I decided to start my day with a challenge and choose my top 5 board games to share - the ones I would keep if I had to get rid of all my others. Here are the results of some agonizing decision making imposed on me by no one but myself.
Technically this isn't precisely my top 5 games, partly because there may or may not be more than 5 but also because I tried to select very different categories of games - so there's a collaborative one, a party one, a kid friendly one etc. This way I could give a top choice across the various categories I am usually looking for when it comes to a good board game option!
The perfect party game: Codenames
I love a party game that you can pull out with a bunch of people who may or may not have played many board games, without scaring them off. Codenames is ideal because you can scale it up with big groups nice and easily, and because there are two teams no-one is having to compete on their own, they work together to try and decipher the clues faster and more effectively than the other team.
My hack for this one is buy both the original Codenames, and the Pictures version and then combine them! The extra challenge of both coming up with and figuring out the clues when there are both words and images on the board is heaps of fun!
Just hanging out with the Birds: Wingspan
This may be up there competing for my favourite game ever, across all categories for several reasons:
1. It's about birds and by playing you get to discover all these incredible birds from around the world (especially if you add the expansions) and learn more about each one.
2. It's endlessly re-playable - I must have played this almost 100 times by now but each time is slightly different in terms of the strategy I end up going for based on which birds I end up collecting.
3. It's my perfect kind of competitive gameplay. Generally I'm more of a cooperative game kind of person, but I love games like Wingspan where you are all just doing your own thing, trying to play your own best game, until the end when you score and discover who has one. I like that I'm not trying to destroy my opponents, but just trying to maximise my turns to get the best outcome for myself and my birbs.
A quiet journey across Japan: Tokaido
I love Tokaido - it's beautifully designed both in art and game play. Each traveler is crossing the East Sea Road, a historic path across Japan, and as you journey you collect beautiful things, visit beautiful sights, eat delicious food and so on. At the end of the journey you see who has had the most interesting and varied trip.
This one is a little similar to Wingspan in that it's competitive at the end when you score, but less so as you journey across the game board apart from getting annoyed with fellow travellers when they take the space at the onsen and you have to go somewhere else instead. I love that it's a linear path, you really feel like you are going on a trip across ancient Japan, and I like the variety of strategies available like advancing quicker than others to maximise benefits, or taking your time and seeing/doing as much as possible. It's a peaceful play which I love.
I now need the Crossroads & Matsuri expansion which is coming out in November, right in time for Christmas and combines two expansions and adds a new layer to the core game - I can't wait!
The cooperative game to play with your youngest: Down the Waterspot
We've been playing a lot of four year old friendly board games lately and they can range from too easy to be fun to too hard to survive unscathed without a toddler tantrum. This one hits just right - being cooperative which means we win or lose together, great learning for four year olds who are not used to winning 100% of the time.
Down the Water Spout is a clever game, where dice are rolled down the 'spout' and then everyone tries to match the icons to the cards before the sun comes out. It's a great one because there's chance involved, but also some tactical cooperative decision making, and you don't win every time. We had a toddler meltdown the first time we lost together, but it's kind of great that she can experience a team loss rather than her being beaten by us as she is just getting used to board games! I would recommend this if you have kids aged 3 and above!
Get stressed together: Pandemic
Oh man, I love Pandemic. Post-Covid it feels weirdly like therapy, processing the collective experience we all went through, but aside from that it's just such a perfectly designed cooperative game that is the exact right level of stressful and fun. It's a high stakes race against global disease, thematically so well done and also easy to learn! With various options in character choices, as well as the chance of the outbreaks that take place, each play through is different to the one before. If you are looking for a good cooperative game, check this one out!
We love the original game and have also been playing the legacy version, but I want to try the dice based version, The Cure, as well as the Lord of the Rings themed game that uses the same Pandemic system, Fate of the Fellowship, which I've heard such good things about.
To play with one other person: 7 Wonders Duel
Is this me squeezing in a sixth board game and hoping you don't notice? Shhhh. You're just really bad at counting.
7 Wonders Duel is one of my top recs for anyone who comes in asking for a good two player game. As someone who spent my childhood on Age of Empires, I love the connection with this game as you compete to achieve supremacy in the ancient world. A card drafting game that is quick and has different strategies to try out in different games which keeps it fresh, I love this one even though I'm not a hugely competitive player in general.
We'd love to know what your favourite boardgames are so leave a comment sharing your own top choices!
Lizzy makes sure the Toy Hero bookstore is an integral part of our local Hobsonville community, welcoming readers of all ages with a genuine kindness and love of books. The Fantastic Mr Fox ignited her passion for books as a child, and now she’s read thousands of books and loves matching the right book to the right reader - both in our bookstore and online. When she’s not recommending her next favourite read, she’s enjoying life’s small joys and adding to a home library so large her husband Edd is constructing a massive bookshelf to try and keep up.
