I adore these types of games. I call them "lunch break" games. Games you can play on a lunch break. One that I don't see people posting about at all is Space Park from Keymaster Games. It is so fun. It comes in a small box, has great components and is easy to teach and play. Others that we love are: Hats Patchwork Doodle Flourish 5-Minute Mystery Gnoming A Round Enchanted Plumes Silver & Gold Scarabya Draftosaurus Welcome to... Kingdomino Herbaceous/Sunset Over Water/Floriferous So many fantastic options.
❤ Ohanami. I've played it over 100 times and it cost me £7 for the Spanish version, though I did buy another scoring pad. Best £:play ratio ever. It's the perfect coffee shop game.
Some good choices there. For me, I'd have Parade, For Sale, Skull, Illusion, No Thanks, Kingdomino, Fantasy Realms, Silver and Gold. Also use some party games and roll and writes as fillers...So Clover, Just One, Qwixx...
Yeah I didn't specify but party games I was trying to avoid if I could. Though I considered Just One and it counts, but wouldn't be a Top 10 favourite as it can be played to death easily. Never really got into For Sale.
Great video... I agree fillers need more love! 7 Wonders Architects is such a good pick, so simple and has nice table presence for such a small game. The Crew and Conspiracy are the first thing that came to mind when I clicked the video 👍 Here are a few I also like: Timeline: Classic / Inventions / Events (pick your poison)- It is barely a game lol but it's so freaking simple and so freaking fast it tends to work with any crowd. Bang the Dice Game - Simple, fast, silly... the only issue is you need at least 5 players to make it worth it. Dixit - Is this pushing it? The gameplay is simple, the teach is fast... it might take a little longer than a regular filler though... CuBirds - Rules are very straight forward and the art is so weird and blocky I kind of like it Sushi Go Party - Probably my favorite filler. I mean, you can set up a pretty simple menu for begginers or you can go a little bit more take that with other more advance cards. It might take a little bit to explain the different cards but gameplay is so simple that I honestly think it counts. Though I know it might be pushing it 😅
BANG I find tends to extend beyond 30 minutes often. And Dixit will always be at least an hour long if not more. Sushi Go Party as well I find takes too long to make it a filler. You're talking 60 minutes by the time you've explained it, done 3 rounds and done everyone's scoring on that fiddly board.
@@TheBrokenMeeple you are probably right. It's probably not my case with Sushi Go because mostly everyone I play already knows most of it, so gameplay flies, but I get yah. This list is trickier than I expected 🤣
Splendor is perfectly portable - just take big enough (but still very small) configurable "screw box" (not sure how this would be properly called in English). Some people simply throw original box away and store it this way, since most of the time they play it only when they are not at their "home table", so it has to be portable.
Great list Luke! Man, I couldn't agree more with filler gams being kinda underrated. If you find the right one, they tend to pack quite a punch contained in their boxes. I always find myself looking at the small box games to fill gaps between my boxes of gloomhaven and the complete mansions of madness.
King varies on time length especially when you go to 5-6 players. Fantasy is good and considered but it can't make a Top 10 with those horrible aesthetics. I'm interested in the new deluxe one.
some of my current 2+ player favs with 30-minute teach+setup+playtime would be (excluding party/dexterity games): 1. Air, Land & Sea 2. For Sale 3. Circle the Wagons 4. Lost Cities 5. Hive 6. Tzaar 7. Capital Lux 2 8. Oriflamme 9. Castles of Burgundy: The Dice Game 10. Jaipur + 11. Conspiracy (this is MAAAYBE, it can be longer than 30 minutes with the teach I think).
Good games for most part, but this is why I excluded 2 player games. I got a whole series coming out for those and pretty much any small 2 player game will be a filler because it's only 2 people.
Great list! I agree on Floriferous, it's beautiful and just hits a sweet spot for me. Whatnot Cabinet is another great filler from Pencil First. Also, the artist for Floriferous is not Beth Sobel this time, but Clémentine Campardou, who is proving to be a phenomenal artist as well!
