My father in law taught me Dominos and gin rummy while on vacation and it got me to looking at board games again because we had so much fun re-visiting old games like clue as well. So the first modern game I bought was Pandemic. I'm excited to get into the hobby side of this endeavor and keep learning bigger and better games.
Thanks for sharing the story! I feel you on learning the classics from family. To this day I remember playing chess with my grandfather as a kid and how much fun it was. Welcome to the gaming hobby and I hope you have a fun time with it! Pandemic is definitely a solid choice to start with.
Can't beat the absolute classic, right? I'd say it's good, as well, but generally leave out farmers for the first game or two - they tend to be a confusing mechanic, especially for new people. Great to build up on, though!
Danny C - Gaming, Fandom, and Science I'm new to the hobby (about over a year) so I didn't know Carcassonne was that old. I play solo, allowing tiles to fill a 7 x 7 space on the table. I use a meeple to claim one "piece" of a road (or city, or monastery) and hope I can complete the items within the 7 x 7 constraints, then collect my points. I've seen your "solo game" video. Would you be willing to make videos on how to make popular multiplayer games solo? I'm surprised gameboardgeek.com doesn't have more members contributing solo variants. Thanks.
Hmmmm... that's an interesting idea, but it can be REALLY tough to do. Some games are really heavily focused on player interaction and playing off each other. I've tried to make solo rules for some games, but honestly I'm not that great at it. Certainly something to consider, though!
You're right, I have not been able to find another game that reminds me of Augustus. I wish I could! We now enjoy Splendor, Dominion, Seven Wonders, Machi Koro, King of Tokyo, Lanterns, Battle Line, Arboretum, Jaipur, etc. Recently we have been having a lot of fun with a family gateway game, Dragonwood. Great for my 12 year old son but just enough luck and strategy to keep the adults happy too. My family pretty much sticks to games that can be played under an hour. Lots of new games are going to be under the Christmas tree this year, including Isle of Skye and Istanbul.
I find the best beginner board games (for little kids) are more games like Sorry, Monopoly Jr., Ker- Plunk, Battleship, etc. Then when the kiddos are ready for something more challenging then introduce them to the easy to learn Kryptozoic or Euro games (my opinion)
Oh for sure, you wouldn't want to start kids off on these. The list here is more for either older kids (early-mid teens probably) or adults who want to get into the deeper hobby stuff. That said, there are things like Catan Jr, Ticket to Ride First Journey, and My Little Scythe, which are all geared toward younger kids, but still hold the spirit of the full games.
I tried getting my family to try Carcassonne and ticket to ride. And they didn't like them. They just want to stay with sequence, qwixx and qwirkle. And I can't get dad to move past risk, clue and monopoly. So I jumped farther into the deep end for my own enjoyment and bought 7 wonders, and clans of caledonia and am enjoying both. I like worker placement and engine building it seems. Really interested in playing gloomhaven and scythe and mage knight one day personally.
Sorry to hear that you've had trouble getting your family into some gaming. If you're up for it, I'd recommend talking to them about things that they'd like to try: particular themes, mechanics, stuff like that. It tends to work better as far as getting folks interested and playing. That said, it's great to hear that you personally have found a great few games that you're enjoying! Keep it up and keep moving on! Gloomhaven, Scythe, and Mage Knight are all excellent choices.
I can also recommend Coup because it's easy to find and inexpensive. It also plays from 2-6 players and the rules are quite easy to teach and the games are very fast (so you can even play it several times when learning).
I want to say the first game I bought was scythe, but I once bought monopoly when I was a kid. But scythe I count scythe as my first. After scythe I bought catan, love both of these.
Hahaha yes, Scythe should definitely count as the first one. Not sure that it'd be great to use as an initial purpose for anyone getting into board gaming, but great game nonetheless. Certainly works as a first game for some folks :D
Thanks very much! I've heard that Ascension is an awesome pick for newbies, but honestly I've not really played it, even to this day. I'd been on my list awhile and I'm hoping to get a chance at some point, though :D
Nice job! I'm not really a fan of the "king of" series (does two game count as a series?0, but with non-gamers it would be fun. For worker placement I'd suggest New Bedford - 45 minutes , two actions per round, etc. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
I've had good luck with new players with King of Tokyo, Pandemic, and Biblios. That said, I think I would place Splendor ahead of Biblios as a starter game. I've taught newbies how to play both games, and people seem to grasp the strategies of Splendor faster. It's a much more 'direct' game -- what I mean is that there isn't any layer separating any actions from their affects. I honestly have never played Dominions, so I can't compare it, but I think that Star Realms is a decent starter-level deck-building game.
