Board/Card game suggestions

[malraux]

2) Any games that are best with 2-3, as opposed to party games? Sometimes you don't have a whole mess of people, and still want to kill time.

I'm partial to nexus ops, and it plays 2-4 (with 2 or 3 being best). If you want fast, Lunch Money is decent and stylish. I'd avoid the expansion though as it adds way too many cards that you have to reference the rules for.

 

[Victim]

Pandemic is a good 4 player co op game. It works pretty well with fewer players too.

Race for the Galaxy, while great fun IME, doesn't sound like your best choice. Like many custom card games, a lot of the complexity is in each specific card so learning the game can take a lot of experience besides just knowing the game rules. It's also slower in 4 player.

 

[Crothian]

Nexus ops is really fun too. Haven't played that one in a while. Pandemic plays well with 2 people. Heck it also plays well with 3 and 4 people (the max the game supports).

 

[RodneyThompson]

So, given your criteria, I'd say that here would be my recommendations. These are all games that I personally own, so I can vouch for them as good choices. Likewise, these are all games that I have taught my girlfriend how to play, and she's mostly just a casual gamer. If she can get it, so can you and your friends. Some of them are borderline, which I call out in my recommendations.

1. Chrononauts: This one is fun, semi-educational, and short. It's a simply Looney Labs game with a fun theme, and it's short--a long game would be 30-45 minutes. I think this one is superior to Fluxx (below) because it requires some actual strategy and thinking, and it requires you to interact with the choices of your opponents.
2. Fluxx: Light like Chrononauts, this one is zany and occasionally ridiculous. It's fun, game last from 5-20 minutes, but there's not a ton of strategy here. Mostly, it's a timekiller, but I find it more fun than, say, Uno. This one is best with at least 3 people, because with 2 it will get a bit boring.
3. Guillotine: This one's pretty fun, simple to teach, and fast. There can be an antagonistic element to it as you're directly competing with others over cards, but it's pretty easy on the learning curve, and, like the above two games, available for under $30.
4. Pandemic: Probably my favorite board game in existence at the moment, though there are others nibbling at its heels. It's 100% cooperative, it's a fast-play game (1 hour is a long game), it's VERY challenging but also very easy to learn (all of the game rules are more or less printed on the game board, or the cards). This is a more complex game, and you'll lose a lot when you play, but that's OK, because even when you lose you haven't spent much time with it. I also think it's an absolutely brilliantly designed game that teaches you a lot about cooperation and how different systems interact with each other. Can't recommend this one enough.
5. Shadows Over Camelot: This is one of my "iffy" picks, for several reasons. It's not cheap (probably $50), it's a more complex game than the others, and a game is going to run you and hour and a half to two hours. That having been said, this is a fantastic cooperative game, and it's the game that opened my eyes to board games as a whole. A great theme, solid components, a cooperative play that also induces a decent amount of paranoia among the players, I can't recommend this one enough if you're willing to invest the time/money into the game. This one works best with 4 players or more.
6. Small World: Another one I was iffy on based on your criteria, mostly for length of game (about an hour to an hour and a half) and cost (another $50) game. That said, this is a great competitive game that is simple to learn but very, very replayable. In fact, it's possible that this is one of the most enjoying replayable games I own, because every game is going to be different, both in outcome and in flavor. It's a competitive game, but there's also the opportunity to sort of do your own thing in the game. This one is fighting Pandemic for the top spot on my games played. Another awesome thing about the game is that it's for 2-5 players, and each number of players has a board specifically designed for that number.
7. Ticket to Ride: Another $50 game, TtR is a great game with pretty simple mechanics. It's semi-competitive, but it's a train-building game that I've taught tons of non-gamers how to play. It's a light game on the surface, but there's a lot of strategy in it. If you pick up this one, pick up the Nordic Countries version. It's specifically designed for 2-3 players, and if you like it you can pick up the Switzerland map, which is also designed for 2-3 players. This is one my girlfriend and I play a lot, because often it's just the two of us trying to kill time at night.
8. Wings of War: This is a fun game of dogfighting that absolutely could not be simpler and faster. It's also not that expensive, but it does require a nice, flat table surface to play as your placement of your airplane on the table really matters. A fun diversion game, with lots of expansions available.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

The old Family Business game would also work well for these purposes. I'm not sure if it's still in print.

