by The prospect of attending a board game night can be quite daunting for those without a lot of board gaming experience. Whether you’re one such person or hosting a board game night yourself, it’s good to know what games work best for playing with people new to board gaming.
A lot of popular games these days can be very complicated with rule books the size of a Game of Thrones book (including the Game of Thrones board game). What’s more, they can also be rather cutthroat and many may depend on strategizing against other players or managing negotiations with them. Learning all these complicated gaming mechanics and navigating the social side of a board game is a lot like being thrown into the deep end of a swimming pool.
You’ll likely have a better time playing if you can get learn on some simpler games that introduce you to various gaming concepts while also providing a more easy-going atmosphere. And if you’re the host, consider adding simpler board games to your rotation so newcomers to your game night can enjoy themselves and learn the ropes.
Here are five board game suggestions for beginners:
Pandemic
Now I can understand if you don’t want to jump into a game about global pandemics during a global pandemic, but this is a great game for beginners particularly because it’s a cooperative game. The way most cooperative board games work is that all the players work and strategize together to try and win the day. In the case of Pandemic, the goal is to contain the spread of diseases long enough to develop vaccines and eradicate them.
There is a little complexity to this game, but the work-together nature makes it easy for new players to get a hold of things because more experienced players can coach them through the decision making process. On top of that, it will introduce players to important board game mechanics, such as having actions set on a ticking timer and different abilities across player roles.
Plus at the end of the day you’re helping eradicate disease, which today should be more appreciated than ever. This makes Pandemic not only a timely board game, but something fun and good-natured, suitable for people of any experience level.
Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride is a great game for family and friends. Plus it has a little bit of a geography lesson sneaking in its gameplay!
This game has a fair amount of complexity to it, but not so much that it’ll scare beginners away. Plus the train-themed gameplay is very inviting, particularly with the colorful little game pieces. Who doesn’t love building trains?
There are several versions of the game available. The board will typically consist of a map of a real-world location, like the United States or Europe. Players take turns attempting to build their train lines and score points. There are a few important game mechanics to learn with Ticket to Ride such as the use of cards as important resources/currency and a degree of player vs player strategy in making use of the limited number of available routes.
Because there are so many cards and pieces, it can seem overwhelming at first. However, the gameplay is pretty simple so veterans can easily walk newcomers through their options each turn until they get the hang of it themselves. The first time playing, new players can expect to make a lot of strategic errors but after that first game they should have a good idea of what works and what doesn’t.
Be sure to get into the locomotive spirit with a train-themed music playlist for your Ticket to Ride matches!
Guillotine
Okay, maybe this is technically a card game since there is no board, but a lot of card games follow with the spirit of board gaming, so it falls under the broad umbrella. Plus, cards are often an important component of board games whether it’s Chance and Community Chest cards from Monopoly or the color-coded train cards shown above from Ticket to Ride. So a game like Guillotine is a great way to introduce new players to card-based mechanics of gaming.
Guillotine is a delightful take on the French Revolution and beheadings the occurred during it. The artwork adds a humorous element to capital punishment and gameplay focuses on using the potential victims strategically to score points. Aside from the victim cards, the game includes action cards which will give players opportunities to manipulate the playing field and potentially mess with their opponents.
There is definitely a heavy component of adversarial gameplay, but the good humor of the game makes it fun. Sure, the premise is beheading people but it’s not as cutthroat as it sounds!
Scoring isn’t as straightforward as collecting a point for every victim. Instead there’s a bit of math involved and many characters have special abilities associated with “collecting their heads” which will impact scores at the end of the game. Because of this, Guillotine is a great introduction to complex scoring systems that require a degree of planning and forethought.
Clue
This one is a classic and an important part of board game history. We’ve all heard about Colonel Mustard in the kitchen with the candlestick. Well this is where that comes from.
Clue is the perfect game for beginning gamers because it has a very simple premise and simple game mechanics that are easy to jump into. The basic concept is that somebody murdered Mr. Boddy and you want to be the first to correctly determine who, how and where. The game features a cast of well-known characters such as Mrs. Peacock, Mr. Green and Miss Scarlett. There are also some weapons like the aforementioned candlestick or the revolver. The gameboard is the Boddy Mansion consisting of several different rooms. Players make their way across the gameboard to different rooms and make guesses about who committed the violent act, what they used as the murder weapon and where the crime occurred.
While it sounds really simple, there is some strategy involved for those with a mind to figure it out. However, beginners will still have fun playing in a very straightforward manner, even if it decreases their odds of winning. But since there is a degree of luck, anyone could come up with a lucky guess and win the game.
For beginners, Clue is certainly a good introduction to basic strategy and simple gameplay mechanics such as moving tokens around the board. I’d highly recommend this game for everyone that graduates from Chutes & Ladders and other kids’ games as they start their foray into proper board gaming.
Plus there’s a wonderful movie based on the board game starring Tim Curry which you can play in the background of your Clue games.
Machi Koro
A lot of great board games are based around city-building. Or farm-building or country-building. Whatever it might be, the concept is the same: develop your dominion to generate resources needed to win the game.
Machi Koro is an excellent introduction to this type of gameplay because it is fairly simple and straightforward. The brightly colored cards and simple tokens are easy for new players to get the hang of. Still, it can be a bit complicated at first so it’s good to have at least one veteran playing to guide others through the game’s mechanics.
Players will take turns using their resources to add new features to their fictional city such as burger joints and shopping malls. Coins are earned through dice rolls in a manner similar to Settlers of Catan, a classic board gaming favorite. So before new board gamers jump into the world of Catan, they can familiarize themselves with this basic mechanic through Machi Koro while creating a lovely little city they can be proud of, whether they win or lose.
