5/8 Recap and 5/22 Featured Games

Greetings!

This past session was another enjoyable night of gaming!  For whatever reason it ended up being our lowest attendance in our short existence but we still saw 15 people come and play games.  It was space night and that was almost exclusively what was played!  We played X-Wing, Dune, and Battlestar Galactica (as well as Ticket to Ride - not a space game, but still fun).  Fun was had and if you didn't make it out that's too bad because it was a good time!

This upcoming session will be on Friday, May 22nd at the normal time AND I think we'll finally be back in the primary atrium.  As this day is our closest session to Memorial Day, our theme is going to be games with direct militaristic conflict (we'll shorten that to "Conflict Games.")  I am specifically not using the term "War Games" because this generally has a specific connotation of very heavy games that involve chits, counters, sometimes cards, lots of dice, and very long rulebooks with a plethora of exceptions.  While all of these essentially involve war, only a few are 'war games.'  If you're new to gaming that might be a bit confusing, but don't worry about it.  Essentially, these games all have fighting.

Now, if you're not a big fan of these kinds of games, whether because you're more of a 'euro-gamer' or because you just don't like the violence, fear not!  We will have plenty of other games available to play!

Here are my personal 10 favorite Conflict Games.  I doubt we'll play more than a few of these, but you can count on them being there and being available.  If you are really interested in learning or playing one of these, please say so in the comments or let me know via email and I'll be sure to look for others to join, particularly some of the longer ones.

10.  Small World

Small World is one of the most basic conflict games.  It has players taking control of different fantasy races randomly combined with some special attribute.  Players vie for control of a world that is far too small and at the end of the game the person with the most points win.  I'd consider this a gateway game because its rules are relatively straightforward and its pretty easy to pick up.  This is a great one if you've got friends interested in Risk but haven't tried anything newer!

9.  A Game of Thrones (Second Edition)

Based in the land of Westeros, this game by Fantasy Flight has grown quite popular.  In many camps it is the modern replacement of the classic Diplomacy.  Like the novels, this game features backstabbing, temporary deals, and drawn-out story-lines.  Each players takes control of one of the Houses of the land (Lannisters, Starks, etc.) and try to control the required number of strongholds through a combination of military prowess and diplomatic savvy.  The game can be long - 4 hours or so, so if you wanna do this it'll take up the whole evening.  It is definitely possible, though to get this in.

8.  Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization

Okay so I'm mostly putting this on here to make our Euro-gamers happy in the midst of all these war games and ameritrash.  Through the Ages has been in the top 3 of BGG's rankings for as long as I've been into boardgaming.  It is basically Sid Meier's Civilization III the board game (even more-so than the actual Sid Meier's Civ Board Game).  The focus of this is more the economic resource management and the engine building of your civilization, however military plays an important role, even though its abstracted through a generic 'military' rating rather than an actual board with troops.  This game is fiddly and I vastly prefer to play it online, however it is still a great game and a very satisfying heavy Euro.

7.  Memoir 44

This is another very straightforward and accessible game.  Memoir 44, by Richard Borg, is tactical skirmish-level game that re-enacts different battles of World War 2, in particular the various battles of the Invasion of Normandy.  The game is simple, fast, and fun.  Days of Wonder as known for its games beautiful components and Memoir is no different - excellent board, nice cards, and awesome miniatures.  It's a very enjoyable experience for two players!

6.  El Grande

Yet again this one technically isn't a conflict game - you don't actually kill each other's troops in this game.  Rather, this is the father of area-control games.  Players control various powers in Spain and issue their caballeros to different regions of Spain, attempting to score them at the right time by having the most caballeros there.  The interplay between cards, bidding, and turn order is superb and this classic game from 1995 still is among the best.  If you haven't tried it, you owe it to yourself to do so!

5.  War of the Ring


This is my favorite game of all time.  Why isn't it higher?  Because I think other games bring about the 'conflict' aspect in better ways.  That being said, War of the Ring is gorgeous.  It is essentially the Lord of the Rings in board-game form.  The designers' love for Tolkine shines through and this game perfectly encapsulates his essence.  One side takes control of the Shadow, the other the Free Peoples.  The Shadow wins by either controlling a set amount of Middle-Earth or corrupting the Ring-bearer.  The Free Peoples win by capturing a portion of Middle-Earth or destroying the ring.  There is so much tension and excitement in this game and if you're a Tolkien fan this is absolutely a must-play.  Oh, and it's based on the books, not the movies - this game in no way tried to make money by printing a bunch of pictures of Orlando Bloom.