 

[Asmor]

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.

Race for the Galaxy

San Juan

While both great games (I prefer RftG, but SJ is good too), I'd say they're too complex for non-gamers to pick up and play.

Apples to Apples meets your criteria well.

On the Dot does as well (also known as Vitrail, in it's original french version, which means stained glass).

Many of the Cheapass Games will meet your criteria. I like Give Me The Brain a lot. Kill Doctor Lucky is good, and one of it's sequels, Lord of the Fries.

Bohnanza meets your criteria well (and it's a great game).

Apples to Apples is the quintessential "game for a bunch of people that just want to play, have fun, and not learn rules," IMHO. Definitely deserves a spot in every gamer's closet for such occasions.

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.

Fluxx is another good game, the only problem being that, while rare, it is possible for it to last way longer than its enjoyment... Personally, I prefer We Didn't Playtest This At All, which is vastly faster and, IMHO, vastly more fun. Games are frequently over before everyone's even had a turn, but they go so fast that that's not a problem.

I'd suggest heading over to BoardGameGeek | Gaming Unplugged Since 2000. That site is custom-made for finding board games.

Some fun ones I've played that fit: Citadels, Drakon, No Thanks!, For Sale.

Citadels might be a bit much, but it is a great game. Plays fast with a lot of people, too. I really like No Thanks!, though I've only played it once. For Sale's also good.

Carcassonne is a game you might want to take a look at.

Carcasonne's one of my "go-to" gateway games. Simple, unique (to people not used to games), quick, and most importantly fun. Stick with the base game for new people, but the expansions do add a lot to the game.

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.)

Ticket to Ride is another popular gateway game. I'm not a huge fan of it, but I don't mind it and it's really fast and easy to pick up, and has the advantage over Carcasonne in that it looks like a boardgame and might feel a bit more familiar.

Ooh, Gloom sounds fun.

Couple of questions.

1) Anyone played "Are you a werewolf"?

2) Any games that are best with 2-3, as opposed to party games? Sometimes you don't have a whole mess of people, and still want to kill time.

Werewolf is a classic party game, and I highly, highly recommend it. You can play it for free using a deck of cards.

Couple of times at DragonCon -- good for a horde (5-10 people), not so good for small groups.



Well, basic Gloom is for 2-4, iirc; sorta *meh* with two players, but even three gives a nice dynamic to it.

Aside from that, I'd also second Fluxx.

5 people is way too few for Werewolf... You need at least 7 I'd say, and that's not including an 8th person to be the moderator. And even then the game's not going to be terribly satisfying. But with 10 or more people, it's a hoot.

So, given your criteria, I'd say that here would be my recommendations. These are all games that I personally own, so I can vouch for them as good choices. Likewise, these are all games that I have taught my girlfriend how to play, and she's mostly just a casual gamer. If she can get it, so can you and your friends. Some of them are borderline, which I call out in my recommendations.

