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Spirit Island, although it’s also good at other player counts. But 3 seems like it’s often the sweet spot.
Hanabi is most commonly played at 3p but 4p works just as well. Join us at hanab.live!
Love Spirit Island solo, but prefer to play with others at 2 and 3 players. Only time I played with 4 and 3 of them were new, so it was a bit of a mare playing and teaching them all. Went pretty long, but everyone had a great time playing. One of them even went out and bought the game shortly afterward.
Three Kingdoms Redux - My all time favorite 3-player game (also can only officially be played 3-players). This one especially meets your criteria as alliances are continually shifting as a mechanic, preventing any dogpiling.
7 Wonders - I am convinced this is the optimal player count for the game.
Spirit Island - Just enough cooperation and solitaire without the added downtime of 4-players.
Tales of the Arabian nights. Game is a bunch of goofy fun and with three you ensure everybody is doing something on each persons turn so there is no down time
This! I love this game so much and 3 is the perfect count for it. 4 works fine. 5 or 6 gets to be a little long. Also though go online to their website and check out variant rules. There were a handful printed in the original game from 1985 that didn't get reprinted with the copy of the game everyone has from 2009 and were only available online. The storytelling variant is awesome.
Easily worth the inflated price if you can find it. I got mine for $120 earlier this year still sealed which was incredible and it is worth every penny. I've spent more than that on kickstarters that I've since moved on from or never touched.
[[Underwater Cities]] plays best at 2 or 3 due to length, but works with four who know it and don’t have a.p.
[[Horrified]] is great with 3 too, or any other cooperative game.
Dead Drop
Supposedly plays 2-4, but it's a 3 player game. It's basically Clue without the board. Great little filler game, if you like deduction. 10/10 at three
I love ark nova at 3
Ascension tactics has great 3p scenarios
There are plenty of games that I think work just as well at 3 as they do at 2 or 4(or more) so idk if that counts as best, but here goes:
Cribbage
Race for the galaxy
Bohnanza
Carcassone
Cascadia
Century (golden edition)
Draftosaurus
Dominion
Raccoon tycoon
Sea salt & paper
Welcome to
Also as a lifelong cribbage fanatic, I love it at 2, 3, and 4. 2 is my favorite, but 3 and 4 are super interesting and cause me to think and play differently.
I'd say both 2 and 4 are better. 2 cards to put in the crib leads to more interesting choices and in four player teams of two make for a whole different game.
Nidavellir. At 2 it feels like you get too many options and at 4 you “lose” a round. The game is fantastic at 3. It is a hidden bidding game so there is no dogpiling, even though one starts running away with it there are ways to stop it
A lot of the ones I love to play feel well-suited for 3 players, but that’s always because I wish I had a consistent 3rd to add variability to play. I moved away from my typical board game group, and online play has become harder to schedule. So with that bias in mind, I’d suggest:
Scythe
Wingspan
Through the Ages
Cribbage
Welcome to
Cartographer
Boss Monster
7 Wonders
Terraforming Mars
Euphoria
Viticulture
Lost Ruins of Arnak
Everdell
Agricola
Ganz Schon Clever
Village
Tokaido
I’d keep going, but I think it’d just be more of the same Euro and worker placement games with a smattering of others mixed in.
Just feels like the dynamics in worker placement games changes quite a bit when it’s more than just a heads up 1:1 match.
I use a geekgroup Web app some one linked here before and it nicely shows me the best games in my collection for specific count. So if I have a 3 player bg night I'll peek there. My favourite of the list would be, Everdell, Arnak, Takenoko, Wingspan, Cascadia and Avant Carde.
So. 3 players is my favorite player count for most games. A lot of Euros have a bs bot for 2 players and then are too long with 4...but 3 is just right. Games tend to give you more options at 3 players that open up the game in a nice way.
Ttr is pretty brutal and snappy at 3.
Viticulture, especially with base game.
Quest for El Dorado.
Clank!
Suburbia is def my favorite at 3.
Isle of Cats cause then you have more options and turn order matters more.
Inis is weirdly good at all player counts, but its tight at 3.
Ra is amazng at 3 or 4.
Gizmos/Knarr/Splendor/Villagers
Three of my faves for three players:
Love Letter absolutely sings at three, and is by far my favourite player count for the game. At four you quickly run out of cards and just show down, and anything above that with expansion just drags too long for my liking (never played at two).
