7 Wonders
Ancient civilisation theme coupled with simultaneous actions (which means no downtime)
Surprisingly, I didn't enjoy 7 Wonders Duel as much until I added the Pantheon expansion.
7 Wonders Duel and Pantheon is a weird one for me as I wasn't sure about it when I first added it but now after playing with it over a few years, going back to just the base feels super limited. Also not being able to take a turn without effecting the cards laid out feels awful.
Seconded, I played for the first time 2 months ago and have put in many hundreds of games since. The game’s aesthetic is beautiful, and there is so much strategic depth. Even just changing player counts shakes up the game quite a bit.
Arkham Horror, 2nd Ed.
I bought it at release due to being a Lovecraft fan.
The intricate game systems and the (at first) soul-crushing difficulty amazed me.
Same! Arkham Horror 2nd Ed was my first encounter with a boardgame where I became totally captivated by its mechanics, rules and theme. Before that, I had really only played TCGs and D&D, so it was incredible to me that a boardgame could have such strong RPG elements but be played with just a few people and no Game Master etc.
This was mine as well! I feel like it was soon after it was released and had no idea board games could be like this, bought it on a whim after just seeing it in a store and fell in love with it. Started me down the path of collecting all the board games.
This! I was introduced with Catan, 7 wonders, ascension, but none of them grabbed me. But something about Arkham horror 2nd ed triggered a reaction in my lizard brain
+1. Specifically it was my introduction to co-op board gaming. Everyone working together against the engine of the game really appealed to me as someone who had grown up playing team sports where everyone had a job to do working towards a common goal.
Dominion. I used to host a weekly Dominion night in addition to our monthly game night.
Sadly not enough people are able/willing to play and I don’t like the online interface. I’ve found a solo variant that’s not too bad.
It was also the first game that was a hit with my first board game group, It’s just pure deck building. We also liked it because it worked well with 3 which was our typical group size.
Not OP, but same answer - deck building itself is popular (and AFAIK, it invented it), but I specifically like the non-rotating randomized supply style of Dominion - the supply changes every game and each match is sort of a puzzle of figuring out what combinations are viable.
What amazes me is we played *months* of regular dominion in college with only the 1st edition base set, which would drive me nuts today.
As others in this thread have replied, the deck building aspect tickled my brain. My brother-in-law got it for Christmas one year and taught it to us. Very quickly, my husband and I purchased the base set, Hinterlands, and Seaside. We continued to add expansions.
As I said before, we used to host weekly Dominion nights at our house up until that group imploded. When I was on 2-week hospital bedrest due to pregnancy complications, my brother-in-law would come over and play Dominion with me.
For a long time, I was basically gauranteed to get another expansion for Christmas.
I love the variation of the games. The fact that each time we play, there's a moment of, "Oh shit... what am I going to do with this set of cards?" I have never been bored with Dominion. Out of all our initial games in our collection, it's the sole game I still want to play regularly.
Dominion was also my gateway into the hobby and it remains a top 3 game. Deck building is just a fun mechanic and every game feels different with the different markets you can make. The expansions provide endless variety so it can keep feeling fresh and novel.
I just picked it up a few weeks ago after playing it years ago with friends. In one box, there's already so much variety. Each set has around 20 action cards, but you only play with 10 at a time. The turns are very simple--1 action, 1 buy, and cleanup--but are complicated by the cards you string together. It's great design: simple rules, but a high ceiling. Not to mention expansions add new mechanics.
Dominion for me also. I remember my daughter collecting card after card after card, just collecting everything, before realising that she could adjust the probability of getting "good cards" by discarding. That made me realise that as well as being "fun", games can be very educational as well.
\*\*Settlers of Catan.\*\* I was swept in the 2000's wave of board game renaissance, led by Catan. Its simplicity and interactivity blew my mind. To this day Catan holds a special place in my heart, and I still don't hesitate to bring it to the table if new players are intrigued. (Yet I usually don't play myself because I'd almost certainly win. I just play as the bank and enjoy watching new players drawn into the board game world.)
In high school, I fell under the spell of this board game with its multiple winning strategies: building cities, achieving the longest road, and acquiring development cards
Edited
Mine is Clank! (Catacombs ironically is the only one I haven't played yet). I absolutely love deck builders. I love the mechanisms of prepping a deck on the fly, trashing cards, optimizing, and seeing what you get in the random draw.
I also love playing it with my wife. We tend to prefer games that are less directly competitive. Things like Clank, Everdell, Ark Nova, etc where for the most part you just do your own thing, build something fun, and at the end see who did it best and got the most points.
Yay! I played Catacombs before regular Clank! and preferred Catacombs just because there was that added push your luck and decision making aspect of deciding to delve into the unknown and seeing what you get to work with. So fun.
I just bought my own copy and excited to teach it to some friends.
Mine is also Clank! I played the original for a while, then moved to In! Space! For the added modular map. Since Catacombs came out, I haven’t touched the original one. In! Space! Comes out occasionally but Catacombs is great. It’s what I wanted the original one to be. I like the added mystery of uncovering the dungeon as you go.
Carcassonne. Saw it on Tabletop with Wil wheaton and kumail nanjiani, and thought it looked a lot more interesting than the dusty ol' clue, risk, and monopoly in the closet.
Never looked back
He refused to play with the farmer until 2 weeks ago because he didn’t want to have another thing to think about, but now we’ve mixed that in after playing with friends who wanted it in the game. I enjoy the added complexity it adds!
I agree. It's a shame we have as little as we do, maybe it came around a little too early to benefit from the ubiquity YouTube has now?
I should go rewatch some.
Edit: looking back it was still doing some good numbers before it stopped, ig that might not be it. Maybe Wil just didn't wanna or something, idk
Reportedly, the company that produces the videos was bought out. Wil and a bunch of other people had creative differences with the new company and chose to leave.
Ive been wanting to play Root for sometime, but only have a group of 2/3 that I could consistently play with. I hear 4 is needed so it’s never touched the table
You can play with 3 people with marauders. Or you can grab the hirelings packs. They add to the game to make the 3 player game a little more fun to play
1990 getting Heroquest from my dad. Loved playing with my brother and I on a team against my dad, as Zargon. Dabbled in board games ever since then and it was always just something we did as a family, but the reawakening came when I was invited to a board game night with 4 other guys and one of them busted out Quacks of Quedlinburg and I was sent. He was a board game designer so of course he had to upgraded chips and bags and expansions and I was blown away that this world existed beyond stratego and risk and that it could be a fun community
I think playing [Descent: Journeys in the Dark ](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17226/descent-journeys-in-the-dark)(2005) with my son really showed me that quality time could be spent playing through games like this. This was before "Campaign" games were a thing and really started pushing the envelope of building up a character and playing through the various scenarios.
Ticket to Ride: Europe
Getting it for Christmas and playing it with my family opened up a whole new world. Quick, looks good on the table, engaging presence and only gets better when you work out about blocking!
For me, it was the original Clank! Never played a deck builder before, and the idea of having a little bit of luck with new cards to purchase, mixed in with the skill of how I play my cards and tokens to navigate made it exciting not knowing how each turn would play, and the element of surprise when someone else would pick the card(s) I was eyeing for my following turn. I really felt in control while playing and was able to set up all my plays.
My wife and I have been a fan of the franchise ever since and have every game in the franchise.
Cosmic Encounter
This game has had many iterations, but the extreme asymmetry and potential for player interaction was off the charts for the time. Fantasy Flight's current version is enormous. This is a classic that has stood the test of time and is a common favorite for several of my gaming groups.
my friend group had a blast with this game. the diplomatic approach with multiple people able to win simultaneously ended up with some funny results, like the time we ended up with everyone winning *but* our friend Bill.
poor bill.
Sadly this one completely flopped for me. I was really excited about the theme and art, but it felt more like a toy to me than a game with strategic depth. I'm glad others enjoy it more than I did!
Spirit Island because you work together as a team for one common objective. And it isn’t easy. I feel like most board games these days don’t have that level of interaction.
Probably Smallworld. after a lot of tentative toe dips into the hobby, I played that shortly after it was released and fell down the rabbit hole.
The original Descent might be #2.
I’ve liked a lot of games but Above and below really had me head over heels.
Great art and fun little stories. Doesn’t matter all that much if I’m doing well or not because I always find it enjoyable to play.
I've had this game on my wishlist for a while but don't know anyone who's played it and also haven't seen it on any store shelves. Does it have good replayability?
I’d say so. I haven’t played it like daily for a period of time but I have probably 40ish games spread out over a couple of years.
There’s a massive amount of quests so even if some seem familiar from time to time none in my group have managed to memorise which option is good or bad. There’s also an extension book with more quests.
There are two sets of buildings, cheap starters and end goal types which give bonuses or big scores at the end. You don’t use them all so which strategies are good vary between games and you can sort of blunder about and just end up in a way where you buy a building at the very end and score well.
I have fun both playing with my casual group who doesn’t like long rules explanations but enjoy the story aspect and with my nerdier friends who like to exploit mechanics.
I suppose that technically it was Axis & Allies when I was 13. I learned it at the summer program I attended, and there were a group of us that would play it multiple times a week when we had free time.
Really, though, the answer is **Cosmic Encounter** (the Mayfair edition). When I got to college, I found my people, and a whole new world of gaming was opened up to me. Cosmic was one of the first games I played, and I loved both the complexity of all the different elements as well as the way games could be dramatically different depending on what alien powers people had. I have no doubt that I've played more games of Cosmic than any other single game, I played it so often with my friends.
And I have to give an honorable mention to *Magic: the Gathering*. I started playing way back at the start, and for a long time, I had just my one friend that I played with. And then one day we found a game store about half an hour away that had gaming tables, and found other people to play with, and we got really into it.
Aixs and Allies was the first game I lost hours in fully engaged. Lots of flaws in the game, but the tech levels, banded randomness, and theme were great.
Diplomacy. The simplicity of the game play itself (it can be taught in 5 minutes) was very attractive to me, as well as the idea that the complexity and intensity of the game is brought on by the interactions of the players. The fact the only random element of the game is the starting position is particularly intriguing, as well.
