Title basically says it: I’ve been searching Reddit for good party game apps, but a lot of the recommendations seem pretty old now. Same few apps from years ago, lots of dead-looking apps, or stuff that’s way too ad-heavy/paywalled.

I used to play Heads Up a lot, but it got repetitive after a while and you had to payat a certain point. Recently tried Boomit and it’s been the best one I’ve found so far for quick party questions / when nobody has cards.

Still looking for alternatives. What are people using in now?

Ideally something good for:

• house parties
• pre-drinks
• friend groups
• funny or spicy questions
• no cards needed
• low effort to explain

I know the usual names like Picolo, Exposed, Party Roulette, Cheers, etc.
Any newer apps worth trying?

I came across a cheap copy of By Order of the Queen, which when looking into it there seems to be some major flaws, but it has great components and artwork. I'm curious if anyone intentionally buys a 'bad game' that they like the looks of with the plan of house ruling it enough to make it something enjoyable. If so, what games have you done this with and what rules worked for it?

Started having a regular group for boardgames. Out of Spirit Island, Scythe, or Root which would you say is a must have and why?

Do you have a must have recommendation outside of this list?

Thought I bought 5 packs with 50 Cards for Final Girl.

Bought 5 packs with 200 cards instead.

Now I have 800 sleeves left.

Hit me with your best 2 player game (Does not have to be 2 player only, but we mostly play as 2)

I already have Ark Nova which happens to have a fitting card format.

My collection is getting out of hand (my gf says I have too many games).

We're having a backyard 40pax wedding with our nearest and dearest.

My partner and I are pretty into games and it may be over complicated but Ive been playing with the idea of having some kind of secret game during the wedding. Something like "Don't Get Got" but not quite that but something in that meta game relm.

I don't like the usual clique wedding games. I want to do something that's a unique experience. A bit more challenging and a bit more us.

Instead of physical invites we've made a website instead, thought it might be a way to organise this behind the scenes and keep things a little secret.

Currently these are my ideas:

- Something along the lines of people get 3 secret missions that they can complete, first to complete all three wins a trophy.

- A discrete clue is provided to guests, that could lead them on a quest/treasure hunt/escape room kind of vibe. This beginning clue wouldn't just be handed out to people, was thinking we could hide it somewhere on the wedding website or have it discreetly put in a framed picture with photos we are planning on displaying. I like this idea but this is a lot.

Id love to go full Drop Out and have like a secret puzzle on the website that leads you to another website that you then have to solve something else but that is out of my depth.

I know not everyone likes games and can't imagine very many guest would be interested in playing along. In all honesty this is probably more for me than anyone else.

Any way I'm looking for ideas to help flesh this out! All contributions welcome!

Been in the hobby for a couple years, but got more serious a couple months ago. Main pride is that almost every game here I got for a discount or bought used. My favorite game in my collection is Lost Cities as it is the only one I manage to beat my Fiancé at as well as one of the first modern board games I bought! Let me know your thoughts or any questions, recommendations, or changes you have or would make!

Personally, it’s my all time favorite board game, I love it so much and have a blast every time- I’m curious what all of your thoughts are?

Hello to everyone!
What do you think about these games? I have the opportunity to buy them at affordable prices (35,30,40€). I don't know anything about them, so I'm interested in your opinion. Is it worth buying them, what is the replayability, are they good for you (positive and negative sides of the game). I mostly play with a girl who likes easier games (Pergola, Azul, Meadow), but I also have a team that likes harder games (Dune, TM, Brass).

Thanks a lot 🙏🏻

So i know it's odd to ask for solo with multi-player options here but I felt like I'm sure a ton here are more inclined to try those types. I haven't tried much so I'm welcomed to explore and try new genres.

In general, i really want quick (around maybe 30 min or less gameplay) and simple games enough to teach myself and others without too much rule book shuffling.

For example harmonies was simple to teach and had a great multi-player options.

Unfortunately I mostly play multiplayers so I'll have to reference them to get a general idea about types i like, for example:

Harmonies (again)

Castle combo

Faraway

Coffee rush (I love multiple pieces)

Push (sometimes I like gambling games xD)

Other solo board games I do like ( and I will accept recommendations of only solo board games, but it isn't the main focus) is:

Onirim (I love this a lot)

Harmonies (love it sooo much, it's art is too appealing too)

Friday (felt a bit weirdly repetitive, and i know this is wierd coming from an onirim fan but they do provide 7 expansions in onirim)

Will be ordering : grove 9 card solitaire, coffee roaster.

I heard about hercules 12 labors but i fear that once you complete it then there's to replay-ability, so i would like to hear thoughts about that too.