4.  A Distant Plain

There are some people who would say that A Distant Plain, by Volko Ruhnke, fits in the same category as El Grande - area-control, not direct conflict.  Technically they'd be right as it is much more heavy on controlling areas than actually fighting each other.  This game re-enacts the modern war in Afghanistan.  It is part of GMT's "COIN" series (Counter-insurgency) and is the third of four games in it.  The other ones are Andean Abyss (Colombia), Cuba Libre (Cuba), and A Fire in the Lake (Vietnam).  Each game is similar - there are four factions, to are insurgents, two are counter-insurgents.  All four factions play asymmetrically and have unique victory conditions.  In A Distant Plain, the four factions are the US/UK Coalition, the Afghanistan Government, the Warlords, and the Taliban.  The theme here can be a bit touchy as its such recent history, but the interplay between the factions is superb and the game teaches you so well how convoluted the political struggles in Afghanistan really are.   This game is meaty and is certainly not for novices to board-gaming, however if four people are interested I would love to see this hit the table as it is superb.

3.  Fief: 1429

This game is happening.  For sure.  Why?  Because it just came out, I just got it, and it looks amazing.  I haven't played it yet so it's a bit presumptuous for me to put it so high, but I think it might go even higher by the time we're done.  In this game players take control of various noble houses in France (circa, you guessed it, 1429).  Like A Game of Thrones, players use military skills, diplomacy, and economic management to earn their way to victory.  They also can elected as Pope and who wouldn't want to be Pope?!  Academy Games knocked it out of the park with the components - they're very pretty - and this game has glowing reviews.  I'd love (really love) to set this up and play it at our next game night!

2.  Twilight Struggle

This game is about the Cold War.  One players is the USA, the other the USSR.  It is ranked #1 on BGG's ranking list and has been for a while.  It is much deserved.  This is one of my favorite games and it perfectly captures the feel of the Cold War.  Through card-play a
nd area control there is constant tension, constant paranoia, and constant reacting and over-reacting.  This game is for two players and is really best when played with somebody at the same experience level - i.e. if two newbies want to learn.  Few games can compare to this one so if you haven't played it yet, bring a buddy and let me teach you!

1.  Here I Stand

This game won't get played at game night - it takes way too long.  A full game can last around six-eight hours, not counting explanations.  It's very complicated and while I think I can teach pretty fluidly, it's really something you plan a whole day around.  That being said, I wanted to list it as number one because I think it's the best combination of asymmetric play, military strategy, card management, and diplomacy that I've seen.  I've only played it once and it was terrific fun.  As far as overall games go, I actually like both War of the Ring and Twilight Struggle better, but as far as 'conflict' driven games go, I think this captures that nuance the best.  In this games six players take control of key players in the Wars of the Protestant Reformation: Britain, France, Spain (the Hapsburgs), the Ottomans, the Papacy, and the Protestants.  Like the other games, players try to achieve victory by completing their specific victory agendas and using their allies as spring-boards for their own success.  Even though it won't hit the table at game night, let me know if you ever want to get a game of this going some time and I'll add you to my 'interested' list!

Summary

I realize these kinds of game aren't everyone's cup of tea, so if you want to bring other kinds of games you are more than welcome to.   However, like I said before, we will definitely have these available to learn so if you've been meaning to try one, get on out to Game Night at Severn Run and learn one or two!

Invite your friends and family!  Hopefully we'll see ya'll out on 5/22!

5/8 Featured Games

Greetings everyone!

On May 8th we will be hosting our regularly scheduled game night at 6:30 PM.  There is another event happening at the church that night, however as of right now I have not been told of any location change, so unless you hear otherwise we're going forward assuming we're in the normal spot.  If a change happens, we'll be moved the children's atrium where we were this past session - if you were there, you know this is not a big deal at all.

For this upcoming session, in honor of the ever-important and quickly-approaching holiday of May the Fourth, we will be featuring games that involve space!  (I'd love to do just Star Wars games, but there aren't enough good ones yet!)

First, if you haven't watched the new Star Wars trailer, watch it now - that will definitely get your blood flowing for some good space games!  (I'll decline to share how many times I've watched this trailer, but know that it's in the double-digits.)

Okay, now I think you're ready to hear about the awesome space games we'll be doing.  Again, since I think it's a fun format, I'll list them in the form of my 'Top 10 Favorite Space Games.' Of course that is incredibly subjective and you are more than welcome (in fact, you're highly encouraged) to bring your own space games!  You're also welcome to forget the theme entirely and bring whatever games you want!

So, without further adieu, here we go....

10.  Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game

This game is incredibly popular and while I enjoy it, it's not my favorite game.  Nevertheless, it is a very good and fun game in which players simulate the dogfights of the Star Wars universe.  It can be played as a 2-player game, in teams, or even with three sides with the newly released bounty hunter content.  I will have my personal set which contains only rebel and imperial ships but others are welcome and encouraged to bring theirs.  The miniatures are stunning and Fantasy Flight continues to knock it out of the park with the production quality of this simple miniatures game.

9.  Imperial Assault

This is the only game on this list I don't own and have never played, however I have played (and own) Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, which is essentially the same game with a fantasy feel (and I know at least a couple of people in our group that own Imperial Assault).  Imperial Assault takes characters into the Star Wars universe via tactical ground combat.  Most of the players take on the roles of heroes while one player acts as the Imperial side.  The games excels as a campaign-style game but works quite well in a stand-alone even for the evening.  Yet again, great miniatures and components really help bring this Fantasy Flight production to life.

