What should be my first "real" board game?

Lately my roommates and I have been having unofficial "board game night" where we just randomly decide we want to consume copious amounts of alcohol and play board games. However, these games always consist of Life or Monopoly, or card games like poker or Uno or Phase 10. Ive decided it's time for us to step up our board game, er, game...

I hear the guys talk about board games all the time on the conference call, but I'm curious what someone in my position should do, as someone who has never played anything beyond your typical mainstream games like Monopoly, Sorry, Clue etc.

My roommates and I (5 total including me) are all gamers and are all in the same boat as far as not being seasoned board game players. So I come to the GWJ community looking for suggestions ; what would you all recommend for us as a good entry point? Feel free to ask questions if you need clarity on something

I think my gateway game was Carcasonne although I'm not sure if there's better intro games nowadays.

Which of the "classic" games does your group like most? Which do they dislike the most? Would the group be good with co-op?

These are ones I have played and are great fun without being too tought to learn.

Settlers of Catan

Pandemic

Ticket to Ride

And there is nothing I could disagree with about this list

The 10 Essential Gateway Boardgames for Converting Non-Gamers

I recommend Ticket to Ride. It's quick to learn and takes up to 5 players. The mechanics are easy to transition to after playing classic board games. It gives all the basics for future entries like screw-your-neighbor mechanics.

Citadels is only not a strong contender for "what should we play tonight" when my father-in-law is here because he never brings his reading glasses. But even then he will pair off with one of my younger nieces and joins in.

Edit: It is popular with my nieces because I strongly encourage and enforce a house-rule where when the King calls the Wizard, the player with the Wizard card has to put their hands to their head to form moose antlers and go Wooblblblablabla. Mandatory. Play will not proceed until the player has completed this to everyone's satisfaction.

mrwynd wrote:

I recommend Ticket to Ride. It's quick to learn and takes up to 5 players. The mechanics are easy to transition to after playing classic board games. It gives all the basics for future entries like screw-your-neighbor mechanics.

I would go with TTR as well if I were starting fresh with board games. Really easy to learn, nice aesthetics, and it has random starting conditions to keep the game fresh for a while. Plus it has inexpensive digital versions if you want to try it before buying the physical version.

The gateways are a good starting point but I think it would help a lot to know more about what your tastes are. Obviously you don't yet know what your tastes in board game mechanics are but there are other things you can think about to get a general idea.

I ask because while I personally enjoy many games like Ticket to Ride, Carc etc. they aren't really what sets my world on fire, and if you're an experienced video gamer you might be able to dive into a more complex board game if it interests you.

Some questions you could think about:
Is story/theme of a game important, or are you fine with more abstract/dry games?
How do you feel about player interaction? There are great board games that have very little interaction and are more like puzzles, there are great board games that are incredibly cutthroat, and everything in-between.
Would you be interested in a cooperative game?
How about luck? Does the idea of an outcome hinging on the roll of dice thrill you, or annoy you with its randomness?

Ticket to Ride is pretty much my go to game for newbies to the world of proper board gaming. Just make sure you get the expansion 1910 (for US) to get proper sized cards instead of fantasy flight style tiny ones.

Demyx wrote:

The gateways are a good starting point but I think it would help a lot to know more about what your tastes are. Obviously you don't yet know what your tastes in board game mechanics are but there are other things you can think about to get a general idea.

I ask because while I personally enjoy many games like Ticket to Ride, Carc etc. they aren't really what sets my world on fire, and if you're an experienced video gamer you might be able to dive into a more complex board game if it interests you.

Totally agree with this. Ticket to Ride was the intro game for a lot of people 10 years ago, that doesn't mean it's still the best choice. There are literally thousands of board games out there now, and many of them are much better and more interesting than Ticket to Ride. That said, your tastes and intentions play a huge role in determining what will work.

You say that you do a lot of drinking while playing, so you're probably not looking for a really deep-thinking strategy game. You also say you're all gamers, so there must be some genres that you're into or that would be immediately appealing. Fantasy adventure? Something like Temple of Elemental Evil or Lords of Waterdeep might be perfect. Sci-fi? Look at stuff like Star Wars Imperial Assault. Want some light strategy with a historical theme? Check out 7 Wonders. Do you want to fight, roll dice and do a lot of trash-talking? Something like Nexus Ops or Small World might be perfect. If you enjoy poker/gambling games, check out board games like Vegas Showdown or Lords of Vegas.

All I'm saying is, there are a lot of choices and no real "best" game to start with.

I have never played Risk Legacy but it's come up a few times in the podcast and seems intriguing.
Is it maybe too radical for newbies or is it just jumping in with both feet?

Dr_Awkward wrote:

I have never played Risk Legacy but it's come up a few times in the podcast and seems intriguing.
Is it maybe too radical for newbies or is it just jumping in with both feet?

I've not played it myself, but my understanding of the Legacy mechanic is that it's at it's best when played mostly with the same group.

Knowing you and your friends tastes is important, getting a game with a good theme can really help get newbies hooked.
But I'll second Carcassonne, Catan, Pandemic and 7 Wonders. I think Ticket to Ride is a bit boring, but that may just be personal preference.

Dr_Awkward wrote:

I have never played Risk Legacy but it's come up a few times in the podcast and seems intriguing.
Is it maybe too radical for newbies or is it just jumping in with both feet?

I would love to have a regular board game group in the Denver area, and Risk Legacy looks like it'd be great. I have Risk 2210AD, which I've only played a few times, but that would be a good one for the OP's buddies.

