Where to Start?

It can intimidating to look at a wall full of games and

figure out which ones belong in your collection…

At Game Giant I often hear the comment “We are looking to get into board games, but don’t know where to start!” The tabletop gaming hobby has exploded in the last 10 years, and it can intimidating to look at a wall full of games and figure out which ones belong in your collection. Today I will highlight 10(?) games across a wide array of genres for a great game night lineup.

Small World: Area Control is one of the most recognizable styles of board games. Many players will have experience with Risk, Axis & Allies, or similar warfare games. The appeal is obvious, each turn presents exciting designs and creates the feeling of controlling massive armies moving across the map, however they do have some classic flaws. These games have a reputation for lasting three or more hours, often with the winner decided well before the ending. Small World is an area control game that capitalizes on the strengths of these games, while avoiding the flaws. In Small World, players spread their armies across the board, attacking each other, and maximizing taking in coins. The game feels like a grand story unfolding, the map is quickly filled with hodge-podge of fantasy races and their effects. Whenever a player feels like they can’t keep attacking, their race “goes into decline” and they choose a new race and begin again. As a result of this constant shifting of power, players who may be far behind still feel like their decisions are impactful. Small World, also has a shorter play time than many other area control games, since there is a limit to the number of turns in a game. A game of Small World longer than two hours is nearly unheard of. These elements come together to make Small World a welcome game in any collection.

Worker Placement is one of the most popular mechanics in modern tabletop gaming. Caverna, Viticulture, Architects of the West Kingdom and countless others have players sending workers to various locations as their core mechanic. Generally, once a worker is at a location, no one else may place there. In worker placement games planning and timing are critical; anticipating which actions your opponents want to take and what path is optimal. Worker placement games offer some of the best strategy in the world of euro-games, but can be famously intimidating. Lords of Waterdeep is a lighter take on worker placement, and is excellent not only as an introduction to the world of heavy gaming, but also as a perfect combination of theme and mechanics. Lords of Waterdeep is set in the universe of Dungeons and Dragons, but instead of players role-playing as adventures, they are the shadowy overlords of Waterdeep, a central location in D&D. The players send their agents to recruit adventures to send on quests, or to other significant locations around the city. Each player has a secret identity that helps them prioritize certain quests or actions. This makes Waterdeep an easy game to understand, but presents a satisfying amount of depth.

Cards Against Humanity is by far the most well-known adult party game, but it is far from the best. Great games in this genre allow players freedom and creativity, making them playable over and over again. Superfight is one such party game. The premise of Superfight is ridiculously simple: two players each receive a character and two modifiers, they then argue about which one would win in a fight, the other players vote on who won the fight. Superfight is a game that facilitates silly conversations, making it the perfect party game for many groups.

Adding to a board game collection can be daunting, but there is a right game for every group. Small World, Lords of Waterdeep, and Superfight are three games that will suit a wide variety of groups on game night.