Old Chestnut Reviews: Games to get people into gaming

What kind of games do I recommend to get people into gaming who are on the fence and don't have a lot of background on gaming?

I would generally suggest a game that has a good balance of not being too complicated but still fun but enough of a challenge to make sure they want to come back and play it again. I think sometimes we recommend games that are too simple and it reinforces the idea that games are too childish, or we err in the opposite direction and want to break people in to games that, while great games, are way too complicated for someone whose only reference for games are moldy oldies like Clue or Monopoly.

I also suggest a game that has good quality production. Nice tokens, nice art work, nice quality cards. You want something that's not the cheap paper Monopoly money or the games that have really cheap cardboard chips and chits that make it seem cheap or shabby.

Thirdly, I think you need to get a game that concisely tells a good story or has a good theme. There are a lot of great esoteric and in depth story campaign games out there, but I think that's going to be too overwhelming. You need a game that has a theme that is interesting and provokes the imagination but not so story heavy that again people who only know something like Scrabble or Monopoly are going to be overwhelmed by.

As such, I would go with something like the original Everdell or Raiders of Scythia. Maybe something like Cascadia, but that production is not the top quality but still charming. Maybe something like Ticket to Ride, but that's kind of a kitschy game that may turn a few people off. If you want a game that's fun but a bit darker for that science fictiony friend-I love Escape the Dark Sector. A lot of dice chucking and old school artwork. Not for everyone, but it's a great one that really got me into gaming.

The ones that often get recommended but I actually would steer newbies away from are Catan and Spirit Island. Spirit Island is great, but its a bit overwhelming for people with little background in gaming. Frankly, I always hated Catan. It was my introduction to modern gaming like a lot of people, but I just never liked it. The set up is a bit of a beast for newbies.

Just my thoughts.

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