Tis the season for the temperatures to drop and the weather to worsen, and the idea of going outside is becoming less appealing. One of the best indoor activities you can find is getting some friends together and playing a board game. To make the most of your time indoors, here is a handy list of five games that we recommend to keep your spirits bright or ideas for something to get those cardboard enthusiasts in your life.
Magic Foundations
- Beginner Box Price: (around) $30 USD
- Starting Collection Price: (around) $50 USD
Magic Foundations, which hit shops earlier this month, is by leaps and bounds my favorite Magic: The Gathering product release in modern times, not only because of the great list of cards, both new and old, that are featured but more because what this line of products represents – a perfect set of stepping stones for new players to get into the game. Starting with the Beginner Box is perfect for anyone, young and old, that are curious about Magic and wants to dip their toes into the game. The Beginner Box offers a splendid “how to play” step-by-step tutorial game to learn alongside and a handful of half-decks that can be mixed together once everyone has the game’s general flow down.
For the players who want to take the next step in their Planeswalking journey, Foundations also has you covered with the Starter Collection. This collection is for the person that knows they enjoy the game and wants to try their hand at making their own deck. Coming with 350 cards, a couple of booster packs, and more, this collection box will set anyone up for some fun holiday morning deck building goodness.
And lastly, for everyone else, Foundations as a set includes a wonderful set of reprints that will make longtime fans eager to crack some packs of their own. I’m personally hunt for a copy of Doubling Season and the new Twinflame Tyrant cards, so I plan to pick up more packs myself.
Regardless of skill level, Magic: The Gathering Foundations has a product for everyone, and is an easy recommendation this holiday season.
Foundations of Metropolis
- Price: $49.99 USD
- Players: 2-4 (Best with 3-4)
- Time: 60 min
- Age: 14+
One of my favorite games in my tabletop collection is Arcane Wonder’s behemoth of a game, Foundations of Rome. A massive game (with accompanying massive price tag) that is full of impressive miniatures of Roman buildings that you and the other players will use to build out your unique version of Rome. While I love the gameplay and visuals of Foundations of Rome, it’s size and price tag make it an imposing beast for new players or to even transport places. Thankfully, Arcane Wonders has realized this and created a new game that retains all of the fun elements but makes it cheaper, smaller, and far more approachable. That game is Foundations of Metropolis.
Foundations of Metropolis has players building a grand new city full of libraries and coffee shops in an effort to earn the most points by the end of the game. In place of all of the plastic of Rome, Metropolis opts for solid and sturdy cardboard pieces, complete with double-layered player boards to keep all the player tiles nice and tidy during transport. Learning Foundations is quick to learn, on their turn each player takes one of three possible actions to help them earn as many points by the end of the game:
- Construct a building on their lots
- Buy a Deed to a lot on the board
- Gain income
Foundations of Metropolis is a great game and offers enough strategy to keep hobbyist entertained while also being simple enough to understand that kids and newcomers to tabletop games will have a great time too, and as a special mention, the team at Arcane Wonders has incorporated some clever solutions to make this a very color-blind friendly experience too. It may not have the same table presence as its Roman older brother, but Foundations of Metropolis is a great game to check out and bring to any holiday family and friends get-together.
Middle Ages
Price: $34.99 USD- Players: 2-5 (Best with 3-4)
- Time: 30 min
- Age: 10+
Price: $34.99 USD
I first played this nifty little game back at PAX West and was quickly smitten with it (and I promise it wasn’t because I won). In Middle Ages by Studio H, you and up to 6 players will take turns drafting tiles to build out your feifdom with the goal of earning the most money , which serves as Middle Age’s victory points. Much like Foundations, Middle Ages is a straightforward teach and relatively quick to play! Perhaps the part of this game I enjoy the most is how all the various tiles interlock with each other and play off of one another, leading to not only quite a beautiful looking place, but one that offers a deceptive amount of depth. It’s a fine gateway game to serve as an introduction to the board gaming hobby, making it a great gift for someone who is just really interested in the time period even if they aren’t known to partake in cardboard and dice normally.