8.  Among the Stars

I suspect with more plays this game will go higher as it combines two of my favorite things in games - space and drafting.  In this game you are 'drafting' cards, much like in Sushi Go or 7 Wonders, in order to build the most efficient space station. I backed the recent Artepia Games release on Kickstarter so my set has not only the Ambassadors expansion, but all of the promos as well.  There are so many cards and the artwork is awesome.  By the end you have a really need, functioning space station in this relatively simple game.


7.  Alien Frontiers

Speaking of Kickstarter, Alien Frontiers, the next game on this list, is the first game to make it big on Kickstarter.  Circa 2010 this game first hit the aforementioned publishing site to terrific success.  Since then a number of subsequent campaigns have gone up, featuring expansions, better components, and plenty of promos.  In this game you are rolling dice and then using those dice to take actions (the dice are space ships, of course).  Ultimately the goal is to control the bulk of a planet that is being colonized.  If you reach a certain number of victory points, largely through area control, you win the game!  There are a lot of parts that intertwine in this and the expansions really add flavor to the game.

6. Galaxy Trucker

Galaxy Trucker is definitely the silliest game on this list.  In it you are taking on the role of a space trucker who is delivering different types of sewage parts to a foreign planet.  Your company is full cheapskates, though, and your ship is actually made of the parts you're delivering.  This game is broken into two phases - the first is a timed free for all in which players are desperately trying to get pieces for their ship and make sure they actually fit together!  After this, players test their hastily made ships in the rigors of space - a number of event cards are revealed and if your ship survives them all, you can make some serious space bucks!  If not, well... You probably had some laughs along the way!  I do have the Anniversary Edition complete with both expansions!

5.  Cosmic Encounter

Cosmic Encounter could give Galaxy Trucker a run for its money in terms of 'silliest game' on this list.  In this game players take control of one of a great variety of alien races, then attempt to be the first to take over five total planets controlled by opponents.  The game mechanisms are very simple - you send ships, invite allies, offense and defense pick a card with a number on it, the highest number wins after combining the number on the card with the number of ships on your side.  The thing that makes this game so great is the alien races - each one has a unique way in which you can 'break the rules' and this creates for interesting and often hilarious situations.

4.  Twilight Imperium Third Edition

Okay, so it's really unlikely this will get played at our game night, but I had to put it on the list.  This is the epitome of the epic space game.  It is a long, 5-8 hour slugfest between different alien factions.  You build ships.  You explore.  You conquer.  There's political intrigue.  Trading occurs.  Everything you could possibly want in a space game is in this box.  Why isn't higher?  Because it takes so long that I barely get to play it.  Nonetheless, this game is absolutely terrific and if people really want to try it out, it is possible to get it done in 4 hours, but people will have to be quick!

3.  Eclipse

Eclipse is similar to TI3 in a number of ways - you have unique alien races, you build ship, you research technologies.  However, Eclipse is significantly shorter than TI3, usually coming together in 2-4 hours, rather than 5-8 hours.  In addition, Eclipse is a lot more of an economic game than TI3 is, so just because you like TI3 does not necessarily mean you'll like Eclipse.  That being said, I like Eclipse just a touch better, largely because of the blueprint system with the ships. Not only do you get to research ways to make your ships better, but you get to decide how they fit onto your ships.  Want a ship that has so much hull it's basically invincible?  You can do that.  Wanna light your opponent up with a million missiles before they get a shot off?  You can do that!  Eclipse is a lot of fun and is a beautiful looking space game.

2.  Roll for the Galaxy

This is the newest game on this list by far.  Roll for the Galaxy just game out in the late moments of 2014 but really didn't hit stores until January of 2015.  It is the successor to an immensely popular space card game called Race for the Galaxy (which I'm not a huge fan of, hence it not being on this list).  In this game, players roll a lot of dice in an attempt to be the person with the most points.  It's really a euro-game, unlike many of these other games, and is based around building your economy, trading goods, and building/settling.  It's a little thinky and the rules are not super simple to grasp, however I find this to be a highly rewarding game.  Plus it's fast!  A group that knows what they're doing can knock it out in 45 minutes!

1.  Battlestar Galactica

Finally, we have one of my all-time favorite games: Battlestar Galactica.  I love this game because it combines a cooperative game (which I like), with Battlestar Galactica (which I really like), with a traitor element (which I love).  This is, in my opinion, the premier traitor-game.  Dead of Winter is nice, but it doesn't touch Battlestar Galactica in terms of tension.  This game produces an element of stress and paranoia that no game can rival as everyone works together, except one or two people depending on player count.  There's a lot of lying.  A lot of backstabbing.  A lot of manipulation.  It is incredibly fun and well worth the 3 hours or so it'll take to play.


