# Board/Card game suggestions



## Rechan (Jun 2, 2009)

I recently sat down with a bunch of friends and played Munchkin. While one of the women took _forever_ to grasp it in any capacity, it was fun. A few weeks ago, I also sat down and played Uno with my family, which was also quite enjoyable.

So what I would like is some suggestion for other card/board games that you can casually play with friends. My ideal is just something you can whip out and have a good 20-30 minutes. They don't have to be family/kid level games; I'm going off to grad school, so I just want something to toss out on the table at a get-together.

My criteria:

1) Not too complex. The aforementioned 'took a while to grasp' can be a problem that can slow things down. Something easy to teach, or easy to play. Not to mention the game shouldn't fall apart under the weight of its rules/mechanics (See: Monopoly). Although sometimes complex games can be very rewarding: Chess.

2) Not a lot of setup. Something that's like Mousetrap (with lots of interconnected parts that must be set out) is something I'd like to avoid. Compare to Jenga, which is fast to assemble. 

3) Not overly long in play. Settlers of Catan I imagine takes some time. Same with Monopoly. 

4) Not expensive. Descent may look fun, but $80 is a bit much to swallow.


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## Particle_Man (Jun 2, 2009)

*Once Upon a Time* (a fairy tale story telling card game by Atlas Games).  You get cards with words on them, you insert those words into your story or if someone else says one of your words you take over the story.  

Lord of the Rings[/b] a Cooperative story telling game.  You each play one of the hobbits and together you are trying to get that ring into mount doom.  You play against the board (don't get the *Sauron* expansion sets unless you want one of the players to be the Big Bad Sauron).


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## Mistwell (Jun 2, 2009)

Apples to Apples meets your criteria well.

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

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

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


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## Bumbles (Jun 2, 2009)

Pretty much anything from Looney Labs will meet your needs.  Fluxx would be a good first choice, but Chrononauts is pretty good too, but a bit more involved.  

Catan doesn't take that long, but it might last long enough to be a bother, so you may want to save it for occasions when you have time.


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## knifie_sp00nie (Jun 2, 2009)

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

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


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## Rechan (Jun 2, 2009)

Bumbles said:


> Pretty much anything from Looney Labs will meet your needs.  Fluxx would be a good first choice



I once played Fluxx sitting in a hotel lobby at a con. Very fun game.


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## knifie_sp00nie (Jun 2, 2009)

Duplicate post.


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## Rhun (Jun 2, 2009)

It is an electronic handheld game, but my friends and I have a blast playing Catch Phrase.


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## The Ghost (Jun 2, 2009)

Race for the Galaxy and San Juan are both quite fun and can be played in under an hour. We generally can get a game done in thirty-to-forty minutes. They do lean a little toward the complex side, though.

Race for the Galaxy

San Juan


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## Crothian (Jun 2, 2009)

Pandemic, possibly the best board game ever!!


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## nightwyrm (Jun 2, 2009)

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


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## Cerebral Paladin (Jun 2, 2009)

Some comments on previous suggestions:
I love Race for the Galaxy and San Juan, but I don't think they fit the request well.  Both have a steep learning curve, especially for players who aren't used to European style games.

Bohnanza is fun, but my games of it seem to take a lot longer than the 20-30 minute filler amount of time.  <shrug>

Pandemic is made of win, and not too complicated.  It's also fully cooperative, which is a nice change of pace and also something that some players really like.


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## malraux (Jun 2, 2009)

The Ghost said:


> They do lean a little toward the complex side, though.
> 
> Race for the Galaxy




Leans to the complex side understates it quite a bit.

Anyway, with the given criteria, Guillotine and Ticket to Ride are the two that jump out at me.  I'd also recommend Galaxy Truckers, though it certainly violates your inexpensive rule.  If you have Mensa types, Set is fun (but its certainly not for everyone).

Regardless, the place to look for such recommendations is board game geek.


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## cerealman (Jun 2, 2009)

knifie_sp00nie said:


> I'd suggest heading over to BoardGameGeek | Gaming Unplugged Since 2000. That site is custom-made for finding board games.
> 
> Some fun ones I've played that fit: Citadels, Drakon, No Thanks!, For Sale.




I'm gonna second this suggestion to visit BGG.

I'm also going to suggest Robo Rally as a fun family style game that a gamer should enjoy.


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## rogueattorney (Jun 2, 2009)

Ticket to Ride:  Good for 2 to 5.  Easy to learn.  One game takes about 45 minutes.  A lot of different versions.  The USA version is the basic one and is the easiest to learn (not that they all aren't pretty easy.)


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## Rechan (Jun 2, 2009)

Thanks for all the suggestions. Keep'm coming! 

