OT Board games for starters

[jamesjohns]

Looking for advice on boardgames for new players. Looking for some fun, family type games and perhaps some simple wargames. My sons are 11 and 13, 15. We have played RISK, Axis & Allies and Magic the gathering but looking for games to go more in-depth and more strategy.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Looking for something pretty straight forward and easy to play within a couple of hours.

Looking for historical-based wargames, fantasy/sword & sorcery, zombie survival.

Like many on this board, I started decades ago with Risk, Stratego and discovered Tactics II when I was about 12. Lead to many others like Rise & Fall of the 3rd Reich, Advanced Squad Leader, so forth

[DanSez]

You against your 3 sons ---

Fury of Dracula.
Great game and if you look around you can find a reasonable copy.

One person (Dad?) plays the Count and has hidden movement.
The rest play the vampire hunters who move across a map of Europe to first gather up items and then finally to confront the Count.

[Lokasenna]

Co-op survival games:
* Pandemic (there are several variations on this one; on my list to get is a clone of Pandemic that is simply Cthulhu-based)
* Robinson Crusoe. This one is fun, but rather difficult to beat.

Fantasy/sword & sorcery:
* Descent: Journeys into the Dark. A Fantasy Flight game, so it comes with a higher sticker price but also an enormous game package. I have the very first edition of this one, which is somewhat flawed. The second edition is much better. This is a dungeon-crawler game.
* Dark Souls: The Board Game. A board game adaptation of the Dark Souls video game. I got this via Kickstarter, but I know it is available via retail somehow or other. The price point on this one is also somewhat high, but the game is great. If your sons have played the video game, this is probably worth getting.

War games/strategy games:
* Twilight Imperium. Another Fantasy Flight game. I have the third edition of this one, which is fine, but the latest one makes improvements to gameplay. It's sci-fi. The last time I played this one was quite some time ago, but we had a ton of fun by modifying the rules with 1 house rule and taking out some of the political cards that are less potent.
* Conquest of the Empire. The premise of this one is basically that Caesar is dead and the players are vying to become the next Emperor. I would say this is loosely based on the Year of the Four Emperors (69 AD). This one comes with two rule sets. The first set is a standard wargame in the mold of Axis & Allies. The second set is more of a strategy game and much better, in my opinion. The game board for this one is huge - requires a table at least 54"x54" (that's what I have and it's barely big enough).

Zombie survival:
* Zombies!!!. This is a tile-laying competitive survival game. First person to reach the helipad alive and make it out wins. There are lots of expansions and variations, including one called Humans!!! - where you're a "strain" of zombies and trying to infect as many humans as possible. I believe all of the expansions (and Humans!!!) are compatible with the base game, so you can play as either side.
* Zombicide. I haven't played this one, but I've heard about it. It's allegedly good.

I actually recommend you look at the games on the Fantasy Flight site. Most that I have played are rather good.

[Aurorus]

The classic is Settlers of Catan. You cannot go wrong with this game. Also, most games by Reiner Kneiza are very good. His Tigris and Euphrates is a classic: as is his Lord of the Rings. Rio Grande Games has produced a number of excellent board games, especially Puerto Rico. I also recommend Game of Thrones: The Board Game by Christian T. Peterson. These are all must-have board-games for any afficionado and appropriate for the ages of your children, assuming that they are "advanced" for their ages. You will enjoy them as much as your children.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Aurorus

The classic is Settlers of Catan. You cannot go wrong with this game. Also, most games by Reiner Kneiza are very good. His Tigris and Euphrates is a classic: as is his Lord of the Rings. Rio Grande Games has produced a number of excellent board games, especially Puerto Rico. I also recommend Game of Thrones: The Board Game by Christian T. Peterson. These are all must-have board-games for any afficionado and appropriate for the ages of your children, assuming that they are "advanced" for their ages. You will enjoy them as much as your children.

+1 to Settlers of Catan - strategic but very engaging for the players. It has some expansion packs - Seafarers of Catan and Knights and Castles of Catan.

