9 Beginner Board Games I Wish I Played First

[@dspage13]

I had the exact same reaction the first time I played el dorado last year... "why did it take me so long to try this!?" such a great game!

[@Neon_Gorilla]

I want to play it now

[@gerrade71278]

FYI Bgg has 40 downloadable maps with super interesting configurations. All using the base game components only. It really boosts the replayability for this one 😊.

[@dinhngo17799]

Forest Shuffle was my 2024 best game, game of the year, the one, etc. whatever you call it. Simple and straightforward ruleset, huge amount of replayability, strategy developements, things get even better when playing with both expansions. Can't wait for the upcoming expansions, Dartmoor and Explorations.

[@ziglee]

Forest Shuffle is so much more complex than Arboretum that it doesn't make sense to see one as a replacement for the other

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Complexity in rules and vast rewarding decision space are two different things. Arboretum is 2.13 and forest shuffle is 2.2 on BGG complexity rating so nearly identical. Both are tableau building games with shared central market. The core mechanics are almost identical. Tableau construction is the difference. oh and both have trees. Beginners have difficulty with all or nothing scoring that can be manipulated from hate drafting. Forest shuffle certainly can devolve to hate drafting but it doesn't cause a player to lose all their points. I think the comparison is natural and suggestion to start with the less punishing and deeper game that will give significant more bang for the buck is a great recommendation.

[@photoben]

BGG weight rating is so reductive as it combines rules complexity with turn decision making. It’s not a great metric, I wish they’d bin it.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

@ I don’t disagree, for the same reasons all ratings are using different criteria and in result are completely flawed.

[@Amnachaidh]

Good video! I concur that Spirit Island is a great game that is not even a little bit for beginners. While it is my favorite game, it is a game that requires confidence in many game mechanics that are the basis of many other games. I will look at Defenders of the Wild as a starter game.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

It also needs a certain level of commitment that a lot of new players just aren’t ready to give

[@PaulNordvik]

Is Horizons of Spirit Island a legit option/semi-alternative/entry-point?

[@Neon_Gorilla]

@@PaulNordvik I don’t know. when it came out I had already had all other expansions for spirit island so never got it.

[@Amnachaidh]

@@PaulNordvikyes and no. There is no hand holding on the rule set, Which is the same as base Spirit Island. It does have about the best low complexity spirits in the game. The previous low complexity spirits, River, Lightning, Earth, and Shadows, were relatively inflexible in their ideal growth path. The new five are much more capable of being high-energy or high-card play. For the price, Horizons can’t be beat as a dip the toe into the game. If you teach a lot, it would be probably the second expansion I would get after Branch and Claw.

[@kirbyeatspi]

Seems like a good intro list! I'm sad Arboretum got "replaced" by Forest Shuffle. I get the comparison on the surface level, but I wish it got replaced by another abstract strategy game like Azul or another "rummy-like" game like Battle Line. And I also wouldn't want to ever scare anyone away from ROOT, especially considering the art/presentation. As long as they've played something like Risk and are okay being mean to each other. I played both ROOT and VAST before I got deep into the hobby. The groups we had learned both games by learning the base rules, picking which faction sounded cool, and reading the rules for that faction. We gave a brief description of what we THOUGHT our faction did, and then just hopped in and started playing. Don't worry about meta or what factions are strong, just do your best and have fun making mistakes along the way. I don't like that ROOT has become this daunting war game that's all about knowing exactly what your opponent's factions are capable of and playing around that. Players do not have to play every board game optimally, and games like ROOT and Risk are not about optimization anyways, so just go back to the good ol' days of enjoying beating each other up

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Arboretum is good, some noobs get sad with the all or nothing scoring and deceptively nasty take that.

