Xmas Boardgame Gift

To give some backstory: My girlfriend of several months has expressed an interest in board games. I am a complete novice to them and my experience is only with old school games like monopoly. I've read enough of the forum to know about the 'classics' (carcasconne, catan, etc.) What I lack is knowledge of a great beginner board game that would make a good present for her (which would inevitably be played with myself and my roommates).

I've checked out boardgamegeek and have a few ideas, but wanted the goodjer collective to weigh in. Her experience with boardgames is the same as mine and she is a bit averse to the 'fantasy' realm (so no games with goblins, hobgoblins, etc). The game would ideally be 2-3 people (more is okay, but anything more than 5 would be pushing it). Also, admittedly, she has a bit of a short attention span, so the shorter the game, the better.

Any and all help for me to NOT mess up this christmas gift would be most appreciated.

Dominion, Dominion, Dominion.

There are others that may work, but from what you describe this is pretty much a perfect match (IMO). Fun, challenging, different every time you play, ideal with 3 people but 2 and 4 are fine, and most games take a mere 30 minutes*.

*Caveat: The first time or two you play it may take over an hour, due to figuring out how hands run and taking time to order your actions, buys, etc. I promise, it gets a lot faster.

*cue Dreaded Gazebo*

Dominion is a great pick. Simple to learn, fun to play and lots of replay value. It does have sort of a slight medieval/fantasy theme but it's pretty thin so hopefully that wouldn't be a problem. Really only a bad choice if she's highly adverse to shuffling cards as you'll be doing lots and lots of shuffling.

My ultimate intro game is Tsuro. It's dead simple and really doesn't require much thought but is still quite a bit of fun and really fast. You play pieces showing various paths that you move along but you need to avoid going off the edge or colliding with others, last man standing wins. With 2 or 3 I play with two pieces per player which works out well.

Pandemic is bound to get mentioned and it's a great game. Bonus is that it's purely cooperative so you are working together to beat the game system instead of against each other. You run around the US trying to cure diseases before they cause too many outbreaks. It's not too complex but certainly different that any games you'd probably be used to. For an even easier intro cooperative game, I'd go with Forbidden Island. It's basically a scaled-down version of Pandemic where you run around a sinking island trying to escape with treasure. You can play a round in maybe 15 minutes and it's quite a bit of fun.

A couple of other games I'd recommend are Hey! That's My Fish! and Tobago. Hey! That's My Fish! has a chess/checkers feel to it with board position and movement but the rules are incredibly easy to learn and the modular board means it plays out different every time (you can even set up different board shapes). Plus it has really cute plastic penguin pieces. Tobago is a fun game about treasure hunting on an island. The cool part is that you narrow down the locations of the treasures as you play and then race around to collect them, hoping to find good treasure. It also has some gorgeous components.

Good luck! Board games rock

Dominion is a good game, but I like it far less than most people.

Pandemic - a brilliant co-op game. plays perfectly with 1-4 (and 5 if you get the expansion)
Ticket To Ride - classic intro game that scales well from 2-5
Lost Cities - the iconic 'play it with your girlfriend/wife' game. only two players
Queen's Necklace - a favorite for my wife and I, we played it together the day we met

Responding to the Dreaded Gazebo who was typing at the same time I was....

Tsuro is great fun, but it is too light to really be the star of the evening. Very nice for a warmup or cooldown from something meatier.

Personally, I find Forbidden Island too simple. Pandemic is easy enough to learn and I think the theme/mechanics are perfect.

Hey, That's My Fish is a lot of fun and really fast. Another one I don't consider a main course, but still definitely worth having.

I know it's probably the cliche answer, but I'll throw out a vote for Catan. Both of my parents and my wife love it despite never having played anything other than the basic American games (Monopoly, Clue, etc). It's very easy to figure out the rules and basic strategies, and it seems like most games stay real close until the very end, keeping everyone involved and having fun.

I really enjoyed Pandemic, but I can't say the same for everyone who I've played it with. Despite being a co-op game, it seemed like the people with strategy gaming experience became the dominant personalities in the game and the others were mostly just spectators. I think with the right group, though, it could be a great game.

Citadels, Dominion, Ticket to Ride, Stone Age...

I really loved this board game growing up; in fact, I remember drawing images of me opening the board game and taping them around the house as a hint to my parents on the board game that I wanted.

I still think it's a lot of fun (though it's been a decade or so since I've played it), but I'm a sucker for any of the (scant few) board games with a marine/aquatic theme not centered around war boats. If you run across it, I think you'd enjoy it; fun for a beginner, but with enough depth to amuse even a seasoned board gamer.

