Cool lists! What really got me more into the hobby was either King of Tokyo or Star Realms. Both of which would be on my list of three! KoT is just so much fun. Star Realms is quick, fun, and a great teacher for deck building. For the third I’d pick Pandemic. It’s a great cooperative game and more of a classic pieces-on-the-board type game for new people.
I think my first board game that I played (or at least the one that started my "journey" into board games) was Space Alert. Really got a kick out of the semi real-time mechanic.
Bang! The Dice Game was my first real game that I absolutely loved. And is such a hit with my non-board gaming friends. I recommend: Azul or Kingdomino (Tile Placement) Boss Monster or Happy Little Dinos (Hand Management/Take That) Lotus (Area Majority/Influence)
First game that I played was Stone Age on a PC app back in the day and then I bought A Castle for All Seasons cause it had similar components but didn't like it so much. So first gateway game for me was actually Dominion. My top 3 in no particular order would be: Azul, Sushi Go and That's so Clever. Thanks for the awesome videos, keep it up!
Cliche, but for me it was Settlers of Catan.I was underway on a LHD in 2009, and one of my fellow Sailors invited me to play after day shift. I was hooked!
I started board game collecting this year and love your tastes in games! Modern Art and Jaipur are two of my faves and are great starters. Adding Quacks and El Dorado to my wishlist :) great vid guys
Thanks a lot, glad you enjoyed the video! Modern Art and Jaipur are indeed just such great choices. Games I'm always happy to come back to. I don't think you'd be disappointed with the other two either!
Great video. I was brought into board games through playing Civilization 1 on computer, role-playing Dungeons and Dragons, playing Magic and learning card games due to German/Midwest customs. Learned trick-taking, hidden roles/partners, push your luck, and card rulesets that way. We always wanted something epic so we got into Attack! and Civilization (2002). When it wasn't a war game, it was Puerto Rico (which I bought because it was #1 on BGG, but left it unopened for 3 years). We then played it probably 100 times. It is interesting to think how something like more complex card games could be used as an entry point to some pillars of modern game design.
Hey Jonathan, thanks for watching and for sharing all this about your journey into board games. We also grew up playing a ton of Magic, and we (mostly Dylann) dabbled a bit in D&D too. We've been meaning to try Puerto Rico for years! I remember it was neck and neck with Agricola for the top spot on BGG for years when I got into the hobby. - Carlo
Great video. If I can’t repeat any of your choices, mine are:- Dixit got me into modern board games - I had no idea that games could do something so very different than the ones I’d played as a kid. So I’d pick that one for the social/party/high player count option. I like roll & writes - and their ability to scale so well between player counts. Welcome To would be the pick - engaging theme and artwork - and gets the balance right between offering a lot of choices and replayability without having rules that are overly complicated (although you’d probably want to a see a watch-it-played rather then relying on a rule book). Azul for a simple, but perhaps surprisingly interactive and competitive, puzzle game that just looks so good on the table
My first six recommendations for a collection would be: 1. Ticket to Ride 2. Wingspan 3. Carcassonne 4. The Quest for El Dorado 5. Kingdomino 6. Schotten Totten Next step: 1. Raiders of the North Sea or Everdell 2. Clank or Clank in Space 3. Castles of Burgundy
One of the first games that got me into board games was Carcassonne and it's always a hit with everyone I introduce it too. Even for just 2 players is really fun
Agricola is one of those games that I will never get rid of, and love in my collection. It was my step-up from Catan, Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride etc and I sucked when I first started playing it. Now I feel I've "Mastered" the game, but enjoy pulling it out to teach new people or to challenge myself with other family members who have also "Mastered" it. I still pronounce it Agri Cola (like CocaCola), because it's how I've always pronounced it, and now I'm just fighting the good fight. My friend and I silently compete over the correct pronunciation, even though I know I'm not "Technically" right lol I feel like Le Havre is the step up from Agricola that I wanted, it's faster than Feast for Odin (which is also one of my favorites), but still has that extra layer of complexity that I enjoy in those Uwe Rosenbergs
That's awesome! Sounds like Agricola was your stepping stone into heavier games just like it was for me. We're so eager to try Le Havre, it's gotta happen in 2022!
Here are four games I think would make a great starter set. Paperback: teaches deck building but it has the familiarity of a word game. Sagrada: people will be familiar with dice rolling games, and most know about soduku but it also introduces the concept of achieving different goals for points. Fox in the forrest: easy to learn, very deep to master. Great art, it is a fantastic two player game. Carcassone hunters and gatherers: I prefer the theme of this one, and the menhere tiles make it less of pure strategy and add a wild element. Easily my most played game. Best at two but fine at 3 or 4.