[@MarekEffendowicz]

Really interesting analysis...glad to have discovered you. Thanks

[@chrisfoot2007]

There are some god tier games on both sides here! New people to the hobby will get wrapped up in the hype and want to play every game that gets raved about online. My advice is buy only 1 or 2, see if they actually get it to the table much, if not then sell it before buying another. If you buy second hand then youll get 95% of your money back when you sell it. Then get something else to try, as soon as something sticks and you find you have people passionate to play it with you and therefore you get to play it more than once or twice then savour that for a while and enjoy learning that game and getting better at it together. You now have an idea of what level of complexity you and your friends enjoy and can better judge what to try next. Love the videos Neon!

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Good advice, and yes god tier games are on both sides

[@gerrade71278]

Chepest Get to a convention/ expo if one is handy to where you live. If not reach out and find a board game group. Try 3 games. Look at other peoples collections. The fun thing about groups is each member can bring new and different games to the table. Also exchanging. So many games nowadays have a solo mode so you can master the rules or see how different games play during the between days. It really is the best hobby.

[@dessireshallenberger2836]

I really appreciate your trying to give alternative games to some of these popular games. I do “have” Everdell, Root and Spirit Island of those mentioned. Will agree with you on Spirit Island, it is generally too tough for those who are just getting into board games. I gave the game to my 20+ soon a few years ago and we finally got it to the table a couple months ago with a couple of his siblings. (They are used to games like DnD, Mysterium, Murder in Hong Kong, etc.) We spent a long time setting up and going over the rules, and then only had time for a few turns each before we had to stop. 😂😏 Then, for Christmas, I gave a different son the Root game and we played it a couple weeks ago. I think I like it better than he does- I’m already looking forward to getting expansions eventually after we feel like we have the base factions understood pretty well. Am definitely considering Wondrous Creatures, tho. I’m pretty sure Either of those Sons might prefer it over the ones I gave them.

[@Joseph_B__________1]

I think these recommendations are spot on! Of the ones mentioned, The Quest for El Dorado is my favorite!

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Yeah that was my big cheater pick as it is pretty universally accepted as a great game

[@Joseph_B__________1]

@@Neon_Gorilla I did not play it / buy it until April of 2024, so a bit late to the party, but I am really glad I joined it! Pretty much everyone I have introduced to it has really enjoyed it as well! Sitting at ~13 plays.

[@armandocassiano3780]

Same here! Great game. I’ll play it over Heat any day of the week.

[@Manboyno5]

Garage and weather/track conditions stuff (base game) made me enjoy Heat a lot more, give those a go if you haven’t yet. Great recs, I really enjoy El Dorado

[@jjlansing11]

I just got into the hobby in the last year, and picked up Quest for El Dorado as a throw in when I bought some games used on Marketplace. It sat on my shelf for months cause I thought it was too complicated. Eventually gave it a go and wow! First ever deck builder and I absolutely loved it.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Have you played Clank yet? A good progression from El Dorado

[@tuntemon]

I really like Forest Shuffle as a two player game. Three players is okay and five was dreadful. Since the bigger group I play with does have many instances of AP. It was especially long between turns. I can recommend Quacks of Quedlinburg as a good game for those who are new to the hobby.

[@clintjackson6613]

Quest for El Dorado is amazing! Such a fantastic game to introduce to people. Forest Shuffle is also one of our current favs. Agricola on the other hand. Such a punishing game that always left me as if I could never do well or make good decisions.

[@gerrade71278]

My first games were, monopoly, onecard, ludo, checkers, Chinese checkers, Clue, uno, trivial pursuit, pictionary, yahtzee, balderdash, backgammon and risk. All as a child/teen. By the time I got to Catan it was love at first sight! Spoilt for choice nowadays. Haha.

[@JonnyTenebrous]

Very solid list, and includes some suggestions I'd like to try (for introductions to other new players) - especially El Dorado. I also got Spirit Island as maybe my third game in my re-intro to the hobby some years back. Played it once solo to learn the basics, then played it a second time at 4 players and... wow... took us AGES to finish. Shelved it for two years after that. I play it solo all the time now - amazing game and a real brain-burner. But I agree that some of these games you need to work your way up to!

