The Ultimate Gateway Board Games Guide

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New to board games? These are the best gateway games to start you off.
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🔵Amazon links, by category:
00:00 Intro
00:27 Categories
01:57 Cooperative Games:
Pandemic - geni.us/pandemicgame
Mysterium - geni.us/mysterium
Sherlock Consulting Detective - geni.us/sherlockholmes
Magic Maze - geni.us/magicmaze
Chronicles of Crime - geni.us/chroniclesofcrime
Forbidden Desert - geni.us/forbiddendesert
Burgle Bros - geni.us/burglebros
Detective Season 1 - geni.us/DetectiveS1
MicroMacro Crime City - geni.us/micromacro
Chronicles of Crime 1400 - geni.us/chronicles1400
Magic Maze On Mars - geni.us/magicmazeonmars
19:49 Personal Puzzles:
Sagrada - geni.us/sagrada
Cascadia - geni.us/cascadia
My Farm Shop - geni.us/myfarmshop
Spring Meadow - geni.us/springmeadow
Cartographers - geni.us/cartographers
On Tour - geni.us/ontourgame
Dice Forge - geni.us/diceforge
Dream Home - geni.us/DreamHome
Bad Company - boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3...
Railroad Ink - geni.us/railroadink
Copenhagen - geni.us/copenhagen
38:27 Friendly Competition:
Ticket To Ride - geni.us/tickettoridegame
Carcassonne - geni.us/carcassonneboardgame
Parks - geni.us/parksgame
Sushi Roll - geni.us/sushiroll
Luxor - geni.us/luxor
Trekking The World - geni.us/trekkingtheworld
Azul - geni.us/Azul
7 Wonders Architects - geni.us/7wondersarchitects
Clank - geni.us/clank
Diamant (aka Incan Gold) - geni.us/diamant
Quest for El Dorado - geni.us/questforeldorado
Blue Lagoon - geni.us/bluelagoongame
Get On Board (formerly known as Let’s Make A Bus Route) - geni.us/GetOnBoard
Las Vegas Royale - geni.us/lasvegasroyale
01:00:30 Feisty Games:
Sheriff of Nottingham - geni.us/sheriffofnottingham
Colt Express - geni.us/coltexpress
K2 - geni.us/k2game
The Resistance - geni.us/theresistance
Survive: Escape from Atlantis - geni.us/survivegame
QE - geni.us/QEGame
Bohnanza - geni.us/bohnanza
Celestia - geni.us/celestia
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[@styfen]

A hour and 15 mins of board gaming discussion? Alright, you've got me, I'm in.

[@actualol]

Hydrate first, then lock the door.

[@joshfrench5858]

Here here!

[@Kahedro]

babe wake up, 75 minute actualol just dropped

[@actualol]

😂😂 But sleep is important 🤓

[@derpsiroop1884]

​@@actualol couldnt sleep, I am watching a part of this vid to be able to sleep lol

[@chrisxue815]

00:00:00 Intro 00:00:27 Categories 00:01:58 Cooperative Games: 00:02:04 Pandemic 00:04:15 Mysterium 00:06:00 Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective 00:07:02 Magic Maze 00:08:40 Chronicles of Crime 00:10:47 Forbidden Desert 00:11:11 Burgle Bros 00:12:40 Detective Season 1 00:14:22 MicroMacro Crime City 00:16:21 Chronicles of Crime 1400 00:18:18 Magic Maze On Mars 00:19:49 Personal Puzzles: 00:19:56 Sagrada 00:21:17 Cascadia 00:23:50 My Farm Shop 00:26:05 Spring Meadow 00:27:37 Cartographers 00:28:57 On Tour 00:31:01 Dice Forge 00:33:17 Dream Home 00:33:52 Bad Company 00:35:56 Railroad Ink 00:36:22 Copenhagen 00:38:27 Friendly Competition: 00:38:35 Ticket To Ride 00:40:20 Carcassonne 00:42:29 Parks 00:43:55 Sushi Roll 00:44:50 Luxor 00:46:15 Trekking The World 00:47:45 Azul 00:48:59 7 Wonders Architects 00:51:00 Clank 00:53:36 Diamant (aka Incan Gold) 00:55:13 Quest for El Dorado 00:55:40 Blue Lagoon 00:57:08 Get On Board (formerly known as Let’s Make A Bus Route) 00:58:32 Las Vegas Royale 01:00:30 Feisty Games: 01:00:38 Sheriff of Nottingham 01:02:29 Colt Express 01:04:17 K2 01:06:18 The Resistance 01:08:11 Survive: Escape from Atlantis 01:10:18 QE 01:12:48 Bohnanza 01:13:22 Celestia

[@stephencrandall1054]

Tha real mvp.

