I’m a middle aged woman who enjoys a good board game and I’m not ashamed to admit it. When I met the man who would later become my husband, he was BIG, into board games. I’ve always enjoyed games but, I was unaware at the time just how big this industry really is. On one of our first few dates, he took me to a board game store, the kind with the tables set up in a backroom. We played Talisman and Carcassonne and I had fun. My eyes were open to a new and exciting hobby.
My husband and I have been together since 2011 and together have amassed quite a board game collection, we estimate that we own between 400 & 500 games. Obviously, some games I enjoy more than others. I tend to favor the Arkham Horror themed games, the dark storytelling elements and adventures are what I live for.
Board gaming is typical a male dominant industry, but women are starting to make waves. Celebrities including Mayim Bialik, Kristen Bell and Felicia Day are playing board games. If you’re new to board gaming or just looking to get into a new hobby, read on for some amazing board game recommendations, from a middle aged woman who actually plays board games and personally owns every game on this list.
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Ticket To Ride
Days of Wonder
Game Overview:
Ticket To Ride is a strategy game where you build tracks across the United States.
2-5 Players
30-60 Minutes of Gameplay
Ages 8+
Players choose a color for their train set, the pieces are made out of a durable plastic. Players will start with Destination Tickets and colored train cards, the goal is to connect specific cities via a train route, points are scored at the end for each completed route. Additional points can be scored for the “Longest Route”, which is the longest continuous route of one train color. Each round you can either draw train cards, claim a route (by placing trains on the board between cities) or drawing new Destination Tickets. Uncompleted routes for which you have Destination Tickets for will be deducted from your score at the end. This version of the game is for the continental United States, they are other versions available for different cities or countries, etc.
Other Versions:
Ticket To Ride Europe: Build your tracks across Europe.
Ticket To Ride Rails & Sails: Build railways & sea routes across the globe.
Ticket To Ride First Journey: Designed for younger players with easy to learn rules. Ages 6+
Ticket To Ride New York: Set in 1960’s New York City, claim routes between the most prestigious Tourist Attractions.
Ticket To Ride San Francisco: Place cable cars to connect souvenir locations, such as Lombard Street, the Golden Gate Bridge, etc.
Why I Like This Game:
- This game is easy to learn.
- It is a must-have for your collection if you are someone just getting into board games as a hobby.
- It is great for families, especially if you have children in elementary school.
- It offers a fun and unique train pieces experience.
- The rules and end objectives are simple to understand.
- It is short in duration, ideal for children with short attention spans.
- Turns move quickly, enhancing the gameplay experience.
- It has great replayability.
Disney Villainous
Wonder Forge
Game Overview:
Take on the role of a Disney Villain and complete your own devious objective. Each character has it’s own unique abilities and winning objective.
2-6 Players
50 Minutes of Gameplay
Ages 10+
Each player takes control of one of six Disney characters, each one a villain in a different Disney movie. Each player has their own villain deck, fate deck, player board, and 3D character.
On a turn, the active player moves their character to a different location on their player board, takes one or more of the actions visible on that space (often by playing cards from their hand), then refills their hand to four cards. Cards are allies, items, effects, conditions, and (for some characters) curses. You need to use your cards to fulfill your unique win condition.
One of the actions allows you to choose another player, draw two cards from that player’s fate deck, then play one of them on that player’s board, covering two of the four action spaces on one of that player’s locations. The fate deck contains heroes, items, and effects from that villain’s movie, and these cards allow other players to mess with that particular villain.
Other Versions:
Disney Villainous Perfectly Wretched: Choose from 3 different villains, Cruella De Vil, Mother Gothel and Pete. Is a standalone game and is also compatible with the original Villainous.
Disney Villainous Evil Comes Prepared: Choose from 3 different villains, Scar, Ratigan and Yzma. Is a standalone game and is also compatible with the original Villainous.
Disney Villainous Wicked To The Core: Choose from 3 different villains, Hades, Dr. Facilier and the Evil Queen. Is a standalone game and is also compatible with the original Villainous.
Marvel Villainous Infinite Power: Take on the role one of 5 Marvel Villains; Thanos, Hela, Ultron, Taskmaster or Killmonger. Each villain has their own powers and goals.
Why I Like This Game:
- I am a huge Disney fan, so this game is a must-have for my collection, and it should be for anyone who loves Disney.
- The game pieces are gorgeous and well made.
- The cards are in full color and beautifully themed to match the villain you are playing.
- Even my husband, who is a hardcore gamer, enjoys this game, making it appealing to a wide range of gamers.
- If your gaming group isn’t too keen on Disney Villains, there are other versions available, from Star Wars to Marvel.
- This game offers a high level of replayability, allowing you to play as a different character each time with a new win objective.
