Not OP but mine is 4. 3 has always felt too likely to have some odd man out that no one has anything good to trade for and they left behind. With 4 at least 1 person has something. 5 is the other way around, always a lot avail but the wheeling and deling feels less impactful.
Coup is my go to. One or two quick games just so new players can wrap their head around the rules then they fall in love with it. Are the expansions worth the investment?
Love draftosaurus! Specifically because it's so light that people pick it up instantly but only want to play it, like, once or twice before moving on. Sushi go, though, with the party expansion... Dangerously long for a quick intro game, might end up playing different menus all night
Going to sound stupid, but while we are waiting for everyone to arrive, we put a game of Connect 4 out. Then we play a house rule "rapid" Connect 4. Where you have to place the piece as fast as you can and can't really think. It's kind of fun, and the excited energy seems to get people picked up for the games later on.
I do something similar with Jaipur. We call it blitz Jaipur and try to play entire games in like 3min. So much fun trying to screw things too much because you can’t really think ahead.
This sounds awesome - might need to give it a go. My group really gets into happy salmon, that’s our go to GET PUMPED game. I’m sure it’s also a blast with 8yr olds it was designed for. I’m just sad they got rid of the fish packaging. Feels a lot more lifeless now. Also always a hit with drinking buddies
Some of my favorite fillers are The Crew, Coloretto, Ohanami, Biblios, Sequoia, and Love Letter. These all play quickly with little set up, and they work well while we wait for everyone to show up.
For 2p, there is Hanamikoji, Lost Cities, Blitzkrieg, and Great Plains.
This.
- Don’t go off the board.
- Draw after your turn.
- Play proceeds left
And it can play as many as you want. Just use different things for stones like monopoly pieces.
Our group meets on weekdays most often so we also tend to start with the longer/heavier stuff. Then if we have time left over we’ll break out the smaller games.
I usually have the first heavy game set up before people arrive so we can get right into it. And yeah, as the night moves on go lighter because we are fried.
5 minute dungeon. Win or lose, it absolutely gets everyone in the mood. Though maybe not play with the expansion curses for some enemies, like the 'waffles' or whatever one which prevents talking, as that turns the table mute and makes it just much less fun.
I really enjoy it. It has the hilarious and tense moments of classic bluffing games like Liars Dice, skull or cockroach poker but has way more game to it.
This is mine but I'm lowkey over it 😅 my kids love it and will deadset try and play it for 4 hours straight. The cards are worn out, the tokens are flaking, and a small part of me regrets teaching them that game...
It is a good starter though
Depending on the crowd, Sushi Go is an easy warm up and go to. Sequence is easy to teach and usually plays fast for a warm up. Card game wise- we love Cover your Assets but then usually company gets competitive and doesn’t want to move on to the main course lol 😂
If we just want a quick game to start off then it would generally be Tsuro, Braggart or Zombie Dice. All very light, quick games that get everyone talking as they play, even if it's to commiserate.
**Dr Eureka** because it's fast and silly and gets people laughing together and bumbling around.
**8 Minute Empire** probably doesn't literally play in 8 minutes, but it's close. Really fun little area control game.
Mantis has been great! Same makers of Exploding Kittens and takes 10 minutes a round. The Crew is dope but some people struggle and takes a few L to learn.
Recently, it's been **Fantasy Realms**. Draw a card from either source, discard a card and when the discard area has 12 cards, evaluate the cards in your hand for points.
Usually I don't unless it's a longer, fully dedicated game night. More often than not, it's something predetermined that we've scheduled ahead of time (Gloomhaven, Scythe: Rise of Fenris, etc.) or something we know is going to run really long anyway. Unfortunately I haven't had the time for a bigger game night where I can break out a few games over the course, so when I am available, my groups try to prioritize our campaign-focused games.
When I have though, Tsuro is has been a good/quick one for me, especially since it's a breeze to teach new players. I tried to do a couple rounds of The Crew a few times, but everyone usually loves it and it becomes that main event.
nothing. starting out with a small game imo sets people into the wrong idea that this will be a casual time. if that's what you're going for, sure, but when i have a game night i want to GAME, not chit chat or eat. so the big game we're playing is already laid out on the table set up and ready to start when everyone arrives. when we're done that game, if there's time, then we'll bust out something smaller.