1. Chrononauts: This one is fun, semi-educational, and short. It's a simply Looney Labs game with a fun theme, and it's short--a long game would be 30-45 minutes. I think this one is superior to Fluxx (below) because it requires some actual strategy and thinking, and it requires you to interact with the choices of your opponents.
2. Fluxx: Light like Chrononauts, this one is zany and occasionally ridiculous. It's fun, game last from 5-20 minutes, but there's not a ton of strategy here. Mostly, it's a timekiller, but I find it more fun than, say, Uno. This one is best with at least 3 people, because with 2 it will get a bit boring.
3. Guillotine: This one's pretty fun, simple to teach, and fast. There can be an antagonistic element to it as you're directly competing with others over cards, but it's pretty easy on the learning curve, and, like the above two games, available for under $30.
4. Pandemic: Probably my favorite board game in existence at the moment, though there are others nibbling at its heels. It's 100% cooperative, it's a fast-play game (1 hour is a long game), it's VERY challenging but also very easy to learn (all of the game rules are more or less printed on the game board, or the cards). This is a more complex game, and you'll lose a lot when you play, but that's OK, because even when you lose you haven't spent much time with it. I also think it's an absolutely brilliantly designed game that teaches you a lot about cooperation and how different systems interact with each other. Can't recommend this one enough.
5. Shadows Over Camelot: This is one of my "iffy" picks, for several reasons. It's not cheap (probably $50), it's a more complex game than the others, and a game is going to run you and hour and a half to two hours. That having been said, this is a fantastic cooperative game, and it's the game that opened my eyes to board games as a whole. A great theme, solid components, a cooperative play that also induces a decent amount of paranoia among the players, I can't recommend this one enough if you're willing to invest the time/money into the game. This one works best with 4 players or more.
6. Small World: Another one I was iffy on based on your criteria, mostly for length of game (about an hour to an hour and a half) and cost (another $50) game. That said, this is a great competitive game that is simple to learn but very, very replayable. In fact, it's possible that this is one of the most enjoying replayable games I own, because every game is going to be different, both in outcome and in flavor. It's a competitive game, but there's also the opportunity to sort of do your own thing in the game. This one is fighting Pandemic for the top spot on my games played. Another awesome thing about the game is that it's for 2-5 players, and each number of players has a board specifically designed for that number.
7. Ticket to Ride: Another $50 game, TtR is a great game with pretty simple mechanics. It's semi-competitive, but it's a train-building game that I've taught tons of non-gamers how to play. It's a light game on the surface, but there's a lot of strategy in it. If you pick up this one, pick up the Nordic Countries version. It's specifically designed for 2-3 players, and if you like it you can pick up the Switzerland map, which is also designed for 2-3 players. This is one my girlfriend and I play a lot, because often it's just the two of us trying to kill time at night.
8. Wings of War: This is a fun game of dogfighting that absolutely could not be simpler and faster. It's also not that expensive, but it does require a nice, flat table surface to play as your placement of your airplane on the table really matters. A fun diversion game, with lots of expansions available.

Guillotine is really a great game, the cartoony style suits it really well. I've bought it twice, and both times ended up giving it to my mom because she and my sister enjoy it a lot and lost the first one in a move!

Small World looks intimidating, but it's actually a surprisingly light and approachable game. The key is to tell people that to take a territory, you need a base of 2 chips plus one chip for every piece of cardboard already on the territory. It's really simple when you break it down like that. Also, I've only played it once as two players, but that game lasted about 50 minutes and that's with neither of us having played before, counting setup time, and counting me looking up rules frequently.

I'm partial to nexus ops, and it plays 2-4 (with 2 or 3 being best). If you want fast, Lunch Money is decent and stylish. I'd avoid the expansion though as it adds way too many cards that you have to reference the rules for.

Nexus Ops actually isn't a bad choice at all. It scratches the same itch as Risk, but I like the theme a lot more, the bits are way, way cooler (I mean, transparent neon plastic monsters that glow under blacklights? AWESOME!), and the game doesn't last very long at all.

Now some of my picks...

Three-Dragon Ante | Board Game | BoardGameGeek Great D&D-themed semi-poker-styled game. There's a tiny bit of complexity, but not much. One of my favorite games.

Ra | Board Game | BoardGameGeek The scoring in Ra is actually fairly complicated, but the gameplay itself is super simple. You either add a tile from the bag to the auction track or you initiate a bidding round.

Ca$h 'n Gun$ | Board Game | BoardGameGeek This game is fun for one simple reason: you get to point styrofoam guns at your friends. It's way more satisfying than I can possibly describe. Oh, the game itself is good too, nice and simple, plays fast, but really this one's all about the guns.