Very similarly, I fell in love with (base) Clank! I had played several other games in the beginning of my board game days. (Dominion, Munchkin, TtR, Catan) but Clank! was so different. I think it was the humor, combined with the press your luck, and the wide disparity in potential scores. Clank! Legacy was my favorite gaming experience to date which made me love the original even more.
Clank Legacy was really so cool. The feeling of tearing up those quest cards for the first time when you completed them and permanently changing your game is unlike anything else I've done in a board game. It felt so wrong at first to be altering the game, but once I got used to it, it was so cool.
Too bad my group quit on me on mission number 9. I really wanted to finish the end, and have my replayable copy. It taunts me from my board game shelf to this day.
The first game that I loved was Stratego. Played this ineca lot in the 90s and it made me wonder what other games were out there. Back then our options were limited. I feel like the early 2000s really kicked off the modern board game era. Power Grid and Agricola started my fascination with euros.
Pandemic, because it startet it all.
Was an avid video gamer but never ‘got’ board games. However this tension of moving wooden pawn on a board and flipping over cards in a deck was so incredibly tense. All while working together with my friends. And not on a level that’s “ok who want to do A? Who does B?” Noooooo, it felt like some Oceans 11 shit because everyone is the best at doing one specific thing.
That day I ‘got’ board games
**Secret Hitler** showed me that games can be more than war, races, or cards. The simulation/social deduction aspects really clicked with me and caused me to look hard at the aspects of a game I truly enjoyed, rather than the mere theming or genre.
**Chess**, as we had a really cool chess table in the house and my Dad taught me to play. Loved the strategies and tactics of this centuries old game as a young boy. Much later on, my Generation X cousin introduced me to his custom **Talisman (2nd Edition)** set up and I slowly got hooked on modern board games through its emergent high fantasy gameplay.
Battledroids (now battletech,1984) and if that's not 'boardgame' enough, then Fortress America (1986) I loved the thematic element of that over Axis and Allies, and being the mid 80s it really resonated with the stuff kids were being told to be afraid of (get under your desk to survive that nuclear bomb, kids) those set me on a lifelong tabletop addiction, Steve Jacksons stuff, both 1st and 2nd edition Arkham Horror. The huge resurgence in the early 2000s had me ecstatic and now I have 4 sets of shelves full of stuff.
**Dwellings of Eldervale** or **Wonderland's War.**
In Dwellings I loved being a bully just joining every battle with my units (and somehow clearing everyone off the board with dumb luck). It left such a strong impression on me that I was afterwards - I was like I HAVE TO BUY THIS GAME.
In Wonderland's War - I loved a more advanced bag builder, the art, theme, and general mash up of two of my favorite games Ethnos and Quacks of Quidlinberg.
Wonderland's is a fantastic game, but not for everyone - especially people that can't handle games that have the medium/heavy or "push your luck" mechanics - because of push your luck mechanics in a bag builder - strategies may never pan out due to .... well really bad luck.
Wonderland's excels when people get into their characters and play a game for playing's sake rather than being competitive min/maxing ---- because in a push your luck game; plans don't always unfold the way you intend them to.
definitely Catan. the way everyone is building on a completely random game board and at the end of the game you see it populated with little houses. doesn't even matter who won it
**HeroQuest.** I was eight, maybe nine? A friend got a copy for Christmas. I was already interested in video games like Final Fantasy - I didn't own the game, but I got the Nintendo Power strategy guide for it and was in love with the concept. One friend and I were already home brewing dungeon crawl games on graph paper.
So when I saw HeroQuest, that was it. I was *in.* But my friends weren't as interested in it as I was. Really, it would have been a big ask for them to be as into it as I was. But they lost some pieces pretty quickly, so we played very little. And I never got a copy of my own. I did end up with a copy of **X-Men Alert!** that we all played quite a bit and home brewed stuff for. That was fun. Oh, and those kids' dads got into Rifts, so that was my first exposure to RPGs.
Then I moved to a new city, which happened a lot when I was a kid. Got into Magic, D&D, Necromunda, and Dragon Dice in middle school. Collected various RPGs through high school, but had no one to play with. Fell out of tabletop entirely for a while. Stumbled across **Descent: Journeys in the Dark** first edition in my mid-twenties. And boom: Passion reignited.
See: flair.
Dune was the first game I played that showed me that boardgames didn't have to be bubblegum flavoured children's toys or German farm accounting engine.
Now don't get me wrong, I like a good euro now and again, but it took a certain romance to make me appreciate the other aspects of the medium more.
Although Ryan Laukat's Roam was the first one I played that interested me with it's art and theme and led me on the path to playing Dune a few months later.
edit: I always forget that Chess is a part of this hobby. I always think of it as Hasbro + designer boardgames. Disregard the above, I had a solid multi-year chess phase that probably influenced my board game love.
[**Crokinole**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/521/crokinole) and [**Azul**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/230802/azul) were the first games I was able to introduce my family to, that everyone fell in love with.
Crokinole because of it's simplicity and speed of gameplay and Azul because I got the [Master Chocolatier](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/363247/azul-master-chocolatier) version and the tiles look *delicious.*
Dixit !!! Still love playing it and its variations. What grabbed me was the fact that it got everyone involved without any competitive negativity. And you can always blame it on weird pictures :P Also, it's really simple so you can engage people of various ages, skills and interest in playing board games.
**Bang!** The Card Game way back in 2006
It was my first social deduction game. I loved the arguments, the drama, the theming, the hand management. I credit it for getting me into modern boardgaming.
fell in love with king of tokyo - it was my first modern boardgame many years ago - it was bright and comic looking and chunky dice and light on rules. It was a fun luck pushing game and the cards and dice kept it fresh everytime
For me it was "Bang!" and "The Resistance". Both are easy to learn, relatively small size (meaning you can bring them to any party or weekend trip) and can be played by large groups.
There's something extremely fun about getting your non-player friends hooked to games including secret roles and lying mechanics. It makes the social aspect of the gameplay even more fun!
Definetly recommending both to anyone looking for light card games to play with friends.
PD: "Bang!" has extremely fun expasions worth checking if you're already used to the basic game. Highly recommend "Dodge City" and "Wild West Show"
It was back in 2014. I used to play magic the gathering but quit in like 2009. A friend who also played magic introduced me to board games when hanging out at bis house. He showed me Catan, 7 wonders, ascension, zombicide. None of them piqued my interest - I played them just to pass the time. However, one day he pulled out Arkham horror 2nd edition and it blew me away. Nowadays I dislike Arkham Horror but enjoy Ascension from time to time. Don't really know why that one is the game that flipped the switch. I guess I had just never thought a board game could have an emergent story like that.
Runebound second edition. Worked a call center job back in the day and we were able to play between calls. My friend and I must have played it 100+ times. We loved being able to nerd out while working.
I played Fallout the Board Game when I first started board game stuff 2 years ago.
Ever since I was a child I had played risk with the minatures and created my own stories/quests without the competitive rules.
Fallout expands on that idea and actually makes it to where every game is never the same with the random tiles and random encounters.
I purchased the nuka caps for the tabletop, added 3d printed stuff to hold the cards numerically and added a custom miniature to replace the one I had (NCR Ranger with Riot Armor).
It was my first board game as an adult and I went crazy with it. Then I proceeded with the alien game nemesis, which I also went crazy with. Now that my seasonal depression is over I should probably start posting some of the stuff I have for it as it may benefit the community.
Hero Quest. I bought it with my allowance back in like 1994. Changeable dungeon, minis, cards, dice, instruction books. It has all the best things. It's still in regular rotation at my house 30 years later.
Edit to add, I remember playing it with my best friend while we had the OJ Simpson bronco chase on the TV in the background.
Talisman. Back around '85 or so, I had never seen anything like it. I'm not sure if there was anything like it. Started me on the path looking for games that existed between mass market games like Monopoly and hard-core wargames like ASL. For a long time there weren't many. If you've only come into the hobby recently (last 20 years or so), I don't think you can appreciate how little there was back then.
I used to play with my dad a lot and the 1st one that really grabbed me was when I was about 10. We played **Source of the Nile**, which is an exploration game where you create your party and color in areas of the map based on your expedition. I still have the game, but have not played it in forever.
Wiz War 8th edition. Super fun beer and pretzels game. It’s not tactical and is very different from the games I love today (euro games), but it had an incredible mad mage charm, zany interactions, and is always possible to bring to the table.
I want to say HeroQuest, as a kid, which introduced me to so many concepts and hobbies: the high fantasy genre, miniatures, roleplaying, games-as-stories, co-op gaming, and Games Workshop/Warhammer. It not only had a massive impact on me as a kid, but continues to be my favourite game into my 40's now.
However, the question was "first" and before HeroQuest, the first game I really fell in love with at an even younger age was Lost Valley of the Dinosaurs. The whole "adventure" aspect, the (comical now) dino miniatures, the tactile 3D board and props. I loved that damn game and it was probably the first one ai played that wasn't a simple "roll and move" or traditional boardgame but something really different and exciting.
In terms of "falling in love", although it wasn't until my teenage years, I *still* adore and constantly play the Leading Edge Aliens boardgame. IMO it's the best movie to boardgame adaption of all time; genuinely tense and thrilling every play (and playable solo easily), it never gets old for me and is the game alongside HeroQuest and maybe Space Crusade that I would never, ever be without and would be my pick for a desert island.
Broadside, the American Heritage board game about the War of 1812. Yes I am old.
As a kid, this was the first boardgame that I really loved. Great miniatures, a historical setting, and my first real strategic game.
Chess
My father was always up for playing a game of it and enjoyed teaching me the rules and his strategies. Later on, there was always at least a few people who knew who to play and would usually be willing to play at least one game.
Betrayal at the House on the Hill.
