Your next board-game night
Which of these would you bring to game night?
Eight games that show up when someone is hosting and does not want to teach a three-hour campaign. Player counts and times are for the base game as publishers list them. Teaching and table talk add time.
Bring the game you can teach. A ranking does not put a copy on the table. If only one person owns Wingspan, that still matters more than the score.
Rank two options at a time. Leave out anything you cannot judge. You can share the result or, on a public list, add your order to the visitor tally.
4–8 options keeps it quick. Leave at least two checked. You can adjust the order at the end.
What is on this list
The order here is a starting shortlist, not a ranking. Notes are context so a group can tell similar options apart.
- Catan
- Catan, designed by Klaus Teuber and first published in 1995 as The Settlers of Catan. Base game: 3–4 players, often 60–120 minutes. Won the 1995 Spiel des Jahres.
- Ticket to Ride
- Ticket to Ride, designed by Alan R. Moon (2004). Base game: 2–5 players, often 30–60 minutes. You claim train routes on a map. Won the 2004 Spiel des Jahres.
- Carcassonne
- Carcassonne, designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede (2000). Base game: 2–5 players, often about 35 minutes. Tile-laying cities, roads, and fields. Won the 2001 Spiel des Jahres.
- Azul
- Azul, designed by Michael Kiesling (2017). 2–4 players, often 30–45 minutes. Draft tiles and fill a wall. Won the 2018 Spiel des Jahres.
- Wingspan
- Wingspan, designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and published by Stonemaier Games in 2019. 1–5 players, often 40–70 minutes. A card game about birds.
- 7 Wonders
- 7 Wonders, designed by Antoine Bauza (2010). 2–7 players, often about 30 minutes. Simultaneous card drafting. Won the 2011 Kennerspiel des Jahres.
- Codenames
- Codenames, designed by Vlaada Chvátil (2015). Best with teams, about 15 minutes a game. Give one-word clues. Won the 2016 Spiel des Jahres.
- Pandemic
- Pandemic, designed by Matt Leacock (2008). 2–4 players, often about 45 minutes. Cooperative: you play the diseases, not each other.
Visitor rankings
Finish the pairs, then add your order from the results screen. Pickaside stores a random id in this browser and the order you submit. It does not ask for your name on a public list.
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Questions about this list
Do expansions count?
No. Catan’s 5–6 player expansion, Ticket to Ride map packs, and Wingspan’s expansions are separate. Rank the base game you would actually teach tonight.
What does the Spiel des Jahres mention mean?
It is a German jury award for the year named in the note. It is a useful signal that the game taught cleanly to a broad audience. It is not a promise your group will like it.