Group Games Rankings

45: Cards Against Humanity

Cards Against Humanity, or CAH is one that I enjoyed the first couple of times that I played it. But it is not that great for two reasons for me. One, the humor is hit or miss in the game. And I know that it’s meant to be this dirty humor and I appreciate some of that, but it gets boring. And secondly, whenever someone wants to play it, it goes on too long. CAH is a game that works if you play 6-7 rounds. After that the jokes and terms have diminishing returns. And I feel like most CAH games go twice as long as that.

44: Guesstures

Guesstures is a game that I grew up playing, and honestly, I don’t remember it too well. Which says something about it. But charades, meh. That’s where I’m at with it. It’s an old party game and one that I don’t want to go back to.

43: Concept

If you watched my video on games that I dislike that I’m probably wrong about, Concept is an obvious one. But for me it didn’t work. Like I said in that video, it just feels like it’s a lot of staring at the board. And because the word can be anything, it just feels too broad and sucks the fun out of what is a cool idea. Concept is better in concept than it is on the table.

42: Magic Maze

Already on another list quite low, it’s even lower here because I think it suffers with more people. It’s a real time game which is a strike against it in my opinion. Plus, there is no communicating, and you’re working cooperatively. So if someone misses that they are the person who needs to move a figure, it just gets frustrating. Plus, real time games are just too stressful to be that fun for me, and too stressful to want to play them all that often.

41: Catch Phrase!

This one maybe should be lower, I’m very done with Catch Phrase. the concept is not too bad in trying to go fast and get people to guess words. But like a lot of party games the variety was lacking in what you did. I know we played it enough growing up that you’d almost memorize the cards and take reduces the fun even more.

40: Tsuro of the Seas

Tsuro of the Seas again isn’t a bad game in concept. I like the game it’s based on more and it’s higher on the list. Tsuro of the Seas promises to add in more by adding in dragons. And those dragons move around removing tiles and changing up the map and you need to avoid them and the other players. The issue is that it takes a pretty fast and simple game and makes it longer. So while I wouldn’t say no to playing it again, I would prefer to play the original.

39: Spot It!

Spot It! is another game that I’m probably wrong about. Granted, Spot It! is a very simple game. You have a card and you want to be the first to match what you have on your card to what is flipped. It’s a fast little filler that works well with almost all ages. And I think there are other ways to play as well. I wouldn’t tell anyone not to get it, it’s just not for me really.

38: Apples to Apples

Apples to Apples is CAH but clean. So, this again falls into the category that it sticks around too long. But it’s a bit more fun for me. And I think if you can cut it short so that you only play so far it can work. The rules as written, it takes it past the length a good party game should go, as most party games have a problem with. Plus this one you can play with anyone and there’ll be some good laughs.

37: One Night Ultimate Vampire

We’re coming up on a run of social deduction games right here. And I know that I like them less than most people do, so take this part of the list with a grain of salt and know your group. But One Night Ultimate Vampire was the most disappointing of them that I’ve played. It’s fairly basic, and it gives you the least information to go on, it feels, because it’s only one night. So stuff happens while people’s eyes are closed and then you just accuse randomly after some random talking, so there’s no real point. I’m sure people find more strategy than I do, but it doesn’t work for me.

36: Secret Hitler

Another one, like I said t here is a run of them here. Secret Hitler is better, and in terms of mechanics, it is one of the more interesting. One person gets three things, could be fascist laws or liberal laws to enact, they pass two to another player and that player picks one of those two. So it’s a double blind sort of thing, and then people discuss who is lying and who the next chancellor should be.

But for me it’s the theme, the theme kind of works for the game, but it isn’t needed for the game. You could have picked something better, and then they made it possible to be political in the US, which works, but also just isn’t what game nights are about.

35: Werewords

This one I like better than some but also disappointed me more than most social deduction games. I watched a play through of the game and I thought, this might be a social deduction game that works for me, it has more than just accusing randomly. But it is still pretty random. Yes, you can see how good the questions someone asked were, but it’s fairly random still. And the addition of twenty questions, it’s just okay.

34: Donner Dinner Party

Now we go back to more traditional social deduction. Donner Dinner Party is about cannibalism and it’s an odd theme. Who is the cannibal is the game that’s basically going on. But it does some decent things where the party leader adds in a random card, and everyone puts in the food they found blind. It works for hiding information but still giving something to talk about. But still, if you and I both claim we put in the squirrel, one of us is lying and no one knows whom. So sometimes just keeping a mouth shut is better or it’s still very random.

33: The Resistance

The Resistance and this kind of includes Avalon, though I like the Resistance “theme” better is a nice simple game. I feel like it distills a lot of what many social deductions games do, but it keeps it simpler. I like the speed that this one plays, and people slowly talk more about things. And I like that this one doesn’t expect you to start talking with little information at the start like a lot of them do. I don’t love this game by any means, but it’s the best of this group.

32: DICEcapades

I just got rid of DICEcapades, and I kind of miss it. It’s odd, but it wasn’t one that I was going to play again. I like the random challenges it made you do like stacking dice, or adding up dice really quickly, or stuff like that. But then there was a trivia section, and the trivia is bad. Not that it’s too hard, it often isn’t, but it’s a you know it or you don’t. Everything else is silly and fun, that part is just boring.

31: Farkle

Farkle is a nice beer and pretzel style of game. By that I mean you can take it to a bar and not pay that much attention and have something to do. As a bigger group game, though, it just takes a long time. The rules are simple and push your luck is fun, but when people just bust over and over and over again, or there are a bunch of people between your turns, it’s less interesting.

30: Bring Your Own Book

One of the earlier games I backed on Kickstarter, I thought the concept of Bring Your Own Book was interesting. You basically play Apples to Apples, but with picking something from a book. The issue is not all books are made equal. Having a computer programming text book sounds like a funny thing but it isn’t as good as a novel. And you need to know your book. Otherwise, you are just flipping too randomly through it. Good sounding idea, turned out to be just okay as a game.

29: Cthulhu Fluxx

Fluxx (and the versions of it) are a lot of people’s gateway games, or one that they play early on. It’s a fun little game that has one thing I don’t like about it. It can be a great time as you play it quickly, or it can take forever. If the game could last 20-30 minutes, it’s great, when it goes longer, it becomes boring. Though, there are ones that are fun themes and plays on the rules. Cthulhu Fluxx also adds in a way for everyone to lose, which is actually okay.