Coloretto | Board Game | BoardGameGeek Very fast and simple, but very fun.

Bang! | Board Game | BoardGameGeek A great, tense game. It's reasonably simple, but can be a bit daunting because the cards don't actually have any text on them; they use symbols. Most of them are fairly simple, and the more complicated are cards are suggested to leave out of the game until everyone's got a bit of experience.

Poison | Board Game | BoardGameGeek Fast, fun, light filler. Only skills required are the ability to add to 13 and to recognize colors or shapes (red, blue, purple and green liquids in differently-shaped bottles, so color blindness isn't a problem)

Loco! | Board Game | BoardGameGeek Another fast, fun, light filler, with a bit more depth and strategy to it, and a bit of the ol' screw-your-neighbor.

Lamarckian Poker | Board Game | BoardGameGeek Fun poker variant playable with a standard deck of cards

To Court the King | Board Game | BoardGameGeek Small amount of complexity in this Magic: The Gathering-meets-Yahtzee game of rolling dice to collect people who grant you powers.

I think that'll do.

 

[Rechan]

So much answers and advice and suggestions! Now I don't know what to get over them all. Lots of options!



Thanks folks.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

I put in a second vote for...

Family Business: Its my favorite 30-minute gameplay game. You can play with 3-6 players and the few rules can be learned while playing. The basic premise is that each player has a "family" of 9 mobsters (represented by 6 sets of 9 cards with real mobster names on them) and you are trying to have the last family left alive. Cards are played to kill/save the other players mobsters.

Ticket To Ride: It looks like a boardgame involving trains, but really its a cardgame about getting matching sets of colored cards (I think there are 8 colors and some "wild" cards). The train theme gives it a little oomph. You can learn the rules in no time at all and a game shouldn't take more than an hour.

Bang: Its similar to Family Business, in that you use cards to try to kill the other players. The catch is instead of 9 mobsters you have 1 character with 4 or 5 "hit-points". Each game you create your character by getting a role card, which tells you what you have to do to win the game, as well as a personality card, which lets you break the rules in some way.

Settlers of Catan: Actually plays very fast if one person knows the rules well. Sometimes, however, you can get stuck with one of those players that ALWAYS takes 5 minutes to make a 10 second decision and that can really bog the game down when/if it happens. It makes the game unfun really quickly.

And my thoughts on some other recommendations made previously...

Carcassone: Requires a good bit of strategy. Unlike the games above, the number of times you have played gives you a BIG advantage. I wouldn't call it a good casual game game.

Fluxx: Here is how I sum up playing a game of Fluxx (which is a card game) in non card game terms. Everyone sits around a table. A magic spinner that spins for a random amount of time is spun. At that random time a bell goes DING and someone at random wins the game. No strategy whatsoever.

DS

 

[Rechan]

Fluxx: Here is how I sum up playing a game of Fluxx (which is a card game) in non card game terms. Everyone sits around a table. A magic spinner that spins for a random amount of time is spun. At that random time a bell goes DING and someone at random wins the game. No strategy whatsoever.

One could say the same about Uno. But oddly, I had a lot of fun with Uno (except for the one game that took about 30 minutes to resolve).

 

[Asmor]

Fluxx: Here is how I sum up playing a game of Fluxx (which is a card game) in non card game terms. Everyone sits around a table. A magic spinner that spins for a random amount of time is spun. At that random time a bell goes DING and someone at random wins the game. No strategy whatsoever.

That's not entirely true. It is possible to have a tiny amount of strategy in Fluxx. But yeah, it's pretty much a game of chance. I'd say it's 99% luck, 1% strategy, which is actually a good thing for playing with people who aren't gamers. Gives them a chance.

If you are going to get Fluxx, I'd recommend eschewing the vanilla version and going for one of the themed versions. I've got Zombie Fluxx and Monty Python Fluxx, both of which I like better than vanilla. Monty Python's my preferred version, both because I prefer the theme and humor and because I think it makes more creative use of keepers and creepers.