I agree with you! It is so much more fulfilling to be able to say that you played: Game 1; Game 2; Game 3; Game 4; and Game 5 at your Game Night, rather than saying that you played Twilight Imperium 😛
Yeah, why enjoy a complete, sumptuous meal when you could nibble on pretzels and kale chips? When I go to a movie, I watch the previews and ads and answer the trivia questions, then leave before the main feature.
Good list, Conspiracy is one of my favourite filler games and I agree that the artwork and colours are amazing 😍 I sleeved the cards (standard sleeves) but they all fit in the tin! 🤔 Point Salad is also great in its simplicity 😄
I absolutely love Floriferous - easily my favorite shorter game. Like you said - gorgeous and great fun! The other one I play all the time is Enchanted Plumes - also very fun with a beautiful table presence. I like The Whatnot Cabinet as well from Pencil First. I play a lot of Solo so my choices are a bit different than yours. Thanks for the list - hope things cool down for you over there!
Some good ones there but wouldn't make a Top 10. I do own Silver and Gold because my parents like it more and Fantasy is good but badly needs that new deluxe version to spice up the artwork. I miss Lost Legacy. . . .
My go to fillers (not already on the list) are Fantastic Realms, Tussie Mussie, Skulls of Sedlac (expansions allow more than 2 players), Bites, and Tsuro.
@@TheBrokenMeeple best thing about the wallets is that it lets me toss into a backpack and just have it handy as a game to play. My wife and I had brunch at a diner recently and I had Tussie Mussie in my pocket so we could play a few rounds while waiting for our order.
Great video as always. Me and my wife have been looking for filler games because she decides she wants to play a game 45mins before I have to start work (luckily I work from home). We can fit Targi in 45mins with a rush. Splendor is a great suggestion. We also tried Tiny Towns that we had previously played with 4 people but it was pretty boring with just 2 so won't be doing that again. Air, Land and Sea is a great game but cannot get her to play. Santorini is also a good one. Thanks for the ideas :D
Biblios I actually forgot about BUT . . . . . probably a #11. Though it does vary about the time length of that one because you have to play the game in two halves and it doesn't usually go at a quick pace. Plus you have to teach two phases. So I'd argue it's not quite the 30 minute quick and done timer. Bohnanza though - no way. The bean game? That game takes FOREVER to finish, it's not a 30 minute game.
Excellent stuff as always Luke. Ohanami is a family favourite of ours. Not heard of Alice's Garden, I'll have to take a look. I'd choose Shamans and Scout as filler games, have you seen those?
Shamans I wouldn't consider a filler game, too much to get across and playing well easily lead to an hour but I do like it. Not tried Scout but I'm not hearing much buzz
6 Nimmt is still my most played filler; honorable mentions Braggart, Ramen Fury, Skull and maybe Flick of Faith which is teach and play in 30 but setup, teach and play in 30 - I think so, but it’s close!
I think I'd have to move away if I lived somewhere with no AC and a heat wave came through. Ugh. Ohanami is great and we take it on most trips. Splendor is definitely a good suggestion.
LOVED this video. Something you don't hear enough about in one big gulp...filler games. Great list, thanks so much! I really liked the look of Conspiracy: Abyss Universe but honestly, it's hard for me to justify a game in my collection that I can't solo. But I still want to play it.
@@TheBrokenMeeple For sure. It's just that games that require more than one player tend to collect dust in my house. None the less, I've added to my wish list. :)
Great List! I don't remember hearing about Alice's Garden, I will look into that one. Regicide, Love Letter (Premium, Marvel or Star Wars), Tranquility, Strike, Ice Cool, Sprawlopolis, and Slide Quest work well for me.
Land air & sea is the go to end of the evening game for me and my mate. It’s two payer only. From a tiny deck of cards it’s amazing the level of game play and strategy.
Great list. I absolutely agree with your number 1. Others could be Hues and Cues, Dive, Sushi Go (Party) and Canvas. Project L would be another Polyomino game for this list.
