by Joshua Gertz
So when April and I moved back to Las Vegas, I had envisioned a plan where we would invite all our friends over for a drink and some food and play games while we all caught up. It was a way I could get my gaming fix in a social environment and get to know our friends again since we had been gone for close to eight years.The first thing I need to clarify though is that my initial vision was my wife and I sitting around a table with a few friends playing games like Arkham Horror, Twilight Imperium and Talisman…well that was what I envisioned anyway. The fact is that April doesn’t have a lot of interest in those games, they take too long to play for most people. Instead, our first few game nights consisted of Apples to Apples, Balderdash and Ticket to Ride…much lighter fare than the previously mentioned games.
The reality is that when our friends came over we had more than the max for many of the longer games that I prefer and by the time our numbers dwindled down to play them, the night was winding down and no one was interested in investing 4 hours into a game at that point.
My grand vision of playing some fantastical four hour brain burner was dashed. So to all my friends out there, lets take a look at starting a game night the right way and not the way I did it.
First and most importantly, when you are starting a game night with your friends, look at your audience and determine what the best lineup for games would be. If your inviting your buddies over than a four hour game of Arkham Horror may not be that bad but if your friend are coming over with their kids its probably not the best choice as they are going to be distracted and will not have the focus to get through it…there is also the subject of theme in this case. If you have kids over, don’t play the Kama Sutra Game, its not appropriate.
Chaos in the Old World is an extremely balanced and well made game of four competing powers to control territory. Sounds great if it was medieval Europe but the reality is that the players control one of four demon gods trying to corrupt the world with a board that looks like stretched human skin. While a great game, its probably not good for the Sunday church crowd.
So then there are mechanics, or how the game works and how it may relate to your audience. Some people like poker and some don’t because they cant bluff. So having people that cant bluff probably would not be a good fit for traitor style games where everyone works together but someone in their midst is a traitor that’s trying to sabotage everything. Sometimes it isn’t because of the type of person playing but the situation. A heavy game that requires a lot of thought is not great when a few bottles of wine have made their way into the game night.
There are other things that can determine your game choices, what happens when a dozen people come over? Most games generally do not play over six total people, at least not well anyway. Your option here is to select a specific type of game. With the example of having numerous people, Party games will generally fit the bill and transition well into playing a lot of people. A kids party might require a selection of kids games.
You can also have a specific theme to your gathering, not necessarily ties into the games theme. You can have a wine tasting and play games that focus on wine; Vihnos, Grand Cru and Kings Vineyard off the top of my head. For Halloween you can do Werewolves of Millers Crossing for large groups, Betrayal at House on the Hill for groups up to six, and Arkham Horror for heavier games.
So now that I have gone over some basics you may be wondering how to get some of these games and what should you get to cover so many variables. So to wrap it up here are a list of good entry level games that should make any game night enjoyable for anyone…Ive also included some links to some board game reviewers videos on youtube
Ticket to Ride
A great entry level game into the hobby of boardgaming, in fact I list it first because this is the game that got April on board with my little habit.
It has a family friendly theme of building train routes across the United States, expansions let you play in Europe, China and India. It plays in about 60 minutes and isn’t to involved in terms of thinking ahead or having too many decisions to bog down gameplay.
You can also now find this game at Target so its widely available to everyone, it plays a total of 5 people and cost close to $40.
Hey that’s my Fish
A great kids game that has enough strategy that adults will have a great time playing it.
Players take turns moving their penguins onto tiles that contain a number of fish from 1-3, they then get to remove the tile they were on previously and at the end of the game each player totals the number of fish on every tile they took. The meat of the game is making moves that will trap other players on a limited number of tiles and reduce the number of fish they can gain.
This is a very inexpensive game that you can find on Amazon for around $10 and well worth that price in value for a 30 minute game. The downside is that it only plays 4.
Tsuro
This a new one for us that I saw a few co-workers at work playing and thought April would like it. Its easy enough for anyone to play and games only take about 10 to 15 minutes to play…ohhh, and it plays up to 8 people which makes it a good party game option.
Players take turns placing a tile in front of their own pawn that has multiple lines on it. The player then moves their pawn along the new section of path that is created. If you run into another players pawn you are both out of the game, if you run off the board you are out of the game and the last player on a path wins.
Is not widely available but you can get it on Amazon for close to $20.
Apples to Apples
A true party game that can play a large number of people and scales well. It can be found at Target for about $25 and is suitable for all ages.
The leading player plays a Green Apple card then the rest of the players through in a Red Apple card that best describes the Red Apple card. The lead player selects the best one and the person that played that card scores a point…play to whatever score you want, the more points needed the longer the game.
Qwirkle
April and I got this while thrifting for games but haven’t had a chance to play it yet. It plays up to 4 and costs about $25 at Target.
From reading the rules and watching some videos it looks like its a cross of Scrabble and Dominoes. Players play tiles with different shape and color combinations to score points, placing tiles is restricted by either color or shape. So if a purple circle is on the board you either have to play a circle in a different color next to it or a different shape of the same color. Players play to certain number of point.
Blokus
Another thrift find for us that hasn’t hit the table yet and another game that plays up to 4 players and costs about $25 at Target.
Players receive a number of tiles similar to Tetris pieces and take turns placing a tile starting from an unclaimed corner of the board. Future tiles must be making contact with another one of your previously placed tiles by making corner to corner contact.
Wits and Wagers
Party trivia game that scales up to hundreds of players if needed…yes hundreds.
Don’t be scared of the trivia because you score points based off betting on the person you think has the best answer. A question is asked and everyone writes their answer on a card, the cards are then placed on a playing board that’s similar to a casino game and then everyone places bets on the correct answer. This can now be found in Target for around $30.
Dixit
Do you kind of like Apples to Apples but don’t like the fact that people score arbitrarily based on what the Green Apple player decides is not the most accurate but is the funniest? This may be a bit more your speed then.
Dixit plays very similar to apples to Apples. The lead player selects one of their cards in their hand and says a few words to describe the card they have selected. Then all of the other players select a card in their hands that match the few words said by the lead player. All cards are then placed on a playing board and each player selects the card that best matches the few words. Players score point based on the cards selected.
This game also works well in a group of artists. You can pick it up on amazon for $25.
Sorry Sliders
An easy dexterity game for everyone, players slide pawns with ball bearings in them across a game board and try to knock other players pawns out of scoring positions and make sure their pawns land in a scoring position. Quick and easy to play and it can be found and any big retailer for about $20.
Pandemic/Forbidden Island
A great introduction to a cooperative style game. I put both games here as they are made by the same designer and play the same way, the difference is the theme. Pandemic is geared more towards adults as they all play scientists trying to cure diseases around the world. In Forbidden Island everyone is trying to get off a sinking island, its more kid friendly and even the artwork is cartoony.
This hasn’t hit big store retailers yet but Amazon has it for around $25.
- Josh
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