Conclusion

As in the past, this is a list based on my on subjectivity and personal collection!  There are a lot of great space games on here that I simply don't own!  Race for the Galaxy, Starcraft, Rex, Star Trek: Fleet Captains, Space Alert, Space Cadets, Dune, Xia: Legends of a Drift System, Merchants of Venus, Firefly: The Game, Eminenet Domain, Core Worlds, Starfarers of Catan, and more all come to mind when it comes to terrific space games!  Not to mention other Star Wars titles that I don't own yet - Queen's Gambit, Star Wars the Card Game, Armada, and more.

Again, if you don't like space game, then play whatever you want!  If you're interested in these games, they'll definitely be available and at least a handful of them will be played.

Hopefully we'll see you out!!

Many blessings!

4/24 Recap

Greetings!

This past Friday we had the pleasure of hosting 35 people to play games with us!  A number of them were new faces as many of the church's youth group came down to have a good time.  It was incredibly rewarding to see a table of teenage boys skeptically sit down to play Camel Up and then watch them want to play a second game immediately, finally leaving the table with expressions of "I never knew board games could be so fun!"  That is but one of the reasons we think it is important to host this game night!

In addition to that terrific sight, a number of other games we're played!  We were featuring games that played well with six or more people and a lot of these were played.  We saw a game of Ca$h and Gun$ 2nd Edition, Camel Up, Telestrations, and a couple of great games of Ultimate Werewolf.

In addition to these games, we saw Castles of Burgundy, Roll for the Galaxy, Say Anything, Sushi Go, Aquasphere, and even more games I can't remember get played.  I'm loving the diversity of our group - that we have had heavy Euros like Aquasphere get played side-by-side with a light game like Sushi Go.

Hopefully if you didn't make it out but are reading these blogs, the continued success in numbers of these game nights will encourage you to make it out to our next one on May 9th!

Until then, many blessings!

-Lee

4/24 Featured Games - Games for Large Groups!

Hi Everyone!

Before I get to our upcoming session I want to take a brief moment to mention that we are now officially a meeting site for the Game Club of Maryland (GCOM).  GCOM is the largest state-wide gaming club in the entire country and has meeting site all across MD as well as PA, DE, and VA.  It's a great group and should provide even more advertising!


Our next gaming session will be on 4/20 at the regularly scheduled time.  There is another church event that night (Family Movie Night) that will be using our normal space.  As such, we will be using the children's area atrium - the part of the atrium outside the bathrooms.  This is right next to the normal spot and is still a very large, accommodating area to play games in (and slightly more convenient for using the bathrooms!).  Please don't let this prevent you from coming!


Since we'll be using a smaller space I thought this would be a great time to feature games that play larger groups - thus we can have more people around each table and save some room.  At first I was thinking there wouldn't be as many games to choose from, but there are actually a reasonable amount that accommodate at least six, and not just party games!  Last time I did the feature in the form of a 'Top 10' and while I don't want these features to be just my personal favorite games, it seemed to be a popular format, particularly over at boardgamegeek.  It's also more fun to do!  Since our game group's library also happens to be my personal collection, it doesn't seem completely unreasonable.

So!  Without adieu, here are my ten favorite 6+ player games as well as a number of others that you can expect to see on Friday, 4/24!

10.  Camel Up

Camel Up won the 2014 Spiel de Jahres (German Game of the Year Award - it's a big deal) and is a great game.  Despite many people not thinking it deserved the award it is in fact quite fantastic as long as you know what to expect.  In Camel Up people are betting on a camel race.  The race is quite silly - when the camels land on the same spaces of the track, they climb on top of each other and who ever is highest is considered to be winning.  It's very random and there's little in the form of planning - but that's what makes it so fun!  You pick a camel you think could win and root that it does!  Few game evoke the atmosphere this game does and it plays up to eight people!


9.  Viticulture

Viticulture is  Euro-game (meaning it is more about resource management and strategic planning) in which the players take control of vineyards.  Throughout the course of the game the players place workers and attempt to have the most prestigious vineyard - marked by victory points.  They plant seeds, grow grapes, convert them to different types of wines, build buildings, and more.  It's a very fun Euro and is not particularly complicated.  I haven't played it with six and I suspect with that many it may be a little slower than ideal and it will be very competitive.  I like this game a lot and I own the Collector's Edition which means the components are amazing.   The new edition just came out and is definitely worth a try.

8.  Cosmic Encounter

Cosmic Encounter is a delightful game where players take control of different alien races.  The first person to take control of five different foreign planets (meaning other players home planets) is the winner.  The gameplay is very simple - the person whose turn it is draws a card to see who they attack, they invite any players they want to ally with them, and then the offensive and defensive players play a card from their hand - whoever has the highest total between the number shown on the card and the number of ships being sent is the winner.  It sounds simple and not terribly exciting, but what makes the game is all of the alien races.  I have one expansion and so in my set there are around 90 different aliens.  Over 150 have been released and all have different and unique ways to 'break the rules.'  The game is light and fun and full of laughs.  It also can play up to 6 with the expansion I own and more if you own more expansions.