28: Codenames

Now, this is another one I’m likely wrong on, at least according to most people, but I do have a version of this I like better. The concept is good, and I’ll gladly play it, giving clues to get people on your team to guess words faster than your opponent can. That’s a simplification of it because it’s done in turns, but the word one I don’t love. Mainly, it’s too quiet, and you just don’t feel clever that often as the clue giver.

27: Telestrations

Telephone Pictionary is how I originally knew abut the game. Telestrations is just a version of a game that existed and was turned into print. It’s a fun game as you go back and forth between writing and drawing and see how close or far from the original phrase it was. It’s not really a game, but it’s a great party activity. Play a round of this with a bigger group or as people who up, it’s a good time.

26: A Fake Artist Goes to New York

Another drawing game, didn’t plan on having them back to back, but A Fake Artist Goes to New York is another social deduction type of game, kind of. One person doesn’t know what to draw, everyone else does. So the one person is trying to fake their way as they add to a picture. Concept is fun, and it’s an enjoyable time, but also one of those that seems to stick around too long for me. I’ll gladly play two or three rounds, but I don’t need more.

25: Zombie Dice

Zombie Dice is kind of Farkle like in that you’re pushing your luck as you try and get brains. All the time you’re trying to avoid shotgun blasts. This one I like better than Farkle because the end game is faster and then bad luck that happens is kind of funnier. Pushing your luck with no shotgun blasts and then rolling three on green dice sucks, but it’s also absurd. Just giving the concept a theme is fun.

24: Balderdash

Again, I have two similar games right next to each other, though Balderdash is nothing like Zombie Dice. Balderdash is a game where you make up what a weird law is, what an acronym stands for, what a definition might be, or more things. And then you try and guess the right answer and hope people guess yours. This generally doesn’t end as a game but devolves in a fun way into in jokes for that session and a lot of laughing.

23: Liebrary

Liebrary is very similar to Bladerdash. Instead of a definition or an acronym, you’re given the plot of a book and need to write the first sentence. It’s again really goofy and while it’s easier to know what the right one is a lot of the times, it can provide so many good laughs. And then when everyone things that a line is too crazy and it turns out to be true, that’s even better.

22: Unspeakable Words

Unspeakable Words is a Cthulhu themed spelling game where you are trying to make as big words as possible but you might also be going insane. Though, if you go insane, now you don’t have to make real words anymore. It’s goofy and simple, one that I played a bunch and then moved on from. But it’d play it again as a good little filler.

21: Flapjacks & Sasquatches

Another one that kind of falls into the filler category is Flapjacks & Sasquatches. You are trying to cut down trees and playing out different things to do that. There’s some take that, it’s kind of in that weight of a Munchkin, which isn’t on the list because I don’t consider it a big group game or it’d be very low, and Fluxx. This one I feel like is just more enjoyable and less in your face take that. Though, when it does have that, it is in your face. Plus just sillier in a different way, where Munchkin doesn’t feel that unique.

20: Tsuro

Now we’re onto Tsuro. I had Tsuro of the Sea lower, and this one works better. Firstly, the timeline is set. There are only so many tiles and it’s unlikely you’ll play all of them. Plus there is more strategy in the game while still being lighter. You just plan out how you are going to do move and nothing will break that up. But you also can manipulate it so that you might be able to take out another person. Though, now I’ve played it enough that it’s low on my list to play again, it is one that’s unlikely to leave my collection because it’s so easy to play.

19: Second Chance

Like Tsuro, Second Chance is another one that is super easy. I’m not going to remove it from my collection because it is easy, but I’ve played it enough that it’s not one I gravitate towards. It’s basically fitting Tetris shaped pieces into a board, it’s a roll and write, and then trying to end with the fewest open spots left. It’s very lucky, but it is also a relaxing game to play.

18: Coup

Coup is another bluffing game, but it’s not social deduction really. People can claim that they have whatever role they want and then take that action. But will someone call them out on if they truly have that role. If you guess right and they don’t, they lose a role, if you are wrong, you do, and the goal is to be the last one standing. Though, if you don’t ever call someone out, I think it’s that you can collect points to win. Clever game, and simple enough to play.

17: Scattergories

Another classic party game, Scattergories is one that I enjoy a lot. It’s a good one in that everyone probably has played it, because it is a classic. Though, maybe newer gamers haven’t. And it is a party game that led to others on the list. You’re just trying to come up with an answer to a prompt that might be a boys name or thing found at a beach and they need to start with the letter J. And you just don’t want to overlap. So do you take the obvious one in hopes that other people will avoid it, or go with something more out there?

16: Criss Cross

Another roll and write, and one that I still quite enjoy, but because of it’s simplicity it’s just dropped a bit. But it’s a great one, because of it’s simplicity for a bigger group. You just need to be able to see the dice. And you are trying to get the same symbols adjacent to each other in rows and columns. But you also need to put the two dice rolled right next to each other. So it’s a bit of a puzzle as you fill in your board. A good one, just one I’ve played a lot.

15: Codenames: Pictures

Now, the preferred version of Codenames for me, Codenames: Pictures. I like this one better because it gives you more of a chance to be clever. The images are so weird that you can come up with interesting ways to exclude some images or to connect others. And people discuss it more around the table. Can still suffer from silence sometimes but generally it plays with more energy.

14: Stipulations

And now another game that I’d put in the same category as Liebrary or Balderdash. The pick something and create an answer. But it also has some Apples to Apples where someone is picking their favorite answer. This one is more fun though because you have control over it. You write down a stipulation for something like the dream job of being a baker, but everything you bake is poisoned, some stipulation like that. It can overstay it’s welcome, but I try and keep that from happening.

13: Hues and Cues

Hues and Cues is a party game all about colors. In it you try and get someone to land on your color and get a lot of people close, as the clue giver to score points. And as the guessers, the closer you are the more points you can score. It’s a clever game where you give a one word then two word clue and then reveal the location. And it is one that works pretty well via Zoom.

