Best products from r/boardgames

I made this list for /r/NintendoSwitchDeals since someone asked about games. Figured I'd share here. Most of the games I've played, I've indicated where I haven't. Bolded prices indicate lowest price on CCC according to the plug-in.

• 7 Wonders | $28.99 | 3-7 players | ~30-45 Minutes | 7.8 on BGG - This is a fantastic game to introduce people to "tableau building" and "card drafting." If you're not familiar, a tableau is the cards in front of you that are part of your "engine" going forward, usually you will add cards to it that add synergy to your strategy. Card drafting is when players have a hand of cards, choose one, and then pass to the person next to them. This game can fit up to 7 and it doesn't really bog the game down. I'm not in love with this game, but at this price I think it's a very fair offering for a game that once taught and played once, flows really nicely and makes for a great game to drink and talk while playing rather than being buried in thought about what to do.
  
  
• 7 Wonders: Duel | $17.81 | 2 Players | 20-30 Minutes | 8.1 on BGG - This is a 2 player adaptation of 7 Wonders and it's quite a great version. Instead of card drafting by passing hands, there is a "market" that opens up further as more cards are chosen in which players take turns choosing from. It offers an intense 2 player back and forth of "chicken" in a way that flows nicely and culminates in a satisfying, even if sometimes mean, ending. Often credited as one of the best 2 player games out there, especially with expansions.
  
  
  * Agricola | $32.89 | 1-4 Players | 30-150 Minutes | 8.0 on BGG - I have never played this but you can find lots of excellent discussion about this on BGG and /r/boardgames. Ultimately it's a beefier board game about managing your farm to take care of your family. Sounds thrilling right? Well apparently it really is. It's currently rated the 25th bestboard game of all-time, and is often mentioned among some of the great games out there. This is an excellent price for this game new, so if there's any interest, go watch a review of two. Deal is done.
  
  
• Carcassonne | $19.99 | 2-4 Players | ~30 Minutes | 7.4 on BGG - This is an excellent tile laying game for gamers and non-gamers alike. It's simple to teach, takes almost no time to set-up, and can easily be expanded to fit 5 players. If you end up loving this, there are many expansions for it to add depth, or silliness, whichever you prefer. This has become a staple in my circle of friends who don't really play board games because it's so approachable.
  
  
• Isle of Skye | $24.35 | 2-5 Players | 30-50 Minutes | 7.5 on BGG - I've never played this, but it's been on my list for a while as a tile laying game with more complexity than Carcassonne. I don't know much about it, but this is a great price and those with Irish heritage might love the theme. Edit: Well this is embarrassing, Isle of Skye is in Scotland, sorry for that.
  
  * Pandemic: Fall of Rome | $27.99 | 1-5 Players | 30-60 Minutes | 7.8 on BGG - This is a variation of the much beloved game Pandemic. In this variation, you and up to 4 other players are taking control of Roman armies to defend against the oncoming tribes attempting to take over a weakened Rome. You will use your unique powers and randomly drawn cards to work together with the other players in this cooperative game. If you've played base Pandemic you will know what to expect, but this version has some cool thematic changes that have many reviewers calling it the second best iteration of the Pandemic series. Dead deal.
  
  
• Patchwork | $17.84 | 2 Players | ~20 Minutes | 7.7 on BGG - This is an excellent 2 player game using spacial skills to build out your quilt in a sort of "Tetris" way. You need to manage buttons (currency) and time to efficiently build your quilt with as little empty spots as possible. It's a darling of the community and designed by the great Uwe Rosenberg. People meme about it because it's often recommended, but there's a reason why it is.
  
  
• Photosynthesis | $21.11 | 2-4 Players | 30-60 Minutes | 7.2 on BGG - I've never played this, but it's quite a nice looking game on the table. It's about growing trees while using a limited amount of sunlight - or that's how it's been described to me anyway. I've heard that this game can get pretty cutthroat, especially at higher player counts, because of how limited the board space gets.
  
  
• The Castles of Burgundy | $19.20 | 2-4 Players | 45-90 Minutes | 8.1 on BGG - One of the finest board games I've ever played in spite of the ugly art and theme of it. Visually, I find nothing about this appealing, but the gameplay is so fantastic that I fell in love with it immediately. You have 25 turns in which you are using two dice each turn which are used to make decisions on how to build out your board to gain victory points. The actions are mostly easy to understand, and you're never screwed over by a bad roll because bad rolls can be mitigated via worker resources. There is a good amount of strategic depth to it, minor "meanness" in "screwing over" opponents, and I mostly feel happy with every round - it's a rare game of satisfaction each turn. My only complaint is that the yellow tiles are all unique which turns into a lot of, "What does that one do?" which is mitigated with player aides you can find on BGG. Warning, new print coming out this year that may or may not make the art look better, but the new print will have all expansions. With that said, for $19.20 this is a no-brainer if you want something more complex than something like Catan.
  
  
• The Quest for El Dorado | $19.99 | 2-4 Players | ~45 Minutes| 7.6 on BGG - This is a great deck-building racing game to get to El Dorado first. It's simple to learn and honestly my only complaint is that the game takes up a lot of space. The map is completely variable and there are some official variants in the book, as well as many others on BGG on the files section. If you enjoy the concept of building a deck to race through the treacherous lands to get to El Dorado, this is a great game. Warning, there is a new edition coming out with new artwork, so you may want to hold off.

My list would include a variation of games

Code Names - $16

Sushi Go - $10

7 Wonders - $26

Tsuro - $19

Castles of Burgundy - $27

Total: $98

Explanations:

First, I want to preface these selections: our play group varies in size from week to week with anywhere from 4-10 players averaging 5-6. So, we often get caught "splitting the party." That's fine at times, but sometimes, we all want to jump in on one game together because splitting up feels bad man^TM since we're all there to socialize in addition to playing games.

As such, I wanted to include games that ran the gamut and for the most part games that scaled well from 2-X players.

First, Code Names. Now, we've played this game so many times, we actually purchased the expansion Code Names Deep Cover which is a fun variant which adds tons of more playability. This is the go-to "party" game as, for our group, Cards Against Humanity has grown a bit stale. At least it hits the table much less frequently than in years past. Code Names is easy to teach, easy to understand and difficult enough for some of your more entrenched board gamers. In general, I find this a great starter to transition from your Milton Bradley games everyone knows (and hates) into board games that offer sustenance.

Secondly, I offer Sushi Go (cheating a bit here as you'll probably have to buy a couple copies for larger groups or just get Sushi Go Party). Sushi Go is our groups go-to game to introduce games that use a drafting mechanic and to teach that board games can be cute, fun, and delightful while also requiring strategy, maths, and a bit of hope (our group tends to dislike dice-rolling games so for the most part, we stick to games where we can mostly "control" our own fates - YMMV). This game is super quick, so you don't get bogged down at the table for hours. I feel for new board gamers, quicker games are a MUST as many people may not be able to handle the length many of our Beloveds require.

7 Wonders comes next. We tend to introduce this game right after Sushi Go as the mechanics are super similar and the newer players feel like they already know what's going on for the most part. There will be questions, there will be some confusion and oversight, but this game follows easily and feels like a natural step up from Sushi Go and gets players right into the mix of heartier board games. Oh, and I could personally play 7 Wonders every week, especially with all the options offered through the expansions Cities, Leaders, and Tower. The interchangeability of these expansions has kept this game on our table long past many others and continues to bring it back. Again though, YMMV as we all have different tastes.

Tsuro, our board game palatte cleanser. This is another quick game which offers a lot of replayabiliity with minimal rules learning. Aside from those positives, the artwork is what sent this board game over the top for me. I am mesmerized by the board, the tiles, and the pieces each time we open this. This game offers a quick break between your heavier meeple-laiden board games so even after we've surpassed "newb" status, we often come back to this.

Castles of Burgundy I included as a final game because ultimately, we need a game with a strong theme and wonderful mechanics which offer replayability from a more traditional Euro point of view. This game really surprised me. I loved it the first time we played it, and though it may not hit the table but once every other month due to time constraints, it always feels like reuniting with an old friend. It offers a setup for further Euro games and sets the scene on what's really out there in weightier board games. I know there could be other games that fit this description, but at the price, this game is amazing for what it offers.

And that's the list. I know there are many criticisms of these games and I don't devalue those. All my favorites have points in them where they fall a little flat at times, or don't elicit the enjoyment I thought they might, but many times, it's usually my perception and frame of mind. I can often come back months later with renewed enjoyment for them, so trust me, I know there are imperfections; I just choose to ignore them for the post. These games, while some may take a bit longer to learn, offer a great springboard into board games and offer the new player a slow wade into the pool without feeling too slow or drab as one might feel with something like Settlers of Catan. Will I stand by this opinion in 5 or 10 years? We'll see.

A few games I like that would probably fit the bill:

Spot It. Super fun game, easy to learn and quick to play. Not the deepest game but it's lots of fun for all ages and a nice quick game to play when you want something short or as a break between longer games. Good for any number of players.

Dixit. A storytelling game. Each turn one of you is the "storyteller" and tells a short story (one word to a sentence) about it. Everyone else picks a card from their hand that they think fits the story. The cards are mixed up and everyone guesses which one the Storyteller had. The interesting scoring mechanic is the storyteller only gets points if some people don't guess right. If everyone or no one guesses right, the storyteller gets no points and everyone else gets points. Plus, if it's not your turn but someone votes for your card, you get points. The cards can be somewhat crazy and surreal but are definitely safe for a 9 year old. The game is a fun casual game.

Ticket to Ride. Fun game where you lay out train routes. You can block people's routes and you will be angry at whoever does that to you. Only takes 5 people though.

Tsuro. Another somewhat shorter game. You take turns laying tiles and moving your Dragon along the path they create trying to stay on the board. Near the end of the game it gets hectic and you might end up knocking each other off.

TransAmerica. A train game like Ticket to Ride but faster and a little less complex. Rounds go quickly and it has an interesting scoring mechanic. Each round you lose points if you don't connect to your cities and the game ends when someone is at zero. The winner is whoever lost the least points.

7 Wonders. A fun game that involves playing cards that you draw from a hand you pass around. Takes up to 7 people but might be slightly too complex for the 9 year old.