7.  Letters from Whitechapel

In the opposite direction from Cosmic Encounter (which is light and often funny) is Letters from White Chapel - a game in which 1-5 players take the roles of police officers tracking down Jack the Ripper (who is played by a player as well - thus it plays up to 6).  Jack plots his paths through the streets of London after committing murders and the police use teamwork, wits, and deduction to track him down before he can get to his hideout.  This game can get thinky (and a bit long) but is my absolute favorite deduction game.  The seemingly heavy theme is very tastefully done (it's not graphic or gorey at all) and the board and components are very nice.  If you like deduction, this is one you have to try!

6.  Power Grid

If we were simply ranking my favorite games this would be really high as I very much enjoy Power Grid.  I don't think it's at its best per say with six players (the most it plays) but it is still very good.  This classic came out originally in 2004 and has been extremely popular in that time.  I own the recently released deluxe edition and enjoy it very much.  Players own a power plant company and are trying to be the first person to own a set number of power plants across a map (either North America or Europe) and also be able to power them (the number changes based on player count).  The game features several interesting and interlocking mechanisms including auctions, resource management, and more.
5.  Ultimate Werewolf 


Ultimate Werewolf is the only game I own that will play over 70 people at one time (which is crazy).  It is very much like the popular card game Mafia - players have secret roles and the entire game is based around deducing which ones are bad.  In this case, players are either Villagers or Werewolves.  There are further special abilities within these two camps but the basic idea is that each nights the werewolves secretly discuss and decide to kill somebody.  Each day the villagers try to figure out who the werewolves are and vote to kill somebody.  If somebody dies they're eliminated from the game.  The villagers don't know who anybody is - the wolves know who each other are.  It is a game of social deduction that is very fun.  We will be trying to get a large-ish (hopefully 15-30 or so players) game of this going around 10:00 PM on game night so if you're interested in joining, plan for your games to end at that time.

4.  7 Wonders

7 Wonders is a card-drafting game in which players are building up their civilization.  It is played over three rounds and each round has several turns.  Players have a hand of cards and get to pick one card out of their hand to put into play.  That hand then passes around the table and the next turn they do the same thing with a new hand of cards (which was handed to them from the player in the opposite direction).  Different cards give you resources or points or other special abilities and by the end of the game you want to have the most points.  It is civilization themed so there are things like aqueducts, mines, military, trade routes, and more.  It is a somewhat easier game and with the expansion plays up to eight players.  It is a classic and is very worthwhile.

3.  Eclipse

Eclipse was easily the hottest game of 2012 - everyone wanted to play it!  Since then it's popularity seems to have fizzled a bit, but I think it is still a fantastic game.  It is an epic 4X space game in which players are exploring the universe, expanding their empires, fighting other players, discovering technologies, and developing their economies.    Each player plays a unique alien race that has different special abilities and you can further customize yourself by adjusting the blew prints for your different ships with various weapons, engines, shields, computers, and more.  This is a great space game and can play anywhere from 2-9 players (with the expansion).  I think it's great with as many players as possible!

2.  Telestrations

Telestrations (the party pack that I own at least) plays up to twelve.  It is by far the funniest game I own.  I didn't put a lot of party games on this list because most of them play at least six, but I made an exception for this because it is by far my favorite.  This game is the telephone game meets pictionary - a player draws a word, then the next player writes what he thinks the first player drew, the following player draws that guess, which is again subsequently guessed by the following player.  By the end the original word is extremely convoluted, usually in incredibly hysterical ways!  This game is great for a laugh and one that anyone can play!

1.  Battlestar Galactica

Finally is one of my absolute favorite games - Battlestar Galactica.  I love games with an element of deceit and I think that BSG is still the absolute best at it.  If you've seen the show you probably can guess the premise but if not, that's okay!  It's still a great game even without having seen the show.  Most of the players are on the same team but one or more (depending on player count - two with six players) are secretly Cylons (robots that look like humans) that are actively thwarting the crew.  There are many opportunities for sly coercion and deception and that's what makes this game so great.

There are a host of other games that play 6+ that are also great, particularly in the party game genre, so please bring you favorites and share those as well!  Write your favorites in the comments if you'd like!

Invite your friends and family and hopefully we'll see everyone out on Friday!

4/10 Recap

Greetings everyone!

This past Friday, April 10th, we had our regularly scheduled session.  As it was only our second session and came on the heels of Easter services at The Church at Severn Run (where are group was announced to over 2,100 people!) we featured and play many a gateway game.

We had just over thirty people come and play games with us, including many new people.  We had a lot of families come which is fantastic and Game Night at Severn Run is never meant to just be for experienced gamers.  While we were playing Caverna another family was playing Yahtzee and that is great.

