Top 5 Easy to Learn and Play Board Games

5. Gasha

All of the games are going to be small on this list. Gasha is one that has a fun theme because you are just doing basic set collection. But the set collection has an element of push your luck to it. You know what you might get, but it’s a few different options. So when you are pulling two cards, will you get what you want. And will they help you complete a set to be able to start scoring points.

But Gasha isn’t a push your luck game. You make a decision based off of what is available to you. There is some risk in that, but it’s minimal. And the game is light fast and fun, so if you don’t draw what you want, you might find that you just play it again.

4. Lucky Numbers

Have you played the classic game Rack-o? Lucky Number is kind of like that. In Lucky Numbers you want to get your numbers going low to high all four of the columns and rows. You either draw a tile and add it to your board or discard it. Or you take a discard tile and add to your board. This game is lucky, but it’s fun because it’s so simple and it feels like a nostalgic game in what it does.

I already taught you how to play Lucky Numbers. And each game only takes a few minutes, especially at lower player counts. More players it is going to take longer. But that is going to be true for a lot of these games on the list.

3. Point Salad

Point Salad falls into this category as well. This one I feel like has a bit more going on with it, mainly because you get to choose a lot. You decide to either take two cards to use in your scoring tableau or a card to use for scoring. But that’s the complexity of the game. The trick comes in that the scoring is on the back of the vegetable cards for your tableau. So if you pick a card it’ll flip over scoring cards. So when do you just need to take that scoring card because it won’t come back around again?

This one probably has the biggest brain burn element to it. And because of that at higher player counts it won’t be the fastest game. Two and three players it’ll fly by. But with more it’s going to slow down and the luck element of the game is going to go up.

2. Mind Up

Then we have Mind Up. This one is working for me consistently. I like it because it’s simple, play down a card and get a card from the middle. But everyone plays down a card at the same time. And then in numerical order you get the card that matches your spot.

The game adds in a bit of complexity with it’s scoring and set collection element. But not so much that it isn’t a five minute or less teach. But as you collect cards they go into scoring slots. And they go from left to right. So if you grab a blue card on the first turn it’ll always go in the first spot whether it’s worth one point or five points. And each card in that spot scores that number of points. It’s very easy to show with the game so I love that about it as well.

1. Mountain Goats

Finally is Mountain Goats. This is one that I learned to play on BGA (Board Game Arena) but now love to play in real life with people as well. The game play is so simple, roll four dice and move up on the mountain. You do that by combining or using dice to move up on columns from 5 to 10. So it’s harder but a shorter path to get to the top with 10 and start collecting points. Of course, if another mountain goat makes it to the top as well, they are going to knock you down. So you may need to start that climb over again.

There is a fair amount of luck in this game. And the game tries to mitigate that some. If you roll more than one die landing on the one face, you can change them so you only have one die on a one. Otherwise it could get really punishing. You might even want it to happen so you have less luck. But the overall game is a nice balance of luck and seeing how long you can stick at top of a column and score points.

Final Thoughts

I see more games on my shelf that would fit into this category as well. Things like Cafe Barras and Draftosaurus are great in this category as well. And then others like Skyrockets, Ecosystem, and a ton of roll and write games would work as well.

I did intentionally skip all my roll and write board games. While I own more complex ones as well as easy to learn and play ones, a lot fall into that category. So I think that I talk about them enough when I talk about board games because I do a lot of roll and write talk. And roll and writes are one of the more common games that I play on Malts and Meeples YouTube, so you can check them out there.

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Top 5 Games that Would Work with a Pokémon Theme

5. Ice Cool

The list needs a dexterity based Pokémon game, and I think with Ice Cool branching out into Ice Cool Wizards, there is room where this can work. You flick around your trainer and you need to collect pokéballs and then capture Pokémon. It would be a very simple game. Simple games work well for this. For Ice Cool you’d actually need to change some more rules than in other games, and Ice Cool and Ice Cool Wizards don’t have that many rules. But make it a dexterity game about who can catch the most and rarest Pokémon.

4. Gasha

This already has a Japanese theme. It leans into the gashapon machine theming. You get toys and you’re trying to collect ones to get additional prizes. The theme doesn’t even have to change. Do it like Gasha: Pokémon or Gasha: Eevee Edition and it’ll work just fine. You’ll find for most of these that I’m trying to do what has been done thus far, which is just add the theming to the game. So a simple game like Gasha is perfect to get that theme added to it.