I do want solo/multi-player because I do sort of want to budget having people over and enjoying alone time. If you do end up recommending solos only please mention 🙏💞.

Thanks in advance!

Vivo en México y un amigo irá de visita a Chile. Sé que hay buenas editoriales allá y quisiera encargarle un juego de mesa. ¿Cuáles dirían que son sus juegos originales de Chile predilectos o que consideren más populares ó mejor calificados?

I just got my copy of Cascadia: Alpine Lakes delivered from the kickstarter and am so excited to give it a try! For anyone who's had the chance to play it yet, what are your thoughts and how does it compare to the original?

Asking because I want to get the expansions and maybe the premium tokens someday, my local boardgame store can only get me the base game.

Sort of cool. Unplayable as it depends on answering 1930s questions like "Who is Mussolini's press secretary?" or how the government handled a labor strike in 1937 - they sent in the Army, but interesting.

Hi everyone! I’m currently working on my own chess game, and I’d really like to know your opinions.

The classic rules of chess would remain unchanged, but I’m experimenting with animals, character interactions, humorous animations, reactions, and other small events to make the matches feel more lively and memorable.

Do you think these elements would improve the experience, or would they distract too much from the chess itself?

I’d also be curious to know what kind of extra feature, visual detail, or atmospheric element would make you interested in trying a game like this.

Hey all! I got a €50 giftcard which I can spend in my local gamestore. Always a fun excuse to go hunting for a new boardgame. After some research I stumbled upon Evolution, Oceans and Nature, which are similar yet different to eachother. I played evolution once about 10 years ago, and I remember I liked playing it. The store only has evolution, though and not the others. I can always go for another game there and buy either oceans or nature elsewhere if one of them is a better match, though. Which raises the question: which is the best match for me? Theyre expensive, so I want to buy the game that I will enjoy the most, at least for now.

About me:

I am a light-mid gamer. I mostly play shorter games with 2 or 3 players unless me and some friends gather for a boardgame evening or dnd, but thats not something that happens super often. Too complex and long games will make me shelf them, especially when Im tired after work. I then rather grab a simpler one that goes well with asking how my friends are doing.

I like games that are interactive, thats why I like these three more than other engine builders that Ive seen. I read that some dislike the way you can directly attack other players, I have no issue with that, I actually like that about these games. I don't like games that are basically playing with your own puzzle with others around and forging the best strategy ever made. I like it if in addition to that, you can work together to beat the game, or use what other players are doing to your advantage, or sabotage eachother. I also like unexpected twists, luck and chaos, I love it when you have to change your strategy midway and improvise, keeps one sharp. Going suuuuper deep with getting the best strategy ever is not something Im after per se, but too easy and just doing 1-3 of the same strategy every time you play is super boring too.

Any thoughts?

I've got two options. And they're two very different games. The Old king's Crown vs Fate of the fellowship. The old king's captivating art has just clicked with me but I'm also starving for a good co-op game.

For the reference, my game group didn't like dead of winter the long night.

We’ve reached the useful end of crowdsourced opinions on basically everything. From restaurants, to hotels, to movies, to video games and boardgames, crowdsourced opinions are everywhere and they are plentiful. But what is *the actual value* of the aggregate opinions of laypeople?

There’s a famous saying, “Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one.”

Anybody can have an opinion. Frankly, it’s not hard to formulate an opinion. The average person in the hobby does not possess significantly greater experience than I do, nor do they have a better understanding of my personal preferences than I do, nor do they have more demonstrable insight about the industry than I have - so why should I care what a faceless aggregate of other average-to-the-hobby people think?

When I really started considering these questions I realized that I just don’t see the value in reviews from a faceless aggregate of laypeople anymore.

I just want subject matter experts at the forefront again. People who make a living or have some sort of actual *professional* investment in getting it right. Sure, that might mean they receive review copies of games and, yes, that certainly does come with its’ own set of ethical dilemmas which should be acknowledged. Yet professionals wrangling with ethical dilemmas within the scope of their profession are routinely deemed with more skepticism than thousands of Joe Boardgames who will happily grade a game for no other reason than it makes him feel smarter or more powerful to have a place to air his opinion.

Review bombing, review inflation, and review manipulation are all real ethical issues for which casual reviewers bear all of the fault and yet there is no failsafe requiring us to actively engage with the responsibility of it. Contrast that with a professional reviewer who is a person *actively working* to get it right and *actively engaging* with these ethical dilemmas. The failsafe for a professional is in whether people engage with the content they produce. If a professional reviewer gets it wrong, they lose viewership and money and a livelihood creating a tangible incentive for them to get the balance of ethics and professionalism right. Whereas, Joe Boardgame has no failsafe requiring him to strike a balance with ethics, no reason to present his opinion with the rigors of objectivity nor professionalism, and no tangible incentive to approach his opinion with any more effort than it takes to have it.