12: Wits & Wagers

Wits & Wagers is my favorite trivia game, maybe the only one that I like. The main reason is that you don’t need to know the answer to do well. You just need to know who might know the answer and bet on their guess. Because it’s Price is Right rules, closest without going over. And all the numbers are numeric, so generally people can ballpark it. This one just works for trivia and plays fast and everyone is playing the same game, no one is putting down the right answer because it’s their turn to.

11: Not Alone

Now, we move away for a moment from party games. Not Alone is a one versus all game. The one is a monster who is trying to stop the crashed astronauts from getting off the planet. And everyone else is those astronauts waiting for a ship to pick them up. They can go anywhere they have a card for and can even discuss it, but the planet or monster is listening all the time. The idea is clever, the game play is pretty simple, and the whole thing is fun as the monster or the astronaut.

10: Medium

Now we’re back to party games. Medium is about matching words with your partner for that round. But to do that you both put down a card with a word on it and you try and say a word linking them and match up. If you don’t match, then you do it again with the words you just said. And if you don’t again, you get one last chance, and hopefully you’ve narrowed it in. It is good for laughs and everyone is thinking of the word that they’d have said as well.

9: Just One

Just One is a cooperative party game, not the last one on the list. It works really well with almost any group because the concept is simple. One person is it and they pick a random word from a list that they can’t see. Everyone else writes a one word clue. But if any of those clues duplicate, both copies of it are gone. Then with the remaining clues the person who is it needs to make a guess. There are rules to make it trickier, but generally we play it simply so that you feel like you can guess. I’ll let you find out on your own what the actual rules are.

8: Sushi Go Party!

And away from party games, Sushi Go Party! is a card drafting game. And a set collection game, or a set not collection game but mainly a drafting game. I really like it with larger groups because it doesn’t change how fast it can play. And it feels like there is more substance, because there is than a lot of other bigger group games. It’s one that won’t ever leave my collection because of how simple it is to get to the table and play and the variety it can have.

7: Cross Clues

Cross Clues is the second to last party game on the list and second to last cooperative one. This is kind of like just one, but instead of guessing one word from a bunch of clues, you’re trying to get people to guess a combination of two clues with just one word. I really like how this doesn’t have turn structure as well, whenever you have a clue for your intersection card, you can give it. Makes the game faster and keeps everyone involved at all times.

6: Similo

The final party game on the list, Similo is a blast to play. It might drop over time a bit, but when you have a lot of sets you can get a lot of weird things. One person is a clue giver who is trying to get people to guess their card from a group of 12. But they can only say if it’s similar or different from a card they play from a hand. And everyone else must eliminate one, then two, then three, then four, then one to win. It’s not too bad when you’re using animals to eliminate animals, but animals in hand to eliminate historical figures, now that’s interesting.

5: Welcome To…

Welcome To, the second highest roll and write on the list though I just realized I forgot Cartographers, is a great game, so is Cartographers for a big group. Each person is using the same poll of flipped cards and going for the same scoring objectives. So all you need is to be able to see the cards. And game plays differently every time because of how things come out. I need to play with more of the maps though.

4: PitchCar

One of two dexterity games on the list, this one is a racing one where you and up to 7 other people, maybe 9 if you get an expansion (so 10 total) are flicking cars to race them around the board. It’s silly fun as cars fly off the track or bank nicely around curves. And when someone has a good shot, you cheer. Grand old time and a silly game but in the best way.

3: Railroad Ink

Finally roll and write is Railroad Ink, and this is a bit of a cheat, as is my #1 because you technically need two sets. Thankfully Railroad Ink or Railroad Ink Challenge were released two boxes at a time. So you can play up to eight if you get both of them. It’s a route building roll and write, and with the challenges it just adds that little bit more. But I like challenges better for that more, it gives you direction when you don’t know what you want to do.

2: Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

And super high on the list is a social deduction game. I love Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, why, because you aren’t just guessing randomly at the beginning. A murder has happened and everyone has four clues and weapons in front of them. The murder picks on of each of their own and the forensic scientist knows what they are. But no one else does and the forensic scientist can only send up reports. But with that first report you can start guessing, because it’ll be meaningful, and that’s immediately when the game starts. So great and always memorable accusations.

1. Icecool

Finally, Icecool. This is a bit of a cheat, like I said, because you need Icecool and Icecool 2 to play with 8 people. But when you do, it’s a blast. Flicking the penguins around is great. And the whole racing away from the hall monitors who are out to catch you and get through the doorways to get your fish, it works. Like PitchCar when someone makes a great shot everyone is excited. And you can sometimes plan a great shot.

Final Thoughts

Big group games are interesting for me. I often play them because we have 6-7 people on a game night, but generally they aren’t my favorite. Of those 45 game that I’ve played, plus Cartographers that I missed, maybe 14 are in my Top 100. That’s a lot, but also there are 45 games on that list so I’ve played a lot of them as well.

I think it’s that a lot of the party style ones aren’t that interesting, or try and copy other games too much. And I think it’s also because I don’t like social deduction that much. I’ll play those games but I won’t pull them off the shelf myself.

But what are some of your favorite big group games?

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Tofu Kingdom, Brewcrafters Travel Card Game, The Mind & Cthulhu Fluxx

I lumped these together. They are all smaller games, I gave them a chance, and while they aren’t bad, I have a number of smaller games that I’m going to pull off the shelf before them. And often that’s why games leave, something like Cthulhu Fluxx was a great gateway game for me, but now I have others.

I think that most people might be surprised by the Mind. My experience with that was just okay at the best. The game with it’s, you can’t share information is fine. But also leads to long chunks of time of people not talking. I wish there was more fun and funny going on for a game that is so simple. The Mind is like Cosmic Encounter for me as well, where it is very group dependent.

Gloom

Gloom is a very fun game. It has transparent cards and you are trying to kill off your family with them having the most miserable lives possible. And you tell stories as you do it. It’s a blast to play, and I haven’t played it since before I was married. I was dating now wife but we were maybe engaged. That’s over 7 years.

So, you can guess why this one is leaving. I just don’t play it often enough, or at all anymore. If someone else has it and pulls it off the shelf to play, I will play it and love it. I might even buy it again at that point. But right now, even though it’s a small game, it opens up room for other small games to try and play.

Werewords

This one came into my collection not that long ago and now it’s leaving my collection. I am always trying to find a second social deduction game that I like. I even watched on Board Game Geeks YouTube channel Werewords played and thought that it’d be it. It’s a game of twenty questions with a traitor, the concept even sounds fun.