Shadow Hunters. A hidden roles game where you will be on teams but you won't know who's on your team. Throughout the game you try to figure that out and it can get very competitive. Again might be slightly too complex for the 9 year old but maybe not.

Castle Panic. This game is slightly different because it is a cooperative game. All of you play against the game itself to try and defend your castle and defeat all the monsters. It's a pretty fun game.

There are a ton of other good games but I'll stop for now since I've probably listed too many as it is. Two things I'd recommend to try to find new games that your family might like beyond these. First, see if there's a board game store near you. A lot of them will have board game libraries where you can go in and try out the games at no charge. Most (in my experience) are pretty friendly to newer players. Second, check out TableTop. It's a show hosted by Wil Wheaton where he explains games and then plays through them. My wife and I used it as a good way to see new games that we might be interested in without having to buy them sight unseen, since boardgames can be expensive. The demo part of the show has sold us on a bunch of games (several of which are listed above). Hope this helps and enjoy the family game nights.

I can understand why you would come here, but to Monopoly is to board game nerds what Call of Duty is to video game nerds. Many a time have we here on /r/boardgames told people "I like to play board games" only to get the painful, cringe worthy response, "Oh, like Monopoly?"

I in no way mean to criticize you for enjoying Monopoly. Board games are awesome, and anyone can like any game they so choose, however, you may find that many people here very much dislike Monopoly and don't want much to do with it.

I would suggest instead, you get your hands on a "designer" board game (they can be quite cheap!) and join us in the wonderful hobby that is board games. Generally regarded as "the" starter game, [Catan] (http://www.amazon.com/Mayfair-Games-MFG-3071-Edition/dp/B00U26V4VQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1462063793&sr=1-2&keywords=settlers+of+catan) is loads of fun, provided you have 2-3 friends to play it with and a little under 40$ to spare.

As a personal recommendation, my first board game that got me into the hobby was [Betrayal at House on the Hill] (http://www.amazon.com/Betrayal-At-House-Hill-2nd/dp/B003HC9734/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462063949&sr=8-1&keywords=betrayal+at+house+on+the+hill). Again, all it takes is a few friends and a little under 40 bones. I personally like this game due the board game being totally unique every time you play it and with 50 different stories to play, I'd gladly play a game right now, and I've easily had 30+ playthroughs.

Of course, you could go with an even easier "start-up" cost and go with another favorite of mine, [Love Letters] (http://www.amazon.com/Alderac-Entertainment-Group-5104AEG-Letter/dp/B00AGJ4HC2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462064185&sr=8-1&keywords=love+letters). This one is exceedingly simple to learn and very quick to play and only requires one friend (though I find it a lot more fun with three or four friends (preferably drunk ones ;))). To top it all off, it isn't even ten dollars, I'd bloody send you a copy if it got you into board games, lol.

Anyway, I kind of started to ramble a bit, but it's a mega fun hobby and you should definitely get into it.

Sorry for the unoriginal suggestions but they are unoriginal for a reason.

Tiny Epic Kingdoms. The game might have been over hyped just a bit but it's still an excellent portable game that has a lot to offer.

It's light enough for new boardgamers and is an excellent introduction to the 4X genre which most newcomers haven't played or even knew existed!

Citadels. The box it usually comes in is way too big for the game. It's a deck of cards, a bag of coins, and a starting player token. I love this game. It's simple to learn and yet really deep and strategic. Plays well from 2 to 5 players. Don't even try 6 or 7 even though it's possible. It drags the game down to a halt.

Hanabi. Excellent excellent strategic game. Very simple to learn, cheap, tiny package. A deck of cards and a handfull of tokens. Plays excellent with 2 to 5 players.

Jungle Speed. Really fun dexterity game. Bunch of cards and a wooden "totem". Most editions come with this small bag.

Hive Pocket. Such a great game you can play nearly anywhere. One of my very favorite games. Only 2 players though.

Most would tell you that Love Letter is a good choice. Personally I never liked it. Neither did my GF or my friends to be honest. But it's so widely recommended it's probably worth the risk.

But don't buy the Kanai Factory Limited Edition (the black and white box)! Most reviews will tell you the gameplay doesn't differ (a lot) but that one card that is different makes all the difference in the world. If you plan to buy Love Letter buy the Tempest edition. It's also a lot more compact.

> And, if it's not too bad, can anyone recommend some critical supplies for this hobby? Like what types of paints, brushes, etc will I need to do a good job?

The Reaper Learn to paint Kits are the best place to start. Everything you need to get started in the box. $35 and free shipping is the perfect price to get started!

> Are there any good tutorials out there?

YouTube, son.

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My two cents: If your really interested in it then go for it. It's a great hobby and can be a profitable one, once you reach a certain level.

Paints: which are the best? What do you use?....

• P3: My personal fave. They just seem to always be consistent, and rarely go bad. They provide good coverage, and mix well. $3-4 per pot.
  
  
• Vallejo: They're ok, can be very runny at times and require a lot of extra shaking. They cover well, and thin super easy...so much that it's easy to thin too much IMO. Also, their pots are squeeze tubes, and it's easy for them to clog up. $2-4 per pot.
  
  
• Citadel: I've had some poor luck with these, but I hear that they are kicking up their quality and making a better product. On the other hand, their Washes are top notch. They're the most expensive (like all GW products) $3+ per pot.
  
  Those are the ones I've had experience with...there are more out there, I hear Army Painter makes a good product and Reaper dabbles in paints as well.
  
  Some people will steer you towards craft paints, I wouldn't listen to them if your really thinking about getting into the hobby, as the hobby paints are a better quality. The reason I heard back when I was getting started is Something along the lines of "Light levels and UV protection." The condensed version is: The Hobby paints will hold their color longer and not fade vs the Craft paints.
  
  Other than that....
  
  
• Practice makes perfect
  
  
• Don't be afraid to try new techniques
  
  
• Don't get discouraged
  
  
• Always be learning
  
  Edit: Buy Masters brush cleaner. It will save your brushes!

If you have a friendly local game store (FLGS) near you, they likely have it as well as the right dice. With any luck, they'd even have staff that are knowledgeable enough to help further.

If you don't, there's several online outlets, with amazon being the most obvious. Internet stores tend to have the advantage of a significant discount, but of course require waiting for the things to ship and arrive.

The absolute simplest way to get into it would be purchasing the Starter Set. It comes with simplified rules, one set of dice, and an adventure you can run.

If you enjoy that, or are just absolutely certain you will like the game and want to go ahead and get it all, there is the Player's Handbook. That is the only essential, but you will want sooner than later the Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual.

As for dice, there are tons of ways to go about that. There are phone apps that can do the job cheaper, which you can find with a quick search. Most groups I think will find they prefer using physical dice. It's more expensive but also just that much more fun.

The correct type of dice come at a variety of costs and qualities, but the only necessity is that you have all 7 types of dice available. That is, you want a 4-sided, 6-sided, 8-sided, 10-sided, 12-sided, 20-sided, and percentile die.

Chessex is the most popular dice company and has an absolute ton of varieties. Here's just one example and luckily it is standard to sell all the necessary dice in sets together.

There are also various bulk sets which make up in volume what they lack in choice, and are good for getting started.

Last but not least, you'll need friends willing to play with you. But that's true of any tabletop game.

That was longer than I anticipated, but I promise it's not too hard. There's a bit of a learning curve with any game, but RPGs are a lot of fun once you get comfortable with them.

Heres a copy and paste of a previous comment I made

> I'm about to show you something amazing. You want to hang out with your friends and family and just have a great time playing games?

> Try board games! I know what you're thinking, "Monopoly is for kids!" That's ok we hate monopoly too!

> The world of board games has come so far since then.

> Give some of these games a try

> Ticket to Ride: A classic gateway game where you are trying to lay down tracks between cities.

> Pandemic: A co-op game where you and are friends are working together to fight diseases as they break out world wide!

> Resistance: If you like lying to your friends this game is for you! The resistance movement aims to overthrow the government, but there are spies among you aiming to sabotage your movement.

> Codenames: This game won the biggest board game award this year. It's a hilariously fun word relation game.

>These are all "gateway games" they are easy to play and understand. But most importantly they are fun! You can even get Ticket to Ride and Pandemic at some Walmarts!

I would add Cosmic Encounter as an amazing game too. Not too complicated but it is incredibly fun

If you're interested in D&D, the starter set for the newest edition is a great deal. It's only 15 dollars here on Amazon. It comes with a guide to get you through level 5, a set of dice, pregenerated characters, and a premade adventure for you to run. It's definitely worth a look.

If you're worried about complexity though, my favorite game to pick up and run with newbies is Savage Worlds. It is 9 dollars right now on Amazon for the entire rulebook. You'd just need a set of dice. Its focus is, "Fast, furious, and fun," and it does it pretty well. The best part is that it's only 150 pages or so instead of the hundreds upon hundreds that most people use for D&D.

Either way, I'd encourage dropping by /r/rpg if you're at all interested. The community is super helpful and there are countless RPGs out there that are tons of fun to run and play.

I've been looking for an app timer for a while but haven't been able to find something satisfactory. I think it's cool your providing something to the community.

Currently I use this: https://www.amazon.ca/DGT-Cube-Game-Clock-players/dp/B004S56RJG

That cube works wonders.

​

Your app is the best I've seen on the store and I'll definitely give it a spin on game night. Here are my critiques:

- I don't like how many clicks it takes me to get to the timer. I think the initial UI could be more streamlined with the option to start a quick game right off the bat. All your extra features are useful, but for a basic user like myself they bring bloat to my experience.

- Why can't I add custom players in a quick game? When timing, I'd like to see a couple low opacity letters of the players name being used on their colour. That'll help with "which colour are you again?". I felt the player circles could be more spaced out and engaged as well.

- It seems that the round setting is set to on by default. It resets this back to on between plays. I do not like this.

I take it you've never been here before. We all hate Monopoly because we have played games that came out in the last decade or two, which are all much better. Monopoly isn't the worst thing in the world, but it is an outdated design, and this makes it a bit boring in comparison to what we have now.

What games have you actually played?

I don't mean this to "grill" you, I just want to say that if the answer is only stuff like Monopoly and Scrabble, there are so many great things I'd like to show you!