As an aside, they don't have to be family oriented. I don't know anyone with kids, and really, I'm going off to Grad school - I just want something to toss down at a get-together and have a good laugh, either as an ice-breaker or a steam-blower.


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## Stormtalon (Jun 2, 2009)

For card games, I heartily recommend _*Gloom*_ and all its expansions.  It's good, clean, morbid fun.  Take a stereotypical gothic Victorian family, inflict various traumas on them to make them as miserable as possible and then "score" points by sending them to a suitable demise.  Meanwhile, you can sabotage your opponents by making _their_ family members happy.


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## LightPhoenix (Jun 2, 2009)

Rechan said:


> I once played Fluxx sitting in a hotel lobby at a con. Very fun game.




I'll second Fluxx.  However, I'd recommend using the basic game, and not any of the others.  They're fun too, but they're a little more complex.


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## Rechan (Jun 2, 2009)

Ooh, Gloom sounds fun.

Couple of questions.

1) Anyone played "Are you a werewolf"? 

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


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## Stormtalon (Jun 2, 2009)

Rechan said:


> Couple of questions.
> 
> 1) Anyone played "Are you a werewolf"?




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



> 2) Any games that are good for 2-3, as opposed to party games?




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

Aside from that, I'd also second Fluxx.


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## malraux (Jun 2, 2009)

Rechan said:


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




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


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## Victim (Jun 2, 2009)

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

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


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## Crothian (Jun 2, 2009)

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


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## RodneyThompson (Jun 2, 2009)

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

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


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## Cerebral Paladin (Jun 2, 2009)

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


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## Asmor (Jun 3, 2009)

The Ghost said:


> Race for the Galaxy and San Juan are both quite fun and can be played in under an hour. We generally can get a game done in thirty-to-forty minutes. They do lean a little toward the complex side, though.
> 
> Race for the Galaxy
> 
> San Juan




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



Mistwell said:


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




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



Bumbles said:


> Pretty much anything from Looney Labs will meet your needs.  Fluxx would be a good first choice, but Chrononauts is pretty good too, but a bit more involved.
> 
> Catan doesn't take that long, but it might last long enough to be a bother, so you may want to save it for occasions when you have time.




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



knifie_sp00nie said:


> I'd suggest heading over to BoardGameGeek | Gaming Unplugged Since 2000. That site is custom-made for finding board games.
> 
> Some fun ones I've played that fit: Citadels, Drakon, No Thanks!, For Sale.




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



nightwyrm said:


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




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



rogueattorney said:


> Ticket to Ride:  Good for 2 to 5.  Easy to learn.  One game takes about 45 minutes.  A lot of different versions.  The USA version is the basic one and is the easiest to learn (not that they all aren't pretty easy.)




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



Rechan said:


> Ooh, Gloom sounds fun.
> 
> Couple of questions.
> 
> ...




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



Stormtalon said:


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




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



Moridin said:


> So, given your criteria, I'd say that here would be my recommendations. These are all games that I personally own, so I can vouch for them as good choices. Likewise, these are all games that I have taught my girlfriend how to play, and she's mostly just a casual gamer. If she can get it, so can you and your friends. Some of them are borderline, which I call out in my recommendations.
> 
> Chrononauts: This one is fun, semi-educational, and short. It's a simply Looney Labs game with a fun theme, and it's short--a long game would be 30-45 minutes. I think this one is superior to Fluxx (below) because it requires some actual strategy and thinking, and it requires you to interact with the choices of your opponents.
> Fluxx: Light like Chrononauts, this one is zany and occasionally ridiculous. It's fun, game last from 5-20 minutes, but there's not a ton of strategy here. Mostly, it's a timekiller, but I find it more fun than, say, Uno. This one is best with at least 3 people, because with 2 it will get a bit boring.
> ...




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

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



malraux said:


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




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

Now some of my picks...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I think that'll do.


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## Rechan (Jun 3, 2009)

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

 

Thanks folks.


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## Sabathius42 (Jun 3, 2009)

I put in a second vote for...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DS


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## Rechan (Jun 3, 2009)

Sabathius42 said:


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



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


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## Asmor (Jun 3, 2009)

Sabathius42 said:


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




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

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


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## Rechan (Jun 3, 2009)

Asmor said:


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



Are the other ones full versions, or just expansion packs with a couple of cards?


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## RodneyThompson (Jun 3, 2009)

Rechan said:


> Are the other ones full versions, or just expansion packs with a couple of cards?




They are full games that are also compatible with one another (so you can mix them up and play, but it adds to the game time). For my money, I prefer Zombie Fluxx. 

Also, let me second Three Dragon Ante. Ignoring the fact that we publish it, I think it's a great card game that is fun and pretty straightforward. The big downside is you need something to act as poker chips (I use poker chips...shocking), but pennies/nickels will work if you want.


