Board Games

[Zalixar]

A bit late to the party....but here's a few.

The Catan with expansion (cities and knights) feels a lot more complete, especially if the base has run its course. Best with those familiar with mechanics than first timers.

Splendor is a great game, there is also a marvel version as well with some slight differences in mechanics. I prefer original.

Dominion is a great/classic deck builder of course, but needs some expansions to shine. Arctic Scavengers is pretty fun too, but it's not quite as polished and not everyone's cup of tea.

Smash up is an amazing game. The newer expansions eventually eclipse older ones in power scaling, but you can choose the decks you want to play with/purchase. I'm mostly familiar with more of the early+ ones.

Code names is a great party/fun game. Could play with many players. It's a real test of vocabulary with a spy theme. Exploding kittens also a party game, but it's alright at the end of the day. Lots of different game modes you can do.

Mysterium is one of my favorites. It's actually a co-op game up to 7 players. It's a more expressive/artsy game trying to solve "puzzles" that's modeled after Clue, but still feels fresh enough to be different. You get a varied gameplay each time and it really tests your ability and creativity with abstract ideas/pictures. You can also really get into the experience with lighting, music, general ambiance, etc

 

[Chaplin]

A bit late to the party....but here's a few.

The Catan with expansion feels a lot more complete, especially if the base has run it's course. Best with those familiar with mechanics than first timers.

Splendor is a great game, there is also a marvel version as well with some slight difference in mechanics. I prefer original.

Dominion is a great/classic deck builder of course, but needs some expansions to shine. Arctic Scavengers is pretty fun too, but it's not quite as polished and not everyone's cup of tea.

Smash up is an amazing game. The newer expansions eventually eclipse older ones in power scaling, but you can choose the decks you want to play with/purchae. I'm mostly familiar with more of the early+ ones.

Code names is a great party/fun game. Could play with many players. It's a real test of vocabulary with a spy theme. Exploding kittens also a party game, but it's alright at the end of the day. Lots of different game modes you can do.

Mysterium is one of my favorites. It's actually a co-op game up to 7 players. It's a more surreal/expressive game that's modeled after Clue. You get a new/different experience each time and it really tests your ability and creativity with abstract ideas. You can also really get into the experience with lighting/music.

This is a great list, and what I would consider a level above the "standard" board game list you would see from someone that isn't an enthusiast. Codenames is obviously a party game, but Smash Up, Mysterium and Splendor are great gateway games.

Dominion was the originator of the deck building genre, which is my favorite mechanism, but there are just so many more deckbuilders that are better IMO. Some complicated, some not so much.

And Catan is in a category by itself. It's essentially a much more enjoyable Monopoly gateway game (by that I don't mean it's a real Estate game, but a game that gets non-gamers interested in board games). It is partially responsible for getting me into the industry, but I'm not sure it's something I will play again considering all the other discoveries I've made in this MASSIVE industry.

 

[jf-08]

We really like Machi Koro with the expansion.

 

[Shane]

We really like Machi Koro with the expansion.

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This is your game of choice huh?

 

[jf-08]

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This is your game of choice huh?

Lol. My stepson's girlfriend brought it over a couple times and it was pretty fun.

 

[Chaplin]

Machi Koro is essentially a modern streamlined version of Monopoly.

 

[Bada0Bing]

A bit late to the party....but here's a few.

The Catan with expansion (cities and knights) feels a lot more complete, especially if the base has run its course. Best with those familiar with mechanics than first timers.

Splendor is a great game, there is also a marvel version as well with some slight differences in mechanics. I prefer original.

Dominion is a great/classic deck builder of course, but needs some expansions to shine. Arctic Scavengers is pretty fun too, but it's not quite as polished and not everyone's cup of tea.

Smash up is an amazing game. The newer expansions eventually eclipse older ones in power scaling, but you can choose the decks you want to play with/purchase. I'm mostly familiar with more of the early+ ones.

Code names is a great party/fun game. Could play with many players. It's a real test of vocabulary with a spy theme. Exploding kittens also a party game, but it's alright at the end of the day. Lots of different game modes you can do.

Mysterium is one of my favorites. It's actually a co-op game up to 7 players. It's a more expressive/artsy game trying to solve "puzzles" that's modeled after Clue, but still feels fresh enough to be different. You get a varied gameplay each time and it really tests your ability and creativity with abstract ideas/pictures. You can also really get into the experience with lighting, music, general ambiance, etc

Code names is one of our favorites!

My wife and I dominate because I’m great at giving clues and she’s fantastic at guessing.

 

[Chaplin]

If you like card games that are relatively light but much different than say, Uno, then try these:

Fliptoons: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/449185/fliptoons
3 Chapters: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/423517/3-chapters
Ito: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/327778/ito
Fantasy Realms: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/223040/fantasy-realms
The Crew (various versions): https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/284083/the-crew-the-quest-for-planet-nine

Most of these can be party games as well.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Bought Fliptoons and haven't tabled it yet.
The Crew is fantasic. One of my favorite cooperative games to play.
My favorite coop card game is The Gang which is cooperatively playing poker. (it doesn't sound like it would work, but it absolutely does)

My favorite coop game of all time is Sky Team. Fantastic 2 player coop experience. It's closing in as my favorite game of all time.

 

[Chaplin]

Fliptoons and The Crew are both on board game arena. Fliptoons has a solo mode so you can play it by yourself. The rest are all multiplayer.

 

[Yuma]

Lol. My stepson's girlfriend brought it over a couple times and it was pretty fun.

I found that board games are only as fun as the crew you play them with.

 

[Chaplin]

I found that board games are only as fun as the crew you play them with.

Sometimes it depends on the game.