Pandemic, for example, is about cooperatively saving the world from four deadly diseases. Every decision the players make against the board is crucial, and the way the board reacts is determined by a deck of cards that is semi-predictable - if you pay attention and use your brain, you can tell what's coming next, or at least have a good idea of the percentages, and this will help you go to the right city to save it.

Secret Hitler is a game of deception where some of the players are fascists, but identities are all concealed, so nobody knows who to trust! If you're one of the good guys, you've got to figure out if that other guy is actually just trying his hardest and getting rotten luck, or an evildoer trying to sabotage everything and get Hitler elected to power! You've got two bullets - don't waste them, and more importantly, don't let the fascists use them to kill you.

Tokaido is a game about having the most relaxing and emotionally filling vacation at any cost. This beautiful game with gorgeous art will surprisingly bring out your dark side, as you strategically use your own pawn to block everything your opponent(s) want, leaving them with nowhere to go but a hot spring full of monkeys and a rice paddy that looks like the last three they already saw, while you get to go souvenir shopping and meet tons of interesting people. (Who will, of course, give you point bonuses.) As an optional variant, you can then run all the way home to make the game twice as long and crazy challenging, but if you don't, the whole thing only takes half an hour.

There are literally thousands more. They're all so much fun that I feel it's our responsibility here at this sub to share them with you.

7 wonders plays to 7 players with a few expansions making it play to 8. It is a quick game to play and the time to play actually does not increase with more players. I'd say 45 minutes for 8 players is about right.

It is pretty easy to explain, with a lot of different strategies available, some of which aren't even obvious your first 5 times playing. You'll see one strategy dominate, then you'll all try that same strategy next game only to find the reason it dominated was because no one else was going for it.

It's a drafting game. You have a hand of, say, 10 cards. From that, you pick one of them that you can play, and pass the remaining 9 to your left (or right depending). Everyone reveals what card they picked and show they can actually play it, then you pick one from the 9 remaining...etc. You do this for 3 'ages'.

Setup consists of shuffling 3 decks of cards and dealing X to each player (depending on # of players). The longest part is taking out the cards that are for a certain number of players, but this usually only happens for the first game as the # players probably doesn't change between games. It really only takes about 5 minutes to start a new game.

Oh, bonus...you're looking at $31 with prime available.

There are a lot of expansions already that will make the game more interesting if it starts to get stale.

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Saboteur plays up to 10 and has basically no setup time. There are a majority of good guys and a minority of bad guys in each of 3 rounds. Good guys are trying to find gold. Bad guys are trying to stop this...and also trying to not get caught.

I don't think it's nearly as deep as 7 wonders...but it does have a traitor mechanic similar to resistance (except no one knows who is good/bad). I thought the game was OK...nothing great. I only played once, but I felt like there was just not enough strategy, mostly luck. If you want, you can try it out at BoardGameArena for free!

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Avalon as you said seems like a logical choice. It really is, based on what you like. I think it's a strict upgrade to base Resistance. I don't think you'll be upset picking that one up.

Here's what I'd do if I had to rebuild a collection from scratch for $1k trying to have a wide variety of play styles:

7 Wonders $32.99
Agricola $45.79
Battlestar Galactica $39.97
Carcassonne $30.02
Carcassonne Inns & Cathedrals$15.71
Dixit $22.65
Dominion Big Box $69.18 Prosperity is one of the best expansions; Alchemy is not, but you're pretty much getting it for free in this set.
Eclipse $61.49 It wouldn't be a board game library without a 4X game, and I think Eclipse is the best currently.
Eldritch Horror $40.47 - I love Arkham Horror, but Eldritch streamlines a lot of the fiddly rules of the original.
Formula D [$41.96] (http://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-FDUSASM-Formula-D/dp/2914849648/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1395757676&sr=1-1&keywords=formula+d)
Gloom $17.98
Guillotine $13.52
King of Tokyo $30.19
Love Letter $9.34
Memoir 44 $47.43
No Thanks! $9.98
Pandemic $31.65
Power Grid $32.27
Puerto Rico [$31.20] (http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-195RGG-Puerto/dp/B00008URUT/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395756360&sr=8-1&keywords=puerto+rico)
Race for the Galaxy $24.11
Resistance, The $17.99
Roborally $37.49
Settlers of Catan $37.99
Telestrations $19.99 Awesome and funny party game. My friends and I eventually tire of Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity, but seldom do so with this.
Ticket to Ride $37.24
Ticket to Ride 1910 Expansion $18.21
Tsuro $24.22
Twilight Struggle $49.98
Village $35.47
Wits & Wagers $19.99

That comes up to $946.47; room for a couple more expansions or another game.

Guillotine (BGG; $14 at Amazon) is a 2-5 person card game based on the French Revolution.

The game takes place over three rounds ("days"). Each day, you line up twelve noble cards. Each noble has a different point value. At the end of each turn, a player decapitates the noble at the front of the line. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins (novel concept, right?)

Every turn, you can:

1. Optionally play an action card from your hand, which allows to adjust the line, gain points, or mess up other player's plans with various cards.
   
   
2. Collect the nobel at the front of the line (unless your action card lets you do something else.
   
   
3. Draw another action card.
   
   In addition, certain nobles have special actions that trigger when collected, allowing you to draw more cards, gain points, or extend the day.
   
   Really simple to learn, with a skill cap coming in 3 or 4 games later, once you've learned all the cards. Pretty luck based (depends on card draw,) but fun nonetheless. I play 5-6 games on a gaming night, then don't touch it for a few weeks. It's a ton of fun as long as it's not the only game you're playing.

Welcome to the hobby!

Lords of Waterdeep is a very good fantasy-themed board game to start with. It is set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe and uses a game mechanic called "worker placement". Amazon currently has it for about $34.

Dominion is a very popular "deck-building" game that plays with cards only (i.e. no board). It has a loose fantasy-ish theme, but it will be a good introduction to the world of modern gaming. Another deck builder with a more conventional fantasy theme is Ascension: Deckbuilding Game. [Amazon has Dominion for about $29.]
(http://smile.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-RGG370-Dominion/dp/B001JQY6K4/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1464598805&sr=1-1&keywords=dominion)

And yes, while not fantasy, Pandemic is one of the greatest cooperative board games ever made (my opinion of course). Definitely worth getting. Amazon has this for about $24.

Happy gaming!

/u/r2d8 getinfo long

It's more simple than the games you listed, but I've never gotten a bad review from Guillotine. It's quick to learn, all the cards say what they do, it's funny, it's colorful, and has the right balance of randomness and strategy that lets experienced players play better, but other players always have a chance to get back in the game.

Set is another game I'd recommend, though it is a bit tougher. It's all about finding a pattern and calling it first, so usually adults/older kids have the advantage (though you'd be amazed how fast kids pick up on that stuff).

In my experience, Puerto Rico is very long and very difficult to master. Dominion is rather light and fast, but the interactions between cards take time to learn. As juniperapolo said, Pandemic is good (all the players team up against the board), though it can be a bit random and intense sometimes. Roborally is ok; it's a bit long, and, in my experience, one person ends up way ahead by the second or third checkpoint, and everyone else has no chance of catching up for the entire second half of the game. And I'm all for teaching kids Arkham Horror ;)

Also, if they have Catan, maybe getting the Seafarer's expansion might be good, or the 5-6 player expansion.

Sushi Go!

Sushi Go! is a quick to teach, quick to play light drafting game. I love it as an intro to the drafting mechanic and as a filler.

No Thanks

Probably my favorite "light" card game. Very easy to teach.

For Sale

Great filler auctioning game. Every time I teach it we end up playing 2-3 games in a row.

Love Letter

A must own IMO. Quick and easy.

Zombie Dice

Under rated push your luck dice game. Plus zombies.

You should be able to pick 2-3 from this list and be happy with it :).

Citadels, Tsuro, and 7 Wonders might be good for you guys to try.

Citadels is a game that can handle 2-8 players, and the structure of the game is rather different, making for more replayability, for differing numbers of players. http://amzn.com/158994030X

Tsuro is a simple but fun game (and the guys that make it are good people). http://amzn.com/B002SQBB3O

7 Wonders is a nice balance between strategy, complexity, and ease of play. It can seem complex at first play, but it doesn't take long to figure out and is a lot of fun. http://amzn.com/B0043KJW5M

Its not on your list of considerations but should be, Castles of Burgundy . Great engine building, lots of strategy though it can run a bit long with 5 players. I had a chance to play this at FLGS game-night and loved it. If you enjoy Puerto Rico, you really enjoy this.

Assuming you want to spend half of your money:

Star Realms: http://www.amazon.com/White-Wizard-Games-Realms-Deckbuilding/dp/B00HRGMPIU

Sushi Go: http://www.amazon.com/Sushi-Go-Pick-Pass-Card/dp/B00J57VU44

One is a deck builder like dominion, the other is drafting like 7Wonders. (If you want 4 player star realms pick up two copies). That is a grand total of $24/$36. If you add Coup OR/and Resistance/ Resistance Avalon:

http://www.amazon.com/Coup-Card-Game-Resistance-Universe/dp/B00GDI4HX4/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1417653537&sr=1-1&keywords=coup

http://www.amazon.com/Indie-Boards-Cards-AVA1IBC-Resistance/dp/B009SAAV0C/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1417653562&sr=1-1&keywords=resistance+avalon

Which are similar (made by the same people), you could be three games in for 40 bucks.

Then add a heavier game or two medium sized games-- check out TableTop, or our "What did you play this week" threads for some ideas-- and you come out with a nice collection of games (5 or six of them) for about 100 bucks.


I'm not saying you have to get these exact games, but think about a few smaller card games with a bigger game for the most bang for the buck.

The resistance (avalon preferably) is 100% worth it since it plays 5-10... but what about days when you only have 4, etc. Catan can't do all the work forever.


I can give better recs if you edit to add more info; even if it's just things like "I like space. The people I play with like space... and Pirates!"

If you have a few people interested in D&D, then the D&D Starter Set (https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965592/) is a great choice. It includes a solid basic rulebook as well as a few premade scenarios and characters which help cut down on a lot of the prep work involved, getting you all into the game faster. It's pretty cheap, though I'd highly recommend picking up a few extra sets of dice as it only includes one.



For board games...it's a bit more complicated. As you can probably already tell, there's a TON out there, ranging from simple party games, to heavy economic strategy games, and even dice-chucking dungeon crawls. The two daily stickies are great places to learn more as well as getting personalised recommendations on what to possibly buy.