3. Super Fantasy Brawl

It’s a fighting game, so that makes sense for Pokémon. And it’s a 3 versus 3 character fighting game, that’s certainly possible to do with Pokémon. This could easily be my number one game on the list, but I think that there’s another fighting game that would work even better than Super Fantasy Brawl. But the simple game play Super Fantasy Brawl would make for an extremely accessible game and you could do some cool miniatures with it too.

2. Isle of Cats: Explore and Draw

I like this one where the Pokémon theme is a bit more slapped onto it. I think, though, it’d b a solid game to get the theming. Why, because this game is all about rescuing cats from an island that’s being destroyed. Well, make it about capturing Pokémon and you’re trying to be the one to do it the best. It loses any battle aspect of the game, and makes it more about catching them all. That might not be Ash’s goal always in the show, but it certainly works and is one of the goals of the show.

1. Dice Throne

Dice Throne is an easy top answer for me to get a Pokémon theme. It’s considered to just be a head to head fighting game. I think that you can do more than just that, but if you treat it just as a head to head game, it works perfectly. Plus there are already 26 characters out with another 8 on the way. Not all of them would translate into Pokémon but some of them would. And I think with minor tweaks, you could get a core group of eight Pokémon ready for a set.

Final Thoughts

Before you get your hopes up, only a few companies seem to have this property to release in South Korea. So before you get your hopes up, it’s highly unlikely that any of these would ever happen. But it was a fun exercise for me to do. I like to think about what games might work well with other themes.

And some of these games, Dice Throne for sure, doesn’t really need that boost. It’s already a very successful hobby game for Roxley Games. Some of the others maybe haven’t gotten as much notice. But I am keeping an eye out to see what other games are getting a Pokémon board game treatment. And I expect that there’ll be a few more that happen that I might have to import.

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2023 Board Gaming

Let’s break down the numbers. Firstly, let’s talk about the big general numbers. I got in 1,062 game plays in 2023. That is a ton, and I suspect that it’ll be my high, though that depends on what new solo board games come in. We’ll get down to individual game numbers here, eventually, but a lot of that is my solo game plays early on in 2023. I was on pace for 2,500 game plays at one point. But 1,062 plays is still a crazy number.

In those plays, I played 134 different games. So that means that some games were played a ton. Others not so much, but a few games see a lot of play and they’ll make up a lot of my board gaming. Some of this comes from solo games that I play between meetings at work and a smaller percentage of the games that I stream on Wednesday nights over on Malts and Meeples YouTube.

Top Played Games

So let’s look at the top played games, we’re just going to do the Top 5. All of the five are solo games that I play between meetings at work or other times like that. The one with the most plays is Grove followed by Orchard. Two games in the same family that I played 385 and 140 times respectively. I love them because they are very fast games to play.

Next up we have Relics of Rajavihara with 73 plays. This one is a campaign puzzle style game. So that one I won’t be adding more plays to in future years. The next two are Criss Cross, a roll and write game that you can play solo with 58 plays. And then For Northwood! A solo trick taking game.  This is the one that I want to play a bunch more of this next year.

Top Campaign Games

I think it’s also fair to talk about some campaign games, bigger games that I’ve gotten a number of plays of. Then I want to wrap up with my one off board gaming that aren’t solo plays. But what are the top campaign based board gaming experiences for me. Or at least the ones that I play solo fairly often. Though, not all of these are solo.

Tainted Grail and My City Roll and Build top the list. Tainted Grail I wrapped up the final campaign this year with 17 plays. My City Roll and Build I’ve almost played twice through, so that is 21 plays thus far. I need to wrap it up soon. Then a few others made the list, Frosthaven is the new one that I’m playing with a group and that is at 11 plays this year. And it’s going to start strong in January with a weekend day devoted to it coming up quickly. Followed by two that I streamed, Lands of Galzyr and ISS Vanguard. Both of those are at 10 games played.

Top Multiplayer Games

So, Tainted Grail and Frosthaven would both be on the list. But I want to touch on some games that I haven’t talked about. What are some one off games that I played mainly multiplayer that I got to the table a bunch? I say that because I did play Criss Cross a few times multiplayer, but it is mainly solo plays.

