Are There Board Games to Suit All (or Most) Moods and Occasions?

Over the last 25 years, the board game hobby has seen revolutionary change. Before the mid-1990s, board games could have been categorized in two basic groups. On one hand, there were casual-player games like Monopoly, Risk, Clue, Scrabble, and Trouble, which were available in toy stores and big-box stores everywhere; they were ubiquitous and well-known, but not always highly regarded. Conversely, there were decidedly esoteric games that involved complicated rules and many chits. These included railroading games and war simulation games. Rare were the games that straddled both camps; games such as Axis & Allies and Fortress America were two examples of games that involved complex rules, but still somehow inserted themselves into the public consciousness. (Note that I'm not including role-playing games or collectible card games in this discussion.) Then, in 1995, a curious game called Settlers of Catan was published, followed by El Grande (1996), Tikal (1999), Carcassonne (2001), and Ticket to Ride (2004), along with a plethora of intriguing titles. These games ushered in a new era of games that populated a middle ground between casual board games and esoteric board games, combining relative complexity with accessibility and aesthetic craftsmanship. They could be somewhat easy to learn by casual players, intricate enough to engage old-school esoteric gamers, and be downright beautiful on the table. Nowadays, the games on the market exist as a testament and response to the increasingly-demanding standards of consumers that expect artistry, well-written and test rules, and theme.

Despite the revolutionary transformation of the board game hobby, there is one question that is as prevalent as ever: are there board games that are suitable for all people and all occasions? Obviously, the answer is a resounding "No," so the question we should ask is, "Are there any games that come close?" To that query, the answer is a resounding "Maybe." Before you form your own mental list of games to suit most occasions, let me share with you some questions that I ask myself when I prepare to host or attend any gathering, whether it's a board game day, a birthday party, or just an extended family gathering.

Before I continue, one useful metric (or better or worse) to which I refer that is available for each game on boardgamegeek.com is the Weight of the game. Users rate games on a score of 1 (Light) to 5 (Heavy). Though I'm not a fan of quantitative scores for qualitative information, this metric is good enough for you to compare games. It has also been very handy for informing my game-buying decisions when thinking about my family. Note, however, that the ratings were entered by hobby gamers; what they think is "Light" might be a little heavy for the non-gamer. As a rule of thumb, I consider games between 1 and 1.5 as "a little challenging for non-gamers, but not too bad," between 1.5 and 2 as "requiring some hand-holding and more explanation," and between 2 and 2.5 as "requiring the patience and guidance of an expert if this person has any chance of gleaning any fun from the session." Oh, and for games at 3 or higher... well, I'd stay away from those until your would-be gamer has had a few sessions with the "gateway games."

Who is invited to the game session?
The most crucial question you can address is the composition of your invitee list. Do you have board game enthusiasts, non-gamers, or people who fall somewhere in between those two groups? Did you invite people who actually do not like games? Depending on who is attending, you have to assess your game collection and determine which games match your invitees. For casual gamers, skew towards 2 or under. For your enthusiasts, aim for at least a high 2 (2.8, for instance).

What's the occasion?
Barring the possibility that your event is a dedicated board game session, your invitees will not be mentally prepared to break up into separate groups and game tables. I have found that people mostly want the freedom to intermingle and talk to many different people. For the gamer host, this can be frustrating, but you have to think about the people; usually, when people hear "Party," they think of everyone interacting with each other, not tables in different rooms for focused gaming. Thus, games that involve (almost) everyone are more readily accepted.

Beyond that, consider the purpose of the session. Is it a birthday party? Maybe choose party games like Codenames (1.3), Taboo (1.22 -- yes, I said Taboo), or Pictionary (1.24). Is it a family gathering of aunts and uncles? Once again, party games or games that involve more than eight people are effective in engaging the entire group. Are two families with four or fewer members (each) present? Then, consider a game like Seven Wonders (Weight: 2.3) that involves simultaneous play or team games like Secrets (Weight: 1.27).

Do any of your invitees NOT like games?
This is a tough one because one unenthusiastic person can stymy any attempt at a game. At best, that one person will wander in and out of the room as they bounce between the refreshments table and your game table; at worst, he or she will distract the table with side comments and scuttle the session. In either case, the person is neither trying to be awful nor trying to sabotage the game; for whatever reason, he or she just doesn't like games. Maybe it's because of a childhood memory, or maybe it's because they're not competitive. Whatever the case, this person has yet to have a favorable experience with games.

