I recently sat down with a bunch of friends and played Munchkin. While one of the women took forever to grasp it in any capacity, it was fun. A few weeks ago, I also sat down and played Uno with my family, which was also quite enjoyable.
So what I would like is some suggestion for other card/board games that you can casually play with friends. My ideal is just something you can whip out and have a good 20-30 minutes. They don't have to be family/kid level games; I'm going off to grad school, so I just want something to toss out on the table at a get-together.
My criteria:
1) Not too complex. The aforementioned 'took a while to grasp' can be a problem that can slow things down. Something easy to teach, or easy to play. Not to mention the game shouldn't fall apart under the weight of its rules/mechanics (See: Monopoly). Although sometimes complex games can be very rewarding: Chess.
2) Not a lot of setup. Something that's like Mousetrap (with lots of interconnected parts that must be set out) is something I'd like to avoid. Compare to Jenga, which is fast to assemble.
3) Not overly long in play. Settlers of Catan I imagine takes some time. Same with Monopoly.
4) Not expensive. Descent may look fun, but $80 is a bit much to swallow.
Once Upon a Time (a fairy tale story telling card game by Atlas Games). You get cards with words on them, you insert those words into your story or if someone else says one of your words you take over the story.
Lord of the Rings[/b] a Cooperative story telling game. You each play one of the hobbits and together you are trying to get that ring into mount doom. You play against the board (don't get the Sauron expansion sets unless you want one of the players to be the Big Bad Sauron).
__________________ 28 days... six hours... 42 minutes... 12 seconds. That... is when the world... will end.
Pretty much anything from Looney Labs will meet your needs. Fluxx would be a good first choice, but Chrononauts is pretty good too, but a bit more involved.
Catan doesn't take that long, but it might last long enough to be a bother, so you may want to save it for occasions when you have time.
It is an electronic handheld game, but my friends and I have a blast playing Catch Phrase.
__________________ -Rhun
"I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge - myth is more potent than history - dreams are more powerful than facts - hope always triumphs over experience - laughter is the cure for grief - love is stronger than death." -Robert Fulghum
Race for the Galaxy and San Juan are both quite fun and can be played in under an hour. We generally can get a game done in thirty-to-forty minutes. They do lean a little toward the complex side, though.
Some comments on previous suggestions:
I love Race for the Galaxy and San Juan, but I don't think they fit the request well. Both have a steep learning curve, especially for players who aren't used to European style games.
Bohnanza is fun, but my games of it seem to take a lot longer than the 20-30 minute filler amount of time. <shrug>
Pandemic is made of win, and not too complicated. It's also fully cooperative, which is a nice change of pace and also something that some players really like.
Leans to the complex side understates it quite a bit.
Anyway, with the given criteria, Guillotine and Ticket to Ride are the two that jump out at me. I'd also recommend Galaxy Truckers, though it certainly violates your inexpensive rule. If you have Mensa types, Set is fun (but its certainly not for everyone).
Regardless, the place to look for such recommendations is board game geek.
__________________ All we want to do is eat your brains
We’re not unreasonable; I mean, no one’s gonna eat your eyes
All we want to do is eat your brains
We’re at an impasse here; maybe we should compromise:
If you open up the doors
We’ll all come inside and eat your brains
Ticket to Ride: Good for 2 to 5. Easy to learn. One game takes about 45 minutes. A lot of different versions. The USA version is the basic one and is the easiest to learn (not that they all aren't pretty easy.)
__________________ <exasperated DM> "Underlying what? ... motivation? Do you want to play Dungeons & Dragons or not?"
<drama obsessed player> "How can I narrate my character's co-mingled sense of alienation and ennui towards modern society in this second-rate dungeon hack? My character returns to the surface and uses his remaining gold to start up an organic coffee shop that caters to left-wing revolutionaries... and hot elvish chicks."
As an aside, they don't have to be family oriented. I don't know anyone with kids, and really, I'm going off to Grad school - I just want something to toss down at a get-together and have a good laugh, either as an ice-breaker or a steam-blower.
For card games, I heartily recommend Gloom and all its expansions. It's good, clean, morbid fun. Take a stereotypical gothic Victorian family, inflict various traumas on them to make them as miserable as possible and then "score" points by sending them to a suitable demise. Meanwhile, you can sabotage your opponents by making their family members happy.
__________________ The Evil DM's Motto:
"I don't kill characters. A dead character can't suffer any more...."
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