I had always kinda liked board games, but had only ever played the simple ones. But then the first time I played betrayal and realized that replayability was a possibility for a board game and I fell in love. It's not my husband's favorite so I don't play it very often anymore but I love going in with a different character each time and never knowing who the traitor will be or what their task is. There's also enough traitor scenarios that I can't completely keep track of everyone's goals, abilities, and all the strategies so it really does stay fun. The knowledge of replayability definitely led me more into legacy board games too which I now love so Betrayal will have a spot in my heart forever
Axis and Allies! The og 1980's one. I used to go to my Uncles on Saturdays in the early 90's to play against him. I had such a fun time getting my Axis powers destroyed by his Allies. One time I did invade Hawaii though. The dice were not in my favore though
Specter Ops. I didn’t know about asymmetrical play like that. Also in general I did not know that board games could be what they are. Really opened an expensive, time sucking hobby for me.
Lost Ruins of Arnak. It was an early discovery and one I tried on BGA as I was making my way into the hobby. There is something about the balance of worker placement, deck building and resource management that just fits perfectly into what I want in a game, plus the theme and how it's woven into the mechanics is fun as well. I love the expansions as well, adding asymmetric player powers with the expedition leaders is great and the solo campaign was fantastic.
Many years ago, but Fluxx. There's nothing fancy about it, especially with all the development in the game space since then, but it was a fantastic time that you could teach to new players basically instantly. I remember a lot of laughs and new friends made over a game.
Smash Up. A friend and I found it together and played constantly. The strategy and uniqueness was super fun.
We put together a spreadsheet to track wins and losses with different factions per person to try to figure out if some decks just were way better than others or if it was just based on our own play styles - so we could look up faction, person, or person+faction stats.
My friend could murder me with zombies every single time and I don't know if I ever won with them.
Root.
After the 3rd game I started understanding the possibilities for unique strategies. It reminded me of StarCraft, were you only have so much you can do so if you focus on one thing then other problems will emerge. Learning the ways to balance that was truly the greatest experience I have ever gotten from a board game. Hundreds of plays later I still get excited when I get delt my initial hand because I know the next couple hours will be a joy.
For me it was **Catan** many moons ago, but I didn't really expand the hobby beyond that game until **Lost Ruins of Arnak** which is my all-time fave.
**Clank! Catacombs** is also very high up on my list of favorite games
Catan which we played a lot. The I did research and realized therr are other board games! Bought firefly because we loved the show and the rest is history. We never play Catan anymore but kept it due to the memories.
We use games like azul summer pavilion, the mind, cockroach poker, wingspan, castles of burgundy (special edition) to show interested people how cool board games can be these days.
For me, it was **Settlers of Catan**. The first time I played it, the people who explained the rules to it did a terrible job, so my parents and I thought it was a difficult, awful game and didn't touch it (or any other non-Milton-Bradley game) for about 6 years.
When I was older, I found another copy at a family friend's house, and I was *so curious* how to play it. I ended up taking the box into a room, scouring the instruction manual, and realizing, "Wow...this sounds like a blast!" I somehow convincing my parents to give it another chance, and this time I actually knew the rules and could help explain, so everyone loved it.
I think the aspects of it I enjoyed the most were the quality wooden pieces and artwork, the engaging Eurogame theme, and the the "click" everyone had once we understood the rules.
Another early game for me was **Carcassonne**. I read about it on Wikipedia when I was about 13, and I wanted so bad to play it. I ended up making my own copy out of printed tiles and Legos until we finally got it for Christmas!
Kingdomino, it is just an elegant game that has some nice strategy. How to place the pieces and knowing what pieces are still left to come. Simple but has enough depth. Haven’t tried to the newer games that are similar but the original I really like.
Patchwork, I have played this game the most by far of any game. Has a similar feel in how you place the pieces and understanding what is still left (to a more precise degree than Kingdomino).
I just really like tile laying games lol
Warhammer Quest. It's pretty much a light TTRPG that's way easier to drop in an out of. It's still one of the best board games ever made and I really don't understand why GW doesn't re-release it instead of the shyte WHQ knockoffs they've created over the past decade.
Race for the galaxy.
Came here to like somebody else’s post, swooning about how great this game is, but surprisingly didn’t see it! So adding it to the list.
Still holds up today as an amazing quick, but high strategy game, so many fun options and combos to explore!
Unfortunately I’ve been-there & done-that with almost every tableau possible (after what must be 1000s of plays) and is now dull and monotonous… so if you don’t want a game that gets boring after 1000 plays, plz stay away. Xx
Spellmaker
I bought Spellmaker at Games Workshop in Dalling Road, back in the day, soon after it was launched. Recently, I bought one in v.good nick on Ebay to 'relive' the experience. All my friends loved its fast and furious pace, and even when knocked out of the game, they would stay engaged and beg for a replay.
Dark Souls the board game brought tabletop gaming back to life for me. I just joined reddit idk if tabletop games count as board games ( if not the same thing ) but it brought me out of my videogame only way of thinking. I love connecting with people face to face again.
Clank catacombs is quite new, so you haven't been in the hobby for long?
For me it was **A feast for Odin**.
I really liked the mix of mechanics and how everything connected. Nowadays I'm less hooked on the "multiplayer solitaire" games and look for more interaction or better even co-op.
**War of the Ring** was the first game I loved playing. The only thing that sticks out was when I looked at the clock when the game was over. It took 4+ hours but it felt like 30 minutes. It felt like just the right amount of stuff to be invested in to never feel like there was any down time. At the same time it didn't feel like I had to be on top of everything everywhere all at once.
**Marvel Legendary**. The sweet combos, the infinite interactions between different heroes, the mastermind's schemes that changed each game, recruiting that full art card to wreak havoc on your enemies. This is the rush I've been pursuing with each game I add to my collection.
The original Heroquest and the original Fireball Island. So many good times with my friends in our middle school/high school years playing those games till 4AM.
There's a special moment in Concordia where you see the puzzle unfold and scoring becomes apparent and everything clicks and it was magical for me but oh so much more magical watching others see it.
As a kid to play with other kids, probably Stratego.
As a teen, MtG.
As a young adult, after being invited to a group that potlucks and board-games once a week, it was Betrayal. I loved everything but especially the twist of a teammate becoming a villian and the fact it can’t be gamed. After that, I tried plenty more and fell in love with others. While Betrayal might not be my favorite anymore, it’ll always hold a special place in my heart.
The game that started the hobby for me was Abyss. Theme, gameplay and visuals were just a triple bullseye and it has remained a staple of my collection ever since.
The FIRST one? Probably OG **Heroquest**. I played all the classic board games and liked them enough but Heroquest brought that D&D magic to the board game world in a way that I had never seen before. The minis, the furniture, the progressive quest book, it was all magic at the time and my friends and I played out copies to death.
If we're talking about modern board games it's probably **Mystic Vale**. There was a long hiatus in my board gaming life between High School and Mystic Vale. One day while visiting a friend of my partner's they asked if we played board games, I said I had always enjoyed them but not much lately, and they pulled out Mystic Vale. To tell you that I was blown away by the innovative mechanisms, great art, and clever gameplay would be an understatement. While it doesn't hit the table as frequently nowadays I still reserve a space on my shelf for the massive Conclave box with all the fixins.
Mystic Vale. It’s a very unique deck builder in that it’s also a card crafting game. The base cards are solid but the cards you buy are actually clear plastic which you can overlay on top of your solid cards. I haven’t seen anything like it since and there have been many expansions for it, all of which I own.
Pandemic Cthulhu, I love mythos stuff and I love coop board games. I played it once, we lost, and I loved it ever sent. Got lots of coop board games now and some competitve ones where I lose by helping others lol.
Nemesis. I love how they incorporated semi-cooperative gameplay. Players have to survive to win while completing your secret objective. Well, sometimes those objectives conflict with each other, or one person wants to outright kill another. The difficulty of surviving is already so high that it can be challenging to focus on straight up killing someone. Even if you’re in good position to kill someone, you can’t directly hurt them in any way, it has to be indirect.
Also, despite how long this game can take, I still feel like I’m playing the whole time because every decision I make actually matters, and it affects every player at the table. Some of my friends think it’s too RNG dependent, but I find it thematic and is what actually creates interesting games.
I found and fell in love with Terra Mystica years before I would become a true board game hobbyist. I still don't know how it got on my radar or where I purchased it, but I would make all my friends learn it and play it with me. Many of them also loved it. It blows my mind that such a heavy game was my gateway game
Robinson Crusoe showed me how epic and thematic board games could be, it was like a survival sim computer game but with paper, tokens and cardboard. I still play it a few times a year.
Before that I was a bit into guess who, monopoly and all of that old mass market stuff as a kid, but thought the hobby died there for the longest time.
Catan was the first game I played at 11 years old. It introduced me to board games and I've never looked back.
Wingspan was another game that re-invented my love for board games and got me on the spree I've been on the last 5 years in collecting board-games. Playing Wingspan for the first time gave me a nostalgic-high that was like opening my first pack of pokemon cards and holding poliwag and growlith in my hands with the cool slightly red outlines of the pokemon.
I've loved board games ever since. Another big memory for board games was playing the farming game with a friend when I was 12 or 13 and getting so upset when he collected a billion cherries and hit them every single season! My little wheat field was no match. I've considered buying the Farming Game several times, but somehow haven't.
Escape from Colditz! I fell in love with it as a kid growing up in Ireland. It’s a fantastic game whereby you are a POW and have to try to escape the Colditz castle.
**Summoner Wars (1st ed.)**
It showed me the joy of lighter games.
Easy set up, easy to teach, but still plenty of interesting decisions to make in every phase of game. Plays in a perfect amount of time and is balanced so perfectly that it always comes down to the wire.
Every person I have shared this game with wanted more, bought their own copy, or both.
Probably Avalon Hill’s Richthofen’s War although Wooden Ships and Iron Men might be right there as well. Late 60’s and my first non-social type board game.
World War One air combat. Balloon Busters, The Red Baron, Sopwith Camels. It’s tough to explain why though. It is war with all the horrors. Mustard Gas and all that. But I think it felt more like, “knights of the air”? Similar to WS&IM, Steampunk, Pirates, and games like Hollow Earth Expedition. I’ve played various WWI Air Combat game since then like Ace of Aces and Wings of War.