[Ian R]

Memoir '44.

It is pretty simple and dice heavy, it has a lot of replay value and expansions, and it has your actual (plastic) tanks, that are identifiable minis of the real thing.

It also enables you to detect if you have a budding grognard on your hands - he'll be on the internet looking up the expansions and asking for the D-day pack (which has a much larger map) etc.

But, I can only say, be prepared - the boys these days move on to call of duty type 'real time' first person shooters. Miked up with headsets and on-line play with their mates, and you're going to have to pay out for an uber-laptop with gargantuan 3D graphics drivers*. From what I have observed, a lot of work has gone into those.

#fatherhood

[* But, he'll probably need a better one in 12 months, so you can use his old one to play WITPAE. [;)]

[Rafid]

+ 1 for Settlers as well, especially with the Knights and Castles Expansions, it is a good example of "simple rules/mechanics, but depth" and has great replayability.

As a relatively new, but great fantasy games I would suggest “Legends of Andor”. Each player plays a hero and everybody cooperates to “beat the game”. It requires good coordination and planning from all players. It’s one of the rare games, where I have yet to find somebody who isn’t completely taken in when introduced to it. It also has an active community so there is additional free contend (both official and player made) here: http://legendsofandor.com/

[Encircled]

Ticket to ride is great for kids

[obvert]

Love Settlers.

Some more basic but still fun games are:

Quorriers

Dice based character battle game. Easy and just enough complexity to make it fun for multiple plays

Carcassone

Basic conquer the world type of game, easy to learn and cut-throat if played with your wife end good friends!

Power Grid

Complex power grid control game.

Acquire

A classic capitalist futures game. An absolute favourite, and good for all. You essentially try to build a hotel empire not only through your own actions but by betting on the future of other hotels.

[Itdepends]

If your kids were setting up the MTG decks then they're past gateway gaming already.

Similar to MTG (in setting up decks)- Doomtown Reloaded (weird west with poker hand shootouts)
Heroscape if you can find it second hand (a money sink f you start collecting but hey, you've played Magic.....)
I agree with most of the suggestions above but would avoid Twilight Imperium for now, its an all day game (and then some)
Arkham Horror is thematic, a co op but also quite long

Hidden traitor games can be fun, especially if you find a theme that resonates e.g Dead of Winter, Battle star Galactica, Shadows over Camelot

Then theres mini games, X-Wing.........

Dudes on a map/area control:
Nexus Ops (the older edition glows under blacklight)
Game of Thrones (board game)

Thematic;
Merchants and Marauders is one of the best pirate games
Merchant of venus- space trading
Twilight Imperium (yes I know I said too long, but it is THE space empire game)

[anarchyintheuk]

For entry level war-games . . . Napoleon, War at Sea, Victory in the Pacific. They don't take very long to play either.

[InfiniteMonkey]

Not that it really needs another endorsement, but Settlers of Catan is a great game. The expansions are good additions, but not required. My family plays a lot of games and we pull out Settlers fairly often. One of the things I like about it is that you need to pay attention to other's turns and individual turns are not too long. Turn based games often have this dynamic that has one player paying attention during their turn and ignoring what happens in between. If keeping their attention is of concern, then settlers can help with that some. During another players turn each player has to pay attention in order to collect resources, trade, etc. Turn duration is also a plus, since the play sequence is short. On the other hand, I would say it is about on par or possibly a bit less complicated than Axis and Allies. If your intent is to ramp up complexity, it might not be your best choice for that.

In the card game arena, Dominion is an interesting deck building game. With several expansions and a lot of randomness, you can get a nearly infinite number of games out of it.

7 Wonders and it's various expansions are pretty good games too.

We play the above 3 games a lot when we get together.

Others I enjoyed:

I enjoyed PowerGrid the one time I played it, but I am not sure how much replay ability it has.

Twilight Struggle was an interesting game and would allow for some replay, but it is 2 player only. I've played it 2 or 3 times and would play again. I generally play my one of my nephews and when we get together we look to play games that include the rest of the family. It would be a good choice for times when you have only one kid that wants to play a game or when two of your kids want to play something.