With individuals like this, there may be NO game that suits them, but that shouldn't stop you from organizing a game. Give advance notice to your invitees that you will organize a game; then, take the non-gamer aside and ask him or her to participate. If your attendee declines, then offer the freedom of observing. For your reluctant gamer type, skew towards simpler games at a Weight of 2 or less. Among the best at that Weight for large groups include Codenames, Dixit (1.2 -- especially the Odyssey edition), and One Night Ultimate Werewolf (1.4). A lesser-known game with a traitor element is Saboteur (1.33).

How much time do I have?
If your gathering is not a dedicated gaming session, then only a portion of your scheduled time will be committed to board games. With this in mind, aim for shorter games. Another data point that you find on boardgamegeek.com is Playing Time, which assists you in determining a suitable game for your gathering. However, I recommend adding 50% more time to that; for instance, a game with a Playing Time of 30 minutes may actually take 45 minutes because of setup and instruction. Generally, select a game that fits well under your projected play time.

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Thanks to Board Game Geek's website, you can answer the question of "Are there any games that come close to suiting all occasions?" based on Playing Time and Weight with a fair degree of confidence. In my experience, I have found that a confluence of medium Playing Time length (1-2 hours) and a Weight between 1 and 2.5 often ensures that the games you choose will target most audiences. Simpler gateway games like Codenames and Dixit have been easy to teach and fun for gamers; slightly more complex "Next Step" games like 7 Wonders have required a bit more teaching and guidance, but have won over people and turned casuals into nascent gamers. Will such games enthrall esoteric gamers? Well, games that fall in this confluence of data points should entertain them enough outside of a dedicated board game night, but they may become withdrawn and slightly resistant if your game night consisted of games with a Weight of less than, say, 2.3, though I would concede that this is not a rule.  It is indeed amazing how Board Game Geek data points can help in selecting games...

Yet, if you would prefer to trust your own knowledge and intuition, just imagine the perspective of each of your would-be participants. In the past, I have often relied on hunches in selecting games. I have made mistakes, but those mistakes were borne more out of my inability to understand the other person's perspective than out of a lack of effort or information. In other words, you truly have to put yourself in that person's position. Imagine being a non-gamer and what that feels like. It's easy: simply think about a hobby you don't like and then extrapolate from there. If you succeed, you'll understand how boring, unexciting, or daunting board games can be to such a person. After all, these are feelings and thoughts I have when I think about, say, building sheds or scrapbooking (which are NOT bad hobbies at all; they're just not my hobbies). Once you can conceptualize those feelings, you discover that you can choose games that are not-so-painful for the non-gamer.

What to Do If... Board Games Have Become Less Fun

Like most hobbies, table gaming (i.e. board and/or card games) is subject to the ebbs and flows of life. A table gamer may experience weeks, months, or even years of high-peak interest in his hobby, seeking consistent game sessions and new and exciting games to open, sort, and explore. Conversely, a table gamer may be overwhelmed with life changes, such as switching jobs, marriage, having children, moving to a new neighborhood, checking out an unfamiliar church, and so on. What is difficult to understand, though, is when one's interest in a hobby seems to wane for no significant reason. Though I would contend that there is always a reason, the underlying causes may be almost impossible to identify.

Nonetheless, there are ways to handle periods of your life during which, for one or many reasons, board games are just not as fun as they used to be or are not that fun at all. Some of these methods are painfully obvious, yet some of them may be unfamiliar to you.

Take a Well-Defined Break from Gaming

The simplest method for dealing with this malaise is to stop gaming for a while, though I would not recommend taking an open-ended break. I suggest taking a clearly delineated break by defining the start and end of the break. Call it a "fast" from gaming. The fast could be for 10 days, 20 days, one month, or even a few months. By defining the parameters of the break, you establish that mental barrier for which to aim. By fasting from gaming, you may regenerate that keen interest in the hobby, yet develop a healthier perspective of it. After all, gaming is a relatively minor hobby and should not override more important concerns, such as one's faith, or even family, job, and friends.

Explore Other Hobbies

Another obvious solution is to engage in other activities. I would suggest physical activities, like hiking or sports, to disconnect from the cerebral pursuits of gaming and exercise other areas of your brain.