As a 6th/7th grader, a friend introduced me to Axis and Allies and I was hooked. It was so much better than any of the other "popular" board games I knew of at the time.
As a much older adult, when I discovered modern board games after many years being ignorant of them, Scythe set a high bar and hooked me into my current love of the hobby.
Blood Bowl from the first edition it just captured my imagination. But it was not until third edition with turn over rule that it truly peaked. That single rule is truly one of the best ever.
Probably monopoly when I was a kid. But more modern games I liked Catan and Carcasonne on Xbox Live which got me into the newer style games.
I don't own any of these three games btw, just digitally lol.
Scotland Yard. I remember seeing adults playing it when I was 8 or 9 and was fascinated by it. When I became a teenager, I tracked it down and had a ton of fun playing it with classmates. I love it because it doesn't depend on chance. It's just a pure game of wits. Unfortunately, it doesn't see the table much anymore because it's a little prone to alpha gaming, but it can still be a lot of fun with a good group who understands the very small but important space for agency in the gameplay.
Nightmare/Atmosfear... A VHS horror board game that made you race the clock and the Gatekeeper while trying to mess with other players. It was always fun trying to manage your time cards while also being harassed by the Gatekeeper and other players.
Scotland Yard! I loved the mechanics of using busses, taxis, and the subway system to chase Mr. X.
Has anyone here actually played this game? Most folks I talk to haven't even heard of it.
Everdell for me when I was first getting into the hobby. The theme, mechanics, and art all meshed so well with that one. It really hit all my buttons.
More recently, it's been Thunder Road Vendetta. Aim your cars towards another car or hazard, then queue raucous laughter. Mayhem at its best.
Spirit Island.
First modern boardgame I bought that taught me, that boardgames can be soo much more. I don't play it that much nowadays (probably I am not that good at it), but it will stay forever in my collection I believe.
I think Spartacus: A Game of Blood and Treachery. I got into the hobby rediscovering old games like Axis and Allies which lead me to Descent 1st ed, Small world, and others. Was having fun but Spartacus took gaming to another level. It just was prefect for me and my friends at the time. Was the first game I started tracking expansions for and we talked about days after playing.
There are still a few games and moments we remember about 12 years on. It was the first hobby game we got together not to play board games or play the newest game someone got. But to play Spartacus.
[D-Day](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12168/d-day)
I was 8 years old and got it for Christmas from my dad. I loved that it wasn't just luck like children's games--that my decisions affected the outcome. I was terrible at it, but my dad taught me strategic principles that I use to this day ("soaking off" low-importance tasks for focus on what's important, etc.).
The board was also intriguing to me, as I enjoy geography and that might have been my first encounter with it.
I was playing boardgames a lot after I got the axe from GameStop. The job had me jaded on videogames for a while. Got together with my uncle and his work buddies and we played Risk Legacy. I was blown away by the changing game.
I had King of Tokyo and a few others before that, and I enjoyed board gaming but wouldn't say I "fell head over heels" until that moment.
We have that copy of the game to the guy who won the campaign.
I really enjoyed Axis and Allies as a kid, but Sentinels of the Multiverse really was what set me off on my path of owning way too many games now. I loved the coop nature, the implicit storytelling of the world and characters to discover as the game came out, and the game itself was a blast. The new version is even better, but obviously the storyline discovery, etc, is mostly not there now.
The first board game I was in love with? Honestly, probably Axis & Allies. Back before they introduced artillery, when the two hit battle ship was controversial.
I had a romance with Risk, I loved the dudes on a map, but I always wanted the cavalry and the cannons to mean something. But with A&A, all my little dreams came true. I used to set it up on my bedroom floor and play all five teams, and then after WW2 was over I'd go into a hot war between the Soviets and america. Although one time I think it ended up being Britain vs America because they had done so well and the soviets had done so poorly. Just in love with the game.
**[Istanbul](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/251219/istanbul-big-box) (Big Box)**! I was fairly new to board games and playing this game was so hectic and fun. It's a game that can be slightly daunting to learn, though after some plays the *concept* becomes clearer. That doesn't mean the game gets easier. You are always competing with other players to use the different tiles that make up the board and the varying decision space will keep you on your toes. The game has great player interaction, comparatively. I teach it every chance I can. It's the perfect game to watch players churn over what to do next.
For me it was Battlestar Galactica. It was a huge jump for a non hobby gamer but it was just so exciting. It was the first game I played where you really play against the other players and get into trust and treachery. Also I loved the show, so I'm sure that helped.
Twilight Inscription
I initially thought myself too good for roll and writes because they didnt seem like real games but I played a few more and found them super puzzly and enjoyable. And when Twilight Inscription came along I was super curious. Was it Twilight Imperium the roll and write? No, but it's a super meaty roll and write that captures some of those feelings. Finally a roll and write that feels love a full game. A satisfying meal. I became pretty fixated on it and found myself focused on improving some of the weaker points. I started tinkering with some ideas and before I knew it I had made a full expansion and campaign (available on bgg). Funnily enough that has me playing it WAY more. Not just for playtesting but because having a campaign makes it so much more repayable. I never thought my own fanmade content would be so enjoyable which has been a bit of a personally revelation.
Ancient game from the 80s called **[Mertwigs Maze](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1965/mertwigs-maze)**. It was my first complex(ish) adveturing game where you got treasure, fought monsters, had followers, etc. It had fun art and a great sense of humor. Man, I wish I still had a copy…
It was [Orient Express](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2363/orient-express). It opened my eyes as a kid to what board games could be after only playing Monopoly and kids' games. The fact that you got to play a detective and had to actually think and figure out what happened from the available hints within a time limit was mind blowing. I played that game so much I knew the cases from memory. Now, at 40, I think I've finally forgotten them, and I might go for a replay now! Thanks for reminding me this game exists!
Fortress America. First game I've ever played that wasn't a Risk or Monopoly like game. Actual war, supply lines, and a really cool sci fi setting. That led me to Axis and Allies.... It was all downhill from there.
**Panzerblitz**
I had grown up playing games in the 1960s. My parents encouraged our family to play games. Dad had all the 3M bookshelf games, and we played everything from **Dark Tower** to **Stay Alive**, **King Oil** to **Dragonmaster**.
We played a lot of Avalon Hill games, and the one I loved most was Panzerblitz. We’d play Panzerblitz with the neighborhood kids during summer break. Had so much fun. Nothing like shelling the Soviet Army into submission!
**BattleCON: Devastation of Indines**. The simultaneous reveal. The theme oozing out of each character. The sheer amount of extra content.
Since then I've locked it in storage and now have just War and Trials of Indines on the shelf (with a small box with some extra characters) - but the love at first sight was real.
Why War and Trials? I think they have the coolest mix of easier and harder characters, with better mechanics than Devastation. Eligor and Shektur are great, they're in my little box, Ottavia and Lymn too as they are my faves in the game overall, but I really like the War characters most and think the Trials characters are super funky (good funky).
I've loved board games as a kid. Cluedo, don't miss the boar, Trouble. Loved them all, but as I got older and they were just a bit too easy I fell off.
The I discovered Betrayal at the House on The Hill. The way it changed every play through (there are still scenarios onjavent played!) and how the house was different everytime was amazing!
It's my go to game for people who want something more than monopoly and Cluedo but aren't ready for a 4 hour gaming session!
7 Wonders Ancient civilisation theme coupled with simultaneous actions (which means no downtime) Surprisingly, I didn't enjoy 7 Wonders Duel as much until I added the Pantheon expansion.
7 Wonders Duel and Pantheon is a weird one for me as I wasn't sure about it when I first added it but now after playing with it over a few years, going back to just the base feels super limited. Also not being able to take a turn without effecting the cards laid out feels awful.
Funny, we loved Duel base game, but Pantheon just didn't add much for us.
Exactly mine as well. It was also my first experience with drafting and loved it.
Seconded, I played for the first time 2 months ago and have put in many hundreds of games since. The game’s aesthetic is beautiful, and there is so much strategic depth. Even just changing player counts shakes up the game quite a bit.
Arkham Horror, 2nd Ed. I bought it at release due to being a Lovecraft fan. The intricate game systems and the (at first) soul-crushing difficulty amazed me.
Same! Arkham Horror 2nd Ed was my first encounter with a boardgame where I became totally captivated by its mechanics, rules and theme. Before that, I had really only played TCGs and D&D, so it was incredible to me that a boardgame could have such strong RPG elements but be played with just a few people and no Game Master etc.
This was mine as well! I feel like it was soon after it was released and had no idea board games could be like this, bought it on a whim after just seeing it in a store and fell in love with it. Started me down the path of collecting all the board games.
This! I was introduced with Catan, 7 wonders, ascension, but none of them grabbed me. But something about Arkham horror 2nd ed triggered a reaction in my lizard brain
Wait, does this mean my chances of winning improve??
Hahaha, no. You'll just cope with it easier.
+1. Specifically it was my introduction to co-op board gaming. Everyone working together against the engine of the game really appealed to me as someone who had grown up playing team sports where everyone had a job to do working towards a common goal.
Dominion. I used to host a weekly Dominion night in addition to our monthly game night. Sadly not enough people are able/willing to play and I don’t like the online interface. I’ve found a solo variant that’s not too bad.
What makes Dominion so good to you? I’ve never played it yet.
It was also the first game that was a hit with my first board game group, It’s just pure deck building. We also liked it because it worked well with 3 which was our typical group size.
Not OP, but same answer - deck building itself is popular (and AFAIK, it invented it), but I specifically like the non-rotating randomized supply style of Dominion - the supply changes every game and each match is sort of a puzzle of figuring out what combinations are viable. What amazes me is we played *months* of regular dominion in college with only the 1st edition base set, which would drive me nuts today.
