One question I constantly see in board game forums is this: “What are the best travel-friendly board and card games?”  Whether you’re headed out on a business trip, visiting friends and family, or simply taking a vacation, it’s always nice to have something to entertain the group.  Yet board games typically come in huge boxes that don’t always fit in a backpack, purse, or suitcase with your other belongings.  This is the perfect time to have a travel-friendly board or card game that comes in a small package and/or takes up minimal space on a table.  

With those needs in mind, I’ve assembled a list of the Best Travel-Friendly board and card games for any occasion:

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Best Wallet Game – Sprawlopolis

 

Let’s get this one right out of the way.  Wallet games are perhaps the most travel-friendly games that money can buy.  One publisher, Button Shy Games, specializes in this type of bite-sized fun, and one of their best titles is Sprawlopolis or Agropolis.  This is a design we’ve recommended extensively between our Top 10 Quick & Easy Solo Games as well as our Top 10 Spatial Puzzle Games because it takes 18 cards and turns them into a delightful challenge best suited for one or two players.

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Best Standard Deck Game – Regicide

Even if you don’t own an official copy of Regicide, this is one that you can technically track down anywhere and everywhere because the design uses a standard deck of playing cards.  Then, all you have to do is download the rulebook and you are off to the races.

Of course, buying the official Regicide deck is a great way to support the creators for making a fantastic cooperative experience for 1-4 players where you struggle to take down the Jacks, Queens, then Kings.  This is one that comes with me to basically any game night because it slots so easily into my game bag and never fails to entertain for 10-30 minutes.

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Best Trick-Taking Game – The Crew: Mission Deep Sea, Ghosts of Christmas

 

Trick-taking games are a dime a dozen, and the cream of the crop always hits the spot at our table whether I’m playing with hobbyist gamers or non-gamers.  I’ll offer two suggestions here, both excellent and relatively new.  The Crew: Mission Deep Sea was just crowned as one of my Top 15 Games of 2021 for being an addicting crowd-pleaser where you work together to complete wacky round objectives.  Meanwhile, Ghosts of Christmas puts a twist on the formula by allowing players to play tricks into the past, present, and future in any order they wish; plus it’s the perfect game to take home for the holidays.

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Best Pub Game – Skull, Art Robbery

 

I constantly hear folks online asking about the “best game to take to the pub.”  My answer?  Skull.  Skull takes simple bluffing and makes it a riot of a time… whether you are inebriated or not.  Each turn is as simple as placing a disc facedown onto your stash or bidding how many of everybody’s discs you think you can flip without revealing a skull.  Just make sure your bartender doesn’t confuse the discs for coasters.

That said, many folks already own Skull.  So for those of you who want something new and fresh, my follow-up recommendation is Art Robbery.  This one features double-layered thievery—art robbers are splitting the loot with each other via forceful, sticky-fingered methods.  The card play is simple enough that there is no chance of overwhelming your brain, yet the gameplay features some clever twists and funny moments making it perfect for a casual, raucous atmosphere.

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Best Party Game – Insider, A Fake Artist Goes to New York

 

Need a small game for a big, boisterous group?  Look no further than Insider and A Fake Artist Goes to New York by Oink Games.  Oink Games are the masters of putting big, memorable moments into cute, tiny boxes.  Insider is their take on 20 questions with a twist: What if the 20-question limit was replaced with a sand timer, and what if one questioner was secretly a traitor who already knew the answer and wanted you to guess it without you noticing that they guided you to it so they can steal the victory for themself?  Meanwhile, a Fake Artist also has a traitor in that one person does not know the secret topic of the round and is trying to get away with artistic fraud and deception!  

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Best Table-less Game – Trophies

Portable party games are great for casual trips or gatherings, but what if your gathering place has no table to play upon?  In that case, your best bet would be something like Trophies.  Trophies is the simplest, most approachable game on this list, yet it’s also the loudest.  One player clutches a stack of trophy cards and displays one card at a time to the group—each card displays a single large letter.  The lead player then selects and reads aloud a category on the back of the deck such as “Something blue,” “Something slow,” or “Minor Ailment,” and the first person to call out a word that starts with the big letter and relates to that category earns the trophy card.  Once the deck is gone, the player with the most trophies wins.  Whether you’re the lead player judging and awarding the group’s words or a competitor wracking your brain for the first word that comes to mind, you’re bound to have funny time.