I'd also recommend checking out the subreddit index (https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/wiki/index), particularly the 'New to Board Games' page.

Your two links will work. You're correct, it does seem very confusing. There's so many printings of Catan at this point, but the only major differences between 4th and 5th editions of the game is the artwork. Everything else is the same.

If you want a game that can include pretty much everybody at a lower price point, I would recommend Codenames. It plays from 4 up to pretty much unlimited and is a great casual game where people can chill and play as they see fit.

Unfortunately no, there is no way to play the game solo. I've heard there are a ton of ways to play with strangers online but I haven't tried any.

What drew me in was I started watching/listening to Critical Role season 2. It's a podcast with a bunch of video game voice actors playing. It's a far more roleplaying version of the game than what I play but it's still great for teaching new players the ropes.

If you want to just dive in, basic versions of the rules can be found here for free or if you want to see what a proper adventure looks like without buying the $50 book, the starter set is a phenomnal introduction that takes about 30 hours to play through and gets you to level 5 (max is 20). Check some of those and if you're still interested, find a meetup near you. You won't regret it.

If you're looking to add some pen and paper rpg, DnD 5e is pretty cheap to get a good starting point.

You could honestly run a good game with just the starter set (it includes one of my favorite starter campaigns, very good for new players). It's just around $13.

But a pretty necessary purchase, especially if you want a bit more for your players to work with. You can get that for $30.

If you want to give your DM a bit more to work with the Monter Manual (~$27) and the Dungeon Master's Guide (~$28) are a must.

Dice are pretty cheap too if you want to get a few sets for the club or enough for you're players to take some home. (The starter set comes with one set of dice)

Oh man I need to get that playmat, but for me it was definitely my addon for Food Chain Magnate. It condenses the game from taking up every inch of a large table, to now being playable on an average or possibly even small table. Plus cleanup and setup takes half the time and it's much easier to keep track of who has what powers.

Runner ups include:

• Kemet - Buying these coin cases to hold all of the power tiles. Now it's so much faster setting up the game, I also have enough to give to each player so they can have their own sleeve of powers. Best part is is that for new players they can just grab the sleeve rather than having to glance over at the power tiles from afar.
  
• Pandemic/Dominant Species - I got these containers to hold all of the disease cubes and species cubes for both games and they work perfectly. My only suggestion would be to get a slightly larger container so it is easier to grab the pieces when they are inside, but the negative to that is that they will not fit in the original box as well.
  
  If I can think of anymore upgrades I'll post them

A lot of people enjoy Catan for its "playing the players' aspect. Masters Gallery is perfect for that, quick to learn and as bonus modestly priced.


Resistance is social game where some of the players are randomly and secretly selected to be counter agent spys. Great for competitive groups that want to see how well they can lie/scam each other. Down side, you will see how well your best friends and SO's can lie to you.


If they enjoy the economic aspects Black Gold is a hidden gem. You get to be cut throat oil wild cats just before the big companies roll in. It is monopoly with its big boy pants on and also include great oil well pieces.


I like a lot of expensive games but I enjoy a lot of the modestly priced one just as much and for a new collection I would start there.

EDIT 2: Completely forgot Codenames, which is easily the biggest hit in my collection with non-gamers. Amazon link

I would recommend, in this order:

Splendor- Portable (just take the stuff out of a box and put it into a much smaller box), very small learning curve, 30-45 minute play time tops.

Dominion- again, it's just a bunch of cards, so you don't need the whole box. Pretty much the same specs as above.

Both of the above are "Engine builders" where the objective is to accumulate parts (metaphorically) early in the game that will be able to generate a lot of points later in the game. Then you need to time your transition into point-grabbing appropriately in order to win. Splendor is little less black-and-white, since you can start point grabbing right away, but it's all about finding that sweet spot.

Forbidden Desert is a nice cooperative game that comes in a pretty small metal tin.

Sushi Go is very portable, as portable as it gets. But it's also exceedingly simplistic. Still fun though.

Coup is a top notch bluffing game. Also very small natively.

Love Letter is a bluffing game as well, but not as good as Coup (IMO)...Coup is meaner which I like.

Citadels was one of the games that got me into the hobby, but I don't care for it much anymore.

/u/r2d8 getinfo

EDIT: Forbidden Desert: r2 is going to keep my spelling error up for all to see...little bastard.

If I had to guess, of the D&D products popular in stores now, that would probably be the 5th edition Starter Set. Unlike the normal D&D books it is sold in the kind of box you would expect a board game to come in. The rules are amazing (my favorite edition so far), the adventure it comes with is great, and I would highly recommend it, but it is an RPG, not a board game. You would need someone to DM and such. Again, that's just a guess based on the description you gave.

If you are at all interested in D&D, I would recommend getting it. There's also a free PDF that gives you all the rules you need to play, but the starter set is a bit easier to understand and comes with dice, pre-generated characters, and a pre-written adventure. The basic rules are also missing monsters and magic items, which will be added eventually, but for now are only in the starter set.

I bought one of the Reaper learn to paint sets (link below). I never painted the minis that came with it, but know people who have. The colors work well for beginners. Thee is a decent mix and a full spectrum. Supplement that with a few other reaper bottles and you have a good start collection of paints for like $50.

From there, I kept on buying one or two bottles at a time and now own a bunch of paints. I stopped for a whole but starting painting again just last night! It's fun and relaxing. My Saturday shift at my local game store is coming to a close in the next month, so with more time I hope to paint some more coming up!

https://www.amazon.com/Reaper-Miniatures-08906-Learn-Paint/dp/B00NTMC49G

My suggestions for fun two player games that have a small footprint are below. I haven't tried playing these in a pub, but I think they should work.

Love Letter - I played this at a party recently and enjoyed it. There are various themes, including a munchkins variant.

Pass the Pigs - I used to bring this game with me on plane trips because it is compact and playable on a tray table.

Toss Up - Fun dice game, simple rules, could be turned into a drinking game if you are so inclined.

Timeline - Lots of different versions of this game, all have to do with history, but you can pick different topics, and even combine packs.

Exploding Kittens - random fun, there is also a NSFW version that is full of boob/penis/poop/etc jokes.

Hanabi - I have the tile version of this, which is a little bulkier, but is much more drink and food resistant.

It's a little bit of an extra expense up front, but just this past week I bought this kit from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00NTMC49G/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1451310598&sr=8-2&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=reaper+bones+miniatures&dpPl=1&dpID=51DZMCGMRCL&ref=plSrch

It came with 9-10 bottles of paint, 2 brushes, 3 miniatures, and a great guide/tutorial for getting started. It gives very good step by step instructions with details on all the various painting techniques for the first miniature, then recommended paints and techniques for the other two in the box. Worked really well for me for an introduction!

Now the next step is to work up the courage to apply those techniques to Mice and Mystics and Sentinel Tactics...

If he likes Coup, I would recommend The Resistance, it's like Coup, but more in depth - and it can fit a large number of players.

Ticket to Ride is a pretty popular game, and there's a wide variety of expansions/versions (Even a 1910 US expansion).

I've not played it, but Lewis and Clark has a historical theme, and shares elements with the games he likes.

These are great suggestions. Other light, cheap games I enjoy are:

• Hanabi - great co-op game about fireworks. Very popular.
  
• Coloretto - well-designed set-collecting game with press your luck mechanism.
  
• Guillotine - fun silly card game about rival executioners during the French revolution, vying to chop off the heads of the highest ranked nobles.

Not Gurney, but I'd recommend original Pandemic found here:

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/30549/pandemic
https://www.amazon.com/Z-Man-Games-ZM7101-Pandemic/dp/B00A2HD40E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524433999&sr=8-3&keywords=pandemic

Pandemic Season 1 and Season 2 are legacy games that use the basic rules from Pandemic and build on them to make a long, campaign-style board gaming experience. The awesome thing is that both offer a really incredible experience and it's really well done. The not-so-awesome thing is doing poorly can feel bad (depending on what kind of gamer you are) since your progress is tracked and the difficulty is adjusted based on prior outcomes.

The base game of Pandemic is a cheaper and more approachable way to find out if you actually like how the game plays before dropping more money and feeling like you have to invest the time in the campaign just to finish what you've started.

Same here. Zero experience and no artistic ability to this point, but I was interested in fixing up Scythe and Mansions of Madness specifically. I saw this one referenced on /r/minipainting and gave it a try. I also picked up some duplicate minis from Amazon and had a "mini painting bootcamp" one Saturday with me and my three kids. Instructions were spelled out step by step, easy to follow and they actually turned out pretty well. We'll be doing a follow-up or two before diving into my actual games, but I thought it was a great way to test the waters before diving in.

Ok, a $20 budget is way tougher than I expected. (Most of my normal recommendations hit around $25).

[Hive Pocket] (https://www.miniaturemarket.com/tci013.html) - $17.09 - Great chess-like strategy that can be played anywhere. The components feel great, and I really like the travel size. Plays equally well at a cafe, beach, patio, or coffee table.


Flip City - $16.06 - As a disclaimer, this is a very light deckbuilder. This game works better as a "simple zen game to decompress with" than a "game to ponder and analyze". However, it's pretty good for a light deckbuilder.

Valley of the Kings: Afterlife - $15.11 - Some people love this one, other people hate it. I fall in the former camp. This is a more unique "zen" deckbuilder that has you sacrificing your high-powered cards to convert them to victory points. One of the common complaints is that it is too easy. There are a few variants on BGG that address this.

Star Realms - $13.61 - Another "light-ish" deckbuilder. This one feels quite luck-based, but it has a quick set-up and tear down, and plays at a decent clip as well.

Pandemic - Base game. You move around a map, remove cubes, and collect 5 of each color card to win. Co-op. 1-4 players.

On the Brink - An expansion for Pandemic. Adds some more roles and a few variants. 5 players max now.

In the Lab - Another expansion for Pandemic. This is the good one. Adds some roles and variants. Playable up to 6 players in a team variant. Adds an actual good win condition in the lab variant instead of the 5 card stuff.

State of Emergency - The newest expansion for Pandemic. Least liked. Adds a few variants and roles.

Pandemic: The Cure - A stand-alone game. This could be considered Pandemic the Dice Game. Much like Bang!, this dice game takes the long setup and play and puts it in a much more fun box. Playable for 1-5. Portable as well.