Middle Age’s box is nice and compact as well making this a great option if you are meeting some friends at a brewery or coffee house, easily fitting in a standard-sized bag or backpack. The cardboard used is sturdy, and the screen-printed meeples add a bit of extra whimsy to the whole package. And, speaking from experience, this game fits perfectly into a work lunch hour.
ARCS
- Price: $60 USD
- Players: 2-4 (Best with 3-4)
- Time: 60 – 120 min
- Age: 14+
Price: $60 USDArguably the most complex game offering on this list for tabletop, ARCS is the latest game from Leder Games, creators behind games like Root and Oath, where you and up to three other players take on the roles of space-fairing civilizations bidding for control of the galaxy. For fans of more strategic game offerings this will be up your alley, as you build, exploit, and destroy your opponents all in an effort to earn the most victory points and claim victory.
Where Arcs differs from its peers is in how players take actions on their turns, opting for a card based, almost trick-taking, approach. Players are dealt a random hand of cards at the beginning of each round with each card containing a suit which dictates the actions you can take when you play it, pips denoting how many times you can take those actions, the strength of the card (more on this in a moment) and lastly symbols which show what point-awarding opportunities can be activated when the suit is declared. It’s a system that may not be for everyone but when it hits, it really hits.
Arcs offers plenty of options that increases the game’s replayability as well, from asymmetrical leaders and powers, different board setups, and even an expansion that turns Arcs into an evolving narrative experience. Leder Games has proven time and time again that they can deliver exceptional and rich games to their fans and Arcs is no different and players looking for that next space adventure may want to check out Arcs to fill that void.
Sky Team
- Price: $29.99 USD
- Players: 2 players
- Time: 15 min
- Age: 12+
Price: $29.99 USDFor those folks that may not have a large game group or simply prefer a more intimate 2-player experience, you can’t get much better than Sky Team. This strictly cooperative experience tasks two players with landing a plane through various scenarios that escalate in difficulty. To do this, each player will be rolling dice and slotting them into the plane’s systems to deploy the landing gear, keeping things balanced, and more. The big twist is that you and the other player can’t speak to one another about the dice you’re playing.
Sky Team has won a ton of awards ever since it first came out last year, including the “Oscar” of board games – the Spiel des Jahres – and with the new Turbulent Skies expansion that released this year, there are more experiences than ever you can fly through. Similar to Middle Ages, the footprint of this game is pretty small, meaning its a great option to through in backpack to take with you, and with games taking only around 15 minutes to play, you get through a bunch of tries in a short amount of time.
This is a great option for those folks in your life that prefer to work together as opposed to against one another. It also is a wonderful “date night” game, Sky Team by candlelight really elevates the whole experience.
5) Mass Effect: The Board Game – Priority: Hagalaz
- Price: $49.99 USD
- Players: 1-4 (Best with 2-4)
- Time: 45 – 60 min (per mission)
- Age: 14+
Price: $49.99 USDCampaign games are pretty popular these days, a genre of board game that tells a sprawling story over the course of numerous gameplay sessions, with your characters and other items carrying over from one to the next. The new Mass Effect board game – Mass Effect: The Board Game – Priority: Hagalaz – puts players in the space boots of Shepherd once again (both male and fem-Shep available) and crew to tackle and unravel the mysteries of a remote Cereberus outpost in what is perhaps the most approachable campaign board game out there. It also tells a pretty cool Mass Effect story too, complete with branching response options and the Paragon/Renegade system from the video games.
Taking place of the course of handful of unique missions (with side loyalty missions you can choose to undertake with your crew as well), a full playthrough of Hagalaz can be easily done over the course of a weekend, or even a day, which is a claim that very few (if any) other in the genre can tout. Choosing from popular characters from the series, you will be taking out Geth and Cerberus troops, rushing to computer panels, and dismantling large giants around Hex-based maps that are all conienvantly provided in a handy booklet meaning no setup required. Your team will unlock abilities as you progress, resulting in a rewarding and faithful experience of the source material.
For a more indepth look, check out my review of the game HERE!
