Favorite board games!

[Kagavi]

Any suggestions for a board game that is easy to learn, yet with some strategic elements?

Something easy to grasp during family gatherings of most age groups from kids to elders. I'm not looking for a pure card game, although games like Skip-Bo can be fun. I love charades-type games, but they aren't board games either.

BONUS: Play Bagh-Chal here. Simple game, trap the four tigers using twenty goats. May be addictive.

 

[Doc]

Ticket to Ride is fun and requires a little strategy, but isn't hard at all to pick up.

 

[jdcyclone19]

Blokus, parcheesi, catan, sequence

 

[Mr Janny]

Hard to beat classic Clue.
Risk is fun, but also a good way to end a friendship.

 

[FOREVERTRUE]

I agree on ticket to ride. Fun game strategy involved but relatively easy to play, but I just looked at buying it this last weekend and $49 for a board game is insanity.

Edit: Just checked amazon $39 on there.

 

[weR138]

Ticket to Ride is fun and requires a little strategy, but isn't hard at all to pick up.

I'd never heard of this until my sister asked for it for Christmas. The Millennials love this game...

 

[Clonefan32]

Stratego was my **** as a kid. Only a two player game, but it is a simple yet fun concept.

 

[FOREVERTRUE]

I'd never heard of this until my sister asked for it for Christmas. The Millennials love this game...

How dare you call me a Millennial I am squarely in Gen X. In all seriousness the first time I played it was at a men's retreat.

 

[jdcyclone19]

Hard to beat classic Clue.
Risk is fun, but also a good way to end a friendship.

Monopoly is in this same category.

 

[cyhiphopp]

Hard to beat classic Clue.
Risk is fun, but also a good way to end a friendship.

 

[EnhancedFujita]

Ticket to Ride is fun. I got a new game this Christmas called Boss Monster that was pretty neat, but kind of difficult to figure out at first. FYI, if you want to try Ticket to Ride but don't want to drop $50 on it, they have a good mobile app for $3 bucks I think. Game is the same and you can play against the computer or even shared a phone/tablet with someone.

 

[besserheimerphat]

Exploding Kittens. Very simple card game with some strategy, guaranteed to be played in 15 minutes or less. Up to 5 players and my 8 year old got it immediately.

 

[PineClone]

Monopoly is in this same category.

I love Monopoly. Not too long ago there was an article on MSN about how most people are not aware of one key rule in Monopoly (myself included). When you land on a property you obviously have the option to buy it. If you don't buy it, it goes up for immediate auction and anyone can purchase it for any price.

 

[Cyclophile1]

Six board games WAY better than Monopoly, Sorry and Clue:

Ticket to Ride - connect cities and create train routes against other age of steam magnates

Forbidden Island - team of Indiana Jones type adventurers trying to get the artifacts before the islands sinks

King of Tokyo - take command of a giant monster and defeat others rolling dice

Sheriff of Nottingham - bluff your way past the sheriff to smuggle goods into town

Pandemic - you and your friends are a team of scientists trying save the world from diseases

Carcassonne - build the board as you play and try to control most cities and roads

Other great small games:

Codenames - teams compete to try to have a teammate guess from a number of words, using one-word clue

Bang the Dice Game - wild west dice rolling fast and fun shootout game

For Sale! - great, fun bidding and auction game of properties you buy and then try to sell

Fleet - take command of an Alaskan commercial fishing vessel and out-fish your rivals

Valley of the Kings - unearth ancients artifacts in 19th Century Egypt and secure them before your rivals do

 

[Mr Janny]

Six board games WAY better than Monopoly, Sorry and Clue:

Ticket to Ride - connect cities and create train routes against other age of steam magnates

Forbidden Island - team of Indiana Jones type adventurers trying to get the artifacts before the islands sinks

King of Tokyo - take command of a giant monster and defeat others rolling dice

Sheriff of Nottingham - bluff your way past the sheriff to smuggle goods into town

Pandemic - you and your friends are a team of scientists trying save the world from diseases

Carcassonne - build the board as you play and try to control most cities and roads

Other great small games:

Codenames - teams compete to try to have a teammate guess from a number of words, using one-word clue

Bang the Dice Game - wild west dice rolling fast and fun shootout game

For Sale! - great, fun bidding and auction game of properties you buy and then try to sell

Fleet - take command of an Alaskan commercial fishing vessel and out-fish your rivals

Valley of the Kings - unearth ancients artifacts in 19th Century Egypt and secure them before your rivals do

Nothing says "fun" like a board game about commercial fishing.

joking aside, these all sound fun.

 

[JP4CY]

Well that’s what happens when you find out the Ukraine is weak.

 

[Cyclophile1]

It's "Deadliest Catch" the game.

Everyone gives you that look the first time...

and then say, "Ooh, let's play that again."

Nothing says "fun" like a board game about commercial fishing.

joking aside, these all sound fun.

 

[heitclone]

Time's Up is a really fun charades type of game, it's basically charades with 3 rounds. Two teams compete with the same deck of answers, in round 1, it's normal charades with no passing, round two you only get to use 1 word (unlimited sounds and gestures) to describe your card and your team gets 1 guess, you can pass as many times as you want, round three is no talking or sounds, team gets one guess, can pass. Most correct guesses wins, it's really fun because you have to pay attention to the other teams clues and use them in the later rounds. There are a couple different versions, all are fun.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36553/times-title-recall
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/37141/times-deluxe

Another easy one is WTF (What the Face) it's like Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity but you use pictures of people instead of words or phrases. It's a cheap game and one really fun thing is that you can get on their website and upload your own pictures to use in the game. It's more like A2A than CAH, family friendly.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/165600/what-face

Spyfall is a game we just got over Xmas, in this one, you all are employed at a resort,all but one of you work in the same department, casino, restaurant, pool, theater etc...To play you go around the table and ask each other questions about that job, with the hopes of finding the one person who's answers give them away as the person that doesn't work with them...the spy.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/166384/spyfall

 

[heitclone]

Well that’s what happens when you find out the Ukraine is weak.

Ukraine is joke to you?

 

[cyinne]

Mancala is a good one for strategy- 2 player game- the basic rules my 5 year old has mastered already- good for all ages