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Best 2-Player Game – Schotten Totten 2

This next recommendation is for those of you who think this list is starting to sound more like a party list than a travel-friendly curation.  Schotten Totten 2 is a recent release from one of the greatest 2-player (or any player count, for that matter) game designers of all time, Dr. Reiner Knizia.  Featuring asymmetric strategy, a delightfully zany theme of chickens vs. scotsmen, and characteristically elegant rules, Schotten Totten 2 is the excellent standalone sequel to one of the most widely revered 2-player games (Battle Line / Schotten Totten).  To top it off, the box isn’t much larger than a hen’s egg.

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Best Family Card Game – Startups, SCOUT

 

We’re back with more adorable Oink Games, namely Startups and SCOUT!  Both titles have been effortlessly approachable and addicting for my family members including siblings, cousins, parents, and more.  Both games possess the simplicity of evergreens such as Uno or Phase 10, yet they also provide a superior strategy and tension that will keep you satisfied throughout.  Startups is all about investing just a little bit more in companies than your opponents, while SCOUT sees players recruiting performers into their hand to help them put on a good circus show.

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Best Cooperative Game – The Mind, The Game, Hanabi

 

If your family or friends shy away from competitive settings, then perhaps a cooperative game is in order?  The Mind and The Game (yes, that is its title) are two peas in a pod of being games where players must collectively discard cards from their hands in ascending or descending order without saying anything.  It doesn’t sound like much of a game at all, but somehow it works and it’s thrilling!  Meanwhile, Hanabi is a beloved classic of holding your hand inside-out, meaning everyone can see your cards except you, and giving each other hints about the cards you can see.  Hanabi has had such an impact on me that it inspired the creation of our upcoming publication, Gussy Gorillas, which takes the inside-out hand concept and turns it into a competitive game of trading and bluffing.

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Best Social Deduction Game – Scape Goat, Durian

 

Speaking of bluffing, animals, and not seeing every card, Scape Goat and Durian have proven to be excellent games of deduction and deceit at our table.  Durian is another Oink Game, yet this one comes with a tiny bell and a whole bunch of fruit cards.  Every turn you and your fellow storefront apes must face a difficult decision: take another fruit order or tattle tale on an opponent?  If you think your fruit orders exceed your inventory, then you can call the boss with the ring of a bell and hope that your theory is right, because if you’re wrong then he’ll get mad at you instead!  Meanwhile, Scape Goat is all about throwing a fellow criminal under the bus without them even realizing it… the only problem is that poor sap might actually be you!

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Best Solo Game – Under Falling Skies

I fully admit that Under Falling Skies is the largest box and thus the least travel-friendly game on this list, yet I wouldn’t hesitate to toss it into my backpack or suitcase if I knew I’d have downtime for a great solo session.  This one has been featured a fair amount recently between my Top 10 Quick & Easy Solo Games as well as my Revisiting the Best Board Games of 2020.  To put it plainly, there is much to love about this solo game featuring difficult dice decisions and pesky alien invasions.

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Best Game to Take on Outdoor Adventures – Trailblazers

Now I could argue that Trailblazers also belongs in the Best Solo Game and Best Family Card Game categories, but today we’ll just focus in on its Outdoor Adventure compatibility.  When Ryan Courtney and I were initially hashing out the production plan of his puzzly card game, Trailblazers, we found ourselves facing two clashing possibilities.  On the one hand, Trailblazers could feature various modules or expansions that mix up the core gameplay and bring charming animal and traveler figures to the experience.  On the other hand, we could make a travel-friendly version that features purely cards and focuses on the rock solid standard mode gameplay.  The solution we settled on: Both? Both. Both is good.

While the Standard and Deluxe Editions of Trailblazers are best tailored for hobbyist gamers who want the most variety and content from a standard game box, the Travel Edition became our chance to really lean into the theme of hiking, biking, and kayaking with the packaging and material selection.  We’ve seen many creative packages for board and card games from button shy wallets and pseudo book covers all the way to banana pouches and stuffed monkeys, yet there is one type of package that I’m surprised has been largely overlooked by publishers up to this point.  To me, nothing says outdoor adventure and travel-friendly like a small clamshell case and carabiner, and thus our Trailblazers: Travel Edition was born.

Ryan admits that Trailblazers is his first published design that will appeal to casual and hobbyist gamers alike.  With the help of artist Seth Lucas, who as worked on everything from hiking patches to John Muir books, we knew we could craft a game fit for both friendly local game stores as well as national park gift shops.  