Birds of a Feather tops the list. This one I did play solo a few times, I think twice, but then six plays where it was with other people. I like it as a fun, light, and filler with push yoiur luck.  Then we have Gasha and Strike both 7 times. Again filler games, but Strike is just so much fun. I really enjoy being able to sit down and play this one with a group of four or five and just play it a few times in a row. The last two rounding it out are Crokinole and Via Magica. Two fun games, and Crokinole isn’t a filler but is more of an evening of light gaming.

Final Thoughts

2023 obviously was a great year for me board gaming. I got to try a ton of new games, and I got a ton of plays in. I didn’t go into all the numbers, but I had 28 games that were played over 5 times and 73 total that were played over two. So it’s a lot of gaming and a lot of repeating of games throughout the year. I  hope to do a lot of that again this year. I know that I will be going through Frosthaven a lot here in 2024. And I expect that I’ll be at 30 plays of that, might make into my Top 5.

And I mentioned this in a previous article. You can check that out here for more details. But I want to play through more games on my shelf of opportunity. I love having a ton of games and games to learn and play. But my game room is at critical mass, so I need to sort and get more games ready to be played and learned in 2024. That is going to make for a lot of reviews and a lot of fun board gaming. What is a game that you want to play in 2024?

New Board Game Quick Hits

18 Holes: Course Architect

A fun roll and write game where you are building out a golf course to get as many points as possible. It’s not too complex though there is a bunch going on with it. I wish there was a bit more way to mitigate luck, but I don’t always expect that from a roll and write.

Score: 7.5/10

Arkham Horror: The Card Game (Revised Edition)

One that’s kind of a cheat to be on the list, but the game has change slightly. Not in game play but in some of the cards and what comes in the core set. Arkham Horror: The Card Game is one that’s a lot of fun as you explore different scenarios and story just through cards, really. And I like the investigative nature, granted, we weren’t good at fighting, so we needed to do that.

Score: 8.5/10

Bargain Basement Bathysphere

The weirdest named game on the list, this is a solo campaign roll and write game. Really, it is a roll and write that has different objectives and instructions to win the scenarios. Calling it a campaign is a bit much. But I like the dice picking puzzle as you delve deep under the ocean. A simple roll and write game but one that changes it up enough as you play.

Score: 8/10

Birds of a Feather: Western North America

Another small game, Birds of a Feather, which I played recently on Malts and Meeples, is a bird watching game. You see all the birds from the habitats you go to, but be wary of predators who might swoop in and scare off some of those birds you can see. A really simple game, but fast play and fun, okay solo, but better with more.

Score: 8/10

Crokinole

Crokinole was a new one to the collection this year and I’m glad it has been. I’ve gotten in a number of fun games over an evening with it. It’s a disc flicking game with just enough rules to make it challenging, but not soo many that you can’t play quickly and have a lot of fun with it.

Score: 9/10

Dice Kingdoms of Valeria

Another roll and write on the list, I forget how many there are. And another one that I played on Malts and Meeples. Dice Kingdoms of Valeria is all about getting citizens to get bonuses and really filling in everywhere and anywhere to get bonuses. A lot to look at, but not that much to keep track of.

Score: 7.5/10

Dice Monsters Missing Mythics

I wrote up a review on this one earlier this week, it’s a dice collecting, dice chucking, monster fighting game with a little bit of take that in it. There are some flaws with the game, mainly around player count. That said, it’s a fun light family style game that reminds me of Munchkin with way less take that and at a 3-4 player count way faster time. One I’d gladly play but probably never own.

Score: 6/10

Featherlight

Featherlight is an interesting game. I think it plays around with a concept that some other games do, but basically creating your best scoring hand of cards and whomever does that can win the game. However, part of what you are doing is drawing a card and then playing a card to a discard nest. And those cards in the next can determine how you score as well. So it’s a good puzzle to get the right cards on top in the next.

Score: 8/10

Gasha

Gasha is up there as one of my most played new games of the year. And it’s impressively high since there isn’t a solo mode, but that’s because it’s so fast to play. Gasha is a set collection game where you are collecting vending machine toys and then trading in sets for tickets and points all in an attempt to get the most points. It’s light and fast but still good fun.