My nephews & their girlfriends (cool & smart, and in their early twenties) are gonna come and visit me to be introduced to boardgaming. For them to choose from, I sent them pictures and a short description of: - Ticket to Ride (too gateway?) - Wingspan (engine building, set collection, card game) - Isle of Cats (polyomino) - Agricola (worker placement) Next on my list: - Meadow - Parks - Renature - Arraial (too light weight? but fun!) (My favourite theme is nature, as you can guess.) Agricola (with - indeed - the emphasis on the i) is Latin for farmer. The 'collis roseus' on the cover means 'Rosenberg', and the nummer next to it is 1673.
Those are all great choices to show them! Wingspan and Isle of Cats also have the benefit of a really distinct and beautiful art style that makes them very inviting on the table! Thanks for the comment, Hilde!
I DESPISE Agricola! No game has ever stressed me out as much as that one! I learned the correct pronunciation from the person who taught me how to play. I just bought Modern Art based on your recommendation here and in another video. I can’t wait to play it! My first game was Settlers. My friends and I love Citadels! We always have a blast playing it.
I'm going to guess that you have left Carlo very conflicted with this comment! He's likely hurt very deeply by your Agricola comment but then ecstatic about getting you into Modern Art! 😜 I will say that I also enjoy Citadels though! That's one I need to play more of, I have it on my shelf. -Dylann
I'm 4 for 4 with Dylann on games owned, and 0 for 4 with Carlos. Interesting. Thanks for the video; I'm going to have to give Modern Art a look. Sounds fun. Splendor was the gateway game for me. I love tableaux builders.
Haha, that's interesting! Modern Art is definitely worth a look, especially for the price. Splendor is a great one! Quick, easy to teach, and it's fun every time, win or lose. I also love tableau builders, some of my favourites I'd recommend if you haven't tried them: Race for the Galaxy, Res Arcana, Innovation, and Evolution: Climate. Res Arcana is probably the simplest one, but they're definitely all more complex than Splendor. RftG and Innovation take a bit more to learn, but once you know them they're super smooth and I feel like I could play those 2 games hundreds of times and never get bored of them. Thanks for watching! - Carlo
Thanks a lot, Stewie! Glad to hear Dylann's Marvel videos have brought you into the channel, he does such a good job with those, and we're happy to hear you enjoy our other videos too. Thanks for all your support! - Carlo
Another great video! Have you guys done a video on best expansions worth buying? Would be cool to get your ideas on must have expansions that really upgrade a base game.
We haven't yet, but you're not the first to recommend it! It's a great idea, we just want to play some more expansions first so we can make sure to have to be a helpful and informative video. Thanks for the suggestion!
I wish you would have done three next level games too! Although we've moved on a bit from starter games, I still have Quest for El Dorado on my list. I just enjoy deck builders in general so I want to play more of them. As for next level, Wingspan is definitely one. We have Castles of Burgundy but haven't gotten it to the table yet.
I got my family to transition from Hasboro to Ticket to Ride. Still trying to get them to play Carcasonne. They don't like Sagrada. And than there's me currently playing the solo mode of Mage Knight, Clans of Caledonia and more. A friend of mine swears by Lord's of Waterdeep to get his parents into board games.
That's one of the few games I often see mentioned as a gateway game that I haven't actually tried, but I know a few people who played this a lot when they were getting into board games. Nice pick. - Carlo
I am just getting into board games. I have watched a bunch of your videos and others to get good recommendations to start, so thank you! We ended up getting Quacks, Azul, ticket to ride, and kingdomino. I feel all of those ware fun and easy to learn. We also play with kids ages 4-9 and they can play a lot of these. I don’t know if you all ever play with kids but a beat games to play with kids list would be awesome, maybe I missed it and you have done it but just a suggestion.
Of course if I know a person's taste... I can recommend better. But for 3-4 player games: Stone Age, Biblios and Las Vegas (or 6 nimmt!). 2-player games? Lost Cities, TZAAR (or Ingenious) and Carcassonne (Ingenious and Carcassonne of course works well with more players too). I agree Blue Lagoon, The Quest for El Dorado, Modern Art and Jaipur are good choices too. If you like conquest: Babylonia and Small World are very nice. TZAAR is the best modern abstract strategy game. So why not buy it at once? ;-)
I can definitely agree with Dylann's list and own all three (only started in the hobby last November and Jaipur was my first). I might swap out El Dorado for Azul, but both I think are perfect for new gamers. Oh, Kingdomino too! I haven't played Carlo's #1 or #2 games (yet!).
Good call - Azul and Kingdomino are fantastic choices. Dylann and I each have our own copies of both and have played them so many times with a lot of different people.
Curious to hear your impressions of The Crew: Mission Deep Sea. Is that strictly an improvement due to the changes in the objective cards? Or is Planet 9 still useful as a more introductory game?
