I would say that it is well below Mage Knight. I’d describe it as a step up from Pandemic.
I’ve been going to different meetups, with a range of play preferences from very light to quite heavy. I already have a pretty good list of games I like and own in the medium to heavy categories but I don’t have that many lighter options, by which I specifically mean games that can play at least 4 or 5 and still be played in an hour or less.
Here are some of my current favorites:
Ultra-Heavy: I have played and enjoyed both MegaCiv and Twilight Imperium, which are IMO great once a year experiences.
Heavy: My favorite in this category is Eclipse. I’ve also enjoyed Dominant Species, which I would put in this category. I’ve tried both Trickerion and Kanban, which are heavy but they were too damn fiddly, too many steps, and too dry for my tastes. Nations is in this category; played once; liked it; would play again.
Medium: My current most played category, with Scythe, Terraforming Mars, Blood Rage, and Unfair as solid medium games and Clank! and Champions of Midgard as light to medium.
I’m looking for suggestions as light as or lighter than Clank! and Champions of Midgard. My tastes tend to run towards a mix of Euro and American elements: I like both Euro style scoring as well as map control and combat. I like dice in some games but I also like less random combat like Scythe as well. I thin a game hits my sweet spot when it has elegant mechanics that also merge well with the theme, like Scythe, Terraforming Mars and Unfair.
What are some games that may be in my wheelhouse on the lighter/shorter side?
@Sharpe, have you played Inis? I think you’d like it. Very Euro + American, heavy on map control and combat, no randomness in combat (occasional cardplay excepted). Very much about setting up the win through maneuvering and planning rather than just amassing points.
I’m glad to hear you like Terraforming Mars. I’ve been really on the fence about getting it, but if it’s something you’re into, that’s a solid recommendation for me. Do you think its solitaire mode would have any value, or that just something tacked on?
-Tom
Have you played Race for the Galaxy, Roll for the Galaxy, or Jump Drive? These are very quick galaxy building / engine building games. Unfortunately, Roll is the only one that goes past 4 players comfortably. The first two are definitely not light on rules. They are relatively complex, but quick, and very interesting for quick games. (I got the impression you were looking for short games more than simple games, and these fit into that category.) Race takes us about 15-30 minutes to play, Roll about 45 and Jump Drive we can play in about 10 minutes. Jump Drive is by far the simplest, just on the verge of simple enough to play with my parents. My friends and I often play Jump Drive when we’re waiting for people to show up. We might play Race or Roll to close a night after a more involved game. I really love the theme in these games, but it’s more retrospective than in the moment. When you’re done and look at the cards in front of you, they tend to tell a pretty good story of your empire. You probably won’t notice the story while you’re playing though.
I’ve been playing Ethnos a lot with my family lately and it might be worth looking into. It comfortably plays up to 6. It’s about an hour long with simple set-collection and area-control mechanics. The turns are super short, so short it often always feels like it’s your turn. The selling point of the game is the deck is constructed from 6 randomly chosen factions (from a set of 12) that can have a pretty drastic affect on how the game plays, such as bringing in new boards or significantly reducing the cost of building up in areas. This makes each play require new evaluation criteria on good moves. However, this game is not very thematic.
Do you like games with more social elements? I find personally that for medium-heavy games, I like the same style games you’re describing, but on the lighter and shorter end I’m more willing to play a game about social deduction, for instance. If so, I’d strongly recommend Insider. It’s a super short, very small game that’s basically 20 questions with a traitor. In concept it didn’t sound compelling to me, but in play I found it very exciting.
I have both Race for the Galaxy and Roll for the Galaxy but I consider them both a bit too long/complex for the lighter/shorter game category. Race can be fairly long with expansions and Roll I’ve found can be conceptually difficult to explain to new players. A lot of people seem to have trouble wrapping their heads around the dice mechanics in Roll.
Jump Drive is probably worth checking out. I’ve seen people playing Ethnos; I’ll check that out as well.
As to social games to fill the lighter/shorter niche, I have Codenames, plus the groups that like lighter games tend to have a ton of these, so I’m not really looking for more.