Return to a Beloved Game from Your Past

One way to revitalize your interest in table gaming is to revisit a game from your past. These kinds of games I call recharger games. For example, I used to really enjoy playing Carcassonne with a few expansions, especially Inns and Cathedrals. By returning to a game from your past, you may rediscover those game-youthful feelings you may have left behind and forgotten. If you have been tempted to sell that old game, do not sell it; keep it as a reminder of your "younger" gaming days. If you sold that old game, I recommend buying it again and keeping it ready. Remember: just because you have "evolved" as a gamer does not mean you cannot enjoy those past gateway games that got you involved in the first place.

One more thing to mention: even opening up an old game and thumbing through its components may be enough to enjoy gaming again. Sometimes, I like to crack open Core Worlds just to look at the card art and read through the potential combos. That game is definitely one of my go-to recharger games.

Reconnect with an Old Game Buddy

Another way to rekindle your hobby fire is to call upon a game friend from the past. Be sure to call someone with whom you really enjoyed playing games. However, consider the possibility that the old gaming buddy has either moved on from gaming or has "evolved" into other games. Recapturing that wistful feeling of positive nostalgia may be only one-sided; factor that into the reconnection and you will frame the reunion with balanced expectations.

Buy (or Make) an Expansion

Occasionally, all you need is to shake up an old game with a novel expansion to renew your gaming spirit. However, I would extend this to a riskier idea: creating a home-brewed expansion. When I am a bit bored, I like to think about ways to tweak the existing rules by synthesizing new cards, game boards, and tokens. Playtesting these ideas can energize a gaming veteran by making her analyze the rules to find loopholes and advantageous combos that can be exacerbated or mitigated by a homemade expansion.

As an added bonus, there are a few methods that I would NOT recommend because these can be counterproductive:

DON'T Sell the Old Games...Yet

Selling old games does not solve the problem of loss of interest... unless the issue is not that. You may be selling games because you are absolutely no longer interested in table gaming OR you have elevated table games to an unhealthy level of interest such that you value them over truly significant parts of your life. Of course, if you are just in a lull, hold onto your old games until you are certain of your course of action.

DON'T Buy a New Game

Sure, it's exciting to buy new games, sort components, sleeve cards, and organize contents for a night-long session of gameplay, but I have found that this does not alleviate waning interest on a long-term basis; instead, it staves off the malaise for a short time. It also establishes a "cult of the new" pattern of thinking. In other words, you are only able to ward off boredom by buying new games. This is an expensive route with diminishing returns. As I have heard in so many movies, if you are not enough with the games you have, how can you be enough with a new game?

DON'T Seek New Game Friends with an Expectation of Renewing Interest

It may seem like an excellent strategy to try out a new gaming group, but the worst aspect of this method is that you may become further disillusioned trying to renew gaming interest with people you barely know or may not even like. This could backfire spectacularly because new players are an unknown quantity. For instance, if you are a competitive person who enjoys engaging in table talk (i.e. light trash-talking), but you join a group who shies away from such banter, you may end up further discouraged.

DON'T Play Your Way Through the Doldrums

Much like a lot of athletes, trying to play your way through a slump can worsen your negative sentiments because you start feeling like you are in a pit you cannot escape. However, this is not always true; sometimes, an unexpectedly exhilarating session of play may recharge you.

In general, when suffering through a downswing in gaming, I advise avoiding new situations, games, and opponents, and return to past games, opponents, and groups with whom you relished playing. Of course, this approach may not work for you; perhaps, something novel may energize you. New friendships can also inspire you to continue.

I should mention, though, that there is the danger of table gaming becoming that idol that one comes to worship, as if the hobby becomes so integral to one’s daily routine and thoughts that all other aspects of one’s life become secondary. Christians think in terms of “idols,” and I believe that this approach is a useful way to reassess what table gaming means to you. In fact, Philippians 4:19 offers intriguing insight in which Paul wrote of idolaters: their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. Does gaming dominate your thoughts and free time? Does most of your discretionary funds go towards it? If so, I strongly recommend taking a long break from table gaming and focusing on pursuing God. Such a pursuit realigns our perspectives, which, ironically, can enhance our enjoyment of any hobby. As is often overstated, table gaming can become “too much of a good thing.” In that sense, the best way to reignite gaming interest is to realign your priorities.