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## MerricB (Jun 3, 2009)

Moridin said:


> They are full games that are also compatible with one another (so you can mix them up and play, but it adds to the game time). For my money, I prefer Zombie Fluxx.
> 
> Also, let me second Three Dragon Ante. Ignoring the fact that we publish it, I think it's a great card game that is fun and pretty straightforward. The big downside is you need something to act as poker chips (I use poker chips...shocking), but pennies/nickels will work if you want.




I'll add my vote to Rodney's for 3DA. It's a great game (that I also play with poker chips). Very easy to learn, great fun to play, and allows enough strategical and tactical play to be interesting to a wide variety of players.

I'm also very fond of Chrononauts - much more so than Fluxx, of which it is a cousin.

Ticket to Ride is brilliant as well. Plays in about 45-60 minutes, and very easy rules to learn. 2-5 players.

Cheers!


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## Jan van Leyden (Jun 3, 2009)

I'm missing three games on all the lists given here, though I don't know wether they are available in the US. As the material (apart from the rules) is completely language independent, a foreign language version would suffice as well.

1. Transamerica: very easy and clean track-building game with high variability. Can be played with 2-6 players, 4-5 being the optimum number. One round takes some 10 minutes, three to  four rounds are usually needed to complete a game. Very easy to grasp and beginner-friendly; new players usually ask for *this* game to be played at the next session.

2. Viva il Re: players get a card with six (?) of 14 (?) pretenders to the throne. The pretender-pawns are placed on a simple track by the players. On your turn, you move any one pretender up on space on the track. When a pretender reaches the last space on the track, players vote whether this guy will be the new king. Each player has voting cards: one "yes" and three "veto". Without veto the rouns ends with the new king. Players score points for the position of their pretenders. If at least one veto is played, the affected pretender is removed from play, the veto cards are discarded and play continues. One round lasts until a new king has been elected (1-5 minutes); the whole game consists of three rounds. Easy to grasp bluffing game.

3. Metro: another track building game, this time thematising the buiolding of the Paris Metro. A bit more involved than Transamerica. Metro has been our favorite introductory game for years.

Ah, still another one:

Piranha Pedro: Cool little bluffing game with lots of actual stones. Fun to play with the material, though probably rather expensive to ship.


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## Stormtalon (Jun 3, 2009)

Rechan said:


> Ooh, Gloom sounds fun.




The names of some of the cards are the best part about the game -- "Pursued by Poodles," "Betrayed by the Butler," "Menaced by Mimes" -- the list goes on.  It even encourages you to come up with a short tale behind each misery you heap on your family members.


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## Asmor (Jun 3, 2009)

Stormtalon said:


> The names of some of the cards are the best part about the game -- "Pursued by Poodles," "Betrayed by the Butler," "Menaced by Mimes" -- the list goes on.  It even encourages you to come up with a short tale behind each misery you heap on your family members.




Also worth noting that Gloom is created by none other than Keith Baker of Eberron fame.


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## Rechan (Jun 3, 2009)

This might sound like an odd question, but are there any games which are good ice breakers to play with someone (more than likely a girl) whom you don't know/barely know? Something you can just drop on a table and play between the two of you casually? 

Ahem.


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## Sabathius42 (Jun 3, 2009)

Rechan said:


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




I WOULD say that same thing about Uno.

The difference is in fluxx you end up drawing 10 cards, passing one to each neighbor, playing 3, and putting the rest back on top of the deck.  This just makes the time until someone wins at random take that much longer than UNO.

DS


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## Asmor (Jun 4, 2009)

Rechan said:


> This might sound like an odd question, but are there any games which are good ice breakers to play with someone (more than likely a girl) whom you don't know/barely know? Something you can just drop on a table and play between the two of you casually?
> 
> Ahem.




Sounds like a job for Busen Memo (NSFW).

It's a mammary game. I mean a memory game. Stupid Freudian slips.


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## Rechan (Jun 4, 2009)

Stormtalon said:


> The names of some of the cards are the best part about the game -- "Pursued by Poodles," "Betrayed by the Butler," "Menaced by Mimes" -- the list goes on.  It even encourages you to come up with a short tale behind each misery you heap on your family members.



Would that be the same as making up a story for M:tG cards or how things play out in Munchkin, or is it easier with Gloom somehow?


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## Rechan (Jun 4, 2009)

Asmor said:


> Sounds like a job for Busen Memo (NSFW).
> 
> It's a mammary game. I mean a memory game. Stupid Freudian slips.



Oh yeah, that'll go over well.


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## MerricB (Jun 4, 2009)

Asmor said:


> It's a mammary game. I mean a memory game. Stupid Freudian slips.




You've been reading too many BGG geeklists, I think, Asmor. 

Cheers!


