This is the second of a guest post mini-series on our family’s favorite games by Amy’s husband, Evan Hays–middle school social studies teacher and board game enthusiast. (Click here for part one)
Those of us who have been bitten by the board gaming bug often have an issue with owning too many board games (think multiple Ikea Kallax book case’s full, not me (yet)), but what about if you are starting out in the hobby? With so many great games out there, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. Plus, many board games are on the simple side and will not be as fun after repeated plays while others are very complex and long. Where is the sweet spot? I will be recommending 5 (with an honorable mention) great games to start your collection that I hope will help you find that balance.
Trust me, this list was hard to narrow down because there are so many games, but I tried to focus on a few different types of games with different board game mechanisms that I think appeal to a wide range of people in different kinds of gaming situations.
1. 
Time’s Up Title Recall (Party Game). Everyone needs to have a great party game or two in their collection. A party game means one that is typically played with larger groups in a party sort of setting. These games often do not involve a game board and also are not as great with children because they require a broader sense of cultural and/or linguistic knowledge that kids might not have yet, but they appeal to almost everyone else, even grandma and grandpa. In my opinion, you can’t do much better than Time’s Up. I have been playing this game for about two decades now, and while I don’t get to play it at home as often as I would like since kids have come along, I still use it occasionally with my middle school students, who love it.
The main point of the game is to get your team members to guess the title on your card by providing them clues. Yes, there are lots of other games in that genre, several of which you have most likely already played. But this is the best version of those games because it has three different rounds with different rules that make it increasingly challenging to get your teammates to guess. But what keeps it feasible and fun is the fact that the set of cards you are trying to get your teammates to guess stays the same through all three rounds, so you can remember answers from previous rounds giving you a better chance at guessing in the future, even with limited clue-giving. This game has produced hilarious and incredible memories that I can remember perfectly two decades later. Isn’t that what life is all about? (*Link to publisher website: Time’s Up! Title Recall)
2. 
Azul (abstract strategy). This is a gamer’s game that you might have already heard of. But don’t worry, it’s not hard to learn—I would argue it is a good bit easier than the most famous abstract strategy game, Chess. It has come into the public consciousness and is easy to pick up at most any big box store for a good price.
This is a tile drafting game, which means that you take turns picking which tiles you would like to select to add onto your personal board, which is in the shape of a grid. In addition to being a fun puzzle that involves great interaction with other players, it is also just a beautiful game to look at and a wonderful tactile experience to boot. This would be a great game to try with any of your friends or family that are into any sort of puzzle game like crosswords puzzles or Wordle, and my six-year-old can play this by herself (and often beats me).
3. 
Bohnanza (trading/negotiation game). This is an oldie at this point, but a goodie. You might have heard of another classic trading board game known originally as the Settlers of Catan, but I am recommending Bohnanza over that because this is less mean and more accessible. First off, Bohnanza is a good one to have in your collection because you can play it with up to 7 people, which is a rarity for board games. It is also just a simple card game, so it is extremely portable for bringing on trips or to a restaurant/pub to play with friends.
Because this is a trading game involving negotiation, just be aware that not everyone will be into that. Amy, for example, feels too much social pressure in these games for them to be enjoyable. So, make sure you find the right people who enjoy this sort of game, but for anyone who enjoys a lot of personal interaction in a game, it is classic. Essentially, you are trying to collect sets of different sorts of beans, each of which scores you different points. You can help your chances by trading effectively. The catch, and what makes this game fun, is that you can’t re-arrange the cards in your hand, and you only have two slots in which to play your bean cards. This is a great game, pure and simple.
4. 
Ra (auction game). No collection would be complete without at least one game by the good Dr. Reiner Knizia, who is sort of like every board gamer’s fun-loving great uncle (he is known for wearing bowties and being incredibly friendly in addition to being, you know, a super-smart German math professor). In an auction game, you are bidding in some way to purchase/win something, and this game happens to have a cool Ancient Egyptian theme.
This is another game with great personal interaction, but it’s really not mean at all. This game involves open bidding (you know how much everyone has and you know what you are bidding for), and successful bids allow you to create valuable sets of tiles. But because of the mechanisms involved in this well-thought-out game that is much easier to play than it first seems, there are many edge of your seat moments. I own a recent re-issue of this game that might just have the best artwork and components of any game in my collection. (* Link to publisher website: for Ra Since Ra seems like it might be hard to find for a little while, here are two other great options for classic auction games that everyone loves: Modern Art (also by Reiner Knizia) and For Sale! )
5. 
Welcome To. . . (flip-and-write, sometimes also called roll-and-write). When the global pandemic happened a few years ago, many people thought it would deal a serious blow to board-gaming. While the pandemic of course did deal a serious blow to everything, games like Welcome To. . . proved that board gaming was a resilient hobby that was here to stay. One of the things that makes this game awesome is that you can play it all by yourself (yes, really) and have an awesome time, or play it with literally as many players as you like, provided you have enough sheets and pens/pencils. What an awesome idea!
One of the biggest hangups about board games, getting the right amount of people, was neutralized. This is also a style of game that appeals to what are known as multi-player solitaire gamers (Amy is one of these). Think of these folks as, “just leave me alone to make my awesome city/kingdom”. In other words, there is no fighting/attacking or messing with other players of any kind in these sorts of games. Again, not for everyone, but if Bohnanza above didn’t interest you as much, then this game is likely to. What is meant by a flip-and-write game is that a few cards are flipped over, giving you a limited set of options for what you can do on your turn on your board. Every player plays simultaneously, so it moves right along. In Welcome To. . . which has a 1950’s suburban theme, you are trying to create the most orderly neighborhood, complete with parks and swimming pools. This game really appeals to the part of me that likes everything in its right place, and I would play this game over and over and over again.
*
Honorable Mention: 7 Wonders (card-drafting). This is another board-gamer classic that is unique because it plays extremely well all the way up to 7 players. For a history teacher like myself, its theme of ancient history is really fun and helps it feel almost like a heavy-civilization game when it’s really a low complexity game.
In this game, you start out with a set of cards that only you see. You pick one secretly at the same time as every other player, then pass your cards to the player next to you, then repeat the process around the table multiple times. It sounds very simple, which is what makes it very accessible, except it gets very strategic as you try to collect the right collection of cards to score big points, get money to buy resources, and even attack your neighbors. Every game of this is different because of different starting boards and the randomness of how the cards are dealt. I am always happy to play this game, which very much popularized the card-drafting genre of board games.
If you owned these 6 games and only these 6 games, I contend that you would be in good shape for gaming for the next decade or more. Yet, at the same time, these 6 games are so good that it would be almost impossible to stop yourself from getting into more awesome board games if you started here. Here’s another way to say it: you could have these games with you on a deserted island, and they would help you keep your sanity (hopefully, you got shipwrecked with a fellow gamer or two). These are games that are fairly easy to find, won’t break the bank, and will give you tons of replay-ability. Just give them a try, and thank me later.
If you are already into board gaming, what would your top 5 games to start a collection be? What tips do you have for starting or managing any sort of collection?