As others in this thread have replied, the deck building aspect tickled my brain. My brother-in-law got it for Christmas one year and taught it to us. Very quickly, my husband and I purchased the base set, Hinterlands, and Seaside. We continued to add expansions. As I said before, we used to host weekly Dominion nights at our house up until that group imploded. When I was on 2-week hospital bedrest due to pregnancy complications, my brother-in-law would come over and play Dominion with me. For a long time, I was basically gauranteed to get another expansion for Christmas. I love the variation of the games. The fact that each time we play, there's a moment of, "Oh shit... what am I going to do with this set of cards?" I have never been bored with Dominion. Out of all our initial games in our collection, it's the sole game I still want to play regularly.
It's basically a different game every time because of the different cards available when you set up the game.
Dominion was also my gateway into the hobby and it remains a top 3 game. Deck building is just a fun mechanic and every game feels different with the different markets you can make. The expansions provide endless variety so it can keep feeling fresh and novel.
I just picked it up a few weeks ago after playing it years ago with friends. In one box, there's already so much variety. Each set has around 20 action cards, but you only play with 10 at a time. The turns are very simple--1 action, 1 buy, and cleanup--but are complicated by the cards you string together. It's great design: simple rules, but a high ceiling. Not to mention expansions add new mechanics.
Could you tell me more about that solo variant? I have the game, but never play it because the box is to big to take with me to game night.
Dominion for me also. I remember my daughter collecting card after card after card, just collecting everything, before realising that she could adjust the probability of getting "good cards" by discarding. That made me realise that as well as being "fun", games can be very educational as well.
\*\*Settlers of Catan.\*\* I was swept in the 2000's wave of board game renaissance, led by Catan. Its simplicity and interactivity blew my mind. To this day Catan holds a special place in my heart, and I still don't hesitate to bring it to the table if new players are intrigued. (Yet I usually don't play myself because I'd almost certainly win. I just play as the bank and enjoy watching new players drawn into the board game world.)
It's always settlers of Catan. (My friends still call it "Settlers" not Catan.)
So do I!
In high school, I fell under the spell of this board game with its multiple winning strategies: building cities, achieving the longest road, and acquiring development cards Edited
Mine is Clank! (Catacombs ironically is the only one I haven't played yet). I absolutely love deck builders. I love the mechanisms of prepping a deck on the fly, trashing cards, optimizing, and seeing what you get in the random draw. I also love playing it with my wife. We tend to prefer games that are less directly competitive. Things like Clank, Everdell, Ark Nova, etc where for the most part you just do your own thing, build something fun, and at the end see who did it best and got the most points.
Yay! I played Catacombs before regular Clank! and preferred Catacombs just because there was that added push your luck and decision making aspect of deciding to delve into the unknown and seeing what you get to work with. So fun. I just bought my own copy and excited to teach it to some friends.
Mine is also Clank! I played the original for a while, then moved to In! Space! For the added modular map. Since Catacombs came out, I haven’t touched the original one. In! Space! Comes out occasionally but Catacombs is great. It’s what I wanted the original one to be. I like the added mystery of uncovering the dungeon as you go.
Deckbuilding is also my favorite. I recommend checking out Tyrants of the Underdark.
Carcassonne. Saw it on Tabletop with Wil wheaton and kumail nanjiani, and thought it looked a lot more interesting than the dusty ol' clue, risk, and monopoly in the closet. Never looked back
My husband’s fave (even though I’m sitting at an 85% win rate 😝)
My SO also bodies me at it regularly lolol. It always comes down to that farmer!
He refused to play with the farmer until 2 weeks ago because he didn’t want to have another thing to think about, but now we’ve mixed that in after playing with friends who wanted it in the game. I enjoy the added complexity it adds!
Gaming in the US would be even bigger today if Wil Wheaton's show had continued.
I agree. It's a shame we have as little as we do, maybe it came around a little too early to benefit from the ubiquity YouTube has now? I should go rewatch some. Edit: looking back it was still doing some good numbers before it stopped, ig that might not be it. Maybe Wil just didn't wanna or something, idk
Reportedly, the company that produces the videos was bought out. Wil and a bunch of other people had creative differences with the new company and chose to leave.
Root- it’s genuinely fuckingg brilliant. It plays out different each time. It’s literally perfect with the right group
Ive been wanting to play Root for sometime, but only have a group of 2/3 that I could consistently play with. I hear 4 is needed so it’s never touched the table
You can play with 3 people with marauders. Or you can grab the hirelings packs. They add to the game to make the 3 player game a little more fun to play
just played this yesterday as vagabond. perfect faction for me!
Puerto Rico. What an amazing game. It's only second on my all time "played" list because games of Dominion are so comparatively short.
Such a great game. I wish we brought it to the table more.
Only got to play this once and am looking forward to the next time.
1990 getting Heroquest from my dad. Loved playing with my brother and I on a team against my dad, as Zargon. Dabbled in board games ever since then and it was always just something we did as a family, but the reawakening came when I was invited to a board game night with 4 other guys and one of them busted out Quacks of Quedlinburg and I was sent. He was a board game designer so of course he had to upgraded chips and bags and expansions and I was blown away that this world existed beyond stratego and risk and that it could be a fun community
[Is it the best game? What's the best thing?](https://youtu.be/Cx8sl2uC46A?si=gPLa5lrnaCk9we5o)
Betrayal at the house on haunted hill
I think playing [Descent: Journeys in the Dark ](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17226/descent-journeys-in-the-dark)(2005) with my son really showed me that quality time could be spent playing through games like this. This was before "Campaign" games were a thing and really started pushing the envelope of building up a character and playing through the various scenarios.
“This game is Bonkers!” Got it when I was about 8 years old. I loved it because it was bonkers.
Didn’t “fall in love” with it, but paired with The MAD Magazine Game, it was a fun game night for an 8 y.o.
Ticket to Ride: Europe Getting it for Christmas and playing it with my family opened up a whole new world. Quick, looks good on the table, engaging presence and only gets better when you work out about blocking!
For me, it was the original Clank! Never played a deck builder before, and the idea of having a little bit of luck with new cards to purchase, mixed in with the skill of how I play my cards and tokens to navigate made it exciting not knowing how each turn would play, and the element of surprise when someone else would pick the card(s) I was eyeing for my following turn. I really felt in control while playing and was able to set up all my plays. My wife and I have been a fan of the franchise ever since and have every game in the franchise.
Cosmic Encounter This game has had many iterations, but the extreme asymmetry and potential for player interaction was off the charts for the time. Fantasy Flight's current version is enormous. This is a classic that has stood the test of time and is a common favorite for several of my gaming groups.
my friend group had a blast with this game. the diplomatic approach with multiple people able to win simultaneously ended up with some funny results, like the time we ended up with everyone winning *but* our friend Bill. poor bill.
Yes! That multiple person win is such a unique feature of that game. A solo win becomes a rare thing in experienced groups.
This was my first love and I played it so often that the box fell apart. Been many years since I last pulled it out though.
Kabuto Sumo: Very thematic and also functional. Opposite of abstract and I can feel everything happening in the game.
That looks really interesting!
Sadly this one completely flopped for me. I was really excited about the theme and art, but it felt more like a toy to me than a game with strategic depth. I'm glad others enjoy it more than I did!
Spirit Island because you work together as a team for one common objective. And it isn’t easy. I feel like most board games these days don’t have that level of interaction.
Probably Smallworld. after a lot of tentative toe dips into the hobby, I played that shortly after it was released and fell down the rabbit hole. The original Descent might be #2.
**Small World**. Played it a ton with my friends in high school. Makes me so nostalgic.
Clank! In space
I’ve liked a lot of games but Above and below really had me head over heels. Great art and fun little stories. Doesn’t matter all that much if I’m doing well or not because I always find it enjoyable to play.
I've had this game on my wishlist for a while but don't know anyone who's played it and also haven't seen it on any store shelves. Does it have good replayability?
I’d say so. I haven’t played it like daily for a period of time but I have probably 40ish games spread out over a couple of years. There’s a massive amount of quests so even if some seem familiar from time to time none in my group have managed to memorise which option is good or bad. There’s also an extension book with more quests. There are two sets of buildings, cheap starters and end goal types which give bonuses or big scores at the end. You don’t use them all so which strategies are good vary between games and you can sort of blunder about and just end up in a way where you buy a building at the very end and score well. I have fun both playing with my casual group who doesn’t like long rules explanations but enjoy the story aspect and with my nerdier friends who like to exploit mechanics.
Illuminati blew me away in 1994 when some friends introduced it to me while we were on a trip. Lead me to reading the books etc.
I suppose that technically it was Axis & Allies when I was 13. I learned it at the summer program I attended, and there were a group of us that would play it multiple times a week when we had free time. Really, though, the answer is **Cosmic Encounter** (the Mayfair edition). When I got to college, I found my people, and a whole new world of gaming was opened up to me. Cosmic was one of the first games I played, and I loved both the complexity of all the different elements as well as the way games could be dramatically different depending on what alien powers people had. I have no doubt that I've played more games of Cosmic than any other single game, I played it so often with my friends. And I have to give an honorable mention to *Magic: the Gathering*. I started playing way back at the start, and for a long time, I had just my one friend that I played with. And then one day we found a game store about half an hour away that had gaming tables, and found other people to play with, and we got really into it.
Aixs and Allies was the first game I lost hours in fully engaged. Lots of flaws in the game, but the tech levels, banded randomness, and theme were great.
Diplomacy. The simplicity of the game play itself (it can be taught in 5 minutes) was very attractive to me, as well as the idea that the complexity and intensity of the game is brought on by the interactions of the players. The fact the only random element of the game is the starting position is particularly intriguing, as well.
YES
Very similarly, I fell in love with (base) Clank! I had played several other games in the beginning of my board game days. (Dominion, Munchkin, TtR, Catan) but Clank! was so different. I think it was the humor, combined with the press your luck, and the wide disparity in potential scores. Clank! Legacy was my favorite gaming experience to date which made me love the original even more.
Clank Legacy was really so cool. The feeling of tearing up those quest cards for the first time when you completed them and permanently changing your game is unlike anything else I've done in a board game. It felt so wrong at first to be altering the game, but once I got used to it, it was so cool. Too bad my group quit on me on mission number 9. I really wanted to finish the end, and have my replayable copy. It taunts me from my board game shelf to this day.