Score: 8/10

The Great Split

Now a heavier game, though still one that does a big thing I like. The game has quick snappy turns or if they aren’t quick, it’s because everyone is agonizing over what to do at the same time. The game is really about going up on tracks to get points, but the decision making space, splitting cards and giving your opponent the choice makes the game a great brain burner.

Score: 9.5/10

Grove: A 9 Card Solitaire Game

My most played game and that’s because it’s a light fast solo game. But I really am enjoying Grove and the puzzle that it gives me each time I play. How do I maximize layering cards to grow trees so that I can complete objectives and score points. I really like the objectives int he game.

Score: 9/10

Lands of Galzyr

Another one you watched on Malts and Meeples. This is a story driven adventure game as you take a character around and see what you can find, complete quests, and run into random animals, you all are animals, looking for adventure. A really light system but one that is a lot of fun to play. It’ll be up there for favorite new games of the year, I’m guessing.

Score: 9.5/10

One Card Dungeon

An interesting game, One Card Dungeon is a leveled dungeon crawler just using a single card. You use dice for stats, you roll to see what you activate, and you go around and fight monsters. They do a smart thing by making the card from four different orientations be different levels of the dungeon. And a smart thing of giving you player powers. The game does hit some action loops though.

Score: 7.5/10

Planet Unknown

Newest one to the list I played Planet Unknown twice last night. This is a terraforming game as you try and get your best terraformed planet and go up on tracks, place down tiles, and collect meteors and pods across the planet. The turns are simple but filled with a lot of strategy. And it offers a basic mode and a more complex mode, plus modules out of the box for a lot of fun.

Score: 8.5/10

Quest Calendar: The Voidspark Chronicles

I need to get back to this one. I have done a week or two of this daily calendar or so I’m a long ways behind. My goal needs to be sit down, catch up, and then play once a week to stay on top of it. But it’s a directed solo RPG in a daily calendar form where you make a decision or two that leads you on the story. A fun idea, one that I knew I might have trouble getting through.

Score: 8/10

Relics of Rajavihara

My second most played new game, Relics of Rajavihara is a block pushing sliding puzzle game as you setup scenarios, get everything in place and see if you can figure out the puzzle. The downside is that when you know a solution you’re done with that scenario. Upside is, there are a lot of scenarios and a lot of fun in the game. And the components are amazing.

Score: 8.5/10

Sprawlopolis

One of the most popular Button Shy Games, Sprawlopolis reminds me of games like Grove and Orchard which puts it up against stiff competition. Smaller and more portable but the game play is the same so I think it’s whichever you came across first.

Score: 8/10

Via Magica

Another new game that I’ve played a lot, Via Magica is a gamers bingo. You complete cards to get powers which you then activate to let you complete more cards faster. The game play again is simultaneous so the game moves well and the mechanics are simple. But I really like looking at how you pick which cards you go for, and how you can combo bonuses together.

Score: 8.5/10

Witchbound

Finally one that I only played via Discord and having pictures of locations sent to me. Witchbound is a choose your own adventure point and click style of game in a board game. The mechanics are simple, the story is good, and there is enough adventure in the game that you feel like there is a lot to checkout. I really enjoyed the artwork and what this one does.

Score: 9.5/10

Final Thoughts

I think I said twenty at the top, if you counted, it is 19. The reason for that being that one is the first time that I played since I started keeping stats. So Century Golem Edition, it’s the first time in a few years I’ve played you, but I have before.

Overall I’m please, my goal is to hit 50, and so far I’ve done a good job of finding fun games. Even my lowest rated, I enjoyed it, I just won’t seek it out. There are a ton of good games out there, and it’s fun to find new ones. That said, I do keep on playing games again and again or games I’ve experienced before. There are a lot of great games out there to play, they don’t need to all be new.

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Top 5 Quick and Cute Board Games

5. Gasha

Gasha is some of the reason that I’m thinking of this topic since I played it earlier this week. This is a cute set collection game about getting toys from a Japanese vending machine. You can see my whole review of it here.

This one definitely makes the list because the mechanics or action on a turn is very simple. You draw two cards or you trade in a matching set of cards for a scoring card. That is it. But there is some fun to what you do. You need to decide when to try and match up tickets, if you should push for that bigger scoring card, or maybe if you collect for a little bit so you can knock out scoring cards and maybe surprise end the game.