[@devonfarrington7431]

Thank you for your service. Braver than any marine.

[@olivierjodoin2283]

Absolutely love how you split the games into 4 categories that make absolute sense. I like all categories but I think personal puzzles might be my favorite. And some friends absolutely want to be mean to each other so this video is an excellent starting point.

[@SheezyBites]

I think we often underestimate how mean and aggressive newbies can be, but I think it is useful to teach people the power of passive aggression which is so vital to so many board games early, so I don't entirely disagree with keeping it friendlier to start.

[@actualol]

I agree that newbies can often prefer mean and aggressive games - because that is what they're used to board games being, from games like Monopoly and Risk. My intention isn't to prescribe friendly games, just to offer options. I like to select a game based on a friend's personality and what I think they'd enjoy.

[@CG_Hali]

Guess it might depend on what type of players they are. My hubby is the non-gamer so I never do mean plays on him, but I totally encourage him to do that to help him beat me. Else he can't catch up and win easily and he's learning more that way, too. But I get how having newbies around the table and one of them being way too aggressive and mean would ruin potential new gamer's appetite for more.

[@DrHopeSickNotes]

I'm not a board gaming fan, but have been working my way through this list. After trying 40+ of them I was beginning to lose faith... but after the 45th one I was hooked! Thanks Jon!

[@actualol]

Hahahaha! Yes, that is how it goes. It's like watching The Wire, you won't enjoy it for at least six hour long episodes. If you give up before playing all 45 you are just weak.

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

@@actualol got to keep the devil, way down in the hooooole

[@ahchiu9]

@@actualol the game's the game

[@AWAKEtheIRON]

What was the game that got you?

[@H0TD0GSALAD]

K2?

[@wachend]

This channel is one of a kind. One video per month, but extremely high quality.

[@HistoritorJimaldus]

22:40 ‘When you slot something in that fits perfectly, you feel so pleased with yourself’ 🤔😛

[@ClaudeAndTaylor]

MicroMacro has been a wonderful gateway game for me. The transition from Where's waldo helps a ton!

[@Bleuchz]

Jon's from England. I believe they call it Where's Wally. Also, Taylor, when is your channel getting back to its canned pasta reviewing roots? I own multiple trick takers thanks to your advice but now I'm hungry.

[@zmollon]

Micro Maco has provided many laughs as I watch my mother and father in law staring intently at the map for ten minutes before my wife comes back to the table and in two minutes finds everything.

[@GettinJiggly]

Glad to watch a recap video, nice seeing your old skits, hope your start doing them again in future videos.

[@GettinJiggly]

Also mooooooooooooooo, milk

[@actualol]

I still do skits! I've had them in three videos already this year, including my last video (Libertalia)

[@branboom3342]

Dude you easily create the best content in the KZbin board game space. Love it, many thanks for the entertainment and information.

[@dimpleza]

Wow, what a treat!! How much work you put into this! I don't even want to know how long it took you to make this one. Great content, thank you so much!!

[@actualol]

Many years of work combined 😀

[@Viragomp]

@@actualol yes I recognize these videos. Brilliant idea of combining into a full and comprehensive feature, very useful!

[@dimpleza]

I remember some of these as well but this still takes a lot of time to.put together it seems. However it came to be, it is greatly appreciated ❤️🙂

[@LunaBianca1805]

The different versions of Azul and Sagrada are the games that most often end up on my family's table - along with a bunch of easy to play roll and writes and - at moment Cubirds and Castro. But as you brought them out here as well you really reminded me that our copies of Ticket to Ride, Catan and Carcassonne are gathering dust on the shelf, I really need to bring those out again.

[@VexylObby]

I appreciate this list! Even as someone who’s been in the hobby for a decade, I still find it so important to value games that will connect with newer or skeptical players. Yet, they are still fun and complex in their own right. My top games might always have an element of “does it hit the table?” Or how well it welcomes people.

[@rolling.reggie]

Incredible content. Humor, amazing games, and quality footage. Sagrada, Cascadia, Parks, Carcassonne, Blue Lagoon, Sheriff of Nottingham are all in my gateway game catalog. Keep up the great content!

[@notmedude]

Sometimes I wish I was 23 again. Lying in bed with manflu with no kids and binge watching your videos. But life gets in the way too much these days (sigh). Love your content. You truly are an amazing entertainer and explainer plus you list the games in the description which many KZbinrs deliberately omit and you have an Epiphone guitar which guarantees you're a good lad.