Some of the gateway games we played included Lords of Waterdeep, Ticket to Ride, and Carcassonne.  We also played some more gamer's-games such as Galaxy Trucker and Caverna.

I was very excited about the evening's activities and the enthusiasm shown! If you didn't make it out tonight hopefully we will see you next time!

Many Blessings!

-Lee

April 10th Featured Games - Gateway Games

Greetings everyone!


GSR's next gaming session will take place on Friday, April 10th, at the usual meeting time.  This is
the day right before Will Wheaton's declared holiday - Tabletop Day (which is 4/11)!  A day devoted all around the world to playing tabletop games and since while we're playing games on Friday night it'll be Saturday morning somewhere, we're totally going to say that we're participating!

On this session we will be starting a trend that is likely to continue - featuring a certain theme.  These themes will be in no way mandatory - if you don't like the theme, bring whatever you want and play whatever you want!  They are simply a fun way to get certain games to the table and give people a chance to invite certain friends or look forward to playing a game they've been meaning to learn.

Our first week is a very intentional theme: Gateway Games!  Not only have I been trying to advertise online as much as possible, but GSR will appear in the bulletin and via flyers to well over a thousand people at the Church at Severn Run's Easter services and so I'm hoping that we'll have many new people showing up, some of which will likely be unfamiliar with modern board games.

"Gateway Game" is a term used to describe games that are great for people new people to modern gaming.  For example, if your cousin has only ever played games like Monopoly and Clue then teaching him Ticket to Ride, a terrific gateway game, will likely be a much more successful affair than teaching him Terra Mystica (which is a superb game, but is far too complicated for a newbie).  It's very easy to turn people off to gaming if we start them on something that is out of their league and that is the last thing we want to do at GSR!

Below are my personal ten favorite gateway games that I own (or somebody in the group owns).  This is by no means an exhaustive list and I highly encourage you to bring your own and share what you like best in the comment section of this post.  As I said, this not mandatory - if you really don't want to play gateway games, you absolutely don't have to - feel free to bring and play Terra Mystica!  That being said, you can count on us having these easily available and you'll likely be able to find a game of at least a few of them.

#10 - Hanabi

Hanabi is a small little card game that plays completely cooperative - everyone is on the same team.  Anywhere from 2-5 players group up to take on the roll of Japanese fireworks technicians who have befuddled the show and mixed up the fireworks. That sounds kind of strange, but essentially it's a simple card game where you are trying to get the cards organized in play in ascending order based on a suit.  There are five colors and they each have cards showing numbers one through five.  In order of lowest to highest (and grouped by color), these cards must be played in the display. Sounds easy, right?

The catch here is that you cannot look at your own cards, only everyone else's - you play with the cards facing away from you.  On your turn you have a choice - tell somebody something about their cards or play one of your cards.  You only have so many clues your team is allowed to give, though, so if you aren't efficient with them you won't do well and there'll come a point where somebody will have to play a card blind, possibly resulting in the game ending.

Who's it good for?

This game is great for people who are used to playing card games.  I love teaching co-ops because as the teacher I'm not teaching the game then immediately competing to beat the people I just taught - I get to help them as a team-member.  This one is a bit different in that regard because you can only give clues on your turn, but you still get to help them through the mechanics.  This one is also very small and light.  Sometimes new players are overwhelmed and intimidated by a big board and lots of pieces - this is just a hand of cards that have colors and numbers.  This is a game that I think genuinely anyone can play.

#9 - Dominion

There was a time when Dominion would have been significantly higher, however I, like a lot of gamers, have 'gotten over' Dominion.  I remember a day about three months into owning it where a buddy and I played five games in a row.  I haven't played five games of Dominion over the course of the past two years.  That being said, it is still very popular, has about six hundred expansions, and is a great gateway game.

This game is a deck-builder.  Everyone starts with the same hand of money cards and victory point cards and is able to buy additional action cards from the same pool of cards.  Over the course of the game, though, people will be buy different cards and their entire deck will become very unique.  You are trying to get the most victory point cards, the best of which cost significantly more than you can afford at first, so you need to build up a good engine in your deck in order to eventually be able to purchase them.

The symbols on the cards are very readable and generally speaking it's a pretty simple game to teach.  New gamers like this a lot and about half the time I've taught it the folks who've learned have immediately gone out and bought the game.

Who's it good for?

I would bring this out for people who may have played a few new games but not any deck-builders or even people who used to play games like Magic: The Gathering or the like when they were younger.  Most of the people I've taught it to have already played a game or two of Settlers of Catan or something similar but that doesn't mean a total newbie couldn't also learn it.

#8 - Small World

Small World is a game that I've never been a huge fan of personally but I recognize as a game that is great for introducing people to the hobby.  In this game you take control of a fantasy race that has a randomly generated special power.  For example, some games you'll have "Stout Hobbits" or "Dragon-Riding Dwarves," but in the next game it will be "Undead Hobbits" and "Seafaring Dwarves."  Most of the combos are amusing and also provide for interesting uses.