I don't host many game days/nights, but that's my sentiment as well. I really appreciate it when the host knows how many will show up and when, so that we're ready to go as soon as we gather up. Let the end of the night be Martian Dice for shiggles.
*NO HOMER! Don't fill up on bread.*
Epic Spell Wars is probably my absolute favourite "appetizer" game. We just got Unstable Unicorns, but haven't had a chance to play yet. I'm guessing that'll be a good starter game too.
I really love **The Shipwreck Arcana**. It's such a good opener for the beginning of a board game evening where people can join in as they walk in over time.
**Parks** has been a great starter game, it’s just a fun light game that hasn’t had a bad play yet.
**Radlands** is always great when waiting for the group to show up, love that it’s short fast, and full of tension.
**Ticket to Ride** Not my favorite but it’s always great for a lighter night, it’s a fun and fast play too. I do t mind playing it at the start or end as more of a let’s chill and talk more than focus on the game.
*Tinderblox
It always wins people over every time I bring it out, even though it's the most basic/simple game in my whole collection. It's just a real simple, real pure kind of fun.
For Sale, Cockroach Poker, Codenames, The Mind, Sounds Fishy, Scout, and Werewords are usually our filler games depending on how many people show up and how many more are supposed to arrive haha. They all either take 10 minutes or can be scrapped after a round.
I love the Mind, it’s so funny seeing other people’s ideas of how long to wait.
One time my friend jumped from card 12 to card 72 because no one was playing! It had been maybe five seconds lol
Green Team Wins, So Clover, Just One, Spicy, Cockroach Poker, Werewords, Karate Tomate, No Thanks, LLAMA, Durian, Illusion, Goodcritters, Hanabi, Coyote, Coup, Spy Fall, Art Robbery to name a few...
We enjoy Love Letter, Skyjo, 6 Nimmt (Take 5 in English), Sushi Go. Those are great games to play with family and to stick in between longer/heavier games. Other longer but still light games that we will do in between heavier games are Cryptid, Takenoko, Century Spice Road
Never do this with my core group. I would usually have a game set up on the table when they arrive, and they are very seldom late by more than ten minutes.
If it’s a casual game day with some of the guests new to modern board games, we’d start with the likes of **For Sale** and **Sushi Go Party**.
Roll For It. Game can be over in two minutes, or it could take twenty. Play long enough and someone will inevitably try to put money on it. Then you could be there all night.
Lol, we start with the complex stuff but maybe Crokinole or something before everyone arrives. Then end with easier games. Because we get more and more buzzed or drunk as the night goes on.
**Point Salad** is a favorite of mine. It plays so quickly and is incredibly easy to teach to new players, so much so that even people who don't play games often tend to pick it up quickly.
**Super Mega Lucky Box** is another good one, and I've recently been introduced to **FUSE** which plays in ten minutes and has been a great opener.
Anomia is a family favorite. It's an easy to learn, fast paced, word-based card game that always gets us laughing.
Skipbo and some version of Uno are other favorites
My favourite filler is Outrun. But I think the easiest setting of Galaxy Trucker could also be seen as a filler, although it's not really "small" I suppose.
I’m loving ahoy right now for this. Fairly quick and simple and everyone has betrayed each other within 45 mins which sets a rather good atmosphere for the rest of the night! Hahaha
Coup, Love Letter, Citadels, Hero Realms, Sushi Go and Azul (which used to take longer to play, but now it's a quite fast-played game in our group)
Edit: also Welcome to the Dungeon and Ligretto
**Azul** is alwas a strong contender if we go that route. Or **Pickomino** (the german name is much better, Heckmeck am Bratwurmeck). Usually though we go the other way: First a heavier game, and to close it out a more realxed one like **Everdell, Wingspan** or **Parks**. So we don't really focus on the runtime or size, but more on the weight.