But it’s like so many social deduction games, when it comes down to it, you are just guessing. If you don’t guess the word you will take a random stab at whom the traitor is and probably be wrong. If you’re the traitor and the word is guessed, you’ll give a random guess on the seerer unless they were extremely obvious. I want more deduction in my social deduction is what it is, I guess.

Werewords is a solid game, it’s just not for me.

Onirim

This one might surprise people. I like Onirim as a solo game. But it’s going away for three reasons. The first being Orchard: A 9 Card Solitaire Game, then A Gentle Rain – another solo game, and finally, because I own the app. I can still play Onirim, but I’ll do on the app. And there will be much less shuffling.

I know that a lot of people even like the app better because it does all the shuffling. I still think I prefer the physical game, but if I’m going to play a solo game right now, it’s going to be Orchard or A Gentle Rain. They are easier to get out and play, so sorry, Onirim, you’re leaving the collection. Again another really good game and this one is for me, but I just have others to play now.

The Siblings Trouble

This is one that I never actually played. I picked it up because when it was on Kickstarter, I had backed the companies other game, Lift Off! and wanted to back another one of their projects. It’s a kind of RPG like game that is tailored for kids. But it came out at the same time as No Thank You, Evil! A kids RPG that has more support. And I likely would just play D&D with my kid eventually.

Hex Roller

I got this game quite recently, I played it, and I’m selling it. Hex Roller is not a bad roll and write. But it isn’t a game where what you do will change much. The dice rolls will change things up, but the mechanics don’t change. So I’ve played it, and I’m passing it on to someone else.

My knock on Hex Roller is that while the scoring is simple, the teach is not. The rules are a little bit weird for how you take dice and use them. It just teaches harder then a game that doesn’t have that much going on should. I understand that they wanted the game to be clever and give you lots to think about, but it’s just a solid game. Not good enough for me to come back to.

Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger

This is a really fun and goofy game. It is also a story game that has limited replayability. Now, I am not done with the story, so why am I getting rid of it. It’s easy, I know two maybe three people who own it. If I want to play it again or play it the whole way through, I can.

Choose Your Own Adventure: House of Danger is a great time. It’s goofy and fun to sit around and play. If you play lighter games, I definitely recommend it. But most likely, like me, you’ll end up selling it once you’re done with the story. The downside is I won’t get much for it, the upside is, someone can play it and enjoy it again.

Blossoms

Blossoms is a two player push your luck game. You are trying to grow flowers and then harvest them at the point that it’ll give you the most points. It’s a pretty little game, though in a larger box than really needed. But it is a two player game, so the question I asked myself, how many two player only games do I need?

The answer didn’t include Blossoms. When I look at my two player games, I would pick Hanamikoji before it, Skulk Hollow, 7 Wonders Duel, Fox in the Forest, Fox in the Forest Duet. All of those I’d play before Blossoms. Blossoms is just a little bit too simple for when I want to play a two player game. But if you have a parent or grandparent who likes more classic feeling games, Blossoms would be great.

Cry Havoc

This is a tough game for me to get rid of. I really like Cry Havoc. This is another situation where I just own other games I’m going to play before it. Cry Havoc is asymmetrical area control. If I want area control that’s pretty complex, Blood Rage. If I want asymmetrical, well I own Root now. Cry Havoc is leaving because I own enough other games that do similar things. And I own enough other games that I’d play before it.

It is a bit of a casualty of my Top 100 that I just wrapped up, actually. When going through the Top 10 and seeing games like Lords of Hellas and Blood Rage, th ose will get played before Cry Havoc. So even with Cry Havoc just missing at 103 and being there last year, it’s time for it to go.

Castle Panic

This is getting bumped because of a future Kickstarter that is coming. It’s also getting bumped because it’s too easy a cooperative game. Now, some of that is that I’m older than the target audience. This is a tower defense game for 10 year old kids or younger. It’s not targeting someone like me. Village Attacks as a tower defense game is.

But this is a game that I win too often. And again, I think that’s with the target age. A 10 year old will want to win more often than they lose. I personally like to lose about 60-70% of the time when playing a cooperative game. In my Top 100 I have Say Bye to the Villains, I have yet to beat that game. I don’t think I’ve lost Castle Panic.

Lift Off!

I just talked about this one, it’s the first game that I backed on Kickstarter. I am greatly tempted to keep this one. I’ve played it a few times but it hasn’t been in years. It’s a fun little game, and I like some of their other games. I still have Skulk Hollow which won’t be leaving anytime soon.

This is one that I am tempted to keep to just play a few more times. It is also a game that isn’t going to come off my shelf all that often. It’s like Castle Panic in that it’s younger focused, not my gaming group, and there’s enough other games I’ll play before it.

Dicecapades!

For a mass market game, Dicecapades is generally a lot of fun. You get goofy things like stacking dice. Or you roll a die and need to do that many push-ups. Or you roll a die and there is trivia. Wait, there is trivia, what does that have to do with dice , the answer, nothing. And that’s why I don’t pull it out anymore.

Everything else in the game is fun, but you need to answer a trivia question on a random area that is determined by a die roll. If you get it wrong, you stay and then do it again next turn. Meanwhile, everyone else is doing goofy fun things, until they get stuck on trivia as well. And if I roll sports before you roll movies, because that’s what we know best, I get going faster just based off of luck.

It is a mass market party game, it is supposed to be lucky. But it’s just not that fun when you get to trivia. Remove the trivia from the game, I’d probably keep the game. It’s one that I can play with cousins and non-gamers. But with trivia, it’s annoying. If I want to do trivia, I own Wits & Wagers.

Star Wars: Imperial Assault

Now, this is the tricky one, and it might stay. I want to play this game. The intro scenario to teach you the game, I’ve played it twice. But it’s a campaign game, and it’s a campaign game with an app before apps were common. So the app itself isn’t great. Not bad, but not great. And I don’t have a group to play this game. So it’s a lot of work to play solo.

If I had a group, I’d play it. I might even play it solo, if I go through the introductory scenario again. But am I going to do that when I have Isofarian Guard coming sometime, Destinies coming that can be played solo, Middara, Roll Player Adventures, Solomon Kane, Deep Madness and more? I think it might leave like Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth did. Not because it is a bad game, it isn’t, it’s a lot of fun, but because I own so many.