Pandemic: Contagion - The only game with the Pandemic brand not by the same designer, this is a stand-alone game where you control a disease with the aim of beating all other players. 2-5 players. This is the least liked of all the games and is really Pandemic in name only.

Pandemic: Legacy - The new hotness. The most expensive of them all. 2-4 players. 12-24 plays and then you throw a $60 game in the garbage.

It is a really really solid game, and if you end up loving it as much as we did, there are some very simple amazon purchases you can make to make setup take <5mins.

Power Tile holder - Cut off 1 row and the binder holes and you can store all of the power tiles in here. These fold in half and fit perfectly in the box. Setup is as simple as taking the 3 sheets out of the box and done!

Player boxes - Put each colored players pieces in these boxes (battle cards, miniatures, prayer point tracker, turn tracker, and action tokens). With the last extra box, put the Divine Intervention cards and all of the small extra silver/gold action tokens. If you can find ones that are slightly deeper you could even fit each of the 3 colored pyramids.

Victory Point holder - Holds all of the victory points in their own compartments.

Well you have two options.

Either get the original game or the sequal Colony Wars. They should be around $15 each. They are both base games and play exactly the same so it doesn’t matter which one you pick up. If you like it then you can do a bit of research on where to go next.

Alternatively if you have a smart phone or a Steam account there is a free digital version on Android, iPhone, and Steam. The free version is you vs. the computer and a campaign mode. The paid version unlocks online and local multiplayer modes and additional campaign content. But the free version is enough to let you figure out if you actually want to buy the physical version.

That was something I was thinking about in my variant.

I considered designating one circle as a "lead player" circle and one as a "cross-table player" circle. Then players would take turns in pairs simultaneously. However, the problem is one player would most likely stall and want to watch what the other selects rather than going simultaneously. After all, knowing what your opponent does affects your choices. Thus I nixed that idea.

I fully get that it would have downtime issues at higher player counts, but unless you do something like implement a turn timer (such as the DGT cube), the only solution I could give is chat and enjoy. Of course, down time is a matter of perspective - I play wargames, so waiting 20-30 minutes for a turn is not unheard of. I've also played Talisman 2E with about 20 players and all expansions in an all night session; that was interesting experience, where people would chat between turns or go get food. Of course, that was also back in the pre-internet days...

Most of these games just cost way too much compared to their enjoyment and very few of them are really good. If they are popular and good, they will eventually hit retail (see Gloomhaven, Scythe, etc). There is no reason why you should buy/pre-order things, pay like an idiot and also shoulder all of the risk.

If you want dungeon crawlers look into DnD 5e and Pathfinder 2e (provided you have people to play with). The starter adventure is 15$ (at least 6 sessions a 4-5 hours of playtime) the rules are free (https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules or http://2e.aonprd.com/) and and the best thing: there is no limit/minimum playtime: you guys can decide anytime if you want to quit or play the next encounter.

I was interested in just painting up a few of my plastic miniatures for fun, and to make them a bit more interesting.

Got this as a starter kit, even comes with a few minis to paint so you can practice before you get started on the ones you care about: https://www.amazon.com/Reaper-Miniatures-08906-Learn-Paint/dp/B00NTMC49G

I immediately bought a couple of extra colours, but it seemed like a pretty cost effective way to get started, and it comes with some instructions around technique, using the included miniatures as examples.

Pandemic 2nd Edition is most likely the best way to start.

The 2nd edition is the same thing, only with different artwork to appeal to the "Target" store crowd, my assumption. Making it look like movie poster to draw the eye of a shopper?

Gameplay wise, the 1st and 2nd edition are the same, except the 2nd edition has extra roles, and I believe fixes the Operations Expert to make him more useful.

I may recommend on getting the 1st edition of Pandemic if you find it dirt cheap and don't expect to get any expansions if you think you'll only play it once a month or every other month.

---

Expansions:

I recommend getting expansions when you end up playing the game with the same people and feel like you want something new. Its normally not a good idea to keep introducing new people with expansions as the extra rules could scare away newbies.

The new, and most likely future expansions are compatible with the 2nd edition, so with board games newer is usually the way to go.

---

On a side note, if you have trouble introducing the game to newbies, I wrote a guide that may help quickly getting people into the game and working together http://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/172dk3/teaching_guide_to_pandemic_tg/

I would advise against re-buying the black edition. It is nicer, but the quality is still a bit lacking. For the figures, I know people have gone to using the old micro machine models. I'm not sure how available they are/how bad shipping would be to Portugal.

For painting, I highly recommend getting this kit from Reaper. The instructions are easy to follow and it comes with everything needed to get started. Once you've painted the three included figures I would look into ordering the colors you want to use. Generally speaking, you would need to:

• Prep the figures, meaning wash them with dish soap. You can file down the mold lines first if they annoy you, I probably wouldn't bother with it.
  
• I haven't painted the Star Wars Risk ships before, but I'd suspect you'll need a primer. I think spray primer is the easiest to use. I'd go with white, I think its trickier to "paint up" from black.
  
• Primary color for each ship. This will probably be a shade of gray, with a little red mixed in to give the rebel ships that warm used feeling. I'd go a little brighter shade than you want the end product to be.
  
• A matching wash, or just a thinned and darkened version of your primer. This is a really thin, wet coat that gets into the nooks and crannies to give the model depths.
  
• Accent paint colors, like orange for the X-Wings, blacks for the windows and bright reds for the engines.
  
  I'd skip doing highlights for that many figures, and I wouldn't bother sealing them either. I'd also paint one figure of each type first, then do batch runs in series (prime everything, base coat everything, wash everything..)
  
  Hopefully this can get you started improving your set. :)

7 Wonders is on a great sale and it's a relatively short, easy to play game. I've taught it to my family at Thanksgiving and many of my friends and they all love it!

Edit: here is the link

There's actually a good amount of fun games for under $40 on Amazon that I would suggest looking at.

• Pandemic | $28
  
• Catan | $30
  
• Dominion | $30
  
• 7 Wonders | $31
  
• Love Letter | $8
  
• Coup | $8
  
• Sushi Go | $10
  
• Lord of Waterdeep | $37
  
• Betrayal at House on the Hill | $34
  
• Ticket to Ride | $31
  
  These are all pretty popular games and I think they give you a good start into the different genre's of modern board games.

The Resistance is always fun and plays up to 10 people really easily. Although, some people say Avalon is better

Zombie Dice is an option for lots of people and super easy to teach.

Without sleeving? Not much you can do there really except don't allow drinks on a table. 2000 cards using decent penny sleeves will not cost that much. I bought a box of 1000 sleeves for 10 bucks so 20 bucks can sleeve that whole game for you.

https://www.amazon.com/Sleeves-Sleeve-Baseball-Sports-Packaging/dp/B000Y4HI7A/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1486376763&sr=8-9&keywords=card+sleeves

Two of these will sleeve 2000 cards. 3 will probably cover your needs. Now... actually spending the time to sleeve them? Yeah, it will suck and take time but 30 dollars and a few hours sleeving to protect your investment I think is well worth it.

I will say... these sleeves are not the best quality and don't feel good like dime sleeves do... but you get what you pay for. It would cost you $200 to sleeve using Dragon Shield or the like. Myself? Where I am at with sleeving games I buy Dragon Shield for everything. To me, it's worth it. Sure... I spent more on sleeves than the cards cost for Star Realms by my set is slick, easy to shuffle and play and looks great. I have also sleeved all of EPIC and have sleeves for all of my Mage Wars books (10+ of 60+ cards each). So I buy a ton of sleeves.

So for you on a budget? Penny sleeves.

Guillotine is a light, fun, party game that scales well. The rules are bone simple, the turns move fast, and there's enough strategy to keep your nerdcore friends happy (maybe).

http://www.amazon.com/Wizards-of-the-Coast-5510919/dp/B000ARTT7S

I am in the minority here, but I'd suggest you be relaxed about maintaining the condition of your games. Yeah, I get that they are expensive, but they are toys. My most played games are beat up because when my group gets together, we drink and eat all the cheetos money will buy. And you know what? The games still play just the same, and no one feels bad if they spill some beer on the board. It is a welcoming environment.

On the flip side, I once get yelled at for flexing my Cards Against Humanity hand. Fuck that.

Unless this was your wife's idea you are likely to be disappointed with many of the games you play with her. Despite people's delusions women on average do not like conflict oriented (e.g. fighting, war) games and while co-op games sound like a solution they don't like being told what to do either (yes you will try to do this). I highly recommend playing games with friends in addition to your wife to get a well rounded view and to see if you really like them or not. If you do want to play with your wife I recommend the following games:

• Carcassone
  
  
• Ticket To Ride
  
  
• Lost Cities

You should look into getting this.

I know this isn't precisely a solution to making lots of games tiny and fit in a small space, BUT it does solve the problem of a mobile storage solution.

I bought one of these on recommendation from a few BGG threads, and it's been wonderfully easy to bring games to game night because I just throw it all in the bag and wear it like a backpack. Then, if I still want more games, I can put them in another bag.

Puerto Rico $31.20, Prime; I feel Puerto Rico is a near-essential stepping stone to heavier games and not a bad gateway at the same time.

Love Letter $9.20, Prime; with great filler comes great fun.

Total $40.40 plus taxes and stuff.

Edit- This recommendation was a little tricky for me. I'd much rather recommend one game that costs $55 that 2 games that go for under $40.

> The ultimate dream would be to carry 1-2 board games, a few MTG decks, a playmat and my laptop. Has anyone found something like that?

This should be able to handle that pretty easy: https://www.amazon.com/Meinl-Percussion-MSTCJB-Standard-Carrying/dp/B004GH8QTA/

I can stuff it full of 6-8 board games pretty easy.

But you are literally saying the exact same thing xTheOOBx was saying other than "I don't agree".

If the game is well stocked, it is significantly cheaper than local stores. If it isn't well stocked, it is only a little bit cheaper than your local stores. The only exception is MayFair games, where they have a cap on their retail discount.

And for what it is worth:

BGG Top 10

1. 26% Off
   
   
2. OOP/BPR
   
   
3. 35% Off
   
   
4. 31% Off
   
   
5. 27% Off
   
   
6. 25% Off
   
   
7. 37% Off
   
   
8. 28% Off
   
   
9. 32% Off
   
   
10. 23% Off
    
    
    Some other games I just stumbled across.
    