I do need to try most of this list, most excitedly Point Salad. I do wish 'fillers' were talked about more, you can pack great games in these smaller experiences. I agree on Floriferous, but it needs more plays before I can say it surpasses Sunset Over Water for me. I do wish it had Beth Sobel on as the artist but Clementine did a great job. Alice's Garden looked interesting, but I am worried about the overall replay with the placement scoring. My favorites are: Sunset Over Water, Tussie Mussie, Whale Riders (The Card Game), Spirits of the Forest, Silver & Gold, Mint Works, Marrakech
My pick is Micropolis a small tile drafter with point salad mixed in. A cute little puzzler where you build an ant colony. It's a good title that doesn't get enough love likely because it's dead simple with enough depth to keep me coming back.
Some of my go-to fillers: Cabo (& Silver Bullet / Amulett / Dagger), Love Letter, The Crew, Top Ten, Sushi Go, High Society, Double so Clever, Qwixx, Sprawlopolis, Kingdomino Origins, Skyjo, Gang of Four, Bahamas, Twin It, Taco Cat Bouc Cheese Pizza, Tiny Epic Galaxies
Mandala, Condottiere, Lost Cities, Fugitive and Tsuro are great Fillers - all can be done within 20 mins. Mandala is such a super fun filled game with great art work. All are perfectly portable (except Tsuro)… Eagerly awaiting Splendor Duel
Great selections, Luke - I agree, I'd rather play a variety/series of fillers as well, rather than one long game. On my list of fillers, I'd have the following (incl a few older games and excl 2P only) - High Society, Serengeti/Templari, Fantasy Realms, Hey That's My Fish, Bohnanza, Circus Flohcati, Take it Higher, That's Mine and Gargon (I'm dating myself, I know).
I've NEVER seen that game end in 30 minutes. I mean the teach alone is probably a good 10-15. Then you've got multiple phases of bidding which can generate AP. Then the time it takes people to run their engines especially if they have a ton of cards in it and it gets over-complicated. Suffice to say I wasn't bowled over by Furnace at all, but yeah I would never call that a filler.
Draftosaurus and Point Salad are my go-to filler games, always fast and fun, and easy to teach and set up. Just One or Blank Slate and Dixit are great with the right groups, especially if nobody cares about scoring, and work well if you have people popping in and out. I might have to add Splendor to my list, but it is dependent on having no AP sufferers in the group. I wouldn't consider The Crew unless everyone is familiar with trick-taking games - for a co-op I have Forbidden Island on my list (if everyone has played before it goes fast). I've only just gotten Floriferous so have only played solo, but I could see it working as a filler. I would probably add Deep Sea Adventure for a more standard press-your-luck entry.
Good list, my own games that fits the bill: Cockroach Poker Royal, the crew, So Clover, Colt Super express, Zombie dice, Infinity Gauntlet. After that I have also some 2p only games of course that fits like codename duets, sprawlopolis, Dice throne (with simple characters), hanamikoji, Klask, Crokinole.
one of my favourite filler style games of late is Zuuli its just a little zoo building card drafting game which plays in about 15-20 mins and ive taught it to a friend by literally just showing them the anatomy of a card and he wa sa non gamer. it has a cool engine building feel in a short time, right now its only in uk but after seeing it at ukge i had to pick it up as it was cheap lol review coming in next few days... i been on a bit of a small box kick lately lol great video Stay Hexy! ps... i thought the cockroach poker epidode of after school dice club was fun
Splendor is our most played game with well beyond 300 games. Very good filler imo. You added Floriferous to my thinking about list. I have Herbaceous, have you tried that? Is that nearly enough? Nice list Luke :D
Couldn't agree more! - Herbaceous I own too, but Floriferious is a better game overall. Herb is the "you've never seen a game before ever super simple any moron could understand it" choice :-)
“It’s 30 degrees here, which I know doesn’t sound like much to those in the States.” For people in the US, 30 degrees is literally below freezing. In all seriousness, sorry about the heat wave and stay safe!
@@TheBrokenMeeple Yeah I used to live in Atlanta where during the summer we'd see long stretches of it being over 33 C all day and get to 37/38 routinely. It was oppressive but we were used to it and had the infrastructure for it, unlike the UK, - it's no joke for y'all.
