Top 10 Board Games to Start Your Collection With! | 5 v 5 Head to Head Edition!

[@malvinafis6907]

Great games on the list! I cannot decide for a list :) some games also, that I never played but maybe I should!

[@malvinafis6907]

and some are on my shelf of shame

[@kovray]

Ooo which ones are on your shelf of shame? Thanks for watching friend!

[@malvinafis6907]

@@kovray Welcome to the Moon. Can't wait but too exhausted to play much at the moment

[@filipmeekers7752]

I choose Ilya's list. The games on Tylor's list are already wellknown and I think they are more heavy!

[@kovray]

WOO HOO! Finalllyyyyy Appreciate your support Filip

[@carlagiannioudis621]

Tyler gets my vote, with 3 of my favorite games, Architects, Cascadia, and Wingspan, and soooo looking forwrd to trying doodle dash when I can get my hands on it!

[@kovray]

Hope you can play Doodle Dash soon Carla! Thank you so much for watching and for the vote!

[@itsGabrielaCristina]

Great lists. My collection starters would be: Just One, Cascadia, Sushi Go, Pandemic, and Azul.

[@kovray]

What a diverse selection! You’re covering so many genres and mechanics there! Love it!

[@jkledis]

Tylor you win 4 out of five games look fantastic - Ilia 2 of the five seem interesting. 🤔

[@kovray]

Tylor is coming out on top! Thanks for watching Jim!

[@FostertheMeeple]

It was a coin flip for me. But when Tylor picked Dune Imperium at the end he hit me in my heart strings. +1 for Tylor. Love you both. - J

[@kovray]

Now -J is not super descriptive... Is this Jamie? Jeff? Who could this truly be? Tylor seems to be dominating so I need to win some hearts over soon.

[@FostertheMeeple]

@@kovray exactly why we sign it J. To keep up the illusion!

[@aba_dab_o]

Thanks for the video! (Catching up.) Though I have not played several of the games on both lists, I'd give the slight edge to Tylor's list. Frankly, it all comes down to research-mainly finding your and your family/friends' common interests and how much would they get out of the game over time. Reading up on the BGG Top 1000, accolades, designers, rulebooks, publishers, etc. helps. For example, auction-centric games could be a hit or miss for a first timer with the math involved; but a game like High Society is quick and simple that can serve as a good introduction to the mechanism. Off the top of my head, if I'd started all over as of now (October'22), I would _probably_ start my collection with: Azul, Las Vegas, Kingdomino Origins, Res Arcana, and Port Royal.

[@kovray]

I love to see Kingdomino Origins as one of ours, as it's such a phenomenal game with layers of scalability. Thank you for the thorough comment!

[@ImaginEric]

I would have to choose Tylor’s list, as I just got into the hobby this year and Cascadia and Wingspan were two of my first and most loved games. My list would have those two, Azul, Camel Up and Blood Rage.

[@kovray]

That's super fair! Cascadia and Wingspan are both great games! Love Azul and Camel Up! Although we have not played Blood Rage yet! Also saw that you recently subscribed to us! Thank you so much, we appreciate it immensely!

[@ImaginEric]

@@kovray Found you two through Foster the Meeple. Since I’m so new to the hobby, I’m always on the lookout for more gaming content from friendly faces, so it was an easy subscribe. 👍

[@brianhouston2005]

Very good lists…agree with all of them…good job!

[@kovray]

Thanks Brian!!!

[@MartinMartin-xo5ko]

I love Architects of the West Kingdom!!! I think Fantasy Realms would make an excellent collection starter.

[@kovray]

Fantasy Realms is a great idea! Another card game that is so replayable and easy to love ! Thanks for watching!

[@ThomasHelms]

While I do agree that The Crew is a good pick, I'm recommending Planet Nine over Deep Sea for new players. My coworkers and I just finished Planet Nine and found it enjoyable, but flipping over to Deep Sea took the complexity to another level. Maybe we're still thinking in Nine, but Deep Sea's objectives can get swingy using the additive difficulty; sometimes you draw objectives that just don't work with the others. If I was picking 5 starters: 1. Century: Golem - People love the colorful gems, the included metal, coins, and the artwork. Super easy to learn to. 2. 7 Wonders - Lots of player interaction, especially when having to pay other players. Great drafting game and plays fast. 3. Lords of Waterdeep - My pick for worker placement. Even without knowing anything about DnD, you can feel the theme in the intrigue and quest cards. 4. Azul - Chunky tiles that are fun to hold in have, very colorful, and interesting decisions in regards to taking and placing tiles. 5. Flashpoint: Fire Rescue - I needed a approachable co-op and I think Flashpoint does a good job of mitigating the alpha gamer through the dice rolls for fire placement. It's also easy to modiify the difficultly, depending on which in-the-box variant you chose. Honorable mentions: Carcassone, The Crew, Baren Park, Kingdomino, Star Realms

[@kovray]

Super valid point on The Crew! Loved your picks Thomas, very similar methodology to us too! Variety of mechanics, feels, and variety of production points too to bring people in.