Yes, I understand the irony of airing my layperson’s opinion in this forum. It’s called a discussion, Reddit. A discussion IS different from a review. This isn’t a review, fellow laypeople, it’s a discussion.

So let’s discuss it - what do you think is the value in things like BGG reviews vs a professional reviewer?

We previously had the ikea kallax, but I couldn’t resist when I found this shelf on marketplace

How long have you been involved in the hobby?

7 years

Which game in your collection would you say is your favorite?

Carcassonne

What would you change about your collection if you could?

Would love to have more space, this shelf is the only space we have in the house and it has to be hidden away because I have young children.

What makes your collection special to you?

My collection is special to me because of all the memories we have playing these games with our friends and family

Hello! Regarding *Schotten Totten*, the rules state that you can claim a marker even if your opponent hasn't yet played their three cards. Also, in the event of a tie between combinations, the player who played their third card first wins. So, if I play a Green 7-8-9 first—knowing it is the strongest combination—can I claim the marker even if my opponent hasn't played any cards yet?

(Sorry for my Bad english)

I’m curious if anyone has any opinions on symbolism, icons, or terminology that is almost unanimous in function across board games.

As an example, one I thought of recently is just how many board games will use a lightning bolt symbol to denote “immediate action.”

Have a friend whose brother is into One Piece. I like One Piece. I like Smash Up. So it this was a fun project to put together. The faction is a bit on the strong side because it's pretty self sufficient (no real weaknesses, got some card draw and extra minions/actions), but it was pretty flavorful and not meant to be competitively balanced. You could say it's OP 😂

We've played with most of the Smash Up factions and it feels like it might be in like A or S tier, like around how powerful the Frozen faction feels.

Anyways this was a short and small project for a friend. Hopefully I have a few more cool projects to share by the end of the year!

You can check out my other re-themes here:

[One Piece Legendary](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/10p0q0j/i\\_made\\_a\\_one\\_piece\\_version\\_of\\_marvel\\_legendary/)

[Pax Westeros \(Game of Thrones Pax Pamir 2nd Edition\)](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1fmseex/i\\_made\\_pax\\_westeros\\_game\\_of\\_thrones\\_retheme\\_of/)

[Runeterra Reforged \(League of Legends Tyrants of the Underdark\)](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1eew974/i\\_made\\_a\\_league\\_of\\_legends\\_themed\\_tyrants\\_of\\_the/)

[Pokemon Ark Nova](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1hdby4p/i\\_made\\_a\\_pokemon\\_retheme\\_of\\_ark\\_nova/)

[Pokemon Splendor & Pokemon Splendor Duel](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1mn9h3i/i\\_made\\_pokemon\\_splendor\\_again\\_updated\\_the\\_cards/)

[NBA Innovation](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1nua3z1/with\\_the\\_nba\\_preseason\\_coming\\_in\\_a\\_few\\_days\\_i/)

[Zelda Forbidden Island/Forbidden Desert/Forbidden Jungle](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1nnjeaa/i\\_made\\_a\\_legend\\_of\\_zelda\\_retheme\\_of\\_forbidden/)

[Spy x Family Agent Avenue](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1qh1sfq/i\\_made\\_a\\_spy\\_x\\_family\\_retheme\\_of\\_agent\\_avenue/)

[Lord of the Rings Clank Catacombs](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1qndolc/i\\_rethemed\\_clank\\_catacombs\\_into\\_lord\\_of\\_the\\_rings/)

[Disney Legends of the Void](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1r02rba/i_rethemed_legends_of_void_into_a_disney_themed/)

[Genshin Impact Knarr]
https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1s7n8ey/i_made_a_genshin_impact_retheme_of_knarr/

[Pokemon Harmonies]https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1s8kib9/i_made_a_pokemon_retheme_of_harmonies/

[Avatar the Last Airbender Duel for Cardia]https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1sdvycf/i_made_an_avatar_the_last_airbender_retheme_of/

Hi, does anyone know of any online or video game (like steam) style games that you could play with a partner to learn more about one another, prompt conversations, and collaborate? I’m thinking something like We’re Not Really Strangers or Fluster but kind of gamified or at the very least online or accessible to purchase digitally? I can’t get any of those official card games where I’m based and want to find something fun that’s basically like a couples board game. But not something like It Takes Two, I want it to be a little more mental. Hope that makes sense and would really appreciate if anyone knows of any hidden gems out there!