[@HEMAYATC]

Enjoyable from beginning to end! I have some of the games on this list which makes me think I will probably enjoy the others. Thanks for making this!

[@Chertograad]

Thanks for the comprehensive list! I would've personally added Dominion and Catan to the list but I understand that there's already plenty of games listed.

[@queriaterficadomais.7987]

If only you knew how happy I get everytime youtube notifies me you have a new video. Also, how much people make fun of me for buying too many games ( games suggested by you). Your channel is my favorite thing on youtube. Keep it going!

[@jorischkovich]

Incredible list! I like how you somehow manage to convey the gist of the rules in such a short time, unlike for example SUSD, wich often leave me guessing after a full review

[@Njsr]

I think SUSD are more about giving you the feel of the game than the rules.

[@jorischkovich]

@@Njsri know what you mean , but i cant really get a feel for a game without understanding the rules.

[@bookmarksandbookshelves3998]

Although I've seen you recommend these before. Still love this list as I still haven't made it through all of them!! You give great recommendations. Perhaps in the future you can made a list of next step beyond gateway games? Great content as always. You put in so much effort.

[@actualol]

Thank you! I will certainly consider that idea, thanks 🙂

[@zmollon]

Own almost all the games in the thumbnail so look forward to listening to how right I am to own these games.

[@actualol]

Almost all? There are only two! 😂 But yes, you are something of a genius.

[@zmollon]

@@actualol I think I own half of the bgg family games top 100, so I assumed I own more than 1 game on your list 😜

[@Rhino1186]

@@actualol I went back to look at the thumbnail and was surprised to see only 2 on the tray as well. Technically, there are 3 games visible though. Paris is in the background. 😄

[@faisalbinh]

Seriously one of the best Boardgame reviews I’ve ever seen I always love your reviews thank you

[@Akla1601]

Damn bro. Duluth taking shots. The best part of ticket to ride is that Duluth on the game board is where the Twin Cities are, 2 hours drive away from Duluth

[@noizeemama3697]

You really cracked me up. Thank you for this entertaining take on board games.

[@xxhawkdancerxx]

Loving the ideal player count #s! So helpful even for the games I already love!

[@kkfromsocal819]

Yesss! I’ve been looking forward to your video & have been checking my subscription updates daily for it!…another amazing video. Tastefully hilarious & intelligent.

[@actualol]

Thank you! 🙂

[@riddhirs1555]

Pandemic is the board game which also made me fall in love with board games! That's how I knew I had to subscribe/listen to you 🤭❤️

[@christiansrensen5958]

"When you slot something in that fits perfectly. It feels so satisfying." We all come, I mean watch, here for the inyourendo.

[@denycast]

One year later I come around to watch it. Those are a bunch of great games😀

[@codym6376]

Just started the video but I like the categories

[@actualol]

Phew! They took some thought to get right, and lots of helpful feedback from my patrons in my Discord community.

[@talhaiqbal6798]

Very impressive rhymes! Quite entertaining to watch, will surely pick up a game or two here.

[@jeffstahl1664]

OMG! You're brilliant! Really enjoyed your guide to games.

[@alanswift6802]

Really good list and brilliantly put together. Appreciate reviews from independent folk who aren't being paid in some way by the industry.

[@yasinkaya7678]

I just found your channel, and your content is amazing! Thanks a lot for sharing this amazing educative information, with such a fun manner

[@IndianaGeologist]

This is a fantastic video. Great list of games and categories and really funny.

[@createwithbarbbl4125]

Greetings from Aus' Very comprehensive, thank you so much. I laughed out loud more than once. Choosing Christmas games made easy.

[@ty_sylicus]

Fantastic selection. I really want to try some of these.

[@th1ngo]

As usual, an excellent & thoughtful watch.

[@jeremybrown5096]

Also, the darker background with no games on display, is excellent!

[@CG_Hali]

Good list and a good reel of that dysfunctional but realistic family you have!!

[@ES-yc1tp]

very good recommendations specially in the friendly competition section!

[@ferbogadoaSalirAJugar]

Thank you for your valuable list of the best

[@johannagoldenberg3300]

Such an entertaining video! And useful reviews!

[@Viragomp]

What great thoughtful categories. I wish BGG used something similar!

[@lu7ky]

I love Carcassonne and have been playing it every weekend with my mom, easy to pick up for sure (i got the big box with all expansions). Definitely going to look at getting dice forge now. I think it may have been you who convinced me to buy that too :P . You were also the one who previously informed me of Sushi Roll which is yet another one I want.