Beyond the ability to attach the Travel Edition to a backpack, we wanted to make sure the cards could hold up under endless plays and rigorous conditions.  So for those who buy the Super Travel or Deluxe editions of Trailblazers, your game will come with 100% PVC cards (durable, water-resistant, plastic cards).

So whether you want an affordable, portable game or a box crammed with content, you’ll be able to acquire the travel-friendly clamshell case, carabiner, and PVC cards via the Trailblazers Super Travel or Deluxe edition when our Kickstarter project launches this August.  You can subscribe to the Kickstarter pre-launch page here. And we absolutely need your help!  Bitewing Games is only made possible and kept alive by the support of backers and fans of our published games.   Thanks for your support!

Article written by Nick Murray. Outside of practicing dentistry part-time, Nick has devoted his remaining work-time to collaborating with the world’s best designers, illustrators, and creators in producing classy board games that bite, including the upcoming Trailblazers by Ryan Courtney. He hopes you’ll join Bitewing Games in their quest to create and share experiences that, much like a bitewing x-ray, provide a unique perspective and refreshing interaction.

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Filler games are like the mashed potatoes or the sticky rice of the tabletop games industry.  Perhaps most people don’t get hyped out of their minds for a single filler game, but everybody notices when they’re missing from the gaming meal.  If you’re trying to get infant gamers to consume new-to-them games and enjoy this hobby, your odds of success are much better if you place a simple filler in front of them rather than a complicated entree.  When you don’t have the time or stomach space for an entire gaming feast, a filler can make for the perfect satisfying snack.

These games are essential to filling in the cracks and crevices of one’s board game collection, and so I’ve set out to determine my top 10 recommendations for filler games.  While there are far more than 10 fantastic options to choose from, this list will serve as my most reliable team of fillers for anyone and everyone.  As the term “filler game” has the potential the cover a wide range of possibilities, I’ve narrowed down my selection criteria to the following…

To make this particular Top 10 Filler Game list, the game must be:

• Compact in size and scope
• Consistently playable in under 30 minutes
• Fast and easy to teach
• Playable with a range of player counts 

This criteria means that loads of 2-player only games that are otherwise solid filler games are out of the runnings.  This means that killer compact classics that tend to go longer than 30 minutes such as Arboretum, Condottiere, and Stick ‘Em are out.  And tragically, this also means that the non-compact Crokinole won’t be sneaking its way onto another one of my top 10 lists.  But worry not, this criteria still leaves us with plenty of good stuff to explore, and explore we shall!  In no particular order, my top 10 filler games are the following…

Archaeology: The New Expedition

A great filler is most commonly a card game, and Archaeology: The New Expedition is the first of many such titles on this list.  While Sushi Go and Barenpark are designer Phil Walker-Harding’s most popular creations, I personally prefer the quick turns and push your luck collecting that Archaeology provides.  

Players spend turns digging at sites and trading with the marketplace for the finest of items in hopes of selling lucrative sets to the museum.  The problem is that sets take time to build into something massively profitable, and the longer you wait to sell your artifacts, the more likely you are to lose them to a thief or a sandstorm.  Archaeology: The New Expedition hits the spot at any player count from 2-5, with any player type from grandma to gamer, and doesn’t overstay its welcome, making it an easy addition to this list.

The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine

We here at Bitewing Games have covered The Crew from front to back and head to toe, which ought to hint at how much we love it.  For those of you who already know and love this game, my substitute recommendation is simply the upcoming The Crew: Mission Deep Sea.  For those of you who are not familiar with this widely acclaimed cooperative, trick-taking card game, here are two great places to start:

ARTICLE: Double Review – Tournament at Avalon & The Quest for Planet Nine

YouTube Review: Is The Crew Fun?

Skull

It’s a coaster!  It’s a frisbee!  No…. It’s Skull!  Skull is a pure bluffing game composed entirely of what looks like drink coasters.  Each player receives 4 round cardboard coasters and 1 square cardboard coaster.  The round coasters act as your hand of cards that are played one at a time facedown onto your square coaster.  Three of these round coasters display roses, but the fourth displays a skull.

