5 Gateway Board Games 

Not all your friends will be into board games. We are well aware a good bunch has only heard of Catan and Monopoly and assume the rest of the hobby is just as dull. If you’d like to change that and introduce them to what made you fall in love with board gaming, here are the games you should introduce them to!

Alias

As opposed to the rest of the games you’ll come across in this article, this one is quite popular (and for a good reason!). Alias doesn’t waste time pretending it’s something it is not, but rather is proud of being a simple party game. The idea sounds quite monotonous at first: one player tries to explain words, while the others try to guess them. The element that makes this game incredibly fun is the time constraint. Your mind will be racing for answers, providing for a very dynamic experience. It’s easy, it’s short, and it’s intense, the perfect combination for a gateway game.

Takenoko

Next up on the docket is a game that is not as easy, but wins through sheer cuteness. In Takenoko, you’ll be playing as a group of caretakes for a large garden and a troublesome panda. Using a mixture of tiles, bamboo, and actions, you’ll try to earn as many points as possible. The mechanics are not incredibly complex and the art style is quite beautiful, making this game fun! What makes this game truly shine is that it can be easily taken to the next level, by using the weather mechanic and then buying the BEAUTIFUL Chibi expansion which allows you to make baby pandas! Hurray for the circle of life!

Drop It

We’re back to simple games with this next one. Drop It functions quite similarly to that old connect-four board game that had red and yellow dots. In this one, however, there are no well-defined lines, but rather plenty of fun shapes and a few unique interactions. This makes the game less stagnant and in need of constant strategy and some good dexterity.

Just One

If your friends aren’t into dexterity games, another real simple game is Just One. It’s a guessing game akin to Alias, but the rules are slimmed down. The time limit’s gone and so are the lengthy explanations. Instead, you’ll have to write down just one word each to help one person guess the codeword. This makes for a casual experience, more laid back and open to all types of in-jokes and the like. It’s just a brilliant choice for casual gamers.

Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-kar

We’re ending this article with something that can create interest through its epicness. Fireball Island is a gigantic box, but inside is an experience unlike any other. An experience that includes tossing small fire gems at your friends, taking photos of a raging volcano, and a fullscale 3D map that looks completely unique! If you want to interest your friends with something that looks grandiose enough to make them want to buy it, this is the choice.

Also, since we’re just as gitty about bringing people into our board gaming circle, we’ll be doing you a little favor and putting all these games on a 20% discount for September 2020 on both our online shop and our store. The more the merrier!