As to Terraforming Mars solo mode, I haven’t tried it yet. The hook of the game IMO is how the mechanics integrate with the theme. I’ll have to look at the solo rules; if the mechanics in solo play are consistent with the multiplayer play, then the solo mode is probably pretty good. Terraforming Mars is primarily an engine building game where you are racing the clock of other players doing a better job of terraforming so if the solo mode simulates a clock in a good way, that’s another positive.
7 Wonders is pretty light I think, or at least pretty easy to get into after the first age for most new folks. I am not sure if it is lighter than Clank. Clank is pretty light.
I’d say 7 Wonders is pretty close to Race for the Galaxy in weight. If Race is too much, then I’d bet 7 Wonders would be as well.
@Sharpe I’m going to give my standard answer for this, King of New York . Or King of Tokyo with Powered Up. Ticket to Ride has several variants, and is still enjoyable, I strongly prefer Europe.
This is a problem when we get to the really light games: I look at Ticket to Ride or King of New York and they don’t really turn me on. I wouldn’t even try to find games this light for myself but a couple of the groups I game with are very light gamers, to the point where I bring out Unfair or Terraforming Mars and they’re “Oh that’s way too heavy.” Last week I had a group say Clank! took too long, and it’s pretty darn light.
Sometimes there’s just no bridging the gap in preferences. I like a range from light to heavy, but other people have other definitions. One of the groups I game with is on the opposite side; they consider Terraforming Mars light and fluffly. (Truly it’s a medium game, neither heavy nor light.)
That’s because they aren’t good. How light are you looking for again? Are you ok with party games or just frowny-face games?
7 Wonders isn’t good for newbs or a light gaming group because it takes more than one play. It’s actually a bad beginners game. Took me a while to figure that out though, it looks like it should be good for that at first glance.
For super light anyone can play games that are still fun my favorites at the moment are Tsuro, Guess the Mess, and Word Slam. Mysterium is also good. These are highly dependent on the group though, they may not work for randoms (as opposed to people you game with a lot) unless everyone is in a jovial mood. What’s the setting? How many people? How dedicated are people? Do you have to get through all the rules in 3 minutes or do you get 10?
I disagree. I’ve introduced it to 12 beginners. They did fine, they understood within three rounds and competed well, before the first age. You learn as you go not talk at them kind of learning.
I agree. I think 7 Wonders is a very good beginners game. It feels nicely on rails and non aggressive. Obviously because of the somewhat arcane points rules new players not going to be very competitive, but thats ok. Its a fun time regardless.
My favorite light filler game at the moment is Bang! Dice. Plays best with 5+. Dice are good for newbies. It makes them think they can make decisions even thought they make poor choices. It is also very fast and very random so nobody gets too mad. I have died after only having played my initial turn.
My group is a very very light group. This is a group that got confused by munchkin. We don’t buy games above 3.5 weight because only a couple of us are core gamers.
The most complex game we’ve ever played is Dungeon Petz (3.54 weight). I had to trick them and say it was a Pokemon game so they’d play.
7 wonders is easy to play but it’s not as easy to play optimally. You have to know the scoring conditions and pay attention to other people’s scoring.
I play light games but I will not play either King of Tokyo or _Ticket to Ride. There’s just no decisions to be made. The lightest game I’ll play is Dixit because it sparks conversation and is super easy to teach to people who’ve never even played cards.
Light games we enjoy:
Pictomania - it involves drawing as well as guessing what other people draw. You then put down your vote. You score by having others guess yours and guessing others. This all happens simultaneously. The faster players get bonus points. Hectic, easy to explain. If you have a lot of players you can even play teams where one person draws and the other just guesses. The designer is Vlaada Chvátil of Galaxy Trucker and Codenames. I love him. I have half his games so far.
A Fake Artist Goes to New York - Interesting drawing game that again involves guessing. The twist is one person doesn’t actually know what the object being drawn is. They may only know it’s an “appliance” for example. At the end of the rounds the players have to try to figure out who is the fake artist that didn’t know it was a toaster, whereas the fake artist had to guess it was a toaster. It has that elegant rule set I enjoy, and an element of bluffing.