IMAGE(http://www.pucemoose.com/pics/surv.jpg)

I agree with pretty much all these picks and I'll throw in a few more:

Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age

Blokus

Carcassonne

Incan Gold

I'm going to be a contrarian and throw a vote out against Pandemic. I don't really like co-op games like this because it can often feel like other people are playing your turn for you, or vice-versa. I also don't find it very satisfying, and I lost interest really quickly. I'd echo the other chorus and go with Dominion - it's fast, straightforward, very replayable and modular, but has layers of complexity that will keep you coming back.

If you go with Dominion, here is a pretty good Dominion teaching guide. It may not make any sense to you at first because you haven't played it yet. It's aimed at veterans who want to teach it quickly (<10 minutes for the basics). This is good for people who learn best by doing.

http://www.tiac.net/~mabaker/dominio...

I'll also throw in a vote for Catan. It must be a common household name by now in Europe.

Plus I'll throw in a vote for San Juan. One of the nice things about San Juan is that it's extremely portable. It can be shrunk down to the size of about 1.5 to 2 decks of regular playing cards.

Of the three, Catan offers the most direct player-to-player negotiation, as in offering, bargaining, and trading. The other two have more subtle player interaction mechanics, but it's definitely there.

I have always been a huge fan of risk, as long as you don't start with taking over Europe.

Dysplastic wrote:

I'm going to be a contrarian and throw a vote out against Pandemic. I don't really like co-op games like this because it can often feel like other people are playing your turn for you, or vice-versa. I also don't find it very satisfying, and I lost interest really quickly. I'd echo the other chorus and go with Dominion - it's fast, straightforward, very replayable and modular, but has layers of complexity that will keep you coming back.

As some anecdotal evidence to back this up, Pandemic has been a night-killer for us on more than one occasion. And these are relatively seasoned board-game people. I think if I was starting with that it wouldn't have been a pretty thing.

I will second Carcassonne, though. And Ticket to Ride, although that seems to be really hit-or-miss as to who actually enjoys it.

Dreaded Gazebo wrote:

My ultimate intro game is Tsuro. It's dead simple and really doesn't require much thought but is still quite a bit of fun and really fast. You play pieces showing various paths that you move along but you need to avoid going off the edge or colliding with others, last man standing wins. With 2 or 3 I play with two pieces per player which works out well.

I instantly searched for this on Amazon since I love board games and want to get my family hooked. However the cheapest Amazon has it is $69.99 That feels a bit too high for a board game - unless it comes with a hooker....does it come with a hooker?

A lot of good choices in the thread already. While I think that over the long term Dominion has more to offer you if you end up playing boardgames often, I really think that Ticket to Ride is a better purchase based on the description of your situation. It is easy to learn and works well as a game to pull out even if you only play boardgames occasionally.

Ticket to Ride also works well with people who rarely if ever play games at all as both my parents and in-laws played and enjoyed it. Additionally, if you don't like D & D type themes, the light-hearted train theme may be better suited for your situation then the medieval king/building theme of Dominion. (although neither have dragons/fantasy creatures).

If you think you may have an interest in Ticket to Ride, the publisher, Days of Wonder, has the PC version up to play on its site. Their online play policies have changed multiple times over the years, but I believe that you can still play it for free at least a few times on the site. Alternatively, there should be a demo available for the Live version if you have a 360.

Dominion is also worth checking out, but I think is only playable online through BSW which at least in the past could be a pretty impenetrable place for new players who don't speak German. (I haven't tried it in years).

EDIT: @farley3k

Assuming it is the same game, Boards and Bits has Tsuro for $19.19.

Jasonofindy wrote:

EDIT: @farley3k

Assuming it is the same game, Boards and Bits has Tsuro for $19.19.

Yep, that's it, was just going to post the same link. Apparently Tsuro is out of print at the moment (hence the insane hookerless price at Amazon) but B&B still has a couple of copies in.

On a side note, for anyone looking to purchase board games, Amazon is not your best choice. Prices are usually higher and often pretty unreliable. I would recommend using BoardGameSearch or BoardGamePrices to find online retailers that specialize in designer games. You'll find great prices and usually great service, too.

Jasonofindy wrote:

EDIT: @farley3k

Assuming it is the same game, Boards and Bits has Tsuro for $19.19.

Complete impulse purchase. I picked it up - even though shipping was $8. Hopefully the family will like it.

Dreaded Gazebo wrote:

On a side note, for anyone looking to purchase board games, Amazon is not your best choice. Prices are usually higher and often pretty unreliable. I would recommend using BoardGameSearch or BoardGamePrices to find online retailers that specialize in designer games. You'll find great prices and usually great service, too.