Having chosen your race, you send their armies out into a world that is far too small, trying to conquer as much land as possible.  At the end of your turn you get points based on how many territories you control plus any bonuses your race may provide.  As the game progresses you'll likely get to a point where you have over-extended yourself, at which time you can send your race into 'decline.'  Essentially you abandon them (but still get points for areas they control, however you can no longer move them) and choose an all new race, getting to start afresh with a new army and new special abilities.

Who's it good for?

If somebody comes up and says "I like Risk or Axis & Allies" then this is the game I'll pull out.  It really isn't all that similar to those other games other than the fact that you are trying to take over territories.  It is far less luck driven and far shorter - even with five players you're looking at less than 90 minutes.  With less players you'll have an even shorter game.  The artwork is great, the theme is appealing and functional.  This is really a good gateway for people who want a game with conflict and armies.

#7 - Carcassonne


Carcassonne is a simple game that is most similar to dominoes.  All of the players are putting together tiles to form a drawn middle-age era map containing cities, roads, monasteries, and farms.  On your turn you draw a tile and place it, making sure that the edges line up with whatever is on the board.  After placing it, you have the option of placing one of your meeples (little wooden people) onto one of the tile's terrain features - whether it's a field or a city or a road or a monastery.  As soon as that feature has been completed - meaning it is totally closed off on all sides - you score points for that as long as your meeple is on it and nobody has more meeples there than you.

It is a very straightforward game of tile laying and I like it a lot as a gateway game because there is nothing hidden.  When you draw a tile on your turn everyone can see it which makes it easy to explain the tile to a new player.   It also is relatively short as long as the players don't take too long on their turn - you can easily get a game knocked out in 45 minutes.  We also own both the very pretty Winter Edition as well as the Big Box containing five or six expansions.

Who's it good for?

This is a pretty general game - there's not really a certain camp I'd assign this one to.  I'd probably teach it to somebody with no strong inclinations one way or the other to gaming - perhaps after somebody's played a game of Hanabi or something on par with that I'd pull out Carcassonne.  It generally goes over well, though sometimes new players get confused with how scoring works.  This game is also one where it takes a couple of plays to really recognize good strategy, which is great.

#6 - The Resistance: Avalon

One of my personal favorite mechanics in games is when you get to lie to your friends - I love games that involve bluffing, particular in the context of everyone working on a team except for one or more 'traitors.'

The Resistance (or the version we own, The Resistance: Avalon) is a game in which most of the group is working together to complete quests on behalf of King Arthur.  Some of the players, however, are secretly working for Mordred and are actively working against Arthur.  They know who each other are but the good guys do not.

Each round one player is the 'leader' and gets to choose a number of people (as indicated by the board) to go on a quest.  If the group agrees on the selection, all of the chosen party members secretly play a card - the card either says "Success" or "Failure."  Those cards are shuffled together and revealed - if all of them say "Success" then the quest succeeds!  If any of them say "Failure" then the quest fails.  There are five total quests in the game - if the bad guys cause three of them to fail, they immediately win.  If the good guys succeed at three of them, they are near to victory.

The biggest catch is that one of the good guys is a special role - Merlin.  Merlin knows who everybody is, including the bad guys, however they do not know who Merlin is.  If, upon completing three successful quests, the bad guys can figure out who was Merlin, they ultimately win.

Who's it good for?

I'd play this with almost anyone - really it's a party game more than anything else.  There are few components and most of the game is simply weeding out who is being dishonest.  Generally it is easier to play these kinds of games with people who all know each other as then its easier to tell when people are lying, plus you feel less guilty about pulling the rug over a complete strangers eyes.  Games of The Resistance generally last around 15-20 minutes and the games supports anywhere from 5-10 players.  This is a good one for just about everybody.


#5 - Lords of Waterdeep


Lords of Waterdeep is probably the most complicated game on this list.  It's still on the relatively simpler side of things, but it is somewhat meatier than Carcassonne or Hanabi.  In Lords of Waterdeep you all take power of various factions of power in the Dungeons and Dragons based city of Waterdeep.  You spend your turns placing 'workers' on various spaces in order to recruit different types of fantasy figures -
mages, priests, warriors, rogues.    You then spend these people to complete various quests cards, which show you which combinations you need.

There are other things to do - building structures that open up more and better actions, playing 'Intrigue' cards which give various bonuses, and more.  The game uses a mechanic called 'worker placement' where each turn you get to place one of your workers on a space, do the action, and then nobody else can go there.  This means you're always trying to go first and figure out what everyone else going to do because chances are at least one spot you want will be blocked.

This is a very popular mechanic which is why I like this game so much - it is a very simple way of teaching worker placement while still being a superb game.  It's worth noting the game Stone Age is probably just as good at teaching this and could easily fill this role.