[@jendubay3782]

You should try Cat Lady, too. It’s simple, easy to pick up, and a better version of sushi go/roll if you only play with two people

[@lu7ky]

@@jendubay3782 yes sushi go was hard to pick up, thanks for the reccommendation

[@DarinMcGrew]

In the Cooperative Games category, The Captain Is Dead works well. Most people can relate to the theme ("Your favorite sci-fi show, except this episode, things went really badly and the captain is dead."), and experienced players can nudge the group towards victory without dominating the game or taking everyone's turns for them. We've got the Incan Gold version of Diamant. It looks like the "explore" and "return to camp" cards in your set are easier to distinguish, but in mine, they're hard to tell apart. So I made small tokens: torches (made from wooden matches) vs bedrolls (made from strips of rags). Players conceal the tokens in their hands and reveal them simultaneously.

[@shockwavemasta]

Amazing list!

[@jamesmcmillin4024]

This was an EPIC video… and it’ll turn into an equally epic Amazon cart as well I’m afraid

[@mel-iw6qh]

alllll right! this is the kind of content my eyeballs enjoy...

[@JSKatz]

Fantastic video on a great selection.

[@jediquigley2192]

Great reviews, I've made notes for things to possibly buy in the future 😀

[@jediquigley2192]

I've brought pandemic, played it lots with our family, 2 adults, 2 boys aged 10 and 7 and we all enjoy it. Tried it on my sister today with her 15 year old son, went down well.

[@Longshot1056]

I found Horrified was a much better gateway game for both my wife and family than pandemic. Easy turn structure, cooperative discussion about plans and turns, easily scalable difficulty and a modest variety of challenge.

[@brusslysb]

As always another great video TY

[@FalconChief1222]

Thanx to your video I found Sheriff of Nottingham on sale for $16.50 (Amazon Black Friday Deal)!

[@gamewright]

Thanks for including our games!

[@ambierona]

I love the teach of Las Vegas in rhyme!

[@jsherley9990]

“a passion-filled trip to Wyoming” has never happened.

[@commanderv4114]

"these mofos give me fomo" really cracked me up

[@StevenNelson69]

I would love to see a video just on co-op games as I know some people who prefer those over competitive games.

[@aadrian13]

Great list of games

[@dxrobins]

Survive: Escape from Atlantis is near identical to Escape from Atlantis from the 80s. The only material difference is that the old game didn't have different values on each piece. It had big, chunky moulded pieces for the island, rather than the card pieces shown. It comes up on eBay (in the UK at least) quite often pretty cheap.

[@mickyjgreen]

Century Spice Road is my go to. Several times, after playing it once, newcomers have immediately sought out the game to purchase it.

[@Zelnux]

Don't think I've ever had a friendly game of Ticket to Ride.

[@VexylObby]

The Japan map spurred SOME cooperation. But yeah, it can reflect what kind of player people are. And if anything, intentionally blocking others tends to not favor the blocker anyways.

[@rheahajduk4987]

Like a Medieval Netfix original. Mate, you're a savage 😂

[@gilbert3579]

Your jokes are so perfect! Great Video!

[@JohnJGrace]

Terrific video (and channel, for that matter)! I might not get ‘em all, but several are now on my buy-it-soon list. ;-) Just curious, and I admit this is a rather minutiae question: where did you get the miniatures for Pandemic?

[@Eyes0penNoFear]

At the beginning, your point about mean games made me think of Munchkin. I make sure to never play that game with people I've just met. The backstabbing and ganging up can get brutal.

[@AbnerIMAlvarado]

Beside getting to know the games I always laugh a lot with your videos XD

[@Nick-zl5xf]

Dragoon and Diplomacy are two of my favorite intro games!

[@TheFunfighter]

The categories are a really good distinction. Selecting the right level of competition for yourself and the other players is really important to avoid the mood souring.

[@Reikyt]

Loving the return of Timmy, Barry at el. Great stuff as always, Jon.

[@EyeMakeClips]

No please no more they just fill the video with nonsense and cring please no more Timmy

[@jacobbrown9894]

The meta plot with the family here is…maybe more asking for a marriage counselor than board games

[@stevenhayes97]

I love Duluth, MN getting referenced in a KZbin video made by a guy in the UK. I don’t live there, but I did propose to my wife there

[@DavidSmith-cs8kn]

I see a copy of S.H on your shelf behind you on your armchair. Old but good.

[@evanwelsh2551]

I love those pandemic minis, what clean and fun pieces

[@Swimm4ster]

Yep! Where can i get them?