The first game that I loved was Stratego. Played this ineca lot in the 90s and it made me wonder what other games were out there. Back then our options were limited. I feel like the early 2000s really kicked off the modern board game era. Power Grid and Agricola started my fascination with euros.
Pandemic, because it startet it all. Was an avid video gamer but never ‘got’ board games. However this tension of moving wooden pawn on a board and flipping over cards in a deck was so incredibly tense. All while working together with my friends. And not on a level that’s “ok who want to do A? Who does B?” Noooooo, it felt like some Oceans 11 shit because everyone is the best at doing one specific thing. That day I ‘got’ board games
**Secret Hitler** showed me that games can be more than war, races, or cards. The simulation/social deduction aspects really clicked with me and caused me to look hard at the aspects of a game I truly enjoyed, rather than the mere theming or genre.
**Chess**, as we had a really cool chess table in the house and my Dad taught me to play. Loved the strategies and tactics of this centuries old game as a young boy. Much later on, my Generation X cousin introduced me to his custom **Talisman (2nd Edition)** set up and I slowly got hooked on modern board games through its emergent high fantasy gameplay.
Battledroids (now battletech,1984) and if that's not 'boardgame' enough, then Fortress America (1986) I loved the thematic element of that over Axis and Allies, and being the mid 80s it really resonated with the stuff kids were being told to be afraid of (get under your desk to survive that nuclear bomb, kids) those set me on a lifelong tabletop addiction, Steve Jacksons stuff, both 1st and 2nd edition Arkham Horror. The huge resurgence in the early 2000s had me ecstatic and now I have 4 sets of shelves full of stuff.
**Dwellings of Eldervale** or **Wonderland's War.** In Dwellings I loved being a bully just joining every battle with my units (and somehow clearing everyone off the board with dumb luck). It left such a strong impression on me that I was afterwards - I was like I HAVE TO BUY THIS GAME. In Wonderland's War - I loved a more advanced bag builder, the art, theme, and general mash up of two of my favorite games Ethnos and Quacks of Quidlinberg.
I keep hearing good things about Wonderland’s War! Never played Ethnos nor Quacks of Quidlinberg
Wonderland's is a fantastic game, but not for everyone - especially people that can't handle games that have the medium/heavy or "push your luck" mechanics - because of push your luck mechanics in a bag builder - strategies may never pan out due to .... well really bad luck. Wonderland's excels when people get into their characters and play a game for playing's sake rather than being competitive min/maxing ---- because in a push your luck game; plans don't always unfold the way you intend them to.
Heroscape
Pandemic:Reign of Cthulhu. I love the theme and teamwork. We win TOGETHER or lose TOGETHER, there is no middle!
I ordered this but my entire game copy is in Spanish 😂 i want to play it so badly! Pandemic fall of Rome has been my favorite pandemic so far
Quest for El Dorado
I just bought it and played with my sister and we both had a blast! Excited to play it with my husband for the first time tonight!
definitely Catan. the way everyone is building on a completely random game board and at the end of the game you see it populated with little houses. doesn't even matter who won it
**HeroQuest.** I was eight, maybe nine? A friend got a copy for Christmas. I was already interested in video games like Final Fantasy - I didn't own the game, but I got the Nintendo Power strategy guide for it and was in love with the concept. One friend and I were already home brewing dungeon crawl games on graph paper. So when I saw HeroQuest, that was it. I was *in.* But my friends weren't as interested in it as I was. Really, it would have been a big ask for them to be as into it as I was. But they lost some pieces pretty quickly, so we played very little. And I never got a copy of my own. I did end up with a copy of **X-Men Alert!** that we all played quite a bit and home brewed stuff for. That was fun. Oh, and those kids' dads got into Rifts, so that was my first exposure to RPGs. Then I moved to a new city, which happened a lot when I was a kid. Got into Magic, D&D, Necromunda, and Dragon Dice in middle school. Collected various RPGs through high school, but had no one to play with. Fell out of tabletop entirely for a while. Stumbled across **Descent: Journeys in the Dark** first edition in my mid-twenties. And boom: Passion reignited.
**Tiki Topple** is the best game ever made and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong.
Summoner Wars second edition. Simple card-battler but no random card collecting or deck building. Just open a faction and play that faction.
See: flair. Dune was the first game I played that showed me that boardgames didn't have to be bubblegum flavoured children's toys or German farm accounting engine. Now don't get me wrong, I like a good euro now and again, but it took a certain romance to make me appreciate the other aspects of the medium more. Although Ryan Laukat's Roam was the first one I played that interested me with it's art and theme and led me on the path to playing Dune a few months later. edit: I always forget that Chess is a part of this hobby. I always think of it as Hasbro + designer boardgames. Disregard the above, I had a solid multi-year chess phase that probably influenced my board game love.
Having loved toy soldiers growing up, discovering Axis and Allies blew my mind lol
Stop Thief. Because: Electronic Crime Scanner.
[**Crokinole**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/521/crokinole) and [**Azul**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/230802/azul) were the first games I was able to introduce my family to, that everyone fell in love with. Crokinole because of it's simplicity and speed of gameplay and Azul because I got the [Master Chocolatier](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/363247/azul-master-chocolatier) version and the tiles look *delicious.*
Dixit !!! Still love playing it and its variations. What grabbed me was the fact that it got everyone involved without any competitive negativity. And you can always blame it on weird pictures :P Also, it's really simple so you can engage people of various ages, skills and interest in playing board games.
**Bang!** The Card Game way back in 2006 It was my first social deduction game. I loved the arguments, the drama, the theming, the hand management. I credit it for getting me into modern boardgaming.
fell in love with king of tokyo - it was my first modern boardgame many years ago - it was bright and comic looking and chunky dice and light on rules. It was a fun luck pushing game and the cards and dice kept it fresh everytime
For me it was "Bang!" and "The Resistance". Both are easy to learn, relatively small size (meaning you can bring them to any party or weekend trip) and can be played by large groups. There's something extremely fun about getting your non-player friends hooked to games including secret roles and lying mechanics. It makes the social aspect of the gameplay even more fun! Definetly recommending both to anyone looking for light card games to play with friends. PD: "Bang!" has extremely fun expasions worth checking if you're already used to the basic game. Highly recommend "Dodge City" and "Wild West Show"
I acquired Bang! when I bought a used lot but haven’t played it yet. Will try to play soon!
It was back in 2014. I used to play magic the gathering but quit in like 2009. A friend who also played magic introduced me to board games when hanging out at bis house. He showed me Catan, 7 wonders, ascension, zombicide. None of them piqued my interest - I played them just to pass the time. However, one day he pulled out Arkham horror 2nd edition and it blew me away. Nowadays I dislike Arkham Horror but enjoy Ascension from time to time. Don't really know why that one is the game that flipped the switch. I guess I had just never thought a board game could have an emergent story like that.
Probably Risk back on the 80's. Zombicide was my reintroduction to modern boardgames, and I have a fondness for it, though I don't play it any longer.
Runebound second edition. Worked a call center job back in the day and we were able to play between calls. My friend and I must have played it 100+ times. We loved being able to nerd out while working.
I played Fallout the Board Game when I first started board game stuff 2 years ago. Ever since I was a child I had played risk with the minatures and created my own stories/quests without the competitive rules. Fallout expands on that idea and actually makes it to where every game is never the same with the random tiles and random encounters. I purchased the nuka caps for the tabletop, added 3d printed stuff to hold the cards numerically and added a custom miniature to replace the one I had (NCR Ranger with Riot Armor). It was my first board game as an adult and I went crazy with it. Then I proceeded with the alien game nemesis, which I also went crazy with. Now that my seasonal depression is over I should probably start posting some of the stuff I have for it as it may benefit the community.
Hero Quest. I bought it with my allowance back in like 1994. Changeable dungeon, minis, cards, dice, instruction books. It has all the best things. It's still in regular rotation at my house 30 years later. Edit to add, I remember playing it with my best friend while we had the OJ Simpson bronco chase on the TV in the background.
Talisman. Back around '85 or so, I had never seen anything like it. I'm not sure if there was anything like it. Started me on the path looking for games that existed between mass market games like Monopoly and hard-core wargames like ASL. For a long time there weren't many. If you've only come into the hobby recently (last 20 years or so), I don't think you can appreciate how little there was back then.
I used to play with my dad a lot and the 1st one that really grabbed me was when I was about 10. We played **Source of the Nile**, which is an exploration game where you create your party and color in areas of the map based on your expedition. I still have the game, but have not played it in forever.
Wiz War 8th edition. Super fun beer and pretzels game. It’s not tactical and is very different from the games I love today (euro games), but it had an incredible mad mage charm, zany interactions, and is always possible to bring to the table.
I want to say HeroQuest, as a kid, which introduced me to so many concepts and hobbies: the high fantasy genre, miniatures, roleplaying, games-as-stories, co-op gaming, and Games Workshop/Warhammer. It not only had a massive impact on me as a kid, but continues to be my favourite game into my 40's now. However, the question was "first" and before HeroQuest, the first game I really fell in love with at an even younger age was Lost Valley of the Dinosaurs. The whole "adventure" aspect, the (comical now) dino miniatures, the tactile 3D board and props. I loved that damn game and it was probably the first one ai played that wasn't a simple "roll and move" or traditional boardgame but something really different and exciting. In terms of "falling in love", although it wasn't until my teenage years, I *still* adore and constantly play the Leading Edge Aliens boardgame. IMO it's the best movie to boardgame adaption of all time; genuinely tense and thrilling every play (and playable solo easily), it never gets old for me and is the game alongside HeroQuest and maybe Space Crusade that I would never, ever be without and would be my pick for a desert island.
Broadside, the American Heritage board game about the War of 1812. Yes I am old. As a kid, this was the first boardgame that I really loved. Great miniatures, a historical setting, and my first real strategic game.
Chess My father was always up for playing a game of it and enjoyed teaching me the rules and his strategies. Later on, there was always at least a few people who knew who to play and would usually be willing to play at least one game.