[@sarahreed-eurogamergirl]

Both very good lists! It's really hard to suggest games in this way. I'm better at making suggestions when I know more about the person/people that I'm making suggestions to. I'm terrible at making decisions when I have no target audience, other than new to board games. Because each person comes to the table with a different background. But here are the games I usually go to when testing the waters with new players at my table. These games allow me to get a sense of their interests, skills and desire to play games. Skyjo, Qwixx, Potion Explosion, Kingdomino, and Sushi Go. Honorable mentions include Lucky Numbers, Love Letter and Draftosaurus. They're all lighter games so that if someone is not enjoying it, it'll be over quickly.

[@kovray]

Love your list! You're definitely right, so much easier to cater to specific people and their interest and needs at the time. We tried to go broad for that very reason, hopefully encompassing of many humans as possible! Sushi Go Party is one of our favorites to pull out in a group! Simultaneous play is one of the best mechanisms to draw individuals in!

[@sarahreed-eurogamergirl]

@@kovray Agreed. If you don't know, a broad list is the best. And yes, simultaneous selection really helps get new players in, no downtime. Though the flip side is that if someone is struggling, a lot of simultaneous play requires people to keep their actions hidden, so it can be hard to help someone without revealing too much to other players. But learning games are just that - for learning! Play can be competitive after a few games.

[@freek204]

When I got into board games, my collection starters were Carcassonne and Dominion. Both are highly replayable, and I think that's quite important. With a new hobby, most people want a cheap starter kit, so they can find out whether it's for them. I haven't played all games on your lists, but I think someone can pick a few of these and be satisfied for a long time👌

[@kovray]

Replayability is a huge factor for sure! Absolutely adore Carcassonne and Dominion! Thank you so much for watching!

[@gurnblanston2848]

Two great lists, and while it's tough to choose, I'll go with Ilya's list. It's a mix of some of my favorites, and ones that I don't have yet, but consider "must-haves". My list of 5 Collection Starters: Radlands, Quacks of Quedlinburg, Unmatched (any set), Cartographers, and Monikers.

[@kovray]

WOO HOO! Finally! Appreciate the vote! I love your five, quite a variety of mechanics, different vibes and experiences all around. Really enjoy all the games on your list!

[@afrank525]

Love The haircut 💈!

[@kovray]

Thankkkk you!!!

[@middleclassjoe]

Great video as always!! I’m gonna be that pedantic nerd that points out that in Space Base, since you can choose the sum of both dice OR the individual dice, the numbers 1-6 will come up much more often than 7-12. There’s an explanation on page 29 of the rules.

[@kovray]

Yes definitely! The earlier numbers are always a hit and getting some rockets on them is a slow and steady strategy for victory!

[@serge-lejeuunepassionensoc5204]

Only having Dune Imperium, so it will answer the first question Top 5: I've started with Admirals, Millebornes, Waterworks, Masterpieces and Dealer's choice 50 years ago (still having all) Top now: Sub Terra, Final Girl, Auztralia, Hibachi and Tenpenny Parks

[@kovray]

Hibachi is such an underrated game in my opinion, we had so much fun with that one! Quite unique and so fun!

[@karenpatterson2651]

I would have to choose Tyler list mainly as it has Cascadia on it which would be a def must to have. Party game i would have would be Dixit or Taboo. I would also need an Azul in the list. And as I love polyomino games i would need either Barenpark or new york zoo on my list.

[@kovray]

Azul was super close on my (Ilya) list, as it is one of the most essential games in my opinion! I can't believe neither of us added any polyominoes, as we both ADORE them! Patchwork or New York Zoo are great introductory ones for sure!

[@TheBrothersMurph]

Looove this list! I think these kinds of lists are so useful! You can give multiple steps of games. And all your picks are great!

[@kovray]

Thanks so much friends! We miss both of you and hope to see you sometime soon!

[@TheBrothersMurph]

@@kovray Miss you too! Are y'all going to anymore conventions this year?

[@kovray]

@@TheBrothersMurph we’re doing SHUX and PAXU !

[@TheBrothersMurph]

@@kovray Ok we will see you at PAX!

