board games
I play a lot of board games with my family. Here's a little flowchart so you can discover a game you might like to play!
how many players?
2
lots of thinking?
Hive: Another very short game. There are these lovely hexagonal
tile stones with different bugs on them that you take turns
moving to try to surround the other side's queen. Very portable.
Curious Cargo: a longer game. You build knotty networks of pipes
to try to ship your cargo off to the other person's board and
recieve what they're shipping to you. Fun but a bit mindbending
when you're trying to figure out where to place tiles to build
the right pipe paths.
a lighter game
Junk Art: consists of a series of minigames revolving around
these light wooden blocks in funky shapes where you have to
stack them - like Jenga but better!
A Little Wordy: take turns trying to guess your partner's
secret word by using bird cards that give you clues about it -
fun and quick!
3-4
longer tactical game?
war game?
Chaos in the Old World:play a demon lord and try to corrupt
as much of the world as you can. Has a fun 'level up' system
where you try to optimise your character within the game.
Root: beautiful woodland game, play a different faction ('The
Vagabond', 'The Marquise de Cat'), where each has a different
way to score points and different actions.
no thanks
everyone plays by the same rules?
Carcassonne: tile placement game where you build a sprawling
medieval countryside to score points.
Between Two Castles: build rooms in castles - you have
one to your left which you share with the person to your
left, and one that you share with the person to your right.
trying to get the highest combined points.
players have different powers
Cosmic Encounter: very fun game where everyone controls a
different alien civilisation with its own rules. lots of
bluffing and guessing what your opponent is going to do,
convincing the other players to support your goals, and
laying traps.
Vivarium: play an animal species trying to survive in a
biosphere. the mechanics reflect the biology of each species
which is cool
Forbidden Desert: cooperative game where players search for
the scattered pieces of your crashed airship amidst a desert
storm.
Mind MGMT: fun hidden movement game where one player is the
Recruiter, making moves on their secret board, while the
other players try to track them down and capture them.
hmm... not right now
in the mood for a chaotic game?
shorter?
Junk Art: consists of a series of minigames revolving around
these light wooden blocks in funky shapes where you have to
stack them - like Jenga but better!
Trust Me, I'm A Superhero: combine ridiculous powers and
then argue why they would make you the best hero to deal
with wild scenarios
longer?
Robo Rally: plan a set of moves under time pressure and then
watch your plan fall apart as other robots crash into yours
while you all try to capture the flag
Galaxy Trucker: similar vibes - build a spaceship under
time pressure and then watch it fall apart as it faces space
pirates, asteroids and tries to collect goods
or something more stable?
a simple game that you can play a few times in a row?
word game?
Decrypto: try to give clues to your teammates about 4 code
words, while keeping it vague enough that the other team
can't guess which ones you mean! then try to figure out
theirs...
Codenames: give clues to your team about words on the
table, trying to link as many of your target words
together with one clue as possible, without making them
too hard to guess.
nah
Coup: bluffing game where you get actions based on the two
cards you have in front of you... but you can lie about
them!
Santorini: play Greek Gods building an island
civilisation. The games are very short (around 10 min or
so) with simple mechanics. I like this game a lot! You can
really plan ahead like chess, or you can take it turn by
turn if you don't want to put in that amount of effort!
Blokus: very simple game - take turns trying to
place as many tetris-like tiles that you can on the
limited board space, and block your opponents.
5-6
want a game you can bring to a party?
are the people at the party into board games?
...not yet
Junk Art: consists of a series of minigames revolving around
these light wooden blocks in funky shapes where you have to
stack them - like Jenga but better!
Trust Me, I'm A Superhero: combine ridiculous powers
and then argue why they would make you the best hero to deal
with wild scenarios
Oxen: play with a standard deck of
cards - make a secret signal with your partner and then when
you get 4 matching cards, try to signal them to call "Oxen!"
without the other players realising and calling it instead.
lots of fake signals and fun.
here are the rules
yes!
social deduction?
Secret Hitler: vote on parliamentary decisions and figure
out who are the fascists
One Night Ultimate Werewolf: a way more chaotic version of
Mafia or Werewolf. everyone has a secret role, does it
during the 'night', and then you have 5 minutes to concoct
a convincing lie and sow confusion(if you're the
werewolves) or figure out who is the werewolf. role
swapping means that you might start as a villager but then
actually be a werewolf so its very tricky and fun!
Spyfall: everyone gets a location card but the spy's card
is blank. then you ask each other questions, trying to
subtly communicate that you know the location, without
giving it away to the spy.
nah
Love Letter: quick simple game where you take turns
playing cards trying to eliminate other players and be the
last person standing
Codenames: give clues to your team about words on the
table, trying to link as many of your target words
together with one clue as possible, without making them
too hard to guess.
nah
Dixit: one player makes up a clue (e.g 'fairytale'), then
everyone chooses a card that matches it. they're all shuffled
and laid out and then players have to guess which is the
clue-giver's card. all the cards are really pretty art with no
text; it's lovely
Decrypto: try to give clues to your teammates about 4 code
words, while keeping it vague enough that the other team can't
guess which ones you mean! then try to figure out theirs...
7 Wonders: play cards from hands that rotate around the table,
trying to build your civilisation to get the most points. mess
with the other players by taking cards that they want
more than 6
Trust Me, I'm A Superhero: combine ridiculous powers and then
argue why they would make you the best hero to deal with wild
scenarios
Secret Hitler: vote on parliamentary decisions and figure out who
are the fascists
One Night Ultimate Werewolf: a way more chaotic version of Mafia
or Werewolf. everyone has a secret role, does it during the
'night', and then you have 5 minutes to concoct a convincing lie
and sow confusion(if you're the werewolves) or figure out who is
the werewolf. role swapping means that you might start as a
villager but then actually be a werewolf so its very tricky and
fun!