But mechanically it is simple and offers choices and fast choices. And theme wise it is very bright and welcoming. But because it comes in a small box and has kid like artwork (for kids not by kids) it is going to be apt to looked over.

4. Ohanami

In even a smaller box is Ohanami. This one is even simpler in how it sounds, you draft two cards and you add them across three columns. The columns go from highest to lowest, and you always add to an end, either higher or lower. That is very simple.

Where this game stands out, though, is in the scoring. It is not a simple game of just see how many you can get in a row. No, the first round the blue cards score, then green and blue, and finally pink, grey, green, and blue. So blue is the fewest points, but if you get them in the first round, the most points. So it does become a puzzle of how to maintain your columns to be able to play cards, but not take too many cards that won’t score many points.

I sometimes forget that the artwork is really pretty in this game. Why, because it is fast and fun to play, so I draft and go. But if you want, you can spend time to study and enjoy this peaceful artwork in Ohanami. Again, the small box and pretty artwork is going to hide the interesting decision making in the game.

3. Century: Golem Edition

This one I almost didn’t put on the list as I wonder if it might be a little big. But I again played this one recently, and Century: Golem Edition has snappy quick turns, great and cute artwork, and at two players, especially, doesn’t play in much time at all.

This is a hand management game as you manipulate the gems that you have in order to get golems, for points. But building up a hand of cards that you can play out and pick up to manipulate your gems is all of the game. It fits for this list, though, because you do one of four things on your turn, play a card, pick up your cards, get a new card, or get a golem.

It is that simple and while there is great strategy, for some it might seem at first look the game is going to be targeting a younger audience. But it also fits for this list because it is that quick game to play. No one said it needed to be too light, it just needs to be quick and cute.

2. Via Magica

Via Magica is kind of gamers bingo. Super Mega Lucky Box could make the list as well, as a gamers bingo. But Via Magica is cuter as you collect different elements to open portals. When you open a portal it gives you some bonus and some points.

What is going to trip up most gamers is that this is a bingo like game. By that I mean, I draw a element from a bag and everyone covers up that element on one of their portals. And you need certain elements to come up to complete those portals. The mechanics of the game are simple. But if you plan it out well, you get some good benefits for completing a portal. If I complete one that allows me to cover up two water on another one immediately, I want to make sure I have something to cover.

There are a few things that will get this one skipped over. The small box, the cute artwork, and this idea of bingo. It sounds like it is going to be random. But I think it is on par with randomness for something like Quacks of Quedlinberg, which is a bigger game, but doesn’t offer that many more choices.

1. Floriferous

Finally we have a game that might be a bit slower with more people, but it is a fun drafting game. The pretty flower theme and small box, you see a theme here of small boxes being overlooked, are going to be why gamers would skip it.

But Floriferous punches way up with the amount of game in the box. It is a drafting game where you are not only drafting flowers and things for your guardian, you are drafting your own scoring. So if I draft a scoring card, that means, for that round, I didn’t draft a card that would score. But draft too few scoring cards, you won’t score that many points.

Plus, the turn order adds to the puzzle of the game. When you draft a card, you are doing so from a column of cards. If I draft at the top of the column, I will draft first the next round. Likewise, if I draft from the bottom, where the scoring cards are, I go last. So sometimes you draft a bad card to get a card that would complete an arrangement and match up with two scoring cards for sure the next round.

This is one that I think if it had a playmat in the box, and was in a bigger box, people would be playing way more than they are. Which is a shame because Floriferous is a really fun game. And I hope that people will start seeking it out, because it is worth it.

Final Thoughts

Now, as I wrap up, I totally get why people often times will pass over these smaller games. Often times in a game store it is harder to see them all with how they are displayed. Or if it is a mass of small box games so it’s easier to overlook one game out of a group.

The box size also, so often, is a factor with that cuter artwork. But I encourage gamers to look at these games. And maybe it won’t be for you, maybe you really only play big box epic adventures or heavy thinky euro games. But I often make the argument, it is good to have some lighter games for when people wrap up and don’t have time for a big game. Or people finish a game and wait for others to finish another.

So what is your favorite game that is quick and cute? Let me know in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter.

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