[@Seryn88]

Ive not played ANY of Ilya's games or Doodle Dash 😩 But I can vouch for all of Tylor's other picks so he wins by default 😅

[@kovray]

😭😭😭 Any??? We definitely have to play Space Base at SHUX!

[@BoardGameFeast]

@@kovray Absolutely! I've been meaning to learn it on BGA.

[@benjamindebetencourt1526]

Very nice video ! My list would resonate more with Tylor's 🙈 I'll have telestration instead of doodle dash, and Azul instead of Cascadia. Then architects and Wingspan. I might not venture in Dune imperium for a 5 starting games (a bit too heavy) and instead would choose Colt Express because you can play to 6, it's fun and easy to teach and highly interactive !

[@kovray]

I like the changes and your points! We've never actually played Colt Express, will have to give it a shot one of these days!

[@benjamindebetencourt1526]

@@kovray oh yes definitely! It is a lot of fun, if you don't mind a bit of chaos and being sneaky to trick your opponents :) and the table presence is amazing !

[@shannimarmen8201]

I would go for Tyler's list

[@kovray]

There is truly no match for Tylor's list! Thanks for watching Shanni!

[@the_boardgameexperience]

I'd go with Tylor's list, but I'd replace Doodle Dash with The Crew or Just One from Ilya's list. If I had to make a list for myself, though, I'd go with Wingspan, The Crew, Concordia, Pandemic and Cascadia.

[@kovray]

We've not yet played Concordia but have been really wanting to! Thank you for your comment Jonathan, appreciate you!

[@laurimenard1845]

I'm going to have to say I'm partial to Tyler's list. I own and have played more of his games. But I will say Illya list is games I want to learn to play.. I started my adventure with dc deckbuilding game and clank

[@kovray]

Thanks Lauri! Clank! is such a unique experience! Which game do you want to learn to play most out of the ones we mentioned?

[@laurimenard1845]

@@kovray architects of west kingdom and any of Garfield games, I love his stuff

[@laurimenard1845]

Also above and below and that whole trilogy of games he has

[@Mancupcake]

If I was telling someone to buy 5 games to get into and understand the hobby I'd choose: Start the people off with a party game: First Contact - This is just Codenames with extra pieces... that all make for a much more interesting play experience. Codenames is great but does get a little stale. First Contact has the same "get people to guess the thing you need" gameplay, but also creates a larger dynamic between the two sides of the table. Keep it light, but give them something more directly competitive: Fantasy Realms - Super fast, lightweight card-game that combines really interesting decision space with wacky scores and cool combos that always make you feel smart when you nail them. Within my group I somewhat famously hate card games and this has quickly become a favorite and go to in most situations. Then give them something that lets them play together: Horrified - Excellent Co-op game with cool themes [either Classic or American] that is a little more interesting/ dynamic than something like Pandemic but not complex like Spirit Island. Follow-up with something meatier with both the potential for very mean play or multiplayer-solitaire style: Scythe - Combines worker placement, action selection, strategy, and tactics in a beautifully designed world with great decision space that gives players that "a-ha!" moment when they figure out the flow or get a 2-3 star turn. Finally, make things weird but not totally alien, opening the doors to future possibilities: The Magnificent - Polyominoes, dice drafting, a wonderful [if under-utilized in the game itself] theme, beautiful production, and circular tracks; The Magnificent is a really interesting piece of my collection that serves as a great entry into some of the heavier Euro-style games while also giving a glimpse into stranger mechanics that not every game employs.

[@kovray]

Thanks for watching Leo! Loved your list and methodology! I've been really wanting to play The Magnificent, it just looks like such an incredible game! Will have to try it out one of these days!

[@Mancupcake]

@@kovray It's really interesting. I'm learning more and more that I'm into heavier games and Magnificent uses mechanisms common in those without being a huge commitment. Makes me want to learn Troyes because it seems similarly interesting but a lot heavier.

[@toddm1146]

Splendor and Dominion for me. Both Highly replayable for me. From current games I really like Project L

[@kovray]

Those three are absolutely gems! You encouraged me to pull out Project L again, I always forget how great it is!

[@ekconley6429]

Sorry Ilya, Tylor is right... but only because of Wingspan! Otherwise, my top 5 would likely be heavily influenced by what got me into the hobby... Catan, Ticket to Ride, Viticulture/Stone Age, but then maybe I'd throw in Dominion for deck building, but I came to it later on. I can't think about it any more cause I suck at top X lists... the right game for the right person and the right mood!

[@kovray]

Thanks so much for watching! Viticulture was really close for my (Ilya) list, it's just such a classic! Appreciate your insights and the vote! Hope you have an amazing week ahead!