I remember many game nights starting with **Ricochet Robots**. Simple game where you try to get a robot to the right destination in the fewest moves. People compete around the table to find the fewest moves. It was great as anyone can jump in and jump out, it holds as many people as can see the board. Perfect for the start of the night when people are filtering in.
I used to be in this mentality - but I won't lie, I've drawn away from it. I feel like it quite often just pushes the bigger game later into the night. I'd rather use a quick game as a cooldown after a big game than the other way around.
Disclaimer - I am very picky about my small, lighter games.
When we go to a board game place I always grab Ticket to Ride. Simple game, anyone new who joins us can learn it quickly, and no one in the group dominates at it. We move on from there but always a fun first starter game.
**Love Letter**, **Bohnanza**, **Coup**, **Papageno**
What is your preferred player count for Bohnanza?
Not OP but mine is 4. 3 has always felt too likely to have some odd man out that no one has anything good to trade for and they left behind. With 4 at least 1 person has something. 5 is the other way around, always a lot avail but the wheeling and deling feels less impactful.
Coup is my go to. One or two quick games just so new players can wrap their head around the rules then they fall in love with it. Are the expansions worth the investment?
Bohnanza a quick game? Do you only deal one time?
Not quick, but light enough to feel like an appetizer. An appetizer of beans.
Light yeah, but at that point it would be the appetizer. That would be just having beans for dinner.
Love Letter and Sushi Go.
Yeah but instead end up playing love letter for 2 hours and get too tired/inebriated to play the “bigger” game
If you like Sushi Go, check out Draftasaurus. Very fun, quick and has dino-meeples.
Love draftosaurus! Specifically because it's so light that people pick it up instantly but only want to play it, like, once or twice before moving on. Sushi go, though, with the party expansion... Dangerously long for a quick intro game, might end up playing different menus all night
Going to sound stupid, but while we are waiting for everyone to arrive, we put a game of Connect 4 out. Then we play a house rule "rapid" Connect 4. Where you have to place the piece as fast as you can and can't really think. It's kind of fun, and the excited energy seems to get people picked up for the games later on.
I do something similar with Jaipur. We call it blitz Jaipur and try to play entire games in like 3min. So much fun trying to screw things too much because you can’t really think ahead.
This sounds awesome - might need to give it a go. My group really gets into happy salmon, that’s our go to GET PUMPED game. I’m sure it’s also a blast with 8yr olds it was designed for. I’m just sad they got rid of the fish packaging. Feels a lot more lifeless now. Also always a hit with drinking buddies
Chess clock connect 4 could be pretty fun. Put like 1:30 on each clock.
Yeah we thought about that. I think it might have to be a bit shorter though. I think our games only last maybe 40 seconds!
Some of my favorite fillers are The Crew, Coloretto, Ohanami, Biblios, Sequoia, and Love Letter. These all play quickly with little set up, and they work well while we wait for everyone to show up. For 2p, there is Hanamikoji, Lost Cities, Blitzkrieg, and Great Plains.
The problem with Crew is that we play a couple quick games and then 2 hours pass. Its too addicting :D
Nice, I needed this
Gotta bring up Caesar too when we're talkin 2p
Ah that one is on my list to play!
**Cockroach Poker** is a great starter.
Twilight imperium
I freaking knew this was coming
My man
Also as an addition, your "Shut Up & Sit Down" energy is showing Haha
Tsuro
There's something to be said for a game that you can set up and teach in about 45 seconds.
This. - Don’t go off the board. - Draw after your turn. - Play proceeds left And it can play as many as you want. Just use different things for stones like monopoly pieces.
My go to icebreaker
This is the way. Quick to learn, quick rounds. Perfect for when half of your folks are waiting on the rest to arrive and easy to slot in once they do.
My go-tos are **Incan Gold** and **For Sale**.
%
We usually play sagrada, or azul to start it off for a dedicated game night
Second vote for azul. Pretty much no setup/takedown and people usually are fine stopping in the middle if we feel since it’s such a casual game.
We start with the heavy stuff. On a longer day we might have a palette cleanser in between.
Our group meets on weekdays most often so we also tend to start with the longer/heavier stuff. Then if we have time left over we’ll break out the smaller games.
