially if you want to play a game but can't get a group together. I think everyone knows Carcasonne and Catan are both there, but a few others I just found:
Small World - this reminds me a bit of Catan, but with more depth (at least than the original catan set). The ipad version of Small World is gorgeous, and while I'm still getting the hang of actually playing, it gives me a lot of hope for the future.
Another one is Neuroshima Hex; it's a deck playing game; where you play your tiles on a hex grid; those tiles have abilities and directions (long range/short/number of hits, etc). Your goal is to protect your main tile's hit points; the player with the most hit points at the end of the game wins. Another fine implementation on iPad.
There are also a number of Reiner Kinzia games on there. If anyone else knows of others; don't be afraid to share.