    24% Off,
    31% Off, 34% Off
    
    It looks like when I said "frequently between 30% and 40%, I was pretty damn close. It's okay to want to support the local game stores, as we all have said, they provide something more than just the game. I visit the same exact stores you do, and I know "not that much cheaper" is down right false. Buying games online is almost a buy 2-3 get 1 free - and that's not considering any significant sale.

Alternatively sushi go! (Sushi Go! - The Pick and Pass Card Game https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J57VU44/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.zVCybJR74EKP)

And love letter (Love Letter Boxed Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J1JLT8I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_HBVCybD3TR08K)

Are two of my favorite under thirty minutes games... if the boys cringe at the idea of love letter you can also get a Batman, Adventure Time, or Hobbit version to make it "manly"

Check out Love Letter. It is easily in my top ten favorite games. The mechanics are simple, and a full game can be played in less than five minutes. The best part? It's only sixteen cards. Very portable, very fun.

Almost all of these are $15 and under (plus shipping):

Best value:

• Love Letter Factory Edition - recommend over aeg edition for the minister card
  
• Set and/or Swish - i might give swish the edge due to the ability to dial in the difficulty
  
• Coup
  
• Make your own Skull set with blank coasters and day of the dead temporary tattoos
  
• Forbidden Island - recommending over forbidden desert because scuffed tiles can spoil forbidden desert
  
  2 only:
  
  
• Cribbage
  
• What's My Word - you only need the refill pads, the rules can be read online
  
• Star Realms
  
  The 2-3 player weird spot (it's harder to find games good at this player count):
  
  
• Wurfel Bohnanza - dice! but no one will accuse you of gambling with bean dice
  
• Haggis
  
  Great with 4:
  
  
• Hanabi
  
• Sushi Go!
  
• No Thanks!
  
• Tichu - can be played with a standard deck plus four marked-up jokers
  
  Great for 5+:
  
  
• Bohnanza
  
• 6 nimmt!
  

Ah well, then as a kid playing another kid I'd probably try to screw them over and answer "no" here :)

ps: If you and your husband wish to play an entertaining boardgame with your kids, check out Ticket To Ride.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHmf1bau9xQ


Or if you want to play something similar to "Guess Who" or "Clue", then check out "Mystery of the Abbey".

In 2013, US dollars were exchanged to canadian dollars almost 1 to 1 (0.94). Today, a canadian dollar is worth 70 cents. So Troyes went up from 35 dollars to 45?

It was also highly anticipated reprint in the middle of a boom of interest in boardgaming we are having right now, so the first wave was sold at a high price. Looking at a UK pricetracker you can see both how anticipated it was before the reprint and how the price right now is far from stable, being 35 pounds in february and 60 right now.
Android netrunner, if anything, seems to have gone down in prices for the UK at least, and the UK and american amazon usually track each other pretty well. Castles from Burgundy is stable for the last five years, Jamaica is falling.

It seems like it's either a canadian problem or maybe you were really good at picking prices when they were low back in 2013 and now you are comparing them to randomly chosen prices now?

I got the DGT Cube Timer as a gift. In short, it's the best gaming accessory I could ever use.

We started to realize that those who took longer turns tended to win (particularly in euros). Our competitive nature led the rest of us to take longer turns so as not to be left behind. This created a sort of spiral effect that was poisoning the atmosphere of game night.

Now we use the cube timer. No one needs to be a jerk about telling someone to hurry up with their turn because the timer does that for us. We play our games in less time and they feel more competitive than ever. As a couple side bonuses, it's a good way to remind everyone whose turn it is and it also serves as a definitive "my turn is over, no more takesies-backsies" token.

Terra Mystica is somewhat similar but slightly more complicated: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/120677/terra-mystica

Five Tribes is great because it plays 2 people as well as 3 or 4: http://www.daysofwonder.com/five-tribes/en/

Castles of Burgundy also does 2-4 really well: http://www.amazon.com/Ravensburger-81243-The-Castles-Burgundy/dp/B005UWYK22

Have you tried buying/using the blank cards? Half the fun I find in taking my CaH set anywhere is making sure people fill out at least one white or black card so new things are always popping up. But yes, having played enough CaH at cons for a life time I can understand just wanting to put it down and not touch it forever.

Werewolf is a fun giant group game. Also so is 7 Wonders.

You must not have seen these:

https://www.amazon.com/BCW-20-Pocket-Pages-Pocket-Size/dp/B002KDNAU2

Fits pretty perfect; a bit snug, but great for passing around the table as well. (eg see https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1128883/kemet-setup-minet)

New Kemet expansion coming next yr, might want to hold off on the insert.

Alot of good advice here. I'd see if someone else who wants to game has more space at their place and is willing to host a game day so you can get two big games going. This way you dont have to host two separate game nights, and everyone can participate. Have people bring snacks and soda and make a party out of it.


Edit: Also, the Resistance is a great game that plays quick, and supports up to 10 players. It is $15 on Amazon

I bought these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KDNAU2/
I then cut each page down to a 3x3 grid. Works flawlessly! Great for: protecting them when they are on the table, keeping the cards secure, and super helpful with the tear down/setup time. Since the gear cards never get shuffled and are hardly ever touched, I didn't see the need to sleeve them when using this method.

If you're interested in getting your wife to try games, try something you can both play together cooperatively. I've had good luck with Forbidden Island which is an amazing game for its price. Basically, you're all (or both) running around an island that is gradually sinking into the sea, trying to recover the four legendary treasures and meet up back at the helicopter before the entire island sinks. Maybe move on to Forbidden Desert after a while, which is a little more complicated, or its even more complicated older brother, Pandemic.

I have been enjoying Smash Up with my wife lately, but you could also go with something more like Pandemic instead. There is always Star Realms and Dominion too. I hear good things about Lord of Waterdeep with the Scoundrels of Skullport expansion for wife/husband play, but I have not played myself yet.

I would recommend grabbing the D&D Starter Kit and trying that out to see if you like it. If you don't like it, it's only $15 so you aren't out a bundle of money.

There are also free Basic Rules for D&D available online.

I would also note that D&D is only one of dozens of mainstream games and hundreds of lesser known ones, all of which have something to offer. If you don't find yourself enjoying D&D, you might come join us at /r/rpg to find a better fit for you and your group.

Have fun!

What are the ages of family members who will be playing? It’s not a board game but I would suggest checking out [Gloom](Gloom (2nd Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1589781449/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ztKpDb1VPZXE4) .Good balance of strategy and silliness.

A strategic board game that could be fun if they have enjoyed Dominion is [7 Wonders](7 Wonders https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0043KJW5M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_VvKpDb0SG0DQ8).

How about Jaipur or Hive Pocket? Mr Jack Pocket is also wonderful. Star Realms is the best micro game of the year IMHO, and scales past 2P with multiple decks. Coup is also a lot of fun and quick. I personally do not like Cheaty Mages at all.

I use penny sleeves. I've played about a dozen games since Christmas, and the sleeves are holding up fine. And if they break, they're less than a penny.

http://www.amazon.com/Sleeves-Sleeve-Baseball-Sports-Packaging/dp/B000Y4HI7A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421692674&sr=8-1&keywords=penny+sleeves

Something to consider with a card like Marvel: Legendary is that not all cards are being used all the time. You're only using one mastermind, and those cards are barely shuffled. You're only using 5 heroes out of dozens (with expansions). As a result, your sleeves will hold up a lot longer than, say, playing Magic where the same cards will be shuffled again and again and again.

Allow me to pass this tip forward.

This bag, while designed for a large square musical instrument is basically designed perfectly for anyone wanting to carry a number of board games. It has shoulder straps that are perfect, and unzipping the front panel to reveal all the games inside is too cool.

I picked up Rivals For Catan for my wife who really likesSettlers of Catan, and we LOVE IT. It scratches the Catan itch but is two players.

You can pick it up from Amazon for about £17

Edit: Also, we love Castles of Burgundy, which fits your range.

These are fun accessories, if they don't have them already (it also depends on the games they have):

• A fancy dice tower (if they play games with dice)
  
  
• Some nice poker chips (if they play games with paper money, and don't have these already) - this can be pretty expensive
  
  
• Posters
  
  
• Fancy inserts for games they play often (good overview video ) For a lot of games there are also recommended plano boxes that will fit in the game box.
  
  
• Board game carrying bag. There are a lot of these but I did some quick googling and these are among them
  
  
• For some games, you can buy fancy bits. Here are some, but there are other websites if you dont see a good fit there.
  
  
• Maybe a gift card to a local board game cafe where they can try things out?

I was using a verticle one, the chromacast that a lot of people recommend. I recently switched to https://www.amazon.com/Meinl-Percussion-MSTCJB-Standard-Cajon/dp/B004GH8QTA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1495562207&sr=8-2&keywords=cajon+bag

I am so much happier with it now. I like the horizontalness of this one better personally. It is also easier to carry like that. It also feels more secure than the chromacast.

I dont have an insert, but for people who want something small to make set up easier... here!

I was linked to these coin collector sleeves a while back. You just cut a row off, and it makes it basically perfect. And it fits in the box great.

Guillotine. Played this game hundreds of times over the last 15-20 years or so, well worth the ten bucks I spent on it. Easy to learn, quick game, good at various levels of drunkeness, just enough strategy to make the hard core gamers happy while simple enough for even drunk idiots to play.

We normally bring the games to game night events so we got a Cajon bag. It's for a musical instrument that's a big box? It works SO WELL! It fit several games and was easy to carry. We paid about $27 usd.

We got this one in size large:

https://www.amazon.com/ChromaCast-CC-CBAG-S-Padded-Shoulder-Standard/dp/B00IRMEZTK

Here is an example of 1500 black matte sleeves. They come to about 3 cents/sleeve.
Here is an example of penny clear sleeves.
The nice thing about the black ones is that it hides the back of the card. There are times when that is very useful.
I also found an example of the smaller sleeves

There could be better bulk prices. These are fairly quick searches but we have been happy with the black matte at that amount & price range.

It depends on what size cards you need to sleeve and how particular you are over how tightly they fit.

I sleeved all my Legendary cards with these sleeves (1,000 for $8.25) and have been perfectly happy with them.