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## Asmor (Jun 4, 2009)

MerricB said:


> You've been reading too many BGG geeklists, I think, Asmor.
> 
> Cheers!




What is this thread but a geeklist which has wandered into the wrong site?


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## Crothian (Jun 4, 2009)

Northstar Games has some really god games thar are designed for people that don't normally play games.  You might have luck with them.


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## Stormtalon (Jun 4, 2009)

Rechan said:


> Would that be the same as making up a story for M:tG cards or how things play out in Munchkin, or is it easier with Gloom somehow?




Well, with Gloom, you've got a family of 5 or so individuals with interrelated histories on their cards.  Additionally, all the cards in the game are printed on clear plastic, so everything you do stacks up (you don't replace a card that's been played, you just play on top of it) and you can segue easily from the previous thing (good or bad) that's been done to 'em.  Well, right up until the time you drop the inevitable "Untimely Death" on the poor, suffering fool.

So, there's a history of suffering that you can just build on as the game goes on.  Much easier than M:tG, not sure about Munchkin, as I've not had a chance to play that one.


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## Asmor (Jun 4, 2009)

Stormtalon said:


> not sure about Munchkin, as I've not had a chance to play that one.




Never played munchkin?!? I've got a word for people like you...

...lucky.


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## Rechan (Jun 6, 2009)

I invested in my first two games:

Family Business, and Bang! 

Gloom was a little pricier than I'm looking to toss out, right this minute. And I read a few reviews on Chrononauts; while all were very encouraging, they also said the game is fairly complex and takes a long while to play. So it doesn't seem to be a very casual cardgame.

Next on my list: Pandemic, Gloom, Apples to Apples, and Are You a Werewolf.

I'm very disappointed that "Kill Doctor Lucky" appears to be out of print.


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## Asmor (Jun 6, 2009)

Rechan said:


> I invested in my first two games:
> 
> Family Business, and Bang!
> 
> ...




Kill Doctor Lucky is a great game....for three or four players. Five tops. Do not, under any circumstances, play the game with more than 5 players (even though the box says it plays up to 8 or something). Without getting into too much detail, suffice to say that because of the way its fundamentally designed, at a certain point the play time goes up exponentially. The more people, the harder it is for any given person to even _try_ to win (never mind actually succeed).

You don't need to buy werewolf. You can play it with a deck of cards.

Red ranked cards = villagers
Red queen = seer
Black face cards = werewolves

Just take your chosen assortment, shuffle them up, and deal.


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## Woas (Jun 6, 2009)

Allow me to add three games to the list of suggestions. I quickly read the last few pots of page 2 and skimmed page 3 so if they my suggestions have been mentioned before, take it as further support for cool games!

Card Game 1: Citadels. Description from BGG, "Players seek to build a collection of districts worth from one to eight points. Once someone has built eight districts, the game is over after that round ends and the player with the highest total value wins. However to facilitate the process (and make the game interesting), players sequentially choose a character from a rapidly dwindling pool of eight each turn. The characters give players special abilities for the turn."

Card Game 2: King's Blood. This game is similar to Uno, or other 'card runs-combo' games but you try to build royal family trees and score points, while also backstabbing other players through assassination and exile. Hopefully you don't mind the Manga/Anime art style.

Boardish kind of game played with cards 3: Modern Art. A fast and fun game where you try to bid on pieces of art and try to get big pay offs for them later. Very fun.


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## Asmor (Jun 6, 2009)

Woas said:


> Boardish kind of game played with cards 3: Modern Art. A fast and fun game where you try to bid on pieces of art and try to get big pay offs for them later. Very fun.




I love Modern Art... It really is a wonderful game.

Unfortunately, I don't get to play it because my friends all hate it. I need better friends.


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## Flatus Maximus (Jun 6, 2009)

Wizard (card game).  Most people know how to play some sort of bid/trump-based game, so it's relatively easy to learn; and you can play it with _n_ people, where _n_ is a divisor of 60 (though the smaller _n_ is, the longer the game can take).


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## Ahzad (Jun 7, 2009)

these are the games i own and would recommend based on your criteria.

lunch money - fast, brutal, easy to learn card game.

cold war cia vs kgb - 2 player only, but fun easy game. i wrote a mini review on it in this board somewhere.

nodwick - fantastic easy to learn card game where everyone goes at the same fraggin' time.

girl genius - another easy to play card game.

killer bunnies - the absolute best card game i own, but can get very complex as you keep adding expansions into it. to keep it simple stick with the starter game.

three-dragon ante - mentioned earlier.

Inn fighting - dice/card game from wizards of the coast.

small world - board game mentioned earlier.

kill dr. lucky - mentioned earlier. most of the cheapass game line fits your bill.

whoops got to run i'll try to get to a few more board games later, but it's time to go play Last Night on Earth and then some Tide of Iron.


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