[@MattHolstein]

@6:36 Ey! I love Hercule Poirot. Damn tea sucker.

[@Zentrum234]

My girlfriend took me to her family‘s game night. I knew nothing about modern board games, so they taught me Carcassonne. I liked it ok but the first game to sweep me off my feet was Five Tribes. I still love it after what must have been a million plays.

[@stschubs]

aw the queens corgi's can no longer be sent after you :( also...thanks for adding many new games to my to buy list! Love this!

[@ChrisLowResDream]

thanks so much 😊

[@ferbogadoaSalirAJugar]

thank your for your existence

[@mrnnhnz]

If I was from Duluth I'd subscribe, just for the humour. Everyone loves a good roasting...

[@jerzee3600]

Another informative vid. Really like your Pandemic meeples. We love pandemic and would love to know where we can buy those character meeples.

[@actualol]

Look up Hobolds Grotte on Etsy 🙂

[@dougsundseth2303]

"I've never been to Duluth" It's pretty clear that the designers of TTR have never been to Duluth either, since they put it in Minneapolis. (Duluth and Minneapolis are farther apart than London and Birmingham, btw.)

[@GettoGero]

Pandemic is such a big game with lots of rules. I'm surprised that was your #1 intro game. My board game group doesn't like too much complexity but LOVES being fickle and straight laced with game rules. Weird contradiction, maybe not when thought about. Pandemic is just one of those I can't get them to play because it's an eternity of set up followed by 500 moving pieces leading to arguments all throughout. Someone gets bored or just rage quits every time. Carcassonne was a hit with them, and a bit off topic since they're card games, mantis is always a hit, and I haven't heard any complaints about Jaipur for a 1 on 1 session.

[@daddyshark2570]

"karen, can you call in big hands dave? I've got a random cavity search for him"

[@chancemichael85]

Your Deluth joke was spot on

[@josepablolunasanchez1283]

"The captain is dead" is about saving a spaceship crew against an alien attack. It is more challenging than Pandemic. And if you lose, it is absolutely fun.

[@rolliemills2235]

this channel deserves over a million subs easy

[@nymklaymin8281]

I came to this video for the SNAKES AND LADDERS! :( None to be found here. am I to old for this channel?

[@Spacie_687]

Forbidden island was so cool the first time I played it

[@EmporerDragon]

For my group, a couple games not mentioned here that we use for gateway games are Splendor and Miaui. Splendor clicks because of the combination of the simple engine-building rules combined with those nice, hefty tokens that players collect and pay with. It's also fun messing with other players by snagging the resource or card they need before they have a chance to get it themselves. Miaui's a fun little trick-taking game that makes for an excellent breather title. Players have a deck of cards 1-12 and play them over 12 rounds to snag one of 3 fish cards (worth between -15 and 15 points plus a few with special abilities). The fish go to whoever played the highest, 2nd highest, and lowest cards (Ties determined by proximity to a tiki figure that travels around the table between rounds). As you can only play each card once per game, you have to keep weighing your slowly-depleting options as well as trying to figure out what cards the other players are gunning for and remembering what they've got left. We also have the game My Little Scythe as sort of a mid-gateway game. As the game plays like a simplified and streamlined version of the original, it helps get players more of a feel for how some of the heavier titles in the collection work and in turn, makes them easier to teach (And we all know the pain of trying to teach a complicated board game to multiple people at the same time).

[@maryoconnor2527]

Splendor was *my* personal "gateway game"! So I made my parents play it at Christmas, and they were only sort of into it. And then we played Azul, and they LOVED. IT. Now they look for board games to buy me as presents just so they can play them too :D Miaui sounds interesting because my family LOVES trick-taking card games like Hearts, so thanks for the tip!

[@VicodinElmo]

“Global superpower…or the UK” SASSSSSS 😂

[@tyrroo]

I love this so much, your scripts are hilarious! Mooooo! Moooooo! Moooooooooooooo! ... Mlik

[@dougiehockeym8071]

This is a great compilation video! Great to get ideas for a huge variety of the best games. One thing, I understand that it would require a lot of editing, but I think this video would be a lot more approachable without the “skits”.

[@ty_sylicus]

Dice Forge looks super cool

[@speedandstyletony]

"adorable throat slitting" now there is a phrase not often heard!

[@Liliisntiiriis]

Pandemic was also the boardgame which made me fall in love 😍

[@daniel-lee888]

"Gateway" games are all I have time for nowadays!!

[@garyk2629]

My gateway game was Manhattan. I learned Ra shortly after.