Mine is Ludo: A solid 2 to 4 Player board game.
Fun Fact: It causes a war in Hindu Mythology.
Second is Chess because dev abandoned their game.
Power Grid
Which map?
I mostly play US. Don’t have any expansion maps myself. Any recommendations?
The China map is interesting as it changes the power plant drawing order.
Outsmarted. Technically a board game but with an app.
It’s actually not the gimmick I thought it would be! Cast that bad boy to the tv and you’ve got a game show in the family room!
That is easy to answer for me.
Mansion of madness
I have played so many rounds with so many different people. The game is complex enough that each round is different. But easy enough to geht people to start with. Easy to play hard to master.
The digital game master via APP is great. I had so many games in which the last player actions decided the game. After some hours of game time. Your actions feel so impactful.
Silver
I have WAY more games than I should, and I have so many better games, but Silver is the one that my wife and I have played more than ALL the others put together.
Technically, we play what we call Super Silver, which is using all the cards from every expansion (except a few we hate) and don’t shuffle them back in between rounds. The game ends after four rounds or the deck is gone.
It’s just easy to pick up and go, and random enough that every game is a little different.
Sequence is a favorite of mine.
My absolute favourite is Spirit Island. A co-op game where you work together defending your island and kicking out explorers and settlers. Expanding your presence and getting new powers along the way. Every game with new combinations.
When we got the game we played this more than once every week for over a year. With each game taking 1-3hours with our playstyle. Sometimes longer with four players (but that’s partly because of not actively playing the game then). We play less now only because of moving with the renovation taking too much time.
I love Spirit Island so much.
though usually unless folks are also as into complicated stuff as I am I end up playing horizons of Spirit Island for a simplified experience
I really enjoy Root, but it can end up taking a little while to get through.
Odin’s Ravens for a quick game, Game of Thrones for a very long and infuriating game of strategy.
I mean talisman. Especially when multiple expansions are in play. junta was just so fun and hilarious. diplomacy in a take forever and sorta want to kill yourself if you even play till an actual duo wins type of way.
Clue.
I never got into Clue myself, though I blame Clue DVD for that. The premade cases led to a limited replay ability, sure, but due to these cases involving background narratives made you feel like a detective as you piece together alibis through story snippets.
It’s a shame they aren’t producing it anymore for quite some time now.
What’s your motive for liking it?
It’s complex yet very simple. Can be played by a small or large group easily. Teaches logic, reasoning, and deduction over “outscoring” your opponent. Being the dealer doesn’t give you any advantages if you play it right. And because of all the various permutations of the cards, it’s always a new game each time vs a number of set scenarios/strategies.
I’ve had the most fun with Burgle Bros
My wife and I really like Agricola. It’s a farming-based people-placing game created in Germany for 2-4 players (with the base game), but there is an expansion for 5-6 players. We do play with a decent amount of house rules, though.
Great board game for 3+ people. Best with a full crew. You and your mates explore a mansion. As you explore a new room you place a tile and something can happen.
It’s meant to have a lot of replayability as each time you play there’s a booklet full of potential end games that you can trigger. Such as the mansion is burning down and you need to escape.
Ayy, I was going to mention this one. Crazy fun game.
Have you played the Legacy version of the game? I have and I would recommend it.
I love the idea of that game. But in practice, I hate it.
Exploring the house is fun. And then the haunt usually ends up with a lopsided win. I can’t remember a time where the haunt didn’t feel like a forgone conclusion once revealed. Basically, I’ve never felt like I had any way to impact the outcome outside of potentially just throwing it.
Edit: in my mind, it’s less of a game and more of an experience or story generator.
I love the second edition of Merchant of Venus.
so many good options on here already so I’ll add one that’s a little more of a dedicated game:
Arkham lcg.
you create a deck that represents the character you will play in a series of approximately eight games where you cooperatively work through Lovecraftian mysteries loaded with interesting stories lore and twists.
has almost a tabletop RPG feel to it if it was converted to a card game, absolutely love it.
