Good introductory board games for families

Playing board games for families can be a great way to improve family relationships and spend quality time together.  However, getting your family to play board games may be a difficult challenge.  Convincing them that sitting around a table looking at a piece of cardboard will be as fun as a video game can be a tough sell.  If you choose the wrong game and your kids don’t have a good experience the first time, they may not be as willing to try the second time.  Knowing good games to introduce new players to the hobby is very important.

I don’t want to paint too stark a picture.  In general your kids will probably love the fact that you are spending time with them and will be quite forgiving if the game isn’t perfect.  But having a great gaming experience on top of quality time will make the expereince that much better.

With that in mind, here are some of my favorite introductory board games for families.  Often games that introduce people to the hobby of board games are called “gateway” games.

Trans America

Trans America is an extremely simple game that can be learned in 5 minutes, yet it’s very fun to play. The game is played in several rounds which go by very quickly, making it easy to keep everyone’s interest. Another nice thing about Trans America is that it can be played by up to 6 people which is somewhat rare since most board games only allow 4-5 players.

In Trans America you choose destination cards that show cities you need to build your railroad to. Each player takes a turn by laying down two railroad tracks. If your tracks meet up with another player’s, you can utilitze their tracks as well. Trans America has some high interaction but isn’t heavy in conflict. The most recent release of Trans America includes the expansion which adds a little bit more strategy.

The first time I played Trans America, I was so impressed by how fun such a simple game can be. It was a game of choice when we had a game night with two other couples and need to find a 6-player game. The game was so good that I quickly went out and bought my own copy. So did the other couple!

Ticket To Ride

Ticket To Ride is a modern classic and one of the more popular “Euro”-style games. Like Trans America, this is another railroad-building game. However, the game play between the two games is quite different. In Ticket to Ride, you are buildling railroads to various destination cities. But unlike Trans America where you can share the railroad tracks you build, in Ticket to Ride, only you can use the railroad you build. That makes it a much more competitive game than Trans America. It’s possible to block other players from building sections of railroad.

Ticket to Ride is also easy to learn and can be played by kids as young as 5 or 6 (the official box says 8 and older). You build your railroad by playing cards that match the color of the railroad you want to build. Basic counting is also involved. Despite the simplicity of the rules and game play, Ticket To Ride provides for rich strategic possibilities that will engage and entertain adults as well as children.

Ticket to Ride is one of those games that I keep wanting to come back to. It’s a great game to introduce to others because it has some good depth, but is easy to learn. There are actually many versions of Ticket to Ride, each with the same basic rules but a couple of additional rules to keep things interesting. Each version really has its own personality and requires different strategies. Some of the different versions include maps of different countries including: USA, Europe, Switzerland, and Nordic Countries.

Carcassonne

Now let’s talk about a non-railroad game. Carcassonne, named for a city in france, is fun on many levels. As with the other gateway games, it has simple rules and is easy to learn. In Carcassonne, each player takes his turn by laying down a tile that connects to other tiles that build cities and roads. You place little people (known as meeples) on the cities and roads as you build them to gain points and prevent other players from claiming them.

I really enjoy this game because it’s fun to build your cities and roads. You never know how they’re going to turn out or how big they will be. There’s a lot of room for strategy for more advanced players, yet kids will equally enjoy building their little empires regardless of strategy. I also like the high-quality components. The tiles are thick cardboard with beautiful artwork which is very pleasing to look at. Carcassonne has several expansions which add to the complexity and depth of the game as you gain experience playing.