16 Games of Shelf Space

It’s a tough list to cut. I look at Star Wars: Imperial Assault, Cry Havoc, Onirim, and Gloom especially, and I really enjoy all of those games. But the question is, will I play them? Or am I just keeping them on my shelf because I like the idea of getting back to them sometime?

I think it’s more the latter than I’d actually get back to the games. And some of them, Gloom in particular, that depends on the group. If you like a tell a story, it works well, if you just play the cards, the game is fine. So, all of these are leaving, probably over the weekend, to get traded into my FLGS. And I’m looking at a few games, Escape The Room and Star Wars Unlock, that I need to play to then free up more space.

Which one, if you could get one of these games I’m trading in, would you want to play most?

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Kickstarter

Vault Wars & Relic Road Show

So this is the Kickstarter. Vault Wars is a small card drafting game. You are picking vaults to bid on and get so that you can find the best stuff in them. If you know the television show Storage Wars, Vault Wars is very much like that. And I haven’t it gotten to the table but I hope it’s a fun small game to try out.

Miniature Market

Grimslingers

So, Miniature Market had a sale where a lot of small games and small expansions were discounted down to $5 or less. And I did a good job on that sale, I bought two items for a total of $8, plus a game that wasn’t on sale for $25. But we’ll get to those two other games soon. Grimslingers, I mainly bought it for the cooperative campaign play in the game. I heard that the game competitively is just another version of rock paper scissors but more work than just playing rock paper scissors. But Grimslingers has been on my radar for a long time because of the cooperative play and the art style which looks really amazing.

Blank

This is a game that I kept on putting in my cart and taking out. Not just with the cheap sale on Miniature Market but on any sale. It is one that the Dice Tower, in particular Zee Garcia has talked about, and it seems fun. You fill in the blanks on cards basically creating and editing the rules of the game as you go so that you eventually have your own game. It reminds me a little bit of Fluxx and possibly something like Uno. Now neither of those a great games, but it is a simple one that could be fun to play around with and at $3, it was the right time to get it.

My City

A legacy game that I don’t own, how did that happen? This one I’m excited to get to the table because it seems like a nice simple game that plays really fast. That was a knock of mien on Charterstone that while the game was simple, it lasted a while and just kind of convoluted itself with more story that wasn’t really story. My City looks like it’s going to play very simply throughout and I hope that it’ll be a lot of fun to sit down and play a couple of games of at a time with my wife or with friends to go through the whole game.

Lucky Duck Games

Destinies Expansions

So, I don’t have the base game of Destinies yet, it is in an order from Miniature Market. But with everything I hear about the game, I’m confident that I’m going to like it. It’s kind of a campaign game, but each scenario has different characters and doesn’t need to be played as that. Also it’s a story and adventure game, but is really simple to play. I’m hoping that it’ll work well for a wide group of players. I’m really excited to get this one to the table.

And I like that the two expansions are new settings. Well, at least the one is focused more on Africa. It is just a different setting and while I’m fine with traditional fantasy, I also want to see fantasy, monsters, and stories coming out of everywhere. I’m confident that Lucky Duck Games will be able to tell a good story in the expansions as well as the base game.

All Systems Go

Root

I’ve been waiting to pick up Root for a little bit. No real reason I haven’t grabbed it before, but I knew if it was in the store used when I came in I’d get it. Root is a great little animal war game. It plays really well and I want to try it more. The different actions are fun, and I know there are expansion I will pick up. The downside to the game is that it takes a long time to teach. If I can get a consistent group of players, that won’t be an issue though.

Space Cats

Nothing says exciting like a deep space adventure where you are fighting off aliens. Well, maybe if you can add cats to that. Space Cats is not a game itself, it is an expansion for Nemesis. I don’t know that I really needed it, but it’s cats. Overall, it’s more cute(ish) and fun, and I wanted it more than I needed it for the game. Now I need to get Nemesis to the table.

Which of these games would you want to play first?

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Why Talk About Changing Tastes?

I talk about that some in my article of Filler, Family Weight, and Other Board Game Classifications. The simplest way to put it is that as you game more your tastes will change. For a lot of board gamers, games like Munchkin, Fluxx, Ticket To Ride, Carcassonne, and Catan were the games that got them into the hobby board game areas. Before that, they were playing games like Uno, Skip-Bo, Monopoly, Phase 10, Clue, and Scrabble.

I think that’s a pretty common journey. It starts with playing those classic games that we grew up with, or our parents grew up with. Then when games like Catan came around, I at least had a friend who introduced me to that and then later Ticket to Ride. But now I don’t have Catan in my collection anymore, and Ticket to Ride rarely gets played. What changed or why did things change?

Why Do Tastes Change?

I think that everyone grows and changes in almost everything. I’m not sure if there is anything that people can’t change from. And I think board games show one way and an often way that people do change. Some people will always stick with a more basic game, they have found the level that they like. They want to play the classic games, and that is totally fine. But for myself and others into hobby board games, I think it’s important to remember the journey and how we can help people along that journey.

So I’m going to talk about two games that helped draw me into the hobby and probably did for a lot of people, Fluxx and Munchkin. I could talk about Catan, but I think that Fluxx and Munchkin explain it well. Both of those games are light card games that have you trying to mess over your opponents, take their stuff or stop them from winning. Now, this should sound familiar. That is basically how Uno works. You are trying to stop your opponents from winning as much as you are planning on your own victory itself. Or the game Sorry, you want to stop them from winning.

Why did we stop playing Sorry and Uno for Fluxx and Munchkin?

We stopped playing them, because Fluxx and Munchkin offered more in way of the game. When you play Fluxx , you are creating and changing the rules to the game. Sure it’s very simple draw one card and play one card, unless the rules say otherwise. In Munckin you are trying to make your character stronger to defeat more monsters and your opponent weaker or their monsters stronger, so that they can’t. There is more to think about with your card play.

Both of those games take something that we know and build upon it. They add more to the rules of the game, barely, and they offer more choices. To go back to Catan, I sometimes say that if someone like’s Monopoly they should try Catan. Why, because some of the pieces feel similar, but the game offers more choices. Now that’s a bigger jump than Uno to Fluxx, but it’s about finding stepping stones.