[@JonnyTenebrous]

My impression of "Heat" is also lukewarm. It's fine. But it's not suitable for my particular non-gamer friends, imo, and it can't go toe-to-toe with the finely curated enthusiast titles in my collection, so there's no room for it on my shelves I'm afraid.

[@SwissySweet]

This was such a great video!! Thank you! I’m new into the hobby and it was super helpful. I agree, El Dorado is the best!

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Welcome! So what was the game that made you fall into the hobby?

[@SwissySweet]

@ I had loved to play Catan, Smallworld and Ticket to Ride but what triggered me going down the board game rabbit hole was my daughter was old enough to play those games and we got sick of them and wanted something else. One innocent KZbin video on recommendations and two months later I had bought about 15 games! Love it!

[@rolling.reggie]

This is seriously such a smart video idea! I kind of did a similar thing with Gateway games which is my most watched video; great minds. When you were describing Spirit Island, I hugely agree that it’s overcomplicated for new players and my replacement for it is actually Daybreak! Gotta check out Defenders.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Daybreak is in the running I just think woodland creatures are more approachable than global warming :)

[@rolling.reggie]

@ can’t argue with that

[@NisseHult101]

I have tried Root, but my playgroup had a bit of trouble getting into it (probably a bit too complex for us at the time with every faction being played differently) and we haven't tried it again since. But Clank! and Heat: Pedal to the Metal we enjoyed very much and have played many times. I still want try Root again. All of them are very good games, of course!

[@bearfingers]

Root is fun. I think some people expect it to be cozier and nice because of the “cute “ artwork etc. It’s pretty mean and aggressive. If you come into it with the wrong group or mindset it will not be fun

[@DJMise14]

This video made me realize I’m maybe not a board game beginner like I thought I was. Spirit Island was one of my first purchases. Bought it because I like the idea, theme, and art. Easily one of my top games of all time in any medium. I guess the years of MTG through high school and strategy games on PC helped.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Yeah everyone is different following MTG metas is good training too :)

[@LanguageMaus]

Make a video about Forest Shuffle please! It is such a great game. Especially because of what you said: it doesn't get boring. There are a lot of different point combos and strategies, each game is a new puzzle to solve + there is a good amount of push your luck, as you don't know if your plan will work out and when winter will finally arrive. It is very pretty with a nice theme as well :)

[@92bagder]

Tree strat is broken as is wolf + deer. My one friend somehow always gets the sycamores and wins

[@LanguageMaus]

​@@92bagder Wolf and deer are powerful but I won with bunnies, butterflies, birds, frogs + fern, marten, various trees combos and many other ways. The fact that some strategies/cards are "better" is just part of the game, either you play them or stop your opponent from doing so. I don't see it as "broken", I personally still enjoy playing after 100+ games :)

[@Jacksuhn]

We got Forest Shuffle around the holidays and while I adore the game play, the scoring conditions are all over the place and can take a while to verify and count. Super solid recommendation, but worth noting. Cascadia is one of our absolute favorites! I will always recommend that to folks. Great suggestions overall. I even found a couple to check out.

[@josemiso3221]

Have you tried the scoring app? The one that just score the points for you taking picture ?

[@Neon_Gorilla]

There are a couple apps that score for you try this one out…apps.apple.com/us/app/forest-shuffle-smart-counter/id6544800532

[@Jacksuhn]

@@Neon_Gorilla very cool. Had no idea, thanks!

[@josephmattson9648]

I play forest shuffle exclusively on BGA. That might not be your jam, but you don't have to worry about scoring.

[@scottkabel]

El Dorado is one of my favorites and one of my favorites to teach. I like the rec for Forest Shuffle, too. I've seen Arboretum hurt feelings. Lol

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Exactly the all or nothing scoring takes a more advanced perspective to fully appreciate

[@wiblick]

This was all my mistakes. I couldn’t get rid of Everdell quickly enough. And need to revisit Agricola now that I am more experienced. Luckily I went directly to Sleeping Gods Distant Skies.