Who's it good for?

I'd probably reserve this for somebody whose played at least one other game on this list or for somebody who really is into fantasy themes.   Even though it's D&D, the theme is pretty pasted-on.  It really could be any fantasy kingdom - Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Pathfinder, etc.  If you have a buddy that's into those types of things, then this is a good starter game for him.


#4 - Sushi Go

Sushi Go is probably the dark-horse on here.  Most people would probably agree with the rest of the list but I suspect a lot of people wouldn't but Sushi Go on here, especially so far up.  However, I think this is a great little introductory card game.

In this game people are assembling a meal of sushi... Or something.  It really doesn't matter - you're playing cards with sushi on them to try and get the most points.  The game is played over the course of three rounds.  Each round everyone gets a hand of cards and simultaneously chooses one, adding it to their display area in front of them.  They then pass that hand of cards clockwise and from their newly acquired hand of cards everyone simultaneously chooses a card, adding it to their display.  This continues until all of the cards are gone, thus completing one round.  Cards are then scored depending on what they do.

This mechanic is called 'drafting' - where you have a bunch of things to choose from but only get one and are hoping that you get cards that compliment it.  It is a mechanic found in a lot of more complicated games and is one of my favorites.  This game presents it very simply and with a very cute, appealing theme.

Who's it good for?

Anybody.  I can't think of a person I wouldn't teach this to.  It's easy, it's fun, and it's fast.  We always play multiple games in a row.  We bought this for my wife's sister and her husband and taught it to them (they're not gamers) and they have since taught it to multiple people who have all loved it.  The caveat here?  I don't own this game!  Let me know if you do because I'd love to be able to teach this at the next GSR!

#3 - Pandemic (or Forbidden Island)

Pandemic is currently one of the most popular games on the market.  A few years ago it was republished by Z-Man games in a fancy new edition and has subsequently seen now four expansions come out.  It is one of the highest rated cooperative games on boardgamegeek.com and is very beloved in the gaming community.  It also makes a great gateway game.

In Pandemic everyone is on a team trying to save the world from four diseases which have broken out all over.  Each player has a different role and is working together to cure all of the disease before a variety of conditions occur which cause the players to lose.  Again, it is cooperative which means teaching it is great because everyone is on the same side.  Also, it is a theme that almost anyone can get on board with - saving the world!

Matt Leacock, the designer, also designed a smaller game that is extremely similar called Forbidden Island.  Forbidden Island is also a great gateway game, particular for younger players, and is more or less the same game but instead of fighting diseases the players are trying to escape a quickly sinking island.  I do not own this one but if anyone has it this would be a great one to teach people as well.

Who's it good for?

Pretty much anybody.  I have taught this to a lot of people and it's always gone over well.  The game fosters teamwork from everybody and is easy to get into.  It's a great, all-around game for new gamers as well as veterans.



#2 - King of Tokyo

If there is any game on here I feel that I could teach to anybody, it is this one.  I've taught it to middle-aged adults.  I've taught it to nine-year old students.  Experienced gamers love it as do people who've never played a game before.

King of Tokyo has every player take control of a giant monster (think cheap knock-offs of Godzilla, King Kong, and others) and is fighting for control of Tokyo.  Each turn a player rolls giant, fun dice in the style of Yahtzee - roll once, reroll twice, then resolve what is showing.  You get to punch each other, heal yourself, earn points, and buy power-ups.  It is very simple and it does not take long.

Who's it good for?

Everybody, but especially younger gamers.  If a bunch of kids stream down from youth-group, this is the first game I would teach them.



#1 - Ticket to Ride 

The final game we'll be featuring is the game
I feel is by far the best gateway game - Ticket to Ride.  This game came out in 2004 and has sold over 1,000,000 copies, which is an absurd number for a board game.  It is a very simple game where players draw colorful train tickets and play them in sets to put their trains on a board which is a map of the United States (though there are various versions with different countries/continents).

At the end of the game players get points for 'tickets' they've completed (cards encouraging them to connect two cities) and whoever has the most points is the winner.  It's very easy to learn and is incredibly fun.  It only takes 60 minutes and plays just as well with two players as five players.

Even better, Beth and I own bo
th the original and the 10th Anniversary Edition which is the same game but with beautiful components - a giant board and unique, painted trains for each color.

Who is it good for?

Anyone who can breathe.  Seriously - this game is great and I've never known somebody not to enjoy it.

Conclusion

If you actually read all of that, kudos!  I am excited for our games group to progress and if you can't tell I'm very excited about gaming!!  Again, this list is not exhaustive and it was hard to narrow it down
to ten games.  There are plenty of games that could easily have been on this list that I will also be bringing and happy to teach!  Let me know what you think of the list in the comments and let me know what your favorite gateway games are.

Invite your friends and families as this will be one of the best Friday's to bring new people - though we try to be accommodating to newbies any time.

Many blessings and hopefully we'll see you on 4/10!