6. Munchkin
- Players: 3 – 6
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How to Play Munchkin
Munchkin sees players trying to gain levels by way of knocking down doors and battling monsters. The game quickly descends into chaos, with players able to lay down cards at any point that either help or hinder their rivals, and everyone swiftly dropping/gaining levels with every turn. Players can loot rooms in order to garner more treasure, team up with other players to take down high-level monsters, or help out the monsters to get them to defeat their rivals in battle.
Why Munchkin is a Great Card Game for Beginners
With cards changing hands all the time, long-term strategizing isn’t really the aim of the game in Munchkin. An excellent party game, if you want to spend an evening stabbing your friends in their backs, this is the one for you. Though it can take a little time to get used to the basics, rounds are short enough that everyone will be ready to go after a couple of rounds, and the numerous expansions available for it ensures that you can keep returning to the game with new cards in the future.
7. King of Tokyo
- Players: 2 – 6
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How to Play King of Tokyo
King of Tokyo mimics old Japanese monster movies by having all players duking it out for control of Tokyo. Players can select from a number of monsters including a King Kong-esque giant ape, a Godzilla imitator, and a robotic cat, with them trying to besiege Tokyo by way of dice rolls. The aim of the game is to either acquire 20 victory points by taking down rival monsters and maintaining control of Tokyo, or to defeat all other players and be the last monster standing.
Why King of Tokyo is a Great Board Game for Beginners
Much of King of Tokyo is left down to RNG, with players’ dice rolls leading them to victory or defeat. While extra ability cards can be equipped and players can decide whether or not to stand tall in Tokyo or yield and play defensively, it’s very light strategy and much of the fun comes from battering an opponent with a high dice roll. This may put some more experienced players off, but for those who want quick fun, King of Tokyo is an excellent choice.
8. Pandemic: Legacy
- Players: 2 – 4
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How to Play Pandemic: Legacy
Pandemic: Legacy is a game that you can only play once. Strange, we know, but there is plenty of game here, and it does things that simply wouldn’t work if you wanted to replay it. Tasking players with working cooperatively in order to quell a disease that’s promptly offing the population, Pandemic: Legacy sees you ripping up cards, destroying the board, and uncovering cataclysmic events that can change the tide of a play session immediately.
Players must move across the board and use actions in order to remove disease cubes from various cities across the world. This helps quell each epidemic, though to firmly cure a disease, players must play five cards of the same color from their hand and travel to a Research station. However, players can also use those same cards in order to fast travel around the board, or to build new station around the map that could help them further prevent the spread of disease. Players can also “trade knowledge” between one another, swapping cards in order to complete sets.
There have been two seasons of Pandemic: Legacy thus far, each offering their own unique challenges and providing hours upon hours of playtime. While some may turn their nose up at paying for a board game that they’ll only experience once, you can still pack a whole bunch of hours into a single campaign, far more than you’ll spend with your average board game.
Why Pandemic: Legacy is a Great Board Game for Beginners
After you’ve got the basics of Pandemic: Legacy down, it’s a board game that’s designed to explain itself as you go along. This makes it a unique proposition, with you not needing to brush up on many rules beforehand, waiting to see what the game throws at you and your teammates as you progress. While most board games will see one player guiding a bunch of others through the rules for the first few rounds, in Pandemic: Legacy, everyone’s in the same boat and learning the ropes together.
9. Keyforge: Call of the Archons
- Players: 2
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How to Play Keyforge: Call of the Archons
Unlike most CCGs, there isn’t any deck-building in Keyforge. Instead, players are given fully formed decks right out of the gate, with no mixing and matching required. It is also less confrontational than other CCGs, with you not necessarily spending every turn attacking your opponent, but rather using your cards to gain resources that will allow you to acquire Amber.
Amber can be gained by playing cards, attacking the other player, and more, while the Amber cost of your keys can also be decreased/increased when certain cards are played. When a player has acquired enough Amber (typically six pieces) they can forge a key. When three keys are forged by a player, that player wins the game.
Why Keyforge: Call of the Archons is a Great Card Game for Beginners
By removing the need to pick up more decks and booster packs in order to get the most out of the game, Keyforge is much more accessible than pretty much every CCG out there. Each deck you acquire will need to remain the same, so you won’t need to add in more powerful cards to take on other players. Considering how expensive CCGs can get, this makes for a nice change of pace, and all you need is a couple of pre-built decks to get the full Keyforge experience.
10. Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of Ashardalon
- Players: 1 – 5
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How to Play Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of Ashardalon
If you’ve yet to dip your toes into the Dungeons & Dragons waters, then Wrath of Ashardalon provides an accessible experience that not only keeps all the monster-slaying and dungeon-exploring intact, but does so with an added visual element for D&D newbies.
Wrath of Ashardalon gives players a bunch of miniatures to guide around a board that they create as they progress, with tiles being added as they move from room to room. There’s an overarching quest that the players must complete, though multiple scenarios ensure that the replayability is high in this one, with it providing a great challenge for teams of players or even the solo adventurer. Combat plays out much in the same way as a standard D&D game, with dice rolls dictating the action, and monsters popping up in various rooms that players need to best before moving on.
Why Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of Ashardalon is a Great Game for Beginners
Removing the need for a Dungeon Master, Wrath of Ashardalon ensures that no one in a party needs to be an experienced D&D player guiding along the rest of the party. As such, everyone embarks on the same quest, and while it may be a little more complex than other games on this list, it’s the best entry point for those looking to get into D&D.
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