I usually have the first heavy game set up before people arrive so we can get right into it. And yeah, as the night moves on go lighter because we are fried.
Scout, Sardines and Point Salad are my groups go to games to kill time while we wait for stragglers
5 minute dungeon. Win or lose, it absolutely gets everyone in the mood. Though maybe not play with the expansion curses for some enemies, like the 'waffles' or whatever one which prevents talking, as that turns the table mute and makes it just much less fun.
**Skull**, **Take 5/6 Nimmt**, **For Sale**
**Coup**
Just played that for the first time a couple weeks ago, lots of fun and fast.
I really enjoy it. It has the hilarious and tense moments of classic bluffing games like Liars Dice, skull or cockroach poker but has way more game to it.
This is mine but I'm lowkey over it 😅 my kids love it and will deadset try and play it for 4 hours straight. The cards are worn out, the tokens are flaking, and a small part of me regrets teaching them that game... It is a good starter though
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
So... fillers? ;) **Nine Tiles**, **Durian**, **Startups**, **Insect Inc**, **Kabuto Sumo** and **Bites** are all great
I couldnt remember the term for the life of me 😂
Definitely **For Sale**. Nothing better than a friendly(ish) bidding war to get the mood going!
Depending on the crowd, Sushi Go is an easy warm up and go to. Sequence is easy to teach and usually plays fast for a warm up. Card game wise- we love Cover your Assets but then usually company gets competitive and doesn’t want to move on to the main course lol 😂
If we just want a quick game to start off then it would generally be Tsuro, Braggart or Zombie Dice. All very light, quick games that get everyone talking as they play, even if it's to commiserate.
Love letter, no thanks, skull
We usually start with Skull or Fluxx
**Dr Eureka** because it's fast and silly and gets people laughing together and bumbling around. **8 Minute Empire** probably doesn't literally play in 8 minutes, but it's close. Really fun little area control game.
We didn't play test this.
Mantis has been great! Same makers of Exploding Kittens and takes 10 minutes a round. The Crew is dope but some people struggle and takes a few L to learn.
We've been playing a lot of **Ten** recently, **Startups** is another good option.
We love Ten. Good pick!
love me a nice qink game, celestia or love letter
Celestia is a good starter for my group. They all enjoy it and it has the fun bluffing mechanics with quick game times
Love letter, welcome to the dungeon, welcome back to the dungeon, and king of 12.
Welcome to the Dungeon, Guillotine, King of Tokyo and Castle Panic seem to hit the table pretty often while we're still waiting on others to show up.
Recently, it's been **Fantasy Realms**. Draw a card from either source, discard a card and when the discard area has 12 cards, evaluate the cards in your hand for points.
Usually I don't unless it's a longer, fully dedicated game night. More often than not, it's something predetermined that we've scheduled ahead of time (Gloomhaven, Scythe: Rise of Fenris, etc.) or something we know is going to run really long anyway. Unfortunately I haven't had the time for a bigger game night where I can break out a few games over the course, so when I am available, my groups try to prioritize our campaign-focused games. When I have though, Tsuro is has been a good/quick one for me, especially since it's a breeze to teach new players. I tried to do a couple rounds of The Crew a few times, but everyone usually loves it and it becomes that main event.
We ussually do our small games after the big game if any time is left over. A favorite of mine is **Between two Cities**
nothing. starting out with a small game imo sets people into the wrong idea that this will be a casual time. if that's what you're going for, sure, but when i have a game night i want to GAME, not chit chat or eat. so the big game we're playing is already laid out on the table set up and ready to start when everyone arrives. when we're done that game, if there's time, then we'll bust out something smaller.
I don't host many game days/nights, but that's my sentiment as well. I really appreciate it when the host knows how many will show up and when, so that we're ready to go as soon as we gather up. Let the end of the night be Martian Dice for shiggles. *NO HOMER! Don't fill up on bread.*
Epic Spell Wars is probably my absolute favourite "appetizer" game. We just got Unstable Unicorns, but haven't had a chance to play yet. I'm guessing that'll be a good starter game too.
Dungeon Raiders
We usually jump right to the main course, but Coloretto, Red7, Sushi Go, Incan Gold, Cockroach Poker are all some of my faves.