As players take turns adding one coaster facedown to their own stack, during their turn a player can instead declare a challenge.  This challenge takes the form of a bid where the highest bidder must flip that many round coasters (starting with all of their own) in hopes of not revealing a skull.  If they manage to avoid catastrophe, then they flip their square coaster to display and flaunt the fact that they are one more victory away from winning the game.  Yet the other way to win is to be the lone survivor, as players will lose one of their round coasters each time they flip a skull (their own or someone else’s), and once you’ve lost your final coaster you are out of the game!

Skull is both tense and hilarious as players try to outwit each other.  The moment I secretly add my own skull to my facedown stack, I’ve now set up a trap for my opponents.  But the best way to spring the trap on them is to make them believe that my stack is safely stocked with only roses.  Yet if I raise the challenge bid in an attempt to give off that impression, and nobody else raises my bid, then I’ll very quickly have egg on my face when I flip my skull and writhe in my own mess.

For Sale

Speaking of tense auctioning games, Skull won’t be the first on this list and For Sale won’t be the last.  For Sale somehow sneaks its way onto nearly every list that I make.  So while I apologize to those who have heard me endlessly rant about it, I couldn’t leave it off the top 10 filler games list!  Seriously, I tried to block it out of this list just to get a little more variety into my recommendations, but I’m not a barbaric criminal, so here it is, back on my list.

If you’re hungry for more details and thoughts about this reliable filler game, I suggest you check out any of the following options that strike your fancy:

• #14 of my Top 25 Games of All Time
• Our Top 10 Family Games podcast episode 
• 10 Games to Enjoy Amid a Quarantine
• Episode #4 of my Tabletop Tastes Series: Crunchy Meaningful Decisions

Whale Riders

It’s time to get spicy with a brand new release which will be near impossible to find once the current stock runs out.  Good thing we have the icy coast to curb the heat of this recommendation.  If you’re reading this post, then it’s likely that you already got an eye-full of my first impressions of Whale Riders last week.  While Whale Riders is the largest game to make its way onto my top 10 fillers list, the box is still deliciously slim and the gameplay is unbelievably quick.  Dr. Knizia and Grail Games have crammed a beautiful big box board game experience into a simple, rapid, tight race of efficient mercantilism.  When I can setup, teach, and play this game in under 30 minutes, and have a blast from start to finish, you better believe it’s gonna end up on this list.

The Mind

The Mind is the second and final cooperative game to end up on this list.  While it’s not much of a looker, what it lacks in aesthetics it makes up for in price and novelty.  Yet even after many plays, the novelty of this game of gut-feelings hasn’t worn off for me.   Perhaps because it emphasizes the interaction and unison between myself and my teammates over anything else, and the emotional rollercoaster it takes us on is always refreshing.  Check out Kyle’s recent 3-minute review to learn why it might be a hit for your group as well:

Startups

While Oink’s other top-tier publications feel closer to party games, Startups stands apart as a tight card game of investing in startup companies.  The catch is that your investments will only pay off if you have the most cards of that company, otherwise you’ll be forking over points to that majority owner at the end of the game.  It’s a refreshingly simple game, yet it has elements of bluffing, risk-taking, and climactic reveals.  The fact that it’s a big pile of tokens crammed into a tiny box somehow adds to its charm.

Biblios

Biblios is thematically about building a library, but the the star feature here is the two-act play of donations and auctions.  During the donation act, players take turns drawing a few cards: selecting one to keep, one to set aside for the auction, and the others to donate to opponents.  Once the deck runs out, players use their formed hands to bid on each card in the auction pile.

This jockeying for cards is all part of a quest to have the highest sum of cards in a particular category, thereby earning the points (shown on the dice) of that category at the end of the game.  But if one person is pummeling everyone else by spending big on blue and red points, then crafty opponents can seek to decrease the value of those colors by bidding on cards that reduce any dice of their choice.

By allowing players to be sneaky, clever, and conniving, Biblios remains a solid option even 14 years since its release. 

Love Letter

Lave Letter has been in our collection longer than any other game on this list, and it remains one of the best of its class.  Like For Sale, it has received countless mentions across our blog posts and podcast episodes.  If you’re looking for a strategic competition, then you’re likely to be disappointed by the amount of luck within Love Letter.  But if you’re coming for some bite-sized, light-hearted fun, then you are in the right place.

YouTube Review: Is Love Letter Fun?

Parade

I always appreciate a solid, simple card game with a bit of luck and nice fistful of strategy, and Parade hits that sweet spot for me.  The gameplay here feels closest to Arboretum but is less cutthroat and agonizing, more light and breezy.  Yet there’s enough decision space lurking underneath to keep me engaged.