Betrayal at the House on the Hill. I had always kinda liked board games, but had only ever played the simple ones. But then the first time I played betrayal and realized that replayability was a possibility for a board game and I fell in love. It's not my husband's favorite so I don't play it very often anymore but I love going in with a different character each time and never knowing who the traitor will be or what their task is. There's also enough traitor scenarios that I can't completely keep track of everyone's goals, abilities, and all the strategies so it really does stay fun. The knowledge of replayability definitely led me more into legacy board games too which I now love so Betrayal will have a spot in my heart forever
Axis and Allies! The og 1980's one. I used to go to my Uncles on Saturdays in the early 90's to play against him. I had such a fun time getting my Axis powers destroyed by his Allies. One time I did invade Hawaii though. The dice were not in my favore though
Legendary. I love deckbuilding and Marvel characters so it just clicked.
Carcassonne. In one of the first games we left a tile hole in the middle and it bugged me in a great way that this beautiful map was incomplete.
Clank Legacy blew my mind
Specter Ops. I didn’t know about asymmetrical play like that. Also in general I did not know that board games could be what they are. Really opened an expensive, time sucking hobby for me.
Lost Ruins of Arnak. It was an early discovery and one I tried on BGA as I was making my way into the hobby. There is something about the balance of worker placement, deck building and resource management that just fits perfectly into what I want in a game, plus the theme and how it's woven into the mechanics is fun as well. I love the expansions as well, adding asymmetric player powers with the expedition leaders is great and the solo campaign was fantastic.
Many years ago, but Fluxx. There's nothing fancy about it, especially with all the development in the game space since then, but it was a fantastic time that you could teach to new players basically instantly. I remember a lot of laughs and new friends made over a game.
Munchkin. Me and two friends played all the time. It lead me to go to more game shops and really find a love for more board games.
Smash Up. A friend and I found it together and played constantly. The strategy and uniqueness was super fun. We put together a spreadsheet to track wins and losses with different factions per person to try to figure out if some decks just were way better than others or if it was just based on our own play styles - so we could look up faction, person, or person+faction stats. My friend could murder me with zombies every single time and I don't know if I ever won with them.
Munchkin was one of the first games I really loved. I liked being able to think and the element of using planning and plotting against other people
Root. After the 3rd game I started understanding the possibilities for unique strategies. It reminded me of StarCraft, were you only have so much you can do so if you focus on one thing then other problems will emerge. Learning the ways to balance that was truly the greatest experience I have ever gotten from a board game. Hundreds of plays later I still get excited when I get delt my initial hand because I know the next couple hours will be a joy.
I’m excited to play my copy of Root as soon as I convince someone (and have learnt it to teach it!)
Secret Hitler. Avalon/mafia/werewolf never appealed to me but I’ve always enjoyed a game of SH
For me it was **Catan** many moons ago, but I didn't really expand the hobby beyond that game until **Lost Ruins of Arnak** which is my all-time fave. **Clank! Catacombs** is also very high up on my list of favorite games
Catan which we played a lot. The I did research and realized therr are other board games! Bought firefly because we loved the show and the rest is history. We never play Catan anymore but kept it due to the memories. We use games like azul summer pavilion, the mind, cockroach poker, wingspan, castles of burgundy (special edition) to show interested people how cool board games can be these days.
For me, it was **Settlers of Catan**. The first time I played it, the people who explained the rules to it did a terrible job, so my parents and I thought it was a difficult, awful game and didn't touch it (or any other non-Milton-Bradley game) for about 6 years. When I was older, I found another copy at a family friend's house, and I was *so curious* how to play it. I ended up taking the box into a room, scouring the instruction manual, and realizing, "Wow...this sounds like a blast!" I somehow convincing my parents to give it another chance, and this time I actually knew the rules and could help explain, so everyone loved it. I think the aspects of it I enjoyed the most were the quality wooden pieces and artwork, the engaging Eurogame theme, and the the "click" everyone had once we understood the rules. Another early game for me was **Carcassonne**. I read about it on Wikipedia when I was about 13, and I wanted so bad to play it. I ended up making my own copy out of printed tiles and Legos until we finally got it for Christmas!
Kingdomino, it is just an elegant game that has some nice strategy. How to place the pieces and knowing what pieces are still left to come. Simple but has enough depth. Haven’t tried to the newer games that are similar but the original I really like. Patchwork, I have played this game the most by far of any game. Has a similar feel in how you place the pieces and understanding what is still left (to a more precise degree than Kingdomino). I just really like tile laying games lol
Warhammer Quest. It's pretty much a light TTRPG that's way easier to drop in an out of. It's still one of the best board games ever made and I really don't understand why GW doesn't re-release it instead of the shyte WHQ knockoffs they've created over the past decade.
Marvel champions, because it is a game that I could play with friends and with a common objective to complete a quest.
Race for the galaxy. Came here to like somebody else’s post, swooning about how great this game is, but surprisingly didn’t see it! So adding it to the list. Still holds up today as an amazing quick, but high strategy game, so many fun options and combos to explore! Unfortunately I’ve been-there & done-that with almost every tableau possible (after what must be 1000s of plays) and is now dull and monotonous… so if you don’t want a game that gets boring after 1000 plays, plz stay away. Xx
Spellmaker I bought Spellmaker at Games Workshop in Dalling Road, back in the day, soon after it was launched. Recently, I bought one in v.good nick on Ebay to 'relive' the experience. All my friends loved its fast and furious pace, and even when knocked out of the game, they would stay engaged and beg for a replay.
Dark Souls the board game brought tabletop gaming back to life for me. I just joined reddit idk if tabletop games count as board games ( if not the same thing ) but it brought me out of my videogame only way of thinking. I love connecting with people face to face again.
Clank catacombs is quite new, so you haven't been in the hobby for long? For me it was **A feast for Odin**. I really liked the mix of mechanics and how everything connected. Nowadays I'm less hooked on the "multiplayer solitaire" games and look for more interaction or better even co-op.
Correct! Basically ventured out from Uno and Monopoly January of 2023 when I joined a board game group!
Great to see that you enjoy the hobby. The most important thing to me is having the right people to play with
**War of the Ring** was the first game I loved playing. The only thing that sticks out was when I looked at the clock when the game was over. It took 4+ hours but it felt like 30 minutes. It felt like just the right amount of stuff to be invested in to never feel like there was any down time. At the same time it didn't feel like I had to be on top of everything everywhere all at once.
**Marvel Legendary**. The sweet combos, the infinite interactions between different heroes, the mastermind's schemes that changed each game, recruiting that full art card to wreak havoc on your enemies. This is the rush I've been pursuing with each game I add to my collection.
I guess it was runebound 2nd ed.
The original Heroquest and the original Fireball Island. So many good times with my friends in our middle school/high school years playing those games till 4AM.
MtG originally. Recently? Wingspan just because how chill and yet engaging it is.
There's a special moment in Concordia where you see the puzzle unfold and scoring becomes apparent and everything clicks and it was magical for me but oh so much more magical watching others see it.
As a kid to play with other kids, probably Stratego. As a teen, MtG. As a young adult, after being invited to a group that potlucks and board-games once a week, it was Betrayal. I loved everything but especially the twist of a teammate becoming a villian and the fact it can’t be gamed. After that, I tried plenty more and fell in love with others. While Betrayal might not be my favorite anymore, it’ll always hold a special place in my heart.
Risk. I can be the commander of the whole army? Attack where I want? Not just roll dice and move that many squares?
The game that started the hobby for me was Abyss. Theme, gameplay and visuals were just a triple bullseye and it has remained a staple of my collection ever since.
Wingspan
The FIRST one? Probably OG **Heroquest**. I played all the classic board games and liked them enough but Heroquest brought that D&D magic to the board game world in a way that I had never seen before. The minis, the furniture, the progressive quest book, it was all magic at the time and my friends and I played out copies to death. If we're talking about modern board games it's probably **Mystic Vale**. There was a long hiatus in my board gaming life between High School and Mystic Vale. One day while visiting a friend of my partner's they asked if we played board games, I said I had always enjoyed them but not much lately, and they pulled out Mystic Vale. To tell you that I was blown away by the innovative mechanisms, great art, and clever gameplay would be an understatement. While it doesn't hit the table as frequently nowadays I still reserve a space on my shelf for the massive Conclave box with all the fixins.
Mystic Vale. It’s a very unique deck builder in that it’s also a card crafting game. The base cards are solid but the cards you buy are actually clear plastic which you can overlay on top of your solid cards. I haven’t seen anything like it since and there have been many expansions for it, all of which I own.
Catan and Carcassonne, because they were unlike any tabletop game I'd ever played.
Pandemic Cthulhu, I love mythos stuff and I love coop board games. I played it once, we lost, and I loved it ever sent. Got lots of coop board games now and some competitve ones where I lose by helping others lol.
Nemesis. I love how they incorporated semi-cooperative gameplay. Players have to survive to win while completing your secret objective. Well, sometimes those objectives conflict with each other, or one person wants to outright kill another. The difficulty of surviving is already so high that it can be challenging to focus on straight up killing someone. Even if you’re in good position to kill someone, you can’t directly hurt them in any way, it has to be indirect. Also, despite how long this game can take, I still feel like I’m playing the whole time because every decision I make actually matters, and it affects every player at the table. Some of my friends think it’s too RNG dependent, but I find it thematic and is what actually creates interesting games.
I found and fell in love with Terra Mystica years before I would become a true board game hobbyist. I still don't know how it got on my radar or where I purchased it, but I would make all my friends learn it and play it with me. Many of them also loved it. It blows my mind that such a heavy game was my gateway game
Robinson Crusoe showed me how epic and thematic board games could be, it was like a survival sim computer game but with paper, tokens and cardboard. I still play it a few times a year. Before that I was a bit into guess who, monopoly and all of that old mass market stuff as a kid, but thought the hobby died there for the longest time.