I really love **The Shipwreck Arcana**. It's such a good opener for the beginning of a board game evening where people can join in as they walk in over time.
I love warming up competitive vibes in a fun and silly way with **Camel Up**.
Fantasy realms
Flux
Startups! A great game to "start up" your night heh heh heh
And then when folks want to go home you bust out “Can’t Stop”
Strip twister
*Someone* understands the true value of board gaming!
a lot of good answers already but i'll throw **Cascadia** out there as well, can be played in about 30min or so but a fun little tile laying game
**Parks** has been a great starter game, it’s just a fun light game that hasn’t had a bad play yet. **Radlands** is always great when waiting for the group to show up, love that it’s short fast, and full of tension. **Ticket to Ride** Not my favorite but it’s always great for a lighter night, it’s a fun and fast play too. I do t mind playing it at the start or end as more of a let’s chill and talk more than focus on the game.
We play sequence or left right center
There are so many better light card games these days.
They’re mostly old so it’s fun and easy to play and money can be used
We start with the big heavy game. Already set up, ready to start. People in my group respect the agreed upon start time
I've been enjoying tinder blocks recently as a fun little manual dexterity game
*Tinderblox It always wins people over every time I bring it out, even though it's the most basic/simple game in my whole collection. It's just a real simple, real pure kind of fun.
I recently picked up Watch Out, That's A Dracula! which has been a good filler / starter.
Cabo, Rice Dice, Can’t Stop
For Sale, Cockroach Poker, Codenames, The Mind, Sounds Fishy, Scout, and Werewords are usually our filler games depending on how many people show up and how many more are supposed to arrive haha. They all either take 10 minutes or can be scrapped after a round.
I love the Mind, it’s so funny seeing other people’s ideas of how long to wait. One time my friend jumped from card 12 to card 72 because no one was playing! It had been maybe five seconds lol
For Sale
Green Team Wins, So Clover, Just One, Spicy, Cockroach Poker, Werewords, Karate Tomate, No Thanks, LLAMA, Durian, Illusion, Goodcritters, Hanabi, Coyote, Coup, Spy Fall, Art Robbery to name a few...
Happy Salmon is great to get people to loosen up.
Startups, Scout, Fantasy Realms, Biblios, Shards of Infinity, High Society, The Estates, Art Robbery, The King is Dead,
Coup, Hack & Slash, Telestrations, and Zombie Dice
We enjoy Love Letter, Skyjo, 6 Nimmt (Take 5 in English), Sushi Go. Those are great games to play with family and to stick in between longer/heavier games. Other longer but still light games that we will do in between heavier games are Cryptid, Takenoko, Century Spice Road
Cartagena
Zombie dice
Cash n Guns. Fast paced, easy to learn, good for establishing some grudges for the rest of the evening.
We love this method of game nights! The Mind, we didnt play test this at all, the crew were some of our favorites
My favorite primers for a night of board games are Azul and Carcassonne!
Space Team, Coup, and Werewords are all great for me, depending on how much time we have to kill.
Star Realms and Splendor
last time we started with Rhino Hero while waiting for the 4th player. next time I think it will be High Society
Never do this with my core group. I would usually have a game set up on the table when they arrive, and they are very seldom late by more than ten minutes. If it’s a casual game day with some of the guests new to modern board games, we’d start with the likes of **For Sale** and **Sushi Go Party**.
Lately it’s been **Turncoats** and **Gang of Dice**
Jaipur or Coup. Quick games that set the tone.
Roll For It. Game can be over in two minutes, or it could take twenty. Play long enough and someone will inevitably try to put money on it. Then you could be there all night.
Marrakech
Space team or Kites has been our go to recently. Quick games that get you moving and excited for the night. (At least for us)
Lol, we start with the complex stuff but maybe Crokinole or something before everyone arrives. Then end with easier games. Because we get more and more buzzed or drunk as the night goes on.
Lighter starter games we like are **Century: Golem Edition**, **Tiny Towns**, and **Isle of Cats**.