Why did we stop playing Fluxx and Munckin?

And this is a cycle that for hobby gamers repeats fairly often. I stopped playing Fluxx and Munchkin, though I still have both, because I wanted games that gave me more choices yet again. One thing that I find is that the more games I play the less true randomness I want in it.

Sure Tainted Grail might have a random encounter or unexpected outcome in an exploration, but I still make more choices. I play down all the cards for combat. Gloomhaven has a deck AI for the monsters, that is random, but I can plan out what I do and have knowledge on what the monsters might be doing. There is no, will I or won’t I draw the right card, because there isn’t a truly right card. It is how can I make what I have available to me work the best.

This is true for most all the games I play now. Some are smaller and more random, like Claim, but even that is less random and offers more choice than some other trick taking games. And it is an extremely light and fast two player filler game. While Fluxx and Munchkin might be light, they take longer than a filler. When I want that lighter, fluffier game, I want it to be played fast now.

What Do We Learn From Changing Tastes?

To start, I think it’s important to remember that our tastes have changed. They might change again, and those we play with, their tastes might change as well. There can be a disparity between gamers. Those of us who love those heavier games and those who love the lighter or more traditional games. It is easy at times to forget that we started there with more traditional games as well.

Even if you are starting now with a game like Horrified and Pandemic which are more on the hobby side of gaming, you will still have a progression to your gaming. You might not like those games as well in the future because you’ve mined them for what they have and now you want more. And we don’t want to forget, because when we forget, that is when we stop bringing people into the hobby.

And that really is my main point. I know I talked about this as well. When you think about your changing tastes over time, it comes into play with bringing people into the hobby. I am in a bunch of board game groups on Facebook, and I know I wrote an article based off of what I saw in those groups. I can’t find it right now, but let me recap.

The Scenario

A new person to the hobby side of board gaming joins one of these groups. They are all excited because they just got Cards Against Humanity, their group loves Munchkin and Catan, and they want to know what game they should get next.

The first two responses are:
“Those games suck.”
“Scythe”

What’s Wrong With This?

Well, there are a lot of obvious things wrong with it, and I know it’ll stand out to most people. Even the people who commented those things, stepping back and looking at it objectively and not in the moment can spot what is wrong. The first one doesn’t answer the questions and belittles the person who is excited about board games for their choice in board games.

The second one is a bit harder to see. Scythe might be a great game, it is on my to play list. But Scythe is a big euro style game that is a massive step up from something like Munchkin, Cards Against Humanity and Catan. That answer might intimidate a new gamer out of the hobby or make them feel dumb because they don’t understand the game. The Scythe recommendation is like giving someone a calculus test after they’ve just learned their multiplication tables, it’s too big a gap.

Both of these answers, the people writing them have forgotten their journey. They don’t remember how their tastes changed over time. And I get it, they are passionate about loving Scythe or wanting people to play what they find to be better games. But for almost every gamer, there is a journey.

So How Do We Be Better?

Staying on my scenario, I think that there are two better responses, though one of them is actually not responding. To paraphrase Thumper from Bambi, if you can’t say anything nice, be quiet. Now that doesn’t apply to every situation, but for someone excited about board games and on their journey, however deep it leads them into the hobby, be nice. So if you can’t be nice, be quiet.

Or, pause, think about your journey. Think about two types of games for the person who asks that question. The first is, when you were playing games like Catan and Munchkin, what other games were you playing? Secondly, what were the games that helped you take the next step? Then give two pieces of advice on what to get next. One for that point in time the person is in, and one for what might be a next step. Then explain why for both of them.

We really can use our knowledge to encourage people along their journey. I know that I want more people to play board games with, and I’m not facing a shortage. Games get played almost every Tuesday and Wednesday. I had people over to game on Saturday for a game night, I’ll have people over this Saturday, and I still want to play more games. And from that amount of gaming, I still want to play more.

But I know that I need to be careful not to push too far with my passion for people I don’t know are as passionate about board games. I want to give everyone them as gifts or to play games with non-gamers. That is amazing when I can and they love them or like them. But I shouldn’t pull Terraforming Mars off the shelf with a new gamer.

What Were the Board Games on Your Journey?

So, a little exercise for myself and everyone else. What has your board game journey looked like? What were the points where you paused and grew as a gamer?

For me:
Growing up: Uno, Skip-Bo, Dutch Blitz and the like were very common and got me into the idea of gaming.
Around End of High School: Got introduced to the modern classics of Ticket to Ride and Catan and dove into those.
Post College: Got into Magic the Gathering and introduced to more games like Dominion and Power Grid
First Board Game I Loved: Betrayal At House on the Hill, this really got me into board gaming and buying board games

Since then it’s been a slow and steady trying of different games and growing. Probably should say the final stop I can think of was about 3 years ago when we started playing Gloomhaven and I feel in love with the blended mechanics of Amerithrash and Euro as well as I fell in love with campaign games.

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The other one is too many rules and or roles. While it’s fun to have one group of players doing one thing and another working on yet another thing, that can be challenging. Some of it can be a challenge just to play, but more so, there is a fair amount of time setting up the rules before the game. People lose track of what they are doing, rules are explained multiple times or a rule can even mean different things for different people. The point of playing a larger group game, most of the time, is to start off the game night with something simple and getting people into the game playing mindset. If a game is overly complex, it’s going to be harder to teach to that large of a group. To get that type of game to the table, start with a smaller group and add one or two people at a time.  Now, there are exceptions to this rule, which I’ll give an example of as a larger group that people can play.

To move away form pitfalls or things that could be difficult in larger group games, what are some categories or types of non-party games that people play with a larger group? There are times where party games are good, but what games can you branch out with?

The first category is actually just a game itself, but it’s been themed and reskinned so many times, I think it’s one that you can qualify now as it’s own category. That is Fluxx. Any theme you can imagine has been put on this, I have the Lovecraftian one, but there is environmental fluxx and there is space fluxx. Whatever theme works best in your group, you can probably find it in Fluxx. To explain how fluxx works, you are trying to match cards you’ve played to the objective, however, the rules of the game are in a constant state of flux as people play new rule cards or change the objective of the game to keep someone from winning or to get themselves closer to winning. It’s draw a card, play a card sort of game as the base though. It’s okay as game, but it can run long, so I’d lean towards playing this when I know I’m waiting on someone for a little bit.

