Hobby gaming has grown over the years. More people are discovering hobby games and the ease of acquiring both new and unique games continues to grow. Because of the shear volume of games available, knowing how to branch out can seem intimidating. Let’s dive into WicosDice’s 5 best games to take you beyond Monopoly!
- Ticket to Ride
- Splendor
- Mysterium Park
- Small World
- The Crew: Quest for Planet Nine
Set Collection: Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride from Days of Wonder is an excellent board game using easy to understand rules, game play at around an hour, and trains that will help capture the younger audience. On your turn you can draw train cards, complete routes by placing train cars of your color on the board and discarding the appropriate cards, or take tickets that allow you to score end game points for having lines of your color train pieces linking two cities on the game board together.
You will see people talk about this or that version being the best versions out there. If you are taking that next leap up from Monopoly, Battle Ship, and similar games, the original Ticket to Ride is the perfect next step for you. Once you would like some more variety, pick an expansion map that grabs your interest.
Resource Management: Splendor
Splendor from Space Cowboys is definitely one of those games considered a classic. In the game you collect different colored chips that represent various gems. Once you have collected enough gems, you can buy cards, gems are limited based on the number of players. Cards that are under your control will give you bonus gems that you can use for purchasing more cards or lead to scoring points that will help you win. To win the game you need to score 15 prestige points.
With simple rules, pretty artwork on the cards, the heavy poker chip tokens used for gems and fast game play make this a great game to play with the family or friends. If the original Splendor artwork doesn’t capture your interest, try the Marvel themed version. The version we have is themed on Marvel
Co-op: Mysterium Park
Mysterium Park by Libellud is an entry level co-op game. In this game you have one player as the ghost and the rest try to decipher who murdered them at the circus. There are 6 rounds, or nights, to figure it out. All clues are given via illustrated cards, so no reading required. Making it great if there are language or reading barriers.
Mysterium Park plays very similar to Mysterium. Unlike Mysterium though, this game plays well at lower player counts. We have enjoyed many games at 2 and 3 players, and it’s just as fun as a 6 player game.
Area Control: Small World
Looking for a fantasy game with high player interaction? Try Small World by Days of Wonder. In Small World, players vie for conquest and control of a world that is simply too small to accommodate them all. Players control troops of various fantasy races with special powers to occupy territories and conquer lands and push the other races off the face of the earth.
With many combinations of races and powers, the game has great re-playability. With the fun art and bold colors, the is an eye catching game that makes it easier to plan out your next move and its effects.
Trick Taking: The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine
Are you looking to move past traditional card games? Have a group that enjoys trick taking? The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine by Kosmos Games is a great one to add to cooperative game play with a bit of a theme. You, and your crew, work through 50 different missions traveling across the solar system.
While you progress through the missions, the difficulty increases, keeping the game fresh and addicting. It’s near impossible to just play one game, and before you realize it, you’re 10 games in and not ready to stop.
These are the 5 games, found in our collection, that are great to take you beyond Monopoly. What games in your collection would you recommend to move past the classic “beginner” games?
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