If WW2 air combat is an interest, then Fighting Wings is probably your best bet. It has a quick start rules set for simple games, but it is fairly complex. With 4 players at hand, you could do a lot of different scenarios. It might be hard to get a hold of the game right now, since the most recent published version is out of print (Whistling Death). However, the newest version (Wings of the Motherland) just went to the publisher and should be available soon (late 2017 / early 2018). Each version has revised the rule set and added new aircraft, air to ground, air to surface, etc. aspects. The designer (J.D. Webster) is a former navy fighter pilot and he is active on the google group in clarifying/explaining rules and adjudicating new player training missions. The full series includes Achtung Spitfire!, Buffalo Wings, Over the Reich, Whistling Death, Whistling Death: Spitfires over Darwin, and Wings of the Motherland. I only have Whistling Death. It does offer the possibility of playing others via PBEM and therefore continuing games when your 15 year old goes off to college.

[wneumann]

+1 on 7 Wonders (which BTW allows up to 7 players, best played with 3 or more).

Stone Age - good, fairly easy worker placement game if you don't mind dice heavy, best with 4 players.

For a strategy game, try Colonial. Up to six players, each player a (either generic or RL) 1400's European country. The game itself involves discovery and colonization of the New World, Africa and the Far East. Game play is mainly economic with military and technological elements lurking in the background. Also a considerable amount of diplomatic interaction between players. With 4-6 players as generic European countries (everyone starting equally), this game is highly competitive - anyone getting too far ahead too quickly likely becomes a target for one or more of his competitors. Nearly all games involving equally skilled players end in a close finish with the winning player barely "squeaking it out" and several players tied for second.

[Mike Dubost]

In my gaming group, sometimes while waiting for a late arrival, our Game Master will break out the cards and we will do a quick game of Ascension.

A fun, light, and fast deck building game.

If you like a hidden traitor game, try Betrayal at House on the Hill, in which even the traitor does not know they are the traitor at first. Once the info is revealed, all players know who the traitor is, but not how he/she wins the game. Only the traitor knows that, and the traitor may not know how the heroes win.

[adarbrauner]

One of the nicest posts and threads

[rustysi]

Can't really think of anything off hand that's still in print. I'm getting my geek on and going to a board game show Friday, will be on the lookout and report back later.

[kbfchicago]

Pile on for Settlers of Catan...lots of other good recommendations above. Potential adds;

For wacky fantasy games, anything by Steve Jackson (still designing but very prolific back in the 80s and 90s, www.sjgames.com).

Did not see a previous mention for Formula D. Not in the genre but one you can't go wrong with.

The old Avalon Hill War at Sea, if you can find it, basic, easy, lots of fun.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: kbfchicago

Pile on for Settlers of Catan...lots of other good recommendations above. Potential adds;

For wacky fantasy games, anything by Steve Jackson (still designing but very prolific back in the 80s and 90s, www.sjgames.com).

Did not see a previous mention for Formula D. Not in the genre but one you can't go wrong with.

The old Avalon Hill War at Sea, if you can find it, basic, easy, lots of fun.

Your link doesn't work directly because of the ). at the end.
One of the game lines at that site is Munchkins, which my son has. A dungeon type game but with lots of opportunity to assist or hinder your other players. The cards are funny as hell (one I recall is the weapon card "Yo Grandpappy's Shotgun" ). Different themes in the Munchkin line - Western, Space, Medieval, etc.
Lots of player interaction.

[crsutton]

If they want a war game. Then I advise the Advance Squad Leader starter kit. A little more sophisticated but designed to get younger players into what is a really, really in dept game. WWII tactical. Been playing it for over 30 years.

[rustysi]

ORIGINAL: rustysi

Can't really think of anything off hand that's still in print. I'm getting my geek on and going to a board game show Friday, will be on the lookout and report back later.

Well I went, but alas, no joy. Didn't see anything that i believe would work for you.