18:23 Call me a party pooper, but I really DISLIKE the small box Ticket To Ride games. To me, they are way too short @ 15-30 minutes, that you cannot get enough done. It is very easy to over-extend yourself, because you pick too many/too long routes and you end up not having enough cars to do what you want. I feel the sweet spot would be 30-45 minutes for a shorter version of Ticket To Ride.
Well you pick up how much you should go for quickly. Also if you created that, then it would simply replace the bigger version as its not much longer than that really.
You're right. 30 degrees doesn't sound hot at all to us in the United States. 30 degrees FAHRENHEIT is actually below freezing. Haha But I am sorry that you don't have some cool air conditioning.. climate change sneaked up on some parts of the world, right? Thanks for toughing it out for this video. I love meaty, LONG, heavy games. But I do love a strong filler as well. Sadly, my main board gaming friend is less fond of those types of games. But if it's a good game, that helps.
Great list. Had a few in mind until you said 2 player games were excluded as I love Jaipur and yinsh. Portals of heros I like and that's 2 - 4. Gonna do more research on Floriferous, the crew I always dismissed but your recommendation has me thinking. Does it play well at 2 players?
about the crew, the honest answer is no. To play 2 player you have to play with a virtual third player or bot. It just isn't the same experience and you can run into situations where the game is unsolvable. At least the first crew is like that, i don't know if the second crew did take care of this Issue.
@@naegling that's interesting. I'll have to do a bit of research on this but if it scales well at two I'll think about it. It gets alot of credit from dice tower as well. I have the fox in the forest which I've o ly played once so I'm not in a rush to fill my shelves with more unplayed games. I'm meant to be saving for a stag do and wedding any splurges on games are looked apon unkindly 🤣
Your fillers are all too nice! Splendor and TtR are borrrringggg. There's one filler game anyone needs: Knizia's amazing High Society. Beyond that, For Sale, Skull, Coloretto, Werewords, and maybe even Bohnanza if you're fast.
Bonanza has never been less than 30 min, hell your lucky sometimes if its less than an hour. 😑 High Society is OK, I don't love it or hate it. Never got into For Sale and Werewords is great but I was trying to stay away from party games. Also they're not boring 😜
Damn. Every single board game reviewer recommends cockroach poker. I'm dying to buy it, but I cannot find it in stock in my country. I think there are literally zero copies of it on sale here 😭
Not the end of the world if you can't find it. Here's a couple others to recommend, though the first may be the easier to find, "Great Plains" and "Vegetable Stock"
Look around the table, at what others are going for. Think about the two piles and who is drawing from them. You can figure it out. There ARE meaningful choices.
I enjoyed the video. However, there was a disappointment. It's because of the Japanese-style wave behind you. In the background of the painting, a pattern symbolizing Japanese imperialism, in which the red line gradually expands, is painted, and it reminds us of the atrocities of Japanese militarism in the past. You keep hanging it on the wall is akin to hanging a Nazi pattern in Germany on the wall
Really? You mean the Ticket To Ride painting background that has no bearing to Japan or anything pertaining to imperialism? You're literally the first person to point this out and I'm pretty sure there are other Japanese who watch the show. I'm also pretty sure that the people who made the painting haven't been called out either on this. Also I've just looked at it and the official flag symbol. The painting rays aren't even red, they are light brown. Nor is there a red centre ball where they eminate from, they are just roof gantries, it looks nothing like it. I'm all down for cultural and historical awareness, but this is stretching the perceptive boundaries here.
@@TheBrokenMeeple I haven't played Splendor that often since I don't like it that much but I expect you can make it work with 2 players all the time. But Alice's Garden took me on average 25min with 2 players. I assume you can teach it in 5. But with 3 it was 37min on average. Haven't played it with 4 but I assume it will take longer. Even the box says 30 min and they usually don't underestimate. It's certainly possible to get it done in 30 min but because it's quite puzzly there is usually some thinking and hestitating going on. So I'm curious if you time it too? Because it definitly feels shorter than 30min while playing because it's so engaging ;)