The other option would be to get two smaller games, in which case I would recommend Jaipur and Sushi Go!. Jaipur is a strictly two-player trading game, and Sushi Go is a larger-group drafting game. Both are amazing games, and this way, your sister can have something to play with her husband and something to play with her group.

That's a fantastic idea! A lot of people like this bag. It isn't terribly expensive and pretty sturdy.

I was gifted by my wife a Meinl Cajon bag and i like it a lots . The bag holds 5 or 6 good size games, it is easy to carry, affordable and good quality. A link is below to check it out.



https://www.amazon.com/Meinl-Percussion-Bag-Standard-Size-Heavy-MSTCJB/dp/B004GH8QTA

There are a lot of entry points. Which one is best will probably depend on your level of gamerness (if that's a word?).

If you don't do much tabletop gaming (or your only boardgames are from Hasbro), the D&D fifth edition starter set is a great place to start. Eventually, your group will have to get the DM Guide,, Player's Handbook, and maybe the Monster Manual after you finish the sessions from the starter set.

If you're more of a gamer, and you like min/maxing, let me recommend Pathfinder. It's an offshoot of the 3.5th edition of D&D (considered by many to be the heyday of D&D's systems. Here's their beginner box - the great thing about pathfinder is that after you finish that box, you don't need to buy anything. Ever again. there are resource pages all over the internet where all of the source material is available for free. (premade campaigns, you'll have to buy if you want to use them, though, but that's the same as D&D).

Another option if you're a starwars fan, is the new Star Wars RPG by fantasy flight. There are different source books and begginer boxes depending on if you want to focus your adventures around smugglers and normal folk on the edge of civilization or members of the rebellion

I use a drum bag. Someone else on this sub mentioned it one time. It works fantastic, and it carries standard size boxes really well. I will say that the shoulder straps aren't awesome, but the padding for the games is really great.

I bought this bag last year and it works perfectly! It’s normally used for drums but it works great for toting to game nights. Price is way cheaper than the board game specific bags people are selling.

I'm mostly a MTG player so camera bags have been suggested to hold my stuff. However, now after playing more board games I just saw this and thought it might be the best bag to carry everything at once.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IRMEZTK/

The ultimate dream would be to carry 1-2 board games, a few MTG decks, a playmat and my laptop. Has anyone found something like that?

guillotine is a really great game that's cheap. great for non-gamer types, too

Cajon bags work perfectly. The reviews even show board games fitting perfectly. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004GH8QTA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_tgN1Bb7NDQJ70

I mean, does comparing it to the cheapest option possible mean it really is a good deal? For $5 more you can get a much better cajon bag.

I got the Meinl Percussion cajon bag for $25, and it holds more games and has just a good a strap as the Canopy at a fraction of the price.

https://www.amazon.com/Meinl-Percussion-MSTCJB-Standard-Cajon/dp/B004GH8QTA/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1492438798&sr=1-2&keywords=cajon+bag

As I said, already, for the top 10 games you can probably get a good deal online. But, stray from that and the deals aren't as big. My gaming habits tend more towards casual, family and friend style games, which may also make a difference.

Forbidden Island - 16%

Gloom expansion - 15%

Say Anything - 12%

Munchkin - 16%

Tsuro - 19%

MLP Trading Card Game - 9%

Bananagrams - 21%

Scrabble - 15%

Apples to Apples - 0%

Oz Fluxx - 23%

Those are the last 10 games I bought. The biggest percentage is 23%, and that was only a $3 difference. The biggest dollar difference was $5. For differences that small, i'll buy local. It supports the local guy and I get it now, not several days to a week from now.

Also, the reason I don't agree with the original statement is because (as is shown in my personal examples) the online prices aren't that much less for the games I have purchased lately. And, I have never called in to any of the local stores and found that they do not have something in stock that isn't also out of stock online. So, I also disagree with the assertion that they cannot compete for item availability.

Again, I use the bookstore analogy. Sure, I may be able to get a better deal for a book online, but it's not going to stop my from heading to Powells. And, except for the most obscure of titles, i'll probably find a copy of it at Powells.

Guillotine is my favorite little card game, cheap to buy and everyone I've played it with has loved it. 2-5 players

I had a chromacast bag for a bit and liked it but it was very flimsy. Doing more research I found this bag

Meinl Percussion MSTCJB Standard Cajon Bag, Black (VIDEO) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004GH8QTA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fNfKAb0ETGK37

It’s a nice mix between chromacast and game canopy bags. Nice and sturdy and a hell of a lot cheaper.

:edit:: also because of the way the bag is, you can carry coffin boxes in it pretty easily.

I like them, and I got into them for about the same reason you are looking to. They echo the 4th edition rules pretty well.

Are you looking to play solo or with people? If with people, you do probably have the makings of a small game group. Buy the 5th Edition starter kit for really cheap and go from there. If solo, they are a good stand in. I have heard from some people that for the same experience but done better they prefer Myth, but I've never played it.

Exactly that! If you're on Amazon you can see that a few of the reviews for them will say how they were specifically bought for the Kemet power tiles. They work great :)

https://www.amazon.com/BCW-20-Pocket-Pages-Pocket-Size/dp/B002KDNAU2

• 7 Wonders 33.03
  
• Archaeology 10.99
  
• Ticket to Ride 36.98
  
• Puerto Rico 38.48
  
• Cards Against Humanity Free*
  
• Saboteur $12.29
  
  Total = 141.77
  
  
• If I can go over $2: Cthulhu Dice $9.99
  
  Total = 151.76
  
  *If you buy it, it costs about $25 but it's creative commons so you can print and make a set for yourself, estimated $10.
  
  
  I really wanted to try to fit Lost Cities in there too.

If you're looking at getting into more involved games, Ticket To Ride is always a good gateway. Lots of fun, simple rules. Usually found most places.

Catan is also a good starter game.

I don't think I've ever seen games at Hobby Lobby. At least not the times my wife has dragged me in.

Forbidden Island is $15~ on Amazon. It's a 2-4 player co-op game that is commonly referred to as a lighter version of Pandemic. Watch an example game played here.

The Resistance is also $15~. It's a deduction game with a traitor mechanic for 5-10 players. It's a perennial favorite on /r/boardgames -- you can watch an example game played here.

30 bucks is a bit of an awkward number. Thematic games tend to be pricier as well. Here are some recommendations off the top of my head, some end up a couple bucks over 30:

Death Angel

[Red November] (http://www.amazon.com/Fantasy-Flight-Games-SL08-November/dp/1616610638/ref=pd_sim_t_60)

[Eminent Domain] (http://www.amazon.com/Tasty-Minstrel-Games-1005TTT-Eminent/dp/0984155856/ref=pd_sim_t_57)

[Infiltration] (http://www.amazon.com/Fantasy-Flight-Games-VA79-Infiltration/dp/1616613963/ref=pd_sim_t_17)

[Power Grid] (http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-RGG240-Power/dp/B0007YDBLE/ref=pd_sim_t_7)

[Flash Point] (http://www.amazon.com/Indie-Boards-Cards-PSI-IBCFPF1/dp/B005YXFW1U/ref=pd_sim_t_9)

[7 Wonders] (http://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-SEV-EN01ASM-7-Wonders-Game/dp/B0043KJW5M/ref=pd_sim_t_6)

I too recommend allocating a couple extra dollars if it means getting a game you really want. Anyway, hope this helps :)

Sushi Go! or Win, Lose, Banana.

(I've made my own WLB sets using 3 business cards, so it wins for "cheapest game ever".)

Also: vote #2 for Love Letter. I have the Kanai Factory edition, and I love it. (It's more expensive than the current default edition, but I think the art is nicer than the "cleavage edition".)

I know you're not in the market, but I bought this one on Amazon after reading a BGG thread that recommended them. It works great and holds a ton of games.

No idea on patterns, but use one of these and it works great. Should be simple to create a pattern from looking at it.

ChromaCast CC-CBAG-S Padded Cajon Bag with Carry Handle and Shoulder Straps, Standard Size https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IRMEZTK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_dXnvCbT21Y4C9

thank you very much! i am flying soon via Delta and planning to carry some of my favorite boardgames, and some of them have huge boxes (Robinson Crusoe, Xenoshyft, Ghost Stories, Mage Knight etc...). I hope i don't run into complications with TSA. will be carrying them by the way through this :

http://www.amazon.com/Meinl-Percussion-MSTCJB-Standard-Cajon/dp/B004GH8QTA?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_2&smid=A3QI5PL377NJ1M

https://www.amazon.com/DGT-Cube-Timer-Chess-Clock/dp/B004S56RJG

I don't have one of these (yet), but I plan to someday when I have the funds. It times your turn when your side of the cube is upright. Use it and implement a house rule that if you have the longest time at the end of the game, you cannot win. That player is eliminated. If the next winner is now the longest, they do not win either.

Could add a fun spin!

• King of Tokyo
  
  
• Smash Up
  
  
• Forbidden Island
  
  
• Tsuro
  
  
• Room 25
  
  All five of these games should meet your criteria quite nicely. I think all of them, except for Room 25, have also been featured on Wil Wheaton's Table Top, if you wanna check out what the gameplay actually looks and feels like.

Dixit is great. I just got it. Lots of fun for my kids and I.

We have that version... and it's original Dixit but the International Rules edition.

The box looks almost exactly like what I guess is standard Dixit, but the board is definitely one where part of the box is what you travel around.

probably this one (most famous one I think) but it's pretty expensive

https://www.amazon.com/DGT-Cube-Timer-Chess-Clock/dp/B004S56RJG

if you don't care about precision/fine with a pre-set timer, this one will probably do fine as well

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00889AVB8/?th=1

I'll toss my vote for the D&D 5th edition starter set as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1419434231&sr=8-4&keywords=5th+edition+dungeons+and+dragons

It's a fantastic starting point, and it's a smoother game than Pathfinder, or the ilk. It's also a game people actually know of any play, so you are not going to have any problems finding people who can help you find more stuff in the future.

Amazon.ca for $56 with free shipping. Otherwise you can take a look at any online boardgame store for ~$60 such as Board Game Bliss or 401games.

As others have said, Ultimate Werewolf, The Resistance, and The Resistance Avalon are all good. Other options for this type of secret-role/party game are Bang! and Samurai Sword.