The second category of games is social deduction games. Most people are familiar with the concept of mafia. It’s a game where some people are citizens or police and others are mafia. The mafia try and kill off the citizens and the police try and get the mafia. That’s the basis for a lot of these games. They are trying to figure out who is some character or role and keep them from winning. There are three games that I would most strongly recommend out of this category of game: Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, Secret Hitler, and Donner Dinner Party. Clearly they are all nice and happy things here.

There are other games like The Resistance, Avalon, or One Night Ultimate Werewolf, that are also social deduction games, but these games are missing one important aspect. These games miss an important aspect that the others have, which is the introduction of imperfect but useful information.Yes, there is very imperfect information in these games, and you can find out more information, but at the end of it, they all fall closer to the mafia basis of the games. This just means that they end up being a little bit simplistic at times.

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong introduces a component of the forensic scientist who is trying to help the investigators find out who committed the murder and who is the accomplice. Each player in front of them has four clues and four weapons. Then the standard thing is done, everyone closes their eyes, except for the game master, the forensic scientist, who asks the murder and accomplice to open their eyes and the murder to select a murder weapon and clue from in front of that player. Then everyone closes their eyes again and everyone opens their eyes. The forensic scientist then, without speaking, selects options from cards that they have to give clues to the investigators to help them narrow down who is the murder and what the weapon and clue were. The investigators eventually end up guessing, and if one of them gets the combo right, we catch the murder. But the murder and accomplice are trying to distract people but not too obviously.

Secret Hitler and Donner Dinner Party work on similar mechanics. The imperfect information combo. In Secret Hitler, the two people who are it, chancellor and president and that changes each round. Each player has a role, and the fascists are either trying to get Hitler to be chancellor or to complete so many objectives. These objectives,  however, are completed each round, but could be good for the players or could be bad for the players who aren’t fascists. But what works well with this game is that the president draws three bills and then has to pass two on to the chancellor who then selects a bill. So you have some information, but it’s possible to draw three fascist agendas, in which case, you’re stuck with what you pass. In a similar way, the Donner Dinner Party has you hunting for food. Each player, minus the current camp leader, gets to draw too food cards and pick one to play. Poison is bad as it poisons the whole food supply, squirrels are good, because you can feed two people with squirrels. But it’s possible that you can be a settler who just happened to draw two poison cards so you have to screw over the group. Add in to that the played food cards are shuffled up means that no one really knows who played what, but let the accusations fly.

Turns out that there is going to be a part three to this, because while I’ve gotten to some games here, there are still even more games to go. These have all fit into a certain category, minus Fluxx which is it’s own category, but what are some other games that can work well, that’s what I’ll come back with next time.

What is your favorite social deduction type of game?

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So, early on I did a post on different types of board games, and I’ve been wanting to come back to that topic, but I’ve been distracted by other posts, time constraints, and forgetting about it from time to time. Now is the time, though, where I’m going to be running a more in-depth look at board games and the different types of board games.

The first category that I want to touch on, keeping with the theme of Board Game Nights, is party games. Party games don’t have to go along with a specific board game night, but can be worked into a lot of different get-togethers.

What Makes Games Fall Into This Category?

Party games are generally games that can be played quickly, can be easily incorporated into the social side of a party, and are easy to pick up. You don’t want to stop the interactions to get the game rolling, but when there is a lull in talking, or as people wind down, you can pull out these games and add some energy back into the room.

What Are Some Examples?

I would say that some of the most common and classic examples are games like Scattergories, Catchphrase, and Apples to Apples. These games are the ones that my parents had, along with games like Taboo and Guesstures. These games are aimed at getting you to speak with other people and laugh as you try to get other people to guess a word, and are generally for keeping people entertained.

There are some games that have continued in that line which have come out recently. Games like Stipulations, which was just kickstarted in 2015, and Wits and Wagers have built upon the concepts of previous party games, and games like Cards Against Humanity have taken them to a darker place.

But these aren’t the only types of games that would fall into the category of party games. There is a card game series (each a stand-alone game) that is themed many different ways — the game Fluxx. This game, and its various versions, is a fun simple game where the rules are always changing, so you can’t plan ahead and make any strategy. And another example, Zombie Dice, is a game where you try and collect the most brains and avoid being shot, just by rolling dice. There’s also Tsuro, which Kristen wrote an  article on recently; it is another fun game that goes fast and is always changing. And finally, We Didn’t Playtest This At All is a game that can last as little as five minutes, and you can play it over and over and over again. These are all great examples of games that you can play instead of games that fall into the more classic party game category.

Finally, there are games like Telephone Pictionary that you need nothing more than paper and pencil to play. And any game that makes you act out something or do something silly works well for a party. Cranium is the combination of Pictionary, Trivial Pursuit, and charades; most people have heard of this one, but a similar game, Dicecapades, is a fun dice-based twist on that. These games keep you active and involved more than other games.

Do They Get Old?

This is an important question that you probably won’t think of all that much, but if you play these games often, especially the ones from higher on my list, they do get old. Catchphrase, while a fun game, has a limited number of options, and eventually, it seems like the same thing over and over again. Even Cards Against Humanity can get old. With a limited set of cards, you end up playing the same cards over and over again, and the variety eventually runs out. Thankfully, they are putting out expansions, but even those don’t change up the game greatly. But a lot of the games further down on my list have higher replay value. Fluxx changes every time, as the name would suggest, and Tsuro has some different strategies while going by quickly. We Didn’t Playtest This At All runs into the same issues as some of the other games on mylist, but they offer you some twists to the usual format. I think the most important thing is knowing your group. If you have creative types playing, games like Scattergories and Stipulations are going to get a much longer run for you.

If You Were to Recommend a Couple of Them, Which Would They Be?

The top three that I would recommend are Fluxx, Tsuro, and Zombie Dice. These games offer you a variety of playing styles, and are luck-based games. And most other people have some of the “thinking” party games like Scattergories. The nice thing about Fluxx and Tsuro is that they are easy to transport, so if you want to take them along to someone else’s place, you can do that.

What party board games do you like?