[@Pestilents]

I like the video. Great back and forth, with some awesome recommendations. Just want to let neon gorilla know that the thumb nail said "noobs". So I was hoping for some more light hearted mocky banter.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Sorry I am not that witty :(

[@bensonliou]

this is a really interesting video! i am also on the threshold to cull some old game and Keep the better version ❤ might subscribe to your discord after this vid

[@Neon_Gorilla]

I can't wait to see you there

[@IraBlort]

So, uhm, what's going on with those farm animal meeples at 3:12?

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Clearly re producing which actually happens in the game if I remember correctly ;)

[@MDJ0983]

I agree with Quest for El Dorado. Not to bash Heat but the plays I have had seem to run a little long for what it is. The Quest for El Dorado just feels more dynamic and interesting. I still really need to try out Wondrous Creatures.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

I wanted heat to be over about 3/4 in each time

[@MDJ0983]

@@Neon_Gorilla We generally only get one lap done and people start losing interest rapidly.

[@benediktcz]

@@Neon_Gorilla what about relic hunters or thunder road: vendetta?

[@Neon_Gorilla]

@@benediktcz never played em

[@Knytsolairesun11]

I feel like wondrous creatures is more of a set collection, hand management game, with a little tableau building

[@aloharay]

Very good choices, Cascadia, Forest Shuffle, Ahoy, Clank Catacombs, El Dorado are all some of my favorites! Though I do like Cubitos as well. If you like Red Raven Games (one of my favs), try Roam (if you can find a copy).

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[@Jebusito]

Great Video! Great Recomendations! 100% agree

[@ScottnCarol4JC]

We wanted so badly to love Everdell because of how beautiful and hyped it was, but it constantly fell flat for us. I will definitely be getting Wondrous Creatures in the future.

[@knalnl6340]

Then dont wondrous creatures is a boring way to play everdell, everdell is beter. Woundrous creatures is all about the boring trofies.

[@glallenclan]

I haven't played Wondrous Creatures, but I love Everdell. No regrets!

[@stormburns]

As soon as you said Agricola I knew you were about to say harvest haha

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Yup

[@MarekEffendowicz]

Thanks

[@halforange1]

I purchased Sleeping Gods Distant Skies over SG Primeval Peril and kind of regret it. A campaign of DS is a time commitment whereas it sounds like PP can be finished in a few evenings.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Yeah Any Narrative driven campaign is going to be a time commitment but yeah Primeval Peril is certainly what you want to start with if that is an issue

[@Frodo-]

You went with Primeval Peril but not Spirit Island Horizons? I guess the lists we gave in discord were a bit above the difficulty you were looking for 😅. Great list!

[@Neon_Gorilla]

I actually ha ent played horizons! Pulse Defenders is so damn good

[@Joseph_B__________1]

​@@Neon_GorillaHorizons was my gateway to Spirit Island. Was able to pick Horizons up for

[@halforange1]

I got Horizons and enjoy it, but it’s the crunchiest game in my collection. It’s a cheaper and more travel-friendly version of Spirit Island, but I wouldn’t say it’s noob-friendly. There’s a reason that Greater Than Games put the same age range and play time estimates on Horizons (as compared to SI), it’s not meant to be My First Spirit Island.

[@TheHEAVYDAN]

Quest for El Dorado is Ok, Heat is better, especially for a beginner.

[@H1GH0CT8N3]

This video made me subscribe!

[@Cult-Free_Ang]

Is there a community that shares/rents game to play prior to investing? I hate to spend a lot on a game that isn’t a family hit

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Board Game Arena is the best resource to try games out. Many of the games mentioned have digital versions or are on BGA

[@sauce773]

Everdell is pretty easy for new gamers in my opinion. It just looks intimidating because of all the pieces. Overlooking that it's pretty easy and fun.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

oversell totally fine for new players, in that comparison I just think wondrous creatures is better.

[@sauce773]

​@@Neon_Gorillai need to try it.

[@xshadowscreamx]

I’m sure all those card abilities be overwhelming for new players unless they are nerdy/willing to learn like the rest of us. But WC is actually rated a bit more difficult than everdell.