This pretty little game features Alice in Wonderland artwork with the characters forming a parade of cards behind the draw pile.  The rules are a little wonky to explain, but basically players are trying to avoid taking cards from the parade by adding the right card from their hand to the end of the line.  The problem is that you frequently have to take a hit and end up with some point scoring cards in this game where points are bad.  

Selecting which cards to play when is a unique and engaging challenge.  Yet another twist comes in the end-game scoring, where the player with the most cards of a single color gets to convert those cards to 1 point each (instead of their printed values).  So you end up with something like a game of chicken that quickly unfolds into a desperate struggle to erase one’s own points.  And because any card from zero through ten can be the best card to play, depending on the situation, Parade manages to keep itself fresh and interesting throughout.

3 Bonus Filler Games

Well if you’ve made it this far, then I think it’s safe to assume that these kinds of “filler” games are up your alley!  And if that’s the case, then this segment is an extra special bonus just for you.  We here at Bitewing Games need your help to bring a bundle of three killer filler games to the world.  This bundle is known as Reiner Knizia’s Criminal Capers Collection, and it features Soda Smugglers, Pumafiosi, and Hot Lead.

Each of these 20-minute games was hand-picked from Dr. Knizia’s fresh batch of brilliance and is being brought to life by our wildly capable friend and illustration partner, Paul K. Halkyon.  We’ve been having a blast playing and testing these as we prepare to publish them for you.  But none of these games will reach any tables without the support of Kickstarter backers who share our passion for clever Reiner Knizia designs, refreshing filler games, and affordably classy productions.

We’re scheduled to launch this Kickstarter campaign later this summer.  But if you want to follow or support this project now, then subscribe to the Bitewing Games newsletter and spread the word to any friends or family who may share your interest.  We intend to make a big splash with Reiner Knizia’s Criminal Capers Collection, but joining our newsletter will ensure that you don’t miss out; plus we have even more exciting things in store beyond this collection.  Thanks for your support!

Article written by Nick Murray. Outside of practicing dentistry part-time, Nick has devoted his remaining work-time to collaborating with the world’s best designers, illustrators, and creators in producing classy board games that bite. He hopes you’ll join Bitewing Games in their quest to create and share experiences that, much like a bitewing x-ray, provide a unique perspective and refreshing interaction.

The post Top 10 Filler Board Games appeared first on Bitewing Games.

Introduction

I dove into the deep end of the board game community over a year ago. With helpful guides including Shut Up & Sit Down’s recommended games, The Dice Tower’s Top 100, Board Game Geek (BGG) rankings, Geekbuddy comments, and more, my hunt has led me through the “Cult of the New”, Cult of the Classic, and many games in between.

I’ve played and purchased more board games in the past year than I have in my entire life, and it has been a blast! The true catalyst that launched me into the hobby was when I discovered a passion for designing board games during the summer of 2018. My experience learning and playing new-to-me tabletop games has been one of both research and adventure, discovery and inspiration. As I’ve sought to feed my creative drive, I’ve also uncovered an explorative hunger and developed a personal palate. Playing board games and creating board games are cyclical interests for me that have consumed much of my free time since they began.

So while I feel my understanding of the board game industry is well researched and experienced on one hand, I realize my complete amateur status on the other. Perhaps my perspective will offer you something new to consider, and I certainly hope you won’t hesitate to offer me suggestions as well.  

If you feel we may have similar tastes, and you have a BGG account, please feel free to add me as a Geekbuddy! I’m always eager to hear what you fine folks think of any games I am curious about, and I’ve found the Geekbuddy tool to be invaluable in narrowing down my wishlist. It’s also possible that your suggestion for me is already on my wishlist, so check out my most anticipated new-to-me games list!

So without further adO, I present to you my current Top 50 Games!

#50 Roll for the Galaxy

Recommended for: Gamers

I seem to like this game more every time I play it. Always engaging and interesting with loads of variety. The rules and symbols can seem intimidating at first, but the player shields contain basically all the information you need to play the game (and remember the rules). Very well done production.

I realize how popular Terraforming Mars is, but Roll for the Galaxy is my preferred space engine builder thanks to its zippy play time, better production, and higher fun factor.

#49 Skull

Recommended for: Everyone

Skull is a game of bluffing filtered down into its purest form. I love those moments when I can get on a roll and make my opponents feel like I am reading them like a book.