Agreed, the Amazon affiliates are not usually the best place to pick up boardgames. The search engines above are a great place to find the best price, but back when I was buying a lot of boardgames I pretty much stuck with 3 online sources:

I used Boards & Bits or Boulder games for general boardgame orders and Wargame Depot for consims/wargames based on their prices and service. Sadly, it looks like the extended recession finally killed Boulder which had seemed like it was just hanging on for several years. However, Boards & Bits looks to have expanded from its original West coast based warehouse and has added a Midwestern warehouse in Ohio.

Haha, fun factoid. Boards & Bits is less a 10 minute drive from my house. Will probably be stopping out there sometime this week.

Lucky Wilbury wrote:

Haha, fun factoid. Boards & Bits is less a 10 minute drive from my house. Will probably be stopping out there sometime this week.

Do they maintain a storefront at the Ohio location? or is it like it was in the past at the West Coast location where you can arrange a visit to pick up games or to just browse the warehouse? I know drop-ins were usually welcome, but with as busy as they are this time of year, you may want to call ahead.

Jasonofindy wrote:
Lucky Wilbury wrote:

Haha, fun factoid. Boards & Bits is less a 10 minute drive from my house. Will probably be stopping out there sometime this week.

Do they maintain a storefront at the Ohio location? or is it like it was in the past at the West Coast location where you can arrange a visit to pick up games or to just browse the warehouse? I know drop-ins were usually welcome, but with as busy as they are this time of year, you may want to call ahead.

Not sure, I shot them an email though asking that. Judging by the location of the store, it could be either or.

They have this comment on their web site

We now have 2 locations: Spokane Valley, WA and Toledo, OH. Someone is usually on hand M-F from 10:00a until 5:00p. You are welcome to pick up orders to avoid shipping charges. Please email or call to set up a time, and call just before you head over.

So I take that to mean they have the same setup they have in Washington - you can drop in but you might want to call first.

+1 for Ticket To Ride. It consumed my wife and I and our neighbours for months. None of them are particularly big game players, but for some reason TTR really hit. We have 3 boards (US, Europe and Germany [Marklin edition]) and my neighbours are getting Nordic Countries for Christmas.

We play with some modifications - we've printed out new tickets for variety, and we vary the number of destination tickets we draw - and the only reason we stopped playing multiple games every night was the sleeping habits of our oldest son. We still play occasionally.

Man, now I want to play tonight. Guess I'll see what people are up to...

If it's just the two of you, there are several 2-player games that work great.
- San Juan
- Lost Cities
- Odin's Ravens

If you have 3-5, these are all great "intro" games:
- Carcasonne
- Ticket to Ride
- Bang!
- Bohnanza
- Guillotine

I consider these to be more complex, but probably still accessible for beginners:
- Dominion
- Settlers of Catan
- Ra

If you're going to play Dominion, just use Brettspielwelt. No card shuffling.

Subscribed. Curious about board games as well, yet I have never played any outside of the basics such as monopoly.

Dominion is a really interesting game, but I got burned out on it pretty quickly. It may have been more the people I played with rather than the game itself, but they were of the "let's get as many +action cards as we can so our turn takes five minutes" variety. Fifteen minutes of downtime waiting for my turn to come around again got old really fast.

Tsuro is decent, but only if you're looking for the lightest of light games.

Survive! is one of my favorite games ever, but there's a new version. You're not going to find that Parker Brothers version anywhere besides ebay or Goodwill.

Ticket to Ride is a good game, but I'm not sure if the 45-60 minute playing time conflicts with your "the shorter the better" requirement.

Blokus is a really fun game -- you take turns placing pieces on a grid and try to block out each other while keeping space for yourself. Think "Tetris" meets "the lightcycles from Tron." There are also a few spin-offs, including a smaller two-player version.

IMAGE(http://pjsplayground.com/images/blokus.jpg)

Personal favorites are Zombie Fluxx and San Juan, though I can't get the wife to play with me.

I'll second Dominion, Citadels, Ticket to Ride, and Carcassonne. These have all gone over really well for me in introducing new or reluctant players (wife, parents, etc) to real board games.

Don't introduce them right away to Time Agent. That one's not so good for introducing new players to real board games.

IMAGE(http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic202860_md.jpg)

Great game, though.

Kill Dr. Lucky is one of my favorites to use to introduce people; it's basically Clue turned upside down, with an awesome funny-bone attached. Most of Cheapass Games' catalog is good for this, actually. She might also really like Enemy Chocolatier and Unexploded Cow.