[@ten_oclock_scholar4690]

Man, I feel very attacked! 😆This video is you just being like "don't buy your [my] favorite games." Arboretum is so much better than Forest Shuffle (in my opinion). It feels like a modern twist on a classic card game. I really enjoyed Forest Shuffle at first, but it got samey to me pretty quickly. I prefer the original Sleeping Gods to Distant Skies despite the mechanical improvements because the exploration is a lot more interesting. If you're efficient, you'll see almost all the content in your first Distant Skies campaign, whereas Sleeping Gods can be played over and over again (I've played at least 3 campaigns of it that I can remember, and I will gladly play it again). I don't necessarily disagree that Primeval Peril is a good place to start to see if you even like this kind of game, but it's not very replayable, so even though it's cheaper, it's not a better investment. Everdell is in my top 10. I still love the base game, but I recommend the Newleaf expansion, as that one opens up the game in ways that addressed some of the complaints that some players had about the base game. I'm really excited to try Wondrous Creatures, but I don't think it'll replace Everdell for me. Spirit Island is one of the few games I give a 10, but I would never recommend it to new players just getting into the hobby. It's very crunchy and can be overwhelming at first, but it is one of the very best board games that has ever been made. I really wanna try Clank Catacombs - it's on my "to buy" list, as I think the dungeon changing under foot will make the Clank system infinitely more fun. I share your opinion on Heat. I have no idea what people love so much about that game. I just found it "ok."

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Don't take it personal :) Just my humble opinions.

[@ten_oclock_scholar4690]

@@Neon_Gorilla Oh, I don't. Just sharing mine! And to clarify, "I feel very attacked" is a meme.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

@@ten_oclock_scholar4690 oh I know I am kidding as well :)

[@JacobPorterLadder]

Cubitos is a favorite of mine, I agree I don’t get the love for heat

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Cubitos isn't bad, I think it suffers with pacing for beginners and understanding what the dice effects will ultimately be on their overall game. El Dorado is so seamless and intuitive I have to give it the recommendation.

[@kirbyeatspi]

​@@Neon_Gorilla I also found (and still find) the flow of the dice not very intuitive compared to card based deckbuilders of "My whole hand of cards goes to discard, then draw back up". Instead, we get... If you roll a face, move it to the Active Area, then if you keep, all your non-active dice stay in the Roll Area, but you MAY move some from your Roll Area to Discard Area. THEN move anything from your Draw to your Roll to your hand limit. I find that flow of the dice pool is difficult to grasp for players that are new to the deck/pool building genre, especially when compared to QfED HOWEVER, I do love Cubitos and chucking a handful of dice is so satisfying.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

@@kirbyeatspi agree also find that not all the "powers" are interesting. We had games where dice are completely ignored.

[@talhaiqbal6798]

The issue with forest shuffle I heard is that the game takes longer to score than to actually play lol

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Check the App Store. There is an app that takes pictures and scores automatically or play BGA keeps a running tally of scoring.

[@rolling.reggie]

Board game thumbnail goat 🐐🙌

[@Neon_Gorilla]

why thank you!

[@seraphiccandy21]

If you like Cascadia, you should get Aqua: biodiversity in the oceans instead. Its similar but better in my opinion.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Thank for the recommendation!

[@Prometheusforliberty]

Thanks for the tips!

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Anytime

[@stormburns]

Oooo defenders of the wild, I was expecting daybreak

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Daybreak is great but a little more complicated and I think interest in the Defenders theme might be a bit broader.