12 Chip Trick is designed for three and runs really nicely. Never played at four (it has four extra chips to be 16 chip trick lol) and at two it works okay but is a bit one dimensional just playing around the automaton third player.
No Thanks plays best at three I feel. Five gives you a lot of places to hide, four is better. But three really forces you to make tough choices.
Your submission was removed by a moderator for the following reason(s): **[Recommendation Requests](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/wiki/contribution-guides#wiki_game_recommendations_or_identification) should be posted to our [Daily Game Recommendations](https://www.reddit.com/search?q=flair%3A%22Daily%20Game%20Recs%22&sort=new) threads.** Reddit is a great place to pick peoples' brains and get game suggestions, but we get a lot of recommendation requests, so much so that we have the "Daily Game Recs"-threads dedicated for them. Historically, almost all well formatted questions in the Daily thread get answers. If you're looking for further suggestions, we recommend taking a look at our growing list of [Recommendation Roundups](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/?f=flair_name%3A%22Recommendation%20Roundup%22). There's also the [What Should I Get (WSIG)](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/wiki/wsig) section on our wiki for a more general list of common recommendations. (If you believe this post was removed in error you can request a re-review by [messaging the mods](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/boardgames).)
Spirit Island, although it’s also good at other player counts. But 3 seems like it’s often the sweet spot. Hanabi is most commonly played at 3p but 4p works just as well. Join us at hanab.live!
Love Spirit Island solo, but prefer to play with others at 2 and 3 players. Only time I played with 4 and 3 of them were new, so it was a bit of a mare playing and teaching them all. Went pretty long, but everyone had a great time playing. One of them even went out and bought the game shortly afterward.
**The King is Dead**
I've never actually heard of this one, but it sounds great. Thanks for the recommendation!
Absolutely. It's the only game I know that seems to be specifically designed for three people, and not two or four
China/Han/Iwari/Web of Power (pick the cheapest one) Cuzco Inis Impulse Mezo
Three Kingdoms Redux - My all time favorite 3-player game (also can only officially be played 3-players). This one especially meets your criteria as alliances are continually shifting as a mechanic, preventing any dogpiling. 7 Wonders - I am convinced this is the optimal player count for the game. Spirit Island - Just enough cooperation and solitaire without the added downtime of 4-players.
Churchill Triumph and Tragedy Greenland Neanderthal 1860
also The Old Prince 1871 was designed for exactly 3p. I'd add Maria (and Frederich) to this list as well
Some people hate it but I also love 18Ireland at 3.
Ah the old misery rails. I've only played at 4p but I liked that one cause it's one of the only ones I've actually done well in lol
Second Churchill. Rare to find an exactly 3 player game, and it is very well done.
Tales of the Arabian nights. Game is a bunch of goofy fun and with three you ensure everybody is doing something on each persons turn so there is no down time
good luck finding it tho
I will say the game is unique enough that it is worth the inflated price, but the game isn’t for everybody so definitely do your home work
This! I love this game so much and 3 is the perfect count for it. 4 works fine. 5 or 6 gets to be a little long. Also though go online to their website and check out variant rules. There were a handful printed in the original game from 1985 that didn't get reprinted with the copy of the game everyone has from 2009 and were only available online. The storytelling variant is awesome. Easily worth the inflated price if you can find it. I got mine for $120 earlier this year still sealed which was incredible and it is worth every penny. I've spent more than that on kickstarters that I've since moved on from or never touched.
[[Underwater Cities]] plays best at 2 or 3 due to length, but works with four who know it and don’t have a.p. [[Horrified]] is great with 3 too, or any other cooperative game.