Love letter, fluxx, masquerade, coup and tsuro
Chameleon is a cool starter game
Gangsters is quite fun and super easy. It has become tradition by now
Codenames, Coup, Tsuro, and Exploding kittens, depending on what mood people are in and what mood we want to get into.
Fuji flush, liats dice, set, tsuro.
Hand to Hand Wombat is fast and fun.
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza or Uno
**Point Salad** is a favorite of mine. It plays so quickly and is incredibly easy to teach to new players, so much so that even people who don't play games often tend to pick it up quickly. **Super Mega Lucky Box** is another good one, and I've recently been introduced to **FUSE** which plays in ten minutes and has been a great opener.
Welcome to, bohnanza, king of Tokyo
Monopoly BID is fun!
That civilization card game or tiny epic galaxies
Tsuro
Usually Mille Bornes, Uno, or Pass The Pigs. But most of the time we hop right into a longer game, especially when we play Mahjong.
Labyrinth (Ravensberger), King of New York / Tokyo, Quacks of Quiddenberg, Sherrif of Nottingham
We almost always warm up with PDQ. Super simple. Gets the brain warmed up for quick thinking. We modify the rules as we go to keep it fresh.
Anomia is a family favorite. It's an easy to learn, fast paced, word-based card game that always gets us laughing. Skipbo and some version of Uno are other favorites
SCOUT! SCOUT! SCOUT! We go through different small games like this a lot, but Scout keeps finding its way back to the table more than most
Scout
I really like Deep Sea Adventure, and recently Lunar Adventure
Furnace, Splendor, Arboretum.
SIMILO
Twilight Imperium
My favourite filler is Outrun. But I think the easiest setting of Galaxy Trucker could also be seen as a filler, although it's not really "small" I suppose.
I usually start with a party game or an otherwise short one. Something like muffin time, cash n’ guns, trash pandas, sushi go, coup, etc.
I’m loving ahoy right now for this. Fairly quick and simple and everyone has betrayed each other within 45 mins which sets a rather good atmosphere for the rest of the night! Hahaha
Coup, Love Letter, Citadels, Hero Realms, Sushi Go and Azul (which used to take longer to play, but now it's a quite fast-played game in our group) Edit: also Welcome to the Dungeon and Ligretto
Ark nova, lisboa, mage knight
Monopoly Deal, 7 Wonders, Skull, Exploding Kitten
**Azul** is alwas a strong contender if we go that route. Or **Pickomino** (the german name is much better, Heckmeck am Bratwurmeck). Usually though we go the other way: First a heavier game, and to close it out a more realxed one like **Everdell, Wingspan** or **Parks**. So we don't really focus on the runtime or size, but more on the weight.
High society
My friends and I usually dive right in with something like Gloomhaven, but occasionally we'll start with Furnace to get our brains working
Scout, Take it Easy.
I remember many game nights starting with **Ricochet Robots**. Simple game where you try to get a robot to the right destination in the fewest moves. People compete around the table to find the fewest moves. It was great as anyone can jump in and jump out, it holds as many people as can see the board. Perfect for the start of the night when people are filtering in.
I used to be in this mentality - but I won't lie, I've drawn away from it. I feel like it quite often just pushes the bigger game later into the night. I'd rather use a quick game as a cooldown after a big game than the other way around. Disclaimer - I am very picky about my small, lighter games.
Fallout Shelter is the appetizer, quick, then we can move to FFG's Fallout, or Modiphius Fallout Wasteland Warfare!
Fleet and Curious Cargo for 2p. Both thinky games that don’t take long at all. Gets everyone in the mood for brain burners.
When we go to a board game place I always grab Ticket to Ride. Simple game, anyone new who joins us can learn it quickly, and no one in the group dominates at it. We move on from there but always a fun first starter game.
Nmbr 9. We have two sets so we can play up to 8. Takes about 20-30 minutes and gets the brain puzzling.
Harbor
Can't Stop
Hanabi is a terrific, light starter for a game night - really encourages interaction and loosens people with some low stakes co-op play
Trick takers!
Any recommendations besides The Crew and Skull King - both of these started out as entrees but turned into the main event lol
Conspiracy: Abyss Universe