Battlestar Galactica is another popular game with secret roles. However, it is much longer and more complex than the other games I mentioned.

7 Wonders for sure, you need more than 2 to play but it is tons of fun.

As was recommended to me, I will point you to the ChromaCast Padded Cajon Bag. It is originally designed to hold a particular type of Peruvian drum. But works amazing for board games. Only downside I personally had is that now my Amazon "would you also like to buy" suggestions are littered with tambourines and castanets. But I can live with that.

Some pics from other users last time this question was posted. http://imgur.com/a/bk39t https://imgur.com/a/eYNsF http://i.imgur.com/BRxBn7q.jpg

https://www.amazon.com/DGT-Cube-Timer-Chess-Clock/dp/B004S56RJG

the "DGT Cube". 6 sides, all different color, when your color is up, it counts that time. you can count up or down from a specific time. its really nice. thankfully, i haven't needed mine since that day. almost worth the price for that. except its been sitting for a year now...

I've always wanted to get this timer ( https://smile.amazon.com/DGT-Cube-Timer-Chess-Clock/dp/B004S56RJG/) but I can't justify the cost. It would be great to see who spend the most time on their turns throughout any game.

The Chromacast bags are awesome.

Another one that people seem to like:
https://www.amazon.com/Meinl-Percussion-MSTCJB-Standard-Cajon/dp/B004GH8QTA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1493933518&sr=8-2&keywords=cajon+bag

The Resistance won't be found in department stores like some games. Amazon is a great place to find this and many other games.

King of Tokyo $30.35 Amazon Link|
One Night Ultimate Werewolf $19.57 Amazon Link|
Pandemic $25.72 Amazon Link|
Total Cost: 75.64
All great family games you cant go wrong with!
Plus you still have money for snacks!!

I've used one of these (large size), and strongly recommend.

https://www.amazon.com/ChromaCast-CC-CBAG-S-Padded-Shoulder-Standard/dp/B00IRMEZTK/

Probably a similar level of padding to what you're describing, but also a much better shape and at a good price. As for whether or not that's enough padding will depend on your own personal tastes and how much abuse you plan on giving it.

Just trying to help. You might want to reajust your prices.

Example: Your currently asking over MSRP (20$) for Codenames. Its normally free shipping for 15$ brand new. You are asking 25$ +S/H for a used copy.

7 Wonders is great from 3-7 players (scales really well).

It's $30usd on Amazon.com right now (cheaper than Cool stuff Inc which is $40)

Isn't theme heavy, easy to learn, and everyone is active all the time because turns are done at the same time.

Thanks for all the input, much appreciated. Just bought 7 Wonders on sale https://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-SEV-EN01ASM-7-Wonders/dp/B0043KJW5M

If the game actually has some depth then it takes many MANY plays. To put it in perspective Manhattan Project took roughly 30+ plays before it got stale, and this is after playing the game practically every other day with 2 players and the occasional 4-5 player game. But playing something like Sheriff of Nottingham got stale after the 3rd game once we realized we were playing the game wrong and according to the rules you basically HAVE to lie half the time.

Also sleeves shouldn't be TOO expensive, I wouldn't be shocked if there are cheaper options than these

My daughter absolutely loves playing Tsuro.

The black tiles are cool. The other modules are OK.

I'd also consider getting 4 pages of these BCW 2x2" pocket pages to keep the upgrade tiles in for easy setup and tear-down. I just cut off the last 5th row.

Collection of everything I've found below with links (I was doing this for myself, so figured I'd just post it for all.)

Specific Game Deals:

ABC Order

• Aeon's End ($24.99)
  
• Amun-Re ($29.99)
  
• Broom Service ($24.49)
  
• Forbidden Stars ($69.99)
  
• In the year of the Dragon ($32.20)
  
• Labrynth ($21.24)
  
  
• Lisboa - $49.99
  
• The Quest for El Dorado ($26.01)
  
• This War Of Mine: The Board Game - $37.99
  
• Western Express Delivery ($54.99)
  
• Lancaster ($14.82)
  
• Castles of Burgundy ($19.17)
  
  Store Deals:
  
  Sorted biggest discount to smallest
  
  
• Sirilin Game - 50% off everything
  
• Barnes & Noble - Buy one get one 50% off on their games and toys, 20% off a purchase of $50 or more online coupon good through Wednesday 11/22. Code: DAYMAKER
  
• GameStop - 30% off all board games, 25% bag discount that stacks ontop
  
• Bordlandia - 15% off on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with reduced free shipping threshold on Friday ($75) and free dice on Monday
  
• CardHaus - 10% off sitewide
  
• Mr. Dice Guy - offering 10% off all their in-stock items. Use discount code BLACKFRIDAY2017
  
• MiniatureMarket - Many items on sale
  
• CheapCheapGames - Entire Site Sale
  
  International/Local Deals:
  
  Canada
  
  
• Canada - Meeple Mart sale
  
• Canada - Geeks Stop Games having cyber Monday sale, details TBA
  
  Germany
  
  
• Germany Toys'r'us - Buy 2 Boardgames and get 50% off of the cheaper one.
  
  Regional US
  
  
• Dreamers Vault Games (locations in Minnesota around the Twin Cities) - 50% off all board games.
  
  Updates
  
  
• 11/23 11:00pm EST - Accurate to everything posted so far, double checked all sales. (Sorry for the delay, was eating Turkey)

I would buy her Ticket to Ride and hope that she forgets Monopoly exists :)

I bought a chromacast cajon bag like this one (12.5”x12.5”x20”) and it holds maybe 4-6 full-sized normal 12”x12” boxes well. I think I paid $13 at walmart online, but I can’t seem to find one under like $25-30 now.

Occasionally they have actual deals. Also for smaller orders it can make senses when you factor in shipping costs and delivery times.

For example you could get Risk Legacy or Galaxy Trucker right now for less than most other retailers or Sushi Go for a couple bucks more than Greatboardgames but free two day shipping w/ Prime.

I've found the DGT Cube helps: http://www.amazon.com/DGT-Cube-Game-Clock-players/dp/B004S56RJG

It has several modes, but we use it to count up for each player. Then when one player is taking double or triple the time we can yell at them.

In my experience slow players remain slow and the is nothing significant you can do about it. Don't talk to them during their turn about non game topics, suggest good moves can make minor differences. But a slow poke will never turn into a quick player.

If they are too slow, stop inviting them.

I would suggest Tsuro since the only pieces are the tiles and the little wooden guys, and it's a fun, straightforward game.

There's also Chinese Checkers which is similar to the one you described, where you move the marbles around.

Also, there's Labyrinth, which has cards, but you only use them for reference and mostly just move the tiles.

Finally, when I was little, my grandpa made me a card stand like this to hold cards, that might work for your grandpa too.

https://www.amazon.com/ChromaCast-CC-CBAG-L-Padded-Handle-Shoulder/dp/B00IRMHGQ4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1527097375&sr=8-2&keywords=chromacast+bag

Check it out, I have this one in the large size. Easily fits 5-7 games depending on size. You can even cram some smallbox games in there alongside them too. I have a few different bags for board games and this one's my favorite.

Looks like it's on the Marketplace. There are a couple new with Prime shipping for more like $24: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/B0043KJW5M/ref=olp_tab_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

This one: http://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-DX01US-Dixit/dp/2914849656/.

My group of friends likes games with numbers and are not the creative type so it sees no play.

If you play a lot of Eclipse, I swear, this will change your life:

http://www.amazon.com/Cube-Timer-Chess-Clock-Book/dp/B004S56RJG?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

We've concluded that the best setup is to give everyone a minute and a half to start, and then every time it's their turn add 20 seconds to their clock. May seem harsh at first, but ultimately it's fair and everyone will adjust immediately. We completed a 6 player game in 3 hours on the first use.

I would love to try this: https://www.amazon.com/Cube-Timer-Chess-Clock-Book/dp/B004S56RJG

If only I could get a game group to use it.

Love Letter (http://www.amazon.com/Alderac-Entertainment-Group-5104AEG-Letter/dp/B00AGJ4HC2) + Dominion (http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-RGG370-Dominion/dp/B001JQY6K4/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1395249359&sr=1-1&keywords=dominion) = just under $40.

This is what I use and love it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IRMHGQ4/ref=twister_B00JDNYOAW?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

Love Letter

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^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

Get Bit

Tsuro

Walk the Plank

Bang! the Dice Game

Munchkin

all good options

/u/r2d8 getinfo

Last time this topic came up someone suggested a Cajon (square wood drum) carrying bag. In fact, many of the reviews mention how great they are for carrying games. I've been toying with the idea of getting this one:

https://www.amazon.com/ChromaCast-CC-CBAG-S-Padded-Shoulder-Standard/dp/B00IRMEZTK/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=cajon%2Bbag&qid=1550543093&s=gateway&sr=8-4&th=1&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520274900&sr=8-1&keywords=DnD+Beginner+box

You want to look into this.

This has some basic rules for character creation and an overview of how to play the game without being totally overwhelming.

It also includes a mini-campaign that I suggest you use as a starting point if you are a first time DM. You can change every name, every location, every single thing you want to in order to cater it to your friends, but I strongly suggest reading it start-to-finish so that you get an idea of how to structure challenges the players will face as a DM.

I have two bags that I use:

• First up is the ChromaCast Large Cajon Bag. Pros are that it fits standard (i.e. Ticket to Ride size) boxes very well, has decent padding to protect your box corners while in transport, and the double zipper opening makes it very easy to access games even if they are at the bottom of the bag. Cons are that the shoulder straps and top handle are effectively useless if the bag is filled with games, and 100% will rip if you try to use them.
  
  
• Second is the IKEA FRAKTA bag. Pros are that it is dirt cheap, fits standard size boxes well, and you can actually use the shoulder straps and handles without them tearing. Cons are that the single zipper opening makes it difficult to reach games that aren't on top of the stack (you may need to partially unpack the bag to reach games), and that there is no padding, so you are taking the lives of the corners and edges of your boxes into your hands with this option.

I have made two key upgrades to my copy that made it 100% more playable:

1. Print off extra reference sheets. BGG has some good all-in-one PDF's. Any will do, especially if you don't need the expansion.
   
2. Put the power tiles in these: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KDNAU2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   Cuts a half hour off the game, easy.