If you enjoy bluffing games like Poker, but you want a game that throws out everything but the good old bluffing, then Skull is for you!

#48 Takenoko

Recommended for: Everyone

Fantastic family game. We absolutely love the theme and components; the presentation is a home-run. The feeling of watering bamboo tiles to build bamboo towers and moving the Panda to eat bamboo comes together so nicely.

The event die is interesting in how it encourages players to adapt their strategy on each turn.

There is definitely a significant amount of luck involved in drawing the right or wrong objective cards (especially late in the game). This can make some plays quite frustrating for competitive players.

The Takenoko: Chibis expansion helps with mitigating some bad luck and adds some really interesting mechanics to the game, so I would suggest getting the expansion if you enjoy the base game.

#47 The Quest for El Dorado

Recommended for: Everyone

There’s something about this game that is so slick, streamlined, and satisfying. Perhaps the obvious answer is: Reiner Knizia. I love how this deck-builder makes you plan ahead and consider the long-term consequences of buying all those machete cards when a dense area of water and villages lie ahead in the distance.

There’s also something to be said of a game that contains all the essential rules on the thin rectangular player boards, making for an easy-breezy teach leading to an epic, tense race.

The Quest for El Dorado has served as a major case-study and inspiration for the snowboarding deck-builder that I’ve been designing myself.

#46  The Fox in the Forest

Recommended for: Everyone

I grew up playing Rook from time to time with relatives. Having an auction based on your hand of cards always felt like such a clever way to mitigate luck in a trick-taking game. It never occurred to me that losing a trick could be just as much fun as winning a trick.

Enter The Fox in the Forest. I love how players can spend early tricks baiting their opponent, testing the waters, while late tricks find them desperately struggling to balance their wins and losses. Man, I need to play this again.

As I’ve been designing a trick-taking game inspired by hot air balloon competitions, The Fox in the Forest has been instrumental in helping me refine the mechanisms of my design.

#45 Startups

Recommended for: Everyone

I picked up Startups very recently (thanks to the fine folks at SU&SD), and found it to be delightfully similar to Arboretum. Both games reward clever hand management among calculated discards and well-timed plays. Startups is certainly the milder of the two, but still a solid card game I’m hungry to play again.

Startups is also my introductory game to Oink Games; their minimalist design and production is actually quite charming, in my opinion. I stumbled across Startups in a random board game store while out of town, and now Insider is next on my list to try. I’m also quite familiar with the famous A Fake Artist Goes to New York, although I haven’t played it, as it shares some similarities with a party game that my wife and I have in the works.

#44 Dominion (Second Edition)

Recommended for: Everyone

Dominion reminds me of a good bowl of vanilla ice cream. It’s nothing flashy, but it’s a fine-tuned base of deck-building that seemingly goes well with almost anything. Sometimes it’s just nice to go back to some smooth, quick simplicity and bask in Old Faithful.

To me, this game has plenty of tension within the decision space of cards to purchase and cards combinations you hope to draw; but for those looking for more player interaction, it seems that the later deck-builders it inspired fill this need better. I’m particularly enamored with Arctic Scavengers adding in the option to save a card for combat (even as a bluff) rather than play or discard it; this particular mechanism fits perfectly into my snowboarding deck builder design of storing cards as a snowball stash.

#43 Watergate

Recommended for: Everyone

Watergate captures and streamlines the element of tension that I’ve so come to love in my favorite games. This is the only game that I don’t own and haven’t played multiple times (yet), but it left a massive first impression with its novel historical theme and focused gameplay. I love that the cards have multiple uses and provide a deeper decision space beyond just deciding which card to play but how to play them.

#42 Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

Recommended for: Everyone

Deception takes the ever popular Werewolf/Mafia style of social deduction gameplay, combines it with the basic premise of Clue, and gives it just enough mechanical framework to satisfy everyone involved. The cognitive deducers can feel clever as they narrow down the probable weapon and key evidence, and the social influencers can steer the discussion and cast suspicion.

#41 Decrypto

Recommended for: Everyone

Decrypto blows the ever popular Codenames out of the water for me. I love how the clues you offer contain long-term consequences. The game forces you to think outside the box by avoiding new clues that are to closely related to old clues. One of my favorite moments is during a tie-breaker when teams must guess the exact words of their opponents.

If you enjoy Codenames, you have gotta try Decrypto!

Next Page: Games 40-31

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