One of these days I'll have to play Dominion (add that to an ever-growing list of games that I want to try that I haven't yet gotten to). Star Realm can be played with more than 2, if you have sufficient cards. But I haven't actually tried it with more than 2.
Base Viticulture: Essential Edition isn't exactly a "gateway" but it's not too hard until you add Tuscany from what I've seen of that expansion. I started my board game collection by trading in my first magic collection decks and all and buying Dominion First Edition, Ticket to Ride (USA map) and Carcassonne (the one with the rivers and abbot expansions that I rarely play those expansions anymore). Sometimes I get games for solo-ability or if I can play them with my special needs brother (he played The Builders: Antiquity and Fairy Tale quite well, he's somewhat high functioning). I haven't played 7 Wonders but I have both Fairy Tale and Sushi Go! so I feel like I don't need another primarily card drafting game. Sorry for the rant!
Very interesting, thanks for the comment! I'd certainly be hesitant to have Viticulture on the list - solid worker placement, sure, but I imagine it's a bit too complex for newer players. Just a bit too much going on. Definitely a nice "next step" though. Regardless, it's great that you can play with your brother! Thankfully there's a lot of games that are not only easy to grasp but can really help special needs people.
Great job on the informative videos! any suggestions for like first 5 intermediate level games. been watching a lot of videos suggestions things like root or scythe, and I'm definitely looking for something with strategic versatility without bieng longer than 2.5 hours. thank you!
Thanks very much and glad you're enjoying my work! For intermediate strategy, lighter worker placement games like Tzolk'In, Alchemists, or Stone Age (if you can find a copy) work great. More strategy than the really transitional games, but won't take you hours to play through. Depending on the theme and style (i.e. cooperative vs. competitive) you're looking for, you could also look into Shadows Over Camelot, Eldritch Horror, Cyclades, Kemet, Five Tribes, Istanbul, Lords of Waterdeep, Power Grid, or Puerto Rico. They're all solid games in their own rights and themes/styles. Deckbuilders like Legendary, Clank!, and Dominion tend to be pretty good, as well. Really you've got a LOT of options. Again, it mostly boils down to what you're personally looking for in a game (and/or what your group is looking for). If you'd like to know more feel free to ask!
Hi, Danny. From your list I've only played Tokyo. You didn't mention Forbidden and didn't much mention themes. As a solo gamer I rate rule simplicity and theme as buying priority. It's an expensive hobby to get wrong.
When i wanted to get my friends into gaming, i ordered a bunch of games that would make a perfect starter set for anyone wanting to get into gaming. Ticket To Ride Catan Pandemic King of Tokyo Coup
I think you are recording in a different framerate than your project is set to, which causes your software to look for frames to "make up" the frames, which is causing the glitches..
I have bee painting warhammer fantasty, and the lord of the ring game by Game Workshop. They are strategy games. I can't drive to the store to play a game. Most of my friends are busy and family are not interested into fantasy games. Are there any good board games to introduce to friends and family into table top games?
I'm mostly looking for games that my husband and I will enjoy and that my teenage boys will notice us having fun and want to join in ( ie get off the phones!)
Oof, that's a tall order! I've made a couple of videos on two player games - one of them focused on those that work well with two players, but aren't exclusive. Your best bet would probably be games with bigger boards/play areas that look intriguing. Tzolk'In is a good one to look at in that regard. Deckbuilders often have a pretty impressive setup, as well. Depending on what your boys like you can look into more combat-centric games, as well - Ghost Stories or Scythe (off hand) are pretty fun and would work reasonably well. Intense co-op games like Dead of Winter, Shadows Over Camelot, or the like could work well also, but they're a bit tough with 2 players, unless you play multiple characters each.
My bad, then. :) Directly over your left shoulder. I can only see the box corner, but it looked like Vast to me! :) I'm referring to whatever is in the box with a sort of violet/purple coloration and above an orange box with green trim.
FUSE would be a good beginner game. Simple rules, includes cards and dice. Then the player can decide if they want a game with more dice (King's Forge) or more cards.