Deception: Murder in Hong Kong. Only ran it once, but it was well-received by the players. Again, also has elements in guessing and different roles.
I avoid coop games like Pandemic because one player ends up telling everyone what their optimal move is. This is no fun.
Sentinels of the Multiverse is a fun coop game thought because it’s fairly challenging. One Deck Dungeon is also good. Boss Monster and Harry Potter are also good coop games.
Discworld is a worker placement game. Fairly easy to learn. We mostly enjoy it because we are Discworld fans.
edit: I think people have different definitions on who is a beginner. I know people who’d have trouble making decisions in a game of spades, for example.
I agree that it fits beginners well, but the people I play with want to be competitive the first time they play, or else they feel like they just wasted their time. Selling “Ok, you’re going to be awful at this right now, but don’t worry about that, you’ll have fun next time” to them is a lost cause.
Most of the beginners I play with want to know how to play the game when we start, not learn as we go. There are games where that is possible, and 7 Wonders is poor for that. The how to play videos I can find for it are more than 10 minutes long (and often 20+) and don’t include why you do any of the things you do.
When there are games out there that you can jump into with very little rules explanation and still have a great time playing and feeling like you’re getting it right out of the gate, I don’t see why you’d bother with 7 Wonders. I stand by my opinion.
After reading some of the responses, I think that the people who find Clank! a bridge too far are people I will probably play filler games with and not really try to get to the table with. I would consider Clank! or Champions of Midgard to be on the lightest/shortest end for games that require some strategy.
I will probable also look into Jump Drive.
Edit: Based on boardgamegeek, Boss Monster also looks like a possibility. BGG lists it as a competitive game, but it was described upthread as co-op. Which is it?
Just don’t.
I strenuously object. I’m not claiming they are deep strategic games, but to say no decisions to be made is absolutely false. KoT is certainly not euro style worker placement, it’s a dice game at heart. But deciding whether to go for energy, attack, healing, or points with your rolls is a decision, same as what cards to buy, and when.
TTR is much more strategic than that. Light, sure, but strategic none the less. Every turn you make choices. Play with my group and you’d see just how strategic it can be. It’s a standoff to see who is ready when the hammer drops and we start dropping 4-5 routes in a row. Would I rather play Railways of the World? Absolutely. But if we’ve got an hour and want to get the route building game on? TTR is certainly worth playing.
I swear, some of you are feeling extra curmudgeonly today ;)
This describes me a lot for the last 10 months so I’ll apologize just in case you mean me. :P
But yeah, I’ve been playing boardgames heavily (like… tons) for the last 12 years now and I don’t have time for suboptimal games. :P
But personalities and groups differ so wildly that there’s room for almost everything.
As a fellow TTR fan, I very much agree! I think it’s the only designer-board-game-gone-mainstream that I like and am always happy to play (even if it’s not my first choice).
@Sharpe If you enjoy co-ops, I think Aeon’s End in similar in complexity and length to Clank! and might fit your group. It’s a deck-builder where everyone plays as a wizard and fights an apocalyptic demon and his minions. There’s a bunch of different wizards with different abilities to play as, radically different demons to fight, and a random market of cards each game to lend replay value. It has a bunch of small twists that I think make its decision space more interesting then most co-op deck-builders. Unfortunately, it’s currently out of print but I think the next edition is launching in the next few months with new enemies, wizards, etc.
Huh, I saw a couple copies of Aeon’s End on the shelf at the local game shop. It was one of a bunch of recommendations from the employee I was talking too—I don’t really know their taste, or even my own that well, but maybe I should grab it while it’s still around?
If you’re looking for a new game, I think it’s pretty great! But if you can hold off for the next edition, I would. The old edition has pretty bad card layout / design so it can look a little lack-luster on the table. Specifically, the art looks fine, but the borders and general layout are a bit janky. The next edition looks much prettier.