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Start Simple and Fast

This is pretty straightforward — find games that are easy for people to pick up and play through quickly, and start off the night with them. It is very rare that everyone shows up to game night at the same time, so don’t plan on it. Know some ten-minute games that you are going to be able to play while people show up. Games like Fluxx, We Didn’t Playtest This At All, Tsuro, and Zombie Dice are all fast and easy games that people can pick up quickly, and ones that don’t take too long so that people who show up later aren’t just sitting around waiting for others to finish their game.

Know the Rules

It’s pretty obvious that you are probably going to want to try some new games during your game nights. But it’s smart to test-play them, or at least go through the rules and pieces, so you know what you are doing before you try to teach someone else. I have a couple of games that I want to play, Five Tribes and Ghostbusters, but without having played them before, they aren’t good game night options. Instead, with the games that work with two players, my wife and I will play them first, and with those that aren’t, we’ll have a smaller group of friends over to play them. But the better you can know the rules beforehand, the easier it is for other people to jump into a game with you.

Be Ready to Explain the Rules

This comes down with the previous rule. It is important to be able to explain the rules. Last game night, we played Seven Wonders. I’d played the game before, but I’m less familiar with it than the person who brought it. I could have explained the rules, but he was going to be better at explaining them.. And with some games, you can go through and explain the rules and people still won’t completely follow. So what do you do in that situation? If people aren’t getting the rules, pass on the game until you are more confident. Or if there are a few people who are sitting in a row who are familiar with the game, have one of them start, so that those who haven’t played will get a few chances to see how it’s done. For some people, hearing the rules is harder to follow than just watching a few turns. And be willing to play slowly and explain as you go if you need to.

To go along with this, tell the story of the game as you start. For example, Pandemic is a game where you are CDC members who are trying to stop the spread of diseases across the world. Forbidden Island is a game in which you are a group of adventurers, like Indian Jones, who are trying to track down lost treasures before the island sinks. As you can see, that pulls people in quickly, and makes it easier to explain the rules when it’s done within the framework of a story.

Don’t Have Surprise Rules

Especially in competitive games, if there are funky or tricky rules, go through and explain them. People might not remember them perfectly, but if it isn’t explained and you suddenly pull out the rule and use it your advantage, that isn’t going to give you a fun game night. A good example of this would be if there are some reasons why a player couldn’t do something. It’s annoying to find out that there is a certain situation where your brilliant plan can’t work.

Have Fun

The most important rule is that you’ve got to have fun. Even if you are a competitive player, don’t let that ruin your fun or other people’s fun. Board games should always be about hanging out with your friends rather than just about beating them in a competition. If you have some friends who are more competitive, pull out those more cutthroat games when playing with them, but for a lot of board game nights, you won’t have that type of group. You need to find the balance and play cooperative, fun, or more Euro-style games. Keep it simpler, and when you really want to play those more competitive games, invite over people whom you know can handle it.

So what would a good board game night look like?

We Didn’t Playtest This At All – start with this fast game that people can be added into easily. It’s a draw-a-card-play-a-card game.

Smallworld – After you have a few people, find a game that is goofy and good fun. Smallworld doesn’t take too long and is easy to pick up. And because of the style of game it is, even though there is a competitive aspect to it, people don’t get mad about it.

If you have some time and enough people, split into a couple of groups and play more serious games. For those who like cooperative games, something like the Lord of the Rings Board Game or Pandemic would be a good choice. Those who want to play a more complex or difficult board game could choose something like Dead of Winter or Legendary.

Zombie Dice or Tsuro – Finish up with another game during which people can leave anytime. The easier games are great to wrap up on, and then people can still leave when they are having fun.

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Stocking Stuffers (quick and easy):

There are tons of small board games that make awesome stocking stuffers. Games like Fluxx, We Didn’t Playtest This At All, and Love Letter make super small and easy gifts. Love Letter in particular is a very small, very simple game that is easy for the whole family to play.

Presents Under the Tree (a bit more time):

Doctor Who has a Christmas special every single year. It airs on Christmas day and is on BBC America for those of us over here. Generally not tied into the current series at all, it is a great way to relax after a busy morning of opening presents and trying to keep up with any small relatives that might be around. The Christmas Special is always appropriately winter-themed, and takes Doctor Who up a level in goofiness. A good spot for those relatives who haven’t watched Doctor Who before to jump in on a festive day.

Christmas Dinner (the long haul):

By the time Christmas arrives, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will have come out. Most likely you’ll have already seen it once or twice (or a dozen times if it’s good). But take your family and go see it again. Figure out which sibling is the best able to explain it all to your parent who doesn’t remember or hasn’t seen any of the previous ones (in my family, it is not me), figure out the seating arrangements, grab some popcorn, and settle in for the long haul.

Over the River (and you thought a movie was the longest time you could get them to be nerdy):

If you are really daring, there are lot of different options. Arkham Horror is a long, long game that is quite involved. If you have a lot of time to fill and your family is already somewhat nerdy or if there’s someone in it who already loves H.P. Lovecraft, jump into a game of Arkham Horror at noon, take a break for dinner, and finish it up sometime before midnight. Or if that isn’t your speed, there are only 14 episodes in the show Firefly — set-up a two-day marathon with your family. You could even make a drinking game out of it with your siblings, if you’re into that sort of thing. Or better yet, make up your own drinks that epitomize the characters in the show.

Now, this is far from an exhaustive list as to what you can do, and I even mentioned a Lord of the Rings marathon before. There are many different games, shows, and crafts that you can do with your family to get into the Christmas spirit (and into the Christmas spirits). These are just a few examples, but the point is, jump into something nerdy with your family. In my family, my mother isn’t all that nerdy, but my dad will gladly learn a new board game or go see the newest superhero or sci-fi movie with us. You might be surprised at just how nerdy your relatives can be, even the ones who don’t seem like it, and something like a board game is always great for family time. So I’ll leave you with my top recommended game list to play with family:

The List:

• Phase 10
• Yahtzee
• Ticket to Ride (my highest recommendation from this list)
• Settlers of Catan
• Unspeakable Words
• Bananagrams
• Five Crowns

These are good games for talking and playing (minus Bananagrams, which is fast, hectic and requires close attention, though it is easy to pick up), and great for family time. There are many other classics or different party games that are good choices for this as well. And if you are really daring, try Cards Against Humanity, but only if you’re quite sure everyone’s fine with (very) NSFW.