Danny C - Gaming, Fandom, and Science To remove the anxiety from the game (the timer) I use a 10 sided die to keep track of any "roll penalties" suffered. 10 penalties equals game over.
Congrats! Eldrich Horror is a great game, and I'm glad to hear you found something you liked. As for a continuation, it really depends on what you're looking for. If you'd like another co-op game, Pandemic is great and pretty ubiquitous in stores - and the gameplay progression is somewhat similar to Eldritch. For the Cthulhu theme, A Study in Emerald is a solid choice with hidden teams and decent strategy. If you want a good go-to meaty game, a good worker placement like Voyages of Marco Polo, Alchemists, or Viticulture could work. A more mechanically-heavy game like Mage Knight is great for replayability - with deckbuilding, character creation, exploration, and combat rolled together. That's just some options off hand - if you have an idea of what you'd like, I can certainly give some more tailored options :D
I have played Pandemic Legacy with my three wargames friends and we loved it. We like the Co-Op element. We have been looking at Dead of Winter but I thought I would ask you about it first. What do you think?@@DannyCGamingFandomandScience
Sorry to have taken awhile to respond here, but glad to help! Dead Of Winter is a great co-op. If you all like the idea of the betrayal element and a VERY harsh, but fair and beatable, system, it's a good pick. Honestly, DoW will feel a bit like Pandemic Legacy as you play through, but it's definitely meatier. I've heard wonderful things about The Long Night, as well, but haven't played it personally.
Great and informative video. One suggestion is to limit the time spent with your introduction/honorable mention. Having to get almost 8:30 into the video to get to the first real pick is a bit extreme for a video under 30 minutes. But thanks for the video!
Thanks very much for the comment and feedback! Over the last couple months I've gotten much better at being more concise in my work, now my top 5 videos are less than half what they used to be. Hooray!
I play lots of games, but I just haven't used these ones for entry level players. I assume that you play with more willing volunteers. Nothing wrong that. In fact that is great.
Hahaha I think that just begs the question of how to define "willing volunteer". I've played with a pretty large variety of people, gamers, non-gamers, young, old. These particular games are more about how to start out a collection - give yourself some variety to work with and the like, rather than how to introduce new people to the hobby.
Nice. So a list for those who are already wanting to start a collection, rather than simply play some games to see if they like the hobby? I agree with that.
Yes, exactly. I did another video a few years back on games for transitioning to more complex hobby games - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ipGlujizdAM.html ; and a discussion about helping non-gamers - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ag9930u9HeU.html . I discuss some of the same ones, but not all, and really went for simpler, easier to learn ones.
@@DannyCGamingFandomandScienceokay thank you lol, don't oppologize it was a simply mistake on my end , I do find boardgames as exciting as skate boarding , keep doing what you love and have a marvelous day :^)
I started with Betrayal at House on the Hill believe it or not. I'm still new to the hobby but I played the game with some friends and had a great time. I even got a copy for myself.
That's a bit of diving in the deep end first thing, but glad you enjoyed the experience! Betrayal is pretty awesome. Any thoughts on the upcoming legacy edition?
Danny C - Gaming, Fandom, and Science I think it sounds pretty cool, I've never played a legacy game before so I don't know much about them other than it's a one time shot.
Basically, yes. Generally a one-time shot, but it takes multiple play sessions to get through the whole thing and ~15 hours total to play. There are good and bad ones, with Pandemic probably being the best of the good category.
28 minute video that would have been MUCH BETTER at less than 8 minutes. Seriously. Didn't look at this to find out what you've done or how many times you've done it with whatever pops into your head. Write a script about the games you recommend and why you recommend them. Practice the script. Edit it to less than 8 minutes and practice it again. Record it, review and edit it, then - and only then - upload it.
Agreed 100%! Looking at my older videos like this one make me feel pretty cringe-y. I've since gotten much, much less verbose and rambly. No scripts, though, since they're way more effort to write out, but it sometimes means 3 or 4 takes before I get one I like.
Don't get me wrong, I have no issue with dice, card drawing, or other randomness means. It's necessary to keep non-abstract, impure strategy games fresh and replayable. What I dislike is arbitrary randomness that enable a game to be too "swingy" and/or being unable to mitigate some of the consequences of worse rolls or imbalanced cards. Character modifiers, cards to improve outcomes, or numerous other mechanics can work nicely. Dice don't need to die, they just need to be utilized sensibly.