[@stormburns]

@@Neon_Gorilla root connection is kinda there too

[@knalnl6340]

I think base clank is better the the catacomb version and everdell is better then won creatures

[@JasonBrown-us9yv]

The more i played heat the more i felt turned off by it

[@IkoTheWolf]

I love your videos and insights but the frame rate or something like that feels very weird. Like you're micro jumping on your motion - just a comment to improve :)

[@Neon_Gorilla]

It’s 4k 24 frames which if people are used to 60 fps on high refresh rate monitors can look odd…I also do plenty of jump cuts which have hands and head in slightly different positions which will creat that effect. I just have to mess up less to fix that :)

[@shacaska]

Are you sure it's 24fps? It seems a little less, almost like a spider verse 12fps vibe. I'm watching on my tv and when the camera is on you it really doesn't seem like it's matching a typical movie's 24 frames.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

@@shacaska yeah it is 24 frames...I can't seem to figure out why only a few people are having this issue. I watch it on a phone and an apple studio display with no issues...maybe I will record at a higher frame rate on the next vid and see if anyone says anything. I just hate the look on videos of 60 frames hoping 30 fixes the issue on the screens that seem to be having them

[@shacaska]

@@Neon_Gorilla I'll keep an eye out for the next video and let you know if it's working, thanks for trying to fix it 🙂 Not sure how you're recording your vids and I'm sure you're much more experienced than I am but would be worth just double checking your camera settings as well. Your export from the program you're using to encode might say 24fps but if you're feeding in a video at less fps then it won't increase the frames of that video but at the end of the export it'll say that the video is 24 fps if that makes sense? I totally get what you mean with higher frame rates in videos. It's one of the first settings I turn off as soon as I get a new tv haha I hate all that 'motion smoothing' stuff but so many people I know don't even notice the difference! Also thanks for the vid as a newbie to boardgames it was great 😃

[@darbyl3872]

Why not play both, Forest Shuffle and Arboretum! Both are great, and they are different enough to want to play both. Clank Catacombs is slightly better than original Clank, but I still have the first one, and enjoy the Ape Lords expansion with the gears you can turn to redirect the tunnels. Quest For El Dorado is also great, but it's very different than Heat, which I don't care for.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

I agree Arboretum is great, Forrest Shuffle has just had more staying power.

[@diamondmeeple]

Not sure why you go on Arboretum. It is fine as it is.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Arboretum is fine. I burnt out on it but still good. Some people I have introduced it to really didn’t like the all or nothing scoring/take that aspect. Shuffle is a little friendlier IMO

[@terencemccormick8178]

#10 Don't buy Pandemic. It's out of print and hard to find, but Thunderbirds is Matt Leacock's superior evolution of the Pandemic system. For my money, anyway.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Haven’t played that but would take day break over pandemic

[@rjs69]

Not a great fan of forest shuffle, but it is better than arboretum

[@Neon_Gorilla]

fair

[@Stetson819]

Seeing Agricola hurt my soul haha. One of my favorite games ever. Great list overall!

[@Neon_Gorilla]

But is it for beginners is the question…

[@Stetson819]

​@@Neon_Gorilla It was one of my first games. Which doesn't really mean anything because I love tight games and lots of player interaction in my games (before board games I mostly played Magic the Gathering and other TCGs). I have seen firsthand the nature of the game sour people on games so I get the hesitancy to recommend it to new players. Something about watching someone take the spot you desperately needed after investing the last hour to the game, or getting punished because you realized you were one round late on taking a necessary action to fulfill your strategy by the games end can definitely have some negative consequences haha.

[@brownrhythms]

Flamme Rouge is also better than Heat as a gateway and arguably overall.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

I bounced off that one hard but agree it is a better entry.

[@Triston_Yocom]

Nahhhh instead of everdell beginners should try Gaia Project instead

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Great pic…new video “great beginner games, funny answers only”

[@TJordanWDE]

I was kinda with you right up until you bashed heat. That game is so much fun amd so easy to play. Dice throne is another easy one thats fun to get into. Aeon's end is another good one, but might be slightly past beginner (but i think easier than spirit island).

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Heat just runs too long for what it is in my mind but to each is own. I know plenty of people disagree

[@TJordanWDE]

@Neon_Gorilla i don't think everyone should agree on music, art,or board games. So all good on my end. Can we agree on elder scrolls betrayal? 😀

[@Filthyanimal9]

Really enjoy your continued ignorance of and dislike of Heat - thx!

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Ouch…I would say I am ignorant I have played and reviewed it. Just not for me