IMAGE(http://www.ihrysko.sk/buxus/images/cache/eshop_product_big/fotogaleria/katalog_produktov/avalon_hill/risk_2210_a.d./risk_obsah_krabice.jpg)

If you folks have any interest in super heroes then Sentinels of the Multiverse is pretty damn fun; it's fixed decks co-op. (note: see difficulty chart to roughly scale accordingly).

The complexity isn't too bad, the characters and villains all have complexity scores (distinct from difficulty) and the "1"s should be pretty playable for most anyone.

I love Dominion and my wife and I play Pandemic together and like that a lot too. If you get the first expansion that adds rules for a 5th player.

Definitely depends on what tastes but I don't think you can wrong with any of these suggestions. Guys I played with at lunch really grabbed onto Carcassonne and played it very cutthroat and loved it while it gets little play time at home. Ticket to Ride plays differently with different people and has sparked some of my other friends into the genre...they play less confrontationally than others play TTR. And then another group loved Dominion and yet another of my groups played Pandemic quite a bit. Of course there is still another group of guys that will not stop playing Catan and will not play anything else! So definitely hard to tell but one of those or all of the them are a great starting point. Flip a coin.

Now the most requested is Power Grid but that is a little too heavy. I'd also include 7 Wonders except that may be a little to laid back and solitaire-ish for the sound of your group.

Ooooooo! I got a great one! Just thought of it and haven't seen it mentioned but King of Tokyo would probably be a hit for your bunch of guys. EVERYONE I have introduced that game to loves it and gets into it big time! Super easy to learn! That's my go-to for you!

I second King of Tokyo. It's a good step up from what you are currently playing.

farley3k wrote:

Settlers of Catan

Say no more. It's a classic.

Aristophan wrote:

I second King of Tokyo. It's a good step up from what you are currently playing.

King of New York is better because it has slightly more strategy and stuff going on. But they're both good games.

shoptroll wrote:
Aristophan wrote:

I second King of Tokyo. It's a good step up from what you are currently playing.

King of New York is better because it has slightly more strategy and stuff going on. But they're both good games.

I was going to say King of New York but was hesitant with the extra complexity since they were looking for a first game but I very much would agree I do enjoy it for the extra strategy. Just depends on the crowd I'm playing with.

Have you considered Cones of Dunshire?

+1 King of Tokyo. I find when people haven't played this first, they struggle to grasp the specialness of Manhattan in the NY version.
+1 Lords of Waterdeep, it is a lot to take in for a new player, but it's not hard to teach. Just explain things in order of setup on the back page of the manual.

I would also suggest Coup, GWJ community GOTY 2014 iirc. Fast card game, bluffing and backstabbing.

Colt Express, I haven't actually played it, but it won the big Spiel award, and friends have said it's fun. It has a cool constructed cardboard train. Old west theme.

Codenames, a very basic yet extremely interesting team communication game. Can take 4-10 players. Technically you can have as many players on each team as you like, but I feel like over 4-5 it would get into too many cooks territory.

Also the games in my post here, great light fare I could recommend to virtually anyone. https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/...

When you're ready to take the next step up from Level 1 modern boardgames, go Kemet. Area control, extremely aggressive, I love it even though moving armies around a map often isn't my thing. Almost the same level of difficulty as Waterdeep.

Riff raff, not sure if it's still in print bit if you can get your hands on it, it's a really cool 'dexterity game' where you are balancing things on a ship, a ship that sways around in the ocean. Crowd-drawing.

If you go the co-op route, Forbidden Desert is a nice one, and be prepared to lose even on novice difficulty! Also be aware it suffers from the common criticism of co-op games that one person can tend to dominate the discussion if what happens on everybody else's turns.

Personally, I think Ticket to Ride is overrated. This might be because I'm usually bad at it! I have fun when I play, I just agree it's a little boring and 'not all that'. I'm also not a huge fan of Citadels, partly because of the art and partly because getting hit by the assassin isn't very fun, and if you are unlucky enough to get hit a couple of times, you probably won't recover (or you would have to be a way better player than me).

Whatever you choose, make sure you become really familiar with the rules beforehand. If its a larger game, maybe write your own summary beforehand of the key rules/mechanics to cement it in your brain. Many modern games have their rulebooks freely available as PDFs, if your players are that kind of keen.

Also, if it's a game with a lot of little tokens, it helps to have little bowls to deal them out from. I use takeaway sauce containers.

HTH!

Looks like I have quite the list to research! I'll let everyone know what we end up going with.

We're very much a trash talk and competitive crowd, so a game that has a lot of trying to screw each other over will definitely play to our natural group dynamic. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions!

I have had a lot of brand new players enjoy Splendor.

It will also teach basic engine building so is a good gateway for them to learn other games from.

I think you should probably hop straight into a COIN game like A Distant Plain or Cuba Libre.

Spoiler:

Not really--those are some pretty heavy games for a first time board gamer. They can be super fun once you're ready to jump into the deep end of board games, though.

Risk Legacy.

My group is currently in a war, it's fantastic. I would have loved it when I had roommates.

It's Risk, (Everyone knows the mechanics), but it changes. You have a record of who wins and permanent scars on the board for inside jokes with your friends.

P.S. It's shorter than a full game of Risk, about 60-90 minutes so ...quick.

+1 for Ticket to Ride and Pandemic. I'd also throw out Forbidden Desert and Castle Panic. These are all great entry level games.

HantaXP wrote:

Risk Legacy.

My group is currently in a war, it's fantastic. I would have loved it when I had roommates.

It's Risk, (Everyone knows the mechanics), but it changes. You have a record of who wins and permanent scars on the board for inside jokes with your friends.

P.S. It's shorter than a full game of Risk, about 60-90 minutes so ...quick.

The real risk is when a "friend" names one of your cities Vagtown. Which I did to McChuck's board.