Boardgame difficulty for "game nights"

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Arkham Horror can be alright because the app does some of the work for you. Sometimes a lot of it. Way better if you have a tablet for the puzzles.

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I have no clue what I am getting into

I had no clue there was an app or anything. Hmmm

Can you help me with difficulty level of each? Don't want to dive into the hardest one first.

quote:

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I have no clue what I am getting into

I had no clue there was an app or anything. Hmmm

Can you help me with difficulty level of each? Don't want to dive into the hardest one first.

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My bad, I was thinking Mansions of Madness.

How complex Arkham Horror can vary depending on which onez but none are rules light. Betrayal is probably best for your group. Classic Pandemic isn't that bad.

Mansions of Madness 2nd edition and Eldritch Horror are the best ones IMHO. Arkham is a good one though.

I would caution you to be very careful with your burgeoning board game group. You don't want to try too much too fast. There are a lot of factors that go in to a game being a success for a group of new gamers, and while it's easy to get excited, your other group members might not have the same interests you do.

How do the other group members respond to competition? Are they cutthroat or are they happy to playing around while having cocktails? Are you going to piss off your wife if you snatch victory away from her on the last turn? co-operative games can be good because it takes some of the fear of decision making away, but for my group they never worked because if there's no winner what's the point.

Are they open to themes like horror? The fun of betrayal is the lead up to the haunt where suspense builds, but if your neighbor is going to be annoyed or weirded out when he becomes a werewolf or space alien 2/3 through the game that might turn them off. Find a theme that everyone can get into, not just you.

Try to keep the complexity down for a while. I think you want something light that can be fun for everybody and doesn't take more than 30 mins to play. I've had a lot of success with Azul for new gamers. There are limited actions to take which makes it easier to teach and play. It's tactile meaning the players get to touch the parts which is fun. There's just enough backstabbing to not offend other players.

Another recommendation is a game like love letter. It's small and intimidating but there's so much replayability. Rounds are very short so it's good for post dinner drinks.

Last recommendation is that no matter what game you choose, learn it inside and out and learn how to teach it effectively before playing with the group. Nothing kills a new game like the glassy eyed look of others who are tuning you out while you're trying to teach it. There are guides on how to teach games in general out there.

Resistance is a good drinking game for larger groups. Normal Pandemic isn't a hard game to learn, but it's a really fricking hard game to win. Plus it's a team game, so it makes it easier to play with people IMO

Get Jackbox Party Pack 3 on XBox or whatever you have, play Quiplash 2 with friends. Or Trivia Murder Party. 8 can play, but if there are more around they can be in the virtual "audience" and join in. It is a fantastically good time. Everyone plays on their own web browser on their cellphone.

I'm sure the other Jackbox Party Packs are also good, but I've only played the 3rd one.

Codenames and Wavelength are both good games for any number of players (well, 4 or more anyways). They actually take some thought and knowing your teammates well, but they are very simple to play in terms of game mechanics.

of course, my group has gone absolute bonkers with game nights. we and another married couple (each family with 2 kids around the same ages) decided to get into Gloomhaven last fall. We were making ok progress, but once COVID hit, we decided to make them our quarantine buddies and we've probably put in a total of 150 hours so far. the kids love it because they get to play and watch movies together for extended periods of time. we love it because we cook good food, drink whiskey, and frick shite up in the scenarios. Still are only about 66% completed though, and we've already bought into the Frosthaven kickstarter lol.

Codenames is a blast. Especially if you get the other ones like pictures and deep undercover. Rotate between the 3 to shake it up

One Night: Werewolf is a great drinking/party game. You will learn a lot about how well your friends can lie to your face as well.

nvm. already corrected.

While I'm here, I can vouch for Horrified. It's what started it all for me and now I'm sitting at 40 games with no end it sight. If you are a collector, it gets expensive quick.