@@AllYouCanBoard Looking forward to that :). I’m also wondering if they’ll make a 2-player version that’s better than the existing 2-player variant. I hear people prefer Fox in the Forest, but I like The Crew theme.
Kingdomino and For Sale are excellent games and even as someone who has been in the hobby for over a decade they're still really fun to play, so those are awesome choices. Still have to try Skull one of these days! - Carlo
@@AllYouCanBoard definitely! I love that it has different scenarios depending on what difficulty level you want. I believe RC is what they call a worker placement game, but I might be wrong. Love your videos! Keep up the great content!
The name Agricola has its origins in Latin and literally means “farmer”. It has also been used as the name for a boy in Roman times but also more recently in Italian speaking countries. However, It does not fall inside the top 1,000 most popular names for boys. Just some FYI. ;). . I am in moderate agreement of the choice of Agricola as a step 2. 2020-2021 saw my gaming hobby flourish and after such introductions as Splendor, Carcassonne, and Ticket to Ride, I’ve graduated to Castles of Burgundy, Viticulture and just recently to Agricola. Everything you said about it it true... its punishing, challenging and totally AWESOME! Cant wait to get better at it. Lol. Thanks for the Vid.
Thanks for that info, Paul! That's interesting, I had no idea about the "name for a boy in Roman times" part you mentioned. Sounds like we had some similar introductory games into the hobby, and also sounds like you're on your way to discovering a bunch of other amazing games! Based on some of these "next step" ones you've mentioned, I recommend you check out Keyflower. 2-6 players but best with 3 or 4. Amazing game. And YESSSSS, so glad to hear you love Agricola. It's not for everyone, but if you enjoy it, it's one of the most rewarding games out there because there's SO much room to improve... and yet you always still feel like you're failing, haha. Weird feeling, but I love it.
@@AllYouCanBoard Thanks for responding, Carlo. I purchased Keyflower months before Agricola and have played it a couple of times. (I got the farmers expansion too). Also a wonderful challenge. I. need to find people who love these types of games as much as I. At present, i have to ask my “casual gaming” friends nicely to play with me. They kindly indulge me. Lol. I have gone so far as to augment all resources, animals and meeples of Agricola with my own stickers.. they can be seen in the images section of Agricola-Revised Edition on BGG if you so choose. It was a labour of love.
Nice video, though I STRONGLY disagree with Agricola going anywhere near a newcomer to the hobby. I found it to be a dry, soul-less, punishing, toilsome borefest….sorry
Fair enough, Dave, no need to apologize! I understand it's a very polarizing game, and I wouldn't say this would be ideal for a newcomer really, this is more of a "next step" game after being in the hobby with gateway style games first. Agricola was one of the first games I ever bought, and for me it worked amazingly as my "next step" game that launched me into more complex games. But like I said, I totally understand it's not for everyone, and I think Dylann's pick of Castles of Burgundy is a more natural progression as a next step. Thanks for watching! - Carlo
Been boardgaming since 2001 - started as a gamer, ended up as a collector (over 1000 games); sadly now i do more organizing and reading than actual playing, hahaha.
Haha, we're going to do our best to remain primarily gamers rather than collectors for as long as we can, but the transition almost sounds inevitable at this point!
Haha, glad to know I wasn't the only one! And honestly, if we didn't have a RU-vid channel where I end up talking about it all the time, I'd probably still be pronouncing it that way too. 😁
Great list! Cody’s list was especially intriguing cuz they way he explains his love for his games are all the things I look for! Will definitely add Modern Art to the wish list now!
Thanks, Brian! It's Carlo, not Cody, but I think Dylann might start calling me Cody from now on 😂 I hope you have a blast with Modern Art. Keep an eye out for the rest of our top 50 of all-time list in the coming days to see where it ranks for me.
Ola Joao! Dylann and I live in Canada but we're also part Portuguese, we have a lot of family there. We don't speak the language fluently but we try our best every time we go to Portugal. Absolutely beautiful country and we hope to go back soon. Muito obrigado! - Carlo
😂😂 Amazing. I don't dislike the artwork but overall there are definitely MUCH nicer-looking games out there. Either way, Uglycola gave me a good laugh and I don't think I'll ever be able to forget that now. - Carlo
@@danbill9165 Oh, sorry Dan, we didn't have any footage of the game to use in this one, but if you keep an eye out on our channel we'll have an upcoming video likely later this month that will showcase Agricola in detail.
Did not care for Quacks. I don't care for the factor that the entire game come from the push-your-luck aspect. My plays saw that the people that busted lost, plain and simple.
Push your luck games are definitely not for everyone. And even though they aren't my favourite, I just find that they are very fun and easy to introduce to people that aren't board gamers or don't game as frequently as the game can still swing in their favour if they have good enough luck with it. Time and place for everything!
