I got Thurn and Taxis for christmas and it fits your description perfectly.
You need 2-4 players, very easy to learn, takes 30-45 minutes to play and it´s a lot of fun with interesting choices to make and some strategizing.
You also don´t really destroy other player´s progress, so it´s better for a family game.
It´s by the same guy who did the Puerto Rico game, here´s the link:
Complexity. The original Settlers of Catan is by far the least complex of the series. I’d hold off a while on any of the others.
Lorini
Ok, that’s what I will do.
I actually was not a big fan of Thurns and Taxis - it feels way too much like playing competitive solitaire in that there is almost no interaction between the players during the course of the game. The only thing you can do that really screws over other people is to be the first to accomplish each goal (which gives more points than subsequently completing those goals). This is a flawed mechanic though, because the player that goes first always has a better chance of being first to finish any goal, and on average will simply net more points than the player going last.
Settlers actually is very simple in the grand scheme of resource management games. It also absolutely requires continuous interaction between players - a good thing for a family game - and is competitive but not cutthroat.
my girlfriend and I play Carcasonne every other night. We had been looking for a way to spend time together outside of tv and movie watching, since otherwise I go straight to my PC. She dislikes complex warlike games, but loves ‘building’ and making things, so this one fit the bill nicely. It’s simple, different every time you play, and even more fun with several players. I disagree about the farms; it takes a minute or two to wrap your head around them, but laying down a sample board before you play ought to make things clear very quickly. No one we’ve taught was still stumped within minutes of seeing them laid out.
In a group, Ticket to Ride is also quick, easy and different every time you play.
I think Ticket to Ride: Europe is better than the original (though I don’t know how it changes with the 1910 add-on). I think they learned from the original for Europe.
I picked up “The Big Box” of Carcassonne a few months ago. Since then I’ve played with a number of friends (both gamer and non) as well as my parents. All of them had a blast with it and greatly enjoyed it.
Games seem to last from an hour or so to about 90min. Depending on the learning curve and what expansions you’re playing with.
Winners Circle (or Royal Turf) by Knizia. A horse racing game. Scales well from 2-6 players. 4 works fine.
VERY easy to play but some great choices.
I thought so too at first, but my sisters simply let me go first after I complained and it wasn´t an advantage. There are two reasons that balance the firstmover effect out.
The other players can react to your card picks. The last player can pick a similar route to the one you are trying to do and will take the cards which you could use best, so it´s less likely that you will be able to do your optimal route.
The end game. As one of the earlier movers you always have to calculate if it´s possible that one of the later players will be able to complete his route this turn making you waste a lot of cards unless you complete your route. So you either have to finish a route before you want to, or you have to risk losing the entire route if the later players manage to end the game.
The last player to move doesn´t need to complete his routes prematurely, since he is guaranteed one final round after another player has initiated the end of the game.
I found the game quite deep under the surface, but of course it becomes a bit repetitive after you play it ~10 times.
Lemme drop another recommendation for Carcassonne. It was the ultimate choice when I asked a similar question last month. We got the vanilla pack (with just the free river cards expansion) and it was really well received by the staunchly non-gaming OLG, the in-laws, and many different non-gaming couples we played with.
The rules really are simple, and the farmers thing was never an issue as they just don’t play that big a role in the game. It’s got elements of surprise in every turn (you take your tile from a pile where they’re face down), and building your roads and cities is pretty satisfying. As I said, everyone found something in it that they liked, and even Obtuse Cousin Gravy got the rules within like three minutes.
RA will satisfy every desire.
If you’re new to the current gen of boardgames you’ll definitely want to go with a bidding game. It keeps everybody interested, and the abstraction level doesn’t get too deep.
In the same vein I’ll also recommend Modern Art.
Once you’ve got one of those under your belt Settlers would be a logical next step.
Got to put in another good word for Carcassonne. I introduced it to my lite-fare gaming family. A typical gaming session, pre-Carcassonne, would be Risk, Monopoly, Scrabble, Boggle, etc. Everyone LOVES Carcassonne. Every visit home now involves several games a night, usually well into the night. And now that I’ve got a foot in the door, so to speak, I’ve introduced Puerto Rico, which has been well-received as well, despite being much more complex.
Try Carcassonne. You won’t be sorry.
Incidentally the designer that made Carcassonne has changed the farm rules a couple of times to simplify them.
http://www.modernjive.com/carcassonne/carcassonne.htm
The US version has not been changed however because Rio Grande didn’t want to hassle with the change I guess.
Basically you just figure out who wins the farm and then count the cities it services and you don’t worry about whether a different unconnected farm has more farmers on it or not.
Also: the farms can make a big difference at the end of the game actually under these rules which is why they lowered the point value per city supplied to 3.
Settlers might be a bit ‘aggressive’ for some players. You can screw people over by refusing to trade with them or going after their positions.
Carcassonne is good. Especially Carcasonne: The City, Knizia’s 2 player version of the classic.
Ticket to Ride is simply wonderful. Very easy to get to grips with but with great flavour.
Ra I love, it’s VERRYY clever, but the depth might go over people’s heads and the first couple of plays will feel pretty random to the user.
Carcassonne basic is great - don’t buy the expansions right away, they add a lot of length to the game. Play with the alternate rule where you always hold 2 pieces, giving you better and more interesting options when it comes to placing tiles.
Builder-type players should also check out Keythedral which I played once and very much enjoyed. Not sure how it works for two players.
Hey, that’s my Fish is also a GREAT 3 to 5 player game that is VERY simple to get to grips with, very cute, and as agro or peaceful as you want. What’s more, games last about 5 minutes, but you want to play half a dozen of them at a go :)
I’ve been playing Frag with friends recently, it’s got really quick rounds and a great sense of style.
You points are all well-taken, but it just feels like there’s something off about the way turn order works in T&T. I also prefer games that are more interactive. Other than that all the players share the same deck of cards, there isn’t much else that makes the game feel like you’re playing against anyone.
Ticket to Ride is widely considered the best “gateway” game out there…an easy to understand game that works for non-gamers and gamers alike. It worked for me. I’ve heard varying reports on the Europe expansion…
Well, I went with Blokus and Settlers. We should be playing both tonight, I’ll let you know how we fare.
Thanks for that link, Spoofy. The translation of the rules in the version I got must not be very good, becuase the way it reads indicates that the farmer feeding the most cities by the end of the game got four points TOTAL, not per city. So we didn’t play farmers much. The info in that link clarifies things a lot.
Good luck with the fam, extar. I’ll look forward to hearing how Settlers goes over.
Extar, I’d recommend Ticket to Ride as well. Carcassone might scare off non-boardgamers. I don’t really care for it, so there’s also that. Like, you know, if I’m ever over and your house with your family and we all wanted to play a boardgame.
However, Andrew Mayer has an excellent point about bidding games. One of the problems with Ticket to Ride is that everyone is usually in his own corner, doing his own thing. In a good bidding game like Ra, everyone is always involved.
So, I vote Ra.
-Tom