Steve Takenoko is the game I pull out when I want something with a strong table presence that I can explain in ten minutes. It is genuinely beautiful, the panda miniature makes everyone smile, and the bamboo stacking mechanic is one of those small physical pleasures that makes people want to play again just to do … Read more
Fluxx divides opinion more sharply than almost any game I own. Half the people I have played it with love the controlled chaos. The other half find the constantly shifting rules actively aggravating. Both responses are completely valid, and knowing which camp your group falls into is the only real question before buying. What Is … Read more
Cyclades is an area control game for 2 to 5 players where bidding for divine favour replaces standard action selection. Each round, the five Greek gods go up for auction. Win Ares and you can fight. Win Poseidon and you can sail. Win neither and you spend a round generating income and hoping everyone else … Read more
One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a social deduction game for 3 to 10 players in around 10 minutes. Everyone has a secret role. Eyes close, the night phase happens, roles take actions. Then everyone argues for a few minutes and simultaneously votes to eliminate someone. No one sits out. No one is eliminated mid-game. The … Read more
A Classic of Strategy and Survival,The best worker placement game to play before you play Agricola What Is Stone Age? Stone Age board game is the worker placement game I recommend to everyone who wants to try the genre but is not sure they are ready for Agricola or Viticulture. It has the same satisfying … Read more
The Game That Started the Modern Board Game Revolution Catan is the board game that introduced millions of people to modern gaming. It is the game that proved to the world that board games could be genuinely interesting, social, and worth playing again and again. I was one of those people. My first game of … Read more
The bluffing game that needs no luck, no strategy, and still manages to end friendships What Is Skull? Skull is a bluffing game for 3 to 6 players that plays in around 15 to 45 minutes and teaches in under two minutes. I bought it on the way to a pub, opened it at the … Read more
Tsuro is one of those games you can explain in thirty seconds and play for years. On your turn, you place a tile, follow the path it creates, and try not to fall off the edge of the board. That is genuinely it. And yet, at a table of six, it produces some of the … Read more
The Ultimate Game of Deception and Bluffing? Coup is a 10-minute bluffing card game for 2 to 6 players. You have two face-down character cards and three coins. You claim any character’s ability you want on your turn — whether or not you actually hold that character. Other players can challenge you. Lose both cards … Read more
A Fresh Take on a Modern Classic Azul: Summer Pavilion is the third standalone game in the Azul series, and the one I would call the most forgiving. That is not a criticism. Sometimes forgiving is exactly what you want. The original Azul can be ruthless. Take too many tiles you cannot place and the … Read more