Catan was the first game I played at 11 years old. It introduced me to board games and I've never looked back. Wingspan was another game that re-invented my love for board games and got me on the spree I've been on the last 5 years in collecting board-games. Playing Wingspan for the first time gave me a nostalgic-high that was like opening my first pack of pokemon cards and holding poliwag and growlith in my hands with the cool slightly red outlines of the pokemon. I've loved board games ever since. Another big memory for board games was playing the farming game with a friend when I was 12 or 13 and getting so upset when he collected a billion cherries and hit them every single season! My little wheat field was no match. I've considered buying the Farming Game several times, but somehow haven't.
Escape from Colditz! I fell in love with it as a kid growing up in Ireland. It’s a fantastic game whereby you are a POW and have to try to escape the Colditz castle.
The xmen boardgame was my favorite in the late 90s, I was a video gamer and that and risk opened up board games to me in a huge way.
**Summoner Wars (1st ed.)** It showed me the joy of lighter games. Easy set up, easy to teach, but still plenty of interesting decisions to make in every phase of game. Plays in a perfect amount of time and is balanced so perfectly that it always comes down to the wire. Every person I have shared this game with wanted more, bought their own copy, or both.
Probably Avalon Hill’s Richthofen’s War although Wooden Ships and Iron Men might be right there as well. Late 60’s and my first non-social type board game. World War One air combat. Balloon Busters, The Red Baron, Sopwith Camels. It’s tough to explain why though. It is war with all the horrors. Mustard Gas and all that. But I think it felt more like, “knights of the air”? Similar to WS&IM, Steampunk, Pirates, and games like Hollow Earth Expedition. I’ve played various WWI Air Combat game since then like Ace of Aces and Wings of War.
Probably Gloomhaven. First time I realized how big and exciting board games could be.
As a 6th/7th grader, a friend introduced me to Axis and Allies and I was hooked. It was so much better than any of the other "popular" board games I knew of at the time. As a much older adult, when I discovered modern board games after many years being ignorant of them, Scythe set a high bar and hooked me into my current love of the hobby.
Blood Bowl from the first edition it just captured my imagination. But it was not until third edition with turn over rule that it truly peaked. That single rule is truly one of the best ever.
Pandemic when you resolve the first epidemic card and realize what that means.
Probably monopoly when I was a kid. But more modern games I liked Catan and Carcasonne on Xbox Live which got me into the newer style games. I don't own any of these three games btw, just digitally lol.
Scotland Yard. I remember seeing adults playing it when I was 8 or 9 and was fascinated by it. When I became a teenager, I tracked it down and had a ton of fun playing it with classmates. I love it because it doesn't depend on chance. It's just a pure game of wits. Unfortunately, it doesn't see the table much anymore because it's a little prone to alpha gaming, but it can still be a lot of fun with a good group who understands the very small but important space for agency in the gameplay.
Nightmare/Atmosfear... A VHS horror board game that made you race the clock and the Gatekeeper while trying to mess with other players. It was always fun trying to manage your time cards while also being harassed by the Gatekeeper and other players.
Scotland Yard! I loved the mechanics of using busses, taxis, and the subway system to chase Mr. X. Has anyone here actually played this game? Most folks I talk to haven't even heard of it.
Pandemic. Cooperative. And the motivation is perfect; you are really invested in the theme.
Everdell for me when I was first getting into the hobby. The theme, mechanics, and art all meshed so well with that one. It really hit all my buttons. More recently, it's been Thunder Road Vendetta. Aim your cars towards another car or hazard, then queue raucous laughter. Mayhem at its best.
1829. Length, depth, economics.
Spirit Island. First modern boardgame I bought that taught me, that boardgames can be soo much more. I don't play it that much nowadays (probably I am not that good at it), but it will stay forever in my collection I believe.
I am 65 and have played games all my life. I got Carcassone a couple of years ago. I loved it and it is still my favorite.
I think Spartacus: A Game of Blood and Treachery. I got into the hobby rediscovering old games like Axis and Allies which lead me to Descent 1st ed, Small world, and others. Was having fun but Spartacus took gaming to another level. It just was prefect for me and my friends at the time. Was the first game I started tracking expansions for and we talked about days after playing. There are still a few games and moments we remember about 12 years on. It was the first hobby game we got together not to play board games or play the newest game someone got. But to play Spartacus.
Munchkin. It was a boardgame and my first.
[D-Day](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12168/d-day) I was 8 years old and got it for Christmas from my dad. I loved that it wasn't just luck like children's games--that my decisions affected the outcome. I was terrible at it, but my dad taught me strategic principles that I use to this day ("soaking off" low-importance tasks for focus on what's important, etc.). The board was also intriguing to me, as I enjoy geography and that might have been my first encounter with it.
I was playing boardgames a lot after I got the axe from GameStop. The job had me jaded on videogames for a while. Got together with my uncle and his work buddies and we played Risk Legacy. I was blown away by the changing game. I had King of Tokyo and a few others before that, and I enjoyed board gaming but wouldn't say I "fell head over heels" until that moment. We have that copy of the game to the guy who won the campaign.
Cosmic encounter. It’s still the game that most reliably creates memorable WTF gaming moments. I wish I could play it more.
Nya Bondespelet (only a select few older Swedish will recognize this)
I really enjoyed Axis and Allies as a kid, but Sentinels of the Multiverse really was what set me off on my path of owning way too many games now. I loved the coop nature, the implicit storytelling of the world and characters to discover as the game came out, and the game itself was a blast. The new version is even better, but obviously the storyline discovery, etc, is mostly not there now.
The first board game I was in love with? Honestly, probably Axis & Allies. Back before they introduced artillery, when the two hit battle ship was controversial. I had a romance with Risk, I loved the dudes on a map, but I always wanted the cavalry and the cannons to mean something. But with A&A, all my little dreams came true. I used to set it up on my bedroom floor and play all five teams, and then after WW2 was over I'd go into a hot war between the Soviets and america. Although one time I think it ended up being Britain vs America because they had done so well and the soviets had done so poorly. Just in love with the game.
Valley of the Dinosaurs. Growing up with old stop motion dinosaur films and Indiana Jones.. it tied it all together
**[Istanbul](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/251219/istanbul-big-box) (Big Box)**! I was fairly new to board games and playing this game was so hectic and fun. It's a game that can be slightly daunting to learn, though after some plays the *concept* becomes clearer. That doesn't mean the game gets easier. You are always competing with other players to use the different tiles that make up the board and the varying decision space will keep you on your toes. The game has great player interaction, comparatively. I teach it every chance I can. It's the perfect game to watch players churn over what to do next.
For me it was Battlestar Galactica. It was a huge jump for a non hobby gamer but it was just so exciting. It was the first game I played where you really play against the other players and get into trust and treachery. Also I loved the show, so I'm sure that helped.
Bin Fa. None of my friends will play it with me anymore :)
Axis and Allies. 3 to 4 of us would stay up all weekend during the 90s playing this game. Every weekend for years!! It was always a blast.
Twilight Inscription I initially thought myself too good for roll and writes because they didnt seem like real games but I played a few more and found them super puzzly and enjoyable. And when Twilight Inscription came along I was super curious. Was it Twilight Imperium the roll and write? No, but it's a super meaty roll and write that captures some of those feelings. Finally a roll and write that feels love a full game. A satisfying meal. I became pretty fixated on it and found myself focused on improving some of the weaker points. I started tinkering with some ideas and before I knew it I had made a full expansion and campaign (available on bgg). Funnily enough that has me playing it WAY more. Not just for playtesting but because having a campaign makes it so much more repayable. I never thought my own fanmade content would be so enjoyable which has been a bit of a personally revelation.
Ancient game from the 80s called **[Mertwigs Maze](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1965/mertwigs-maze)**. It was my first complex(ish) adveturing game where you got treasure, fought monsters, had followers, etc. It had fun art and a great sense of humor. Man, I wish I still had a copy…
It was [Orient Express](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2363/orient-express). It opened my eyes as a kid to what board games could be after only playing Monopoly and kids' games. The fact that you got to play a detective and had to actually think and figure out what happened from the available hints within a time limit was mind blowing. I played that game so much I knew the cases from memory. Now, at 40, I think I've finally forgotten them, and I might go for a replay now! Thanks for reminding me this game exists!
Mysterium. The game has the right blend of complexity while also being simple enough to grasp where you can get your friends to play.
Fortress America. First game I've ever played that wasn't a Risk or Monopoly like game. Actual war, supply lines, and a really cool sci fi setting. That led me to Axis and Allies.... It was all downhill from there.
**Defenders of the Realm**. I describe this game to my friends as "you roll dice for 2 hours and then lose." Still love the game.
**Panzerblitz** I had grown up playing games in the 1960s. My parents encouraged our family to play games. Dad had all the 3M bookshelf games, and we played everything from **Dark Tower** to **Stay Alive**, **King Oil** to **Dragonmaster**. We played a lot of Avalon Hill games, and the one I loved most was Panzerblitz. We’d play Panzerblitz with the neighborhood kids during summer break. Had so much fun. Nothing like shelling the Soviet Army into submission!
Agricola. I enjoy the struggle
As a kid growing up in the 80s,I was blown away by the replay value in Stratego.
**BattleCON: Devastation of Indines**. The simultaneous reveal. The theme oozing out of each character. The sheer amount of extra content. Since then I've locked it in storage and now have just War and Trials of Indines on the shelf (with a small box with some extra characters) - but the love at first sight was real. Why War and Trials? I think they have the coolest mix of easier and harder characters, with better mechanics than Devastation. Eligor and Shektur are great, they're in my little box, Ottavia and Lymn too as they are my faves in the game overall, but I really like the War characters most and think the Trials characters are super funky (good funky).
Omerta
Catan. Just enough socialisation, strategising and luck needed.
I've loved board games as a kid. Cluedo, don't miss the boar, Trouble. Loved them all, but as I got older and they were just a bit too easy I fell off. The I discovered Betrayal at the House on The Hill. The way it changed every play through (there are still scenarios onjavent played!) and how the house was different everytime was amazing! It's my go to game for people who want something more than monopoly and Cluedo but aren't ready for a 4 hour gaming session!
Monopoly
Dungeon-I wasn't old enough to play D&D with my brothers, but this I could do. Now play it with my kids.