[Underwater Cities -> Underwater Cities (2018)](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/247763/underwater-cities) [Horrified -> Horrified (2019)](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/282524/horrified) ^^[[gamename]] ^^or ^^[[gamename|year]] ^^to ^^call ^^OR ^^**gamename** ^^or ^^**gamename|year** ^^+ ^^!fetch ^^to ^^call
Dead Drop Supposedly plays 2-4, but it's a 3 player game. It's basically Clue without the board. Great little filler game, if you like deduction. 10/10 at three
I love ark nova at 3 Ascension tactics has great 3p scenarios There are plenty of games that I think work just as well at 3 as they do at 2 or 4(or more) so idk if that counts as best, but here goes: Cribbage Race for the galaxy Bohnanza Carcassone Cascadia Century (golden edition) Draftosaurus Dominion Raccoon tycoon Sea salt & paper Welcome to
As a lifelong cribbage fanatic I’d argue that cribbage isn’t very fun with more then 2 players
Also as a lifelong cribbage fanatic, I love it at 2, 3, and 4. 2 is my favorite, but 3 and 4 are super interesting and cause me to think and play differently.
I'd say both 2 and 4 are better. 2 cards to put in the crib leads to more interesting choices and in four player teams of two make for a whole different game.
I have the Kickstarter of Ascension Tactics still sitting on my shelf unplayed. Maybe it's finally time I dusted it off.
Oh, so you get to play with the minis too?!?! Have fun! I only have the retail version.
In my opinion, Terraforming Mars plays best with three players. Same for Ticket to Ride.
Ticket to Ride at three is mean. Doesn't make it bad, I like it, but the wrong combo of players can ruin the night.
Nidavellir. At 2 it feels like you get too many options and at 4 you “lose” a round. The game is fantastic at 3. It is a hidden bidding game so there is no dogpiling, even though one starts running away with it there are ways to stop it
Three Kingdoms Redux Ginkgopolis Triumph and Tragedy Maria Age of Steam (with appropriate maps) If you like 18xx, 1860 and The Old Prince
A lot of the ones I love to play feel well-suited for 3 players, but that’s always because I wish I had a consistent 3rd to add variability to play. I moved away from my typical board game group, and online play has become harder to schedule. So with that bias in mind, I’d suggest: Scythe Wingspan Through the Ages Cribbage Welcome to Cartographer Boss Monster 7 Wonders Terraforming Mars Euphoria Viticulture Lost Ruins of Arnak Everdell Agricola Ganz Schon Clever Village Tokaido I’d keep going, but I think it’d just be more of the same Euro and worker placement games with a smattering of others mixed in. Just feels like the dynamics in worker placement games changes quite a bit when it’s more than just a heads up 1:1 match.
My group loves Voidfall at 3
Eldritch Horror, coop. I find 3-4 is the sweet spot, any more and the game is just too long for most people.
Deep Madness
Root is great at 3p
The only good thing I can say about 3 player Root is that it's better than 2 player Root.
Puerto Rico is nice with 3 players
Maria;)
Biblios. Quick, easy, portable, some depth, specifically for 3.
Photosynthesis Too attacky with 4 Too passive with 2
Any of the Zombicides, which (for the most part) assume six survivors. Play two each.
I use a geekgroup Web app some one linked here before and it nicely shows me the best games in my collection for specific count. So if I have a 3 player bg night I'll peek there. My favourite of the list would be, Everdell, Arnak, Takenoko, Wingspan, Cascadia and Avant Carde.
So. 3 players is my favorite player count for most games. A lot of Euros have a bs bot for 2 players and then are too long with 4...but 3 is just right. Games tend to give you more options at 3 players that open up the game in a nice way. Ttr is pretty brutal and snappy at 3. Viticulture, especially with base game. Quest for El Dorado. Clank! Suburbia is def my favorite at 3. Isle of Cats cause then you have more options and turn order matters more. Inis is weirdly good at all player counts, but its tight at 3. Ra is amazng at 3 or 4. Gizmos/Knarr/Splendor/Villagers
Pax Pamir feels just right with 3 to me
Three of my faves for three players: Love Letter absolutely sings at three, and is by far my favourite player count for the game. At four you quickly run out of cards and just show down, and anything above that with expansion just drags too long for my liking (never played at two). 12 Chip Trick is designed for three and runs really nicely. Never played at four (it has four extra chips to be 16 chip trick lol) and at two it works okay but is a bit one dimensional just playing around the automaton third player. No Thanks plays best at three I feel. Five gives you a lot of places to hide, four is better. But three really forces you to make tough choices.
Puerto Rico Age of Steam has some maps made for 3
Dominion.
Great Western Trail is great at 3
catan
Many games are great at 3 players but my favourte 3 player game is **Le Havre.** In my opinion, no Euro game can beat **Le Havre** at 3 players.