Takenoko
Matagot
Game Overview:
Take on the role of a gardener, growing bamboo, for the Nippon emperor’s Giant Panda.
2-4 Players
45 Minutes of Gameplay
Ages 13+
The players will cultivate land plots, irrigate them, and grow one of the three species of bamboo (Green, Yellow, and Pink) with the help of the Imperial gardener to maintain this bamboo garden. They will have to bear with the immoderate hunger of this sacred animal for the juicy and tender bamboo. The player who manages his land plots best, growing the most bamboo while feeding the delicate appetite of the panda, will win the game.
Why I Like This Game:
- The panda is an obvious choice due to its undeniable cuteness.
- The game features beautifully illustrated garden plots, adding to its visual appeal.
- It is a highly enjoyable game that offers a fun and entertaining experience.
- Learning and teaching the game is easy, making it accessible to players of all skill levels.
- Despite being competitive, the game doesn’t rely on conflict or induce stressful situations.
- Instead, it offers a peaceful and relaxing gameplay experience.
- The game is suitable for two players and has been played multiple times by my husband and myself, indicating its replay value and compatibility with smaller player counts.
Mansion of Madness (2nd Edition)
Fantasy Flight Games
Game Overview:
Players take the part of investigators, entering the darkened rooms of hunted Arkham mansions and other locations to discover strange secrets, solve puzzles and battle otherworldly dangers.
1-5 Players
2-3 Hours of Gameplay
Ages 14+
A fully co-operative, app-driven board game of horror and mystery for one to five players. Let the immersive app guide you through the veiled streets of Innsmouth and the haunted corridors of Arkham’s cursed mansions as you search for answers and respite. Eight brave investigators stand ready to confront four scenarios of fear and mystery, collecting weapons, tools, and information, solving complex puzzles, and fighting monsters, insanity, and death.
Expansions (Base Game Is Required):
Beyond The Threshold: The Lurker at the Threshold is seeking a way to manipulate the world from outside space and time. The investigators must find a way to stop the dangerous machinations of Yog-Sothoth or else they may find themselves joining the ranks for the mindless servants arrayed against them.
Streets of Arkham: The Streets of Arkham introduces iconic Arkham locations and the sinister secrets they conceal. Investigators seek to understand the strange happenings that plague the city and face off against visitors from beyond the stars, forces beyond reckoning and violent criminals.
Sanctum of Twilight: Take on the Order of the Silver Twilight in the Sanctum of Twilight! Two new heroes unite to investigate the strange events that surround Arkham’s powerful secret society. With the Twilight Fair approaching, will you be able to expose the Order or will this search for answers cost you your life or your sanity?
Horrific Journeys Expansion: Set course for untold terror! A new team of investigators races to solve perilous mysteries as they face ever-increasing danger the farther they wander from home. With new monsters, mysteries, and mythos events, to reach your destination you must first survive the journey!
Path of the Serpent: The Path of the Serpent sends investigators into the unexplored wilderness of the Amazon jungle. Battle horrifying serpent creatures, face stone monstrosities that come to life and beat the ever-present danger of being lost to the jungle forever.
Why I Like This Game:
- The game has a steep learning curve, making it more suitable for experienced gamers.
- A tablet or smartphone is required to run the free downloadable app that functions more or less as a gamemaster.
- The first version of the game necessitated a minimum of 3 players, but the app component allows for 1-2 player games.
- It is a cooperative game, which the user loves, where players either win or lose together.
- The game consists of various scenarios, each featuring a unique map, puzzles, and monsters, with the app serving as an essential tool for their layout.
- While it comes with a hefty price tag, considering the countless hours of enjoyment it provides, the investment is worthwhile.
Eldritch Horror
Fantasy Flight Games
Game Overview:
Investigators team up to pit their skills and weapons against the threat of the Ancient One. Together they explore the remote corners of the globe, fight the nightmarish creatures that lurk in the shadows and solve the ancient mysteries of this Eldritch Horror!
1-8 Players
2-4 Hours of Gameplay
Ages 14+
A co-operative game of terror and adventure in which one to eight players take the roles of globetrotting investigators working to solve mysteries, gather clues, and protect the world from an Ancient One – that is, an elder being intent on destroying our world. Each Ancient One comes with its own unique decks of Mystery and Research cards, which draw you deeper into the lore surrounding each loathsome creature. Discover the true name of Azathoth or battle Cthulhu on the high seas.
While the tasks on these Mystery cards (along with the locations of otherworldly gates, menacing monsters, and helpful clues) will often inform both your travel plans and the dangers you confront, you can find adventure anywhere in the world…even where you least expect it. It is during the Encounter Phase of each turn that players resolve combat or, alternatively, build their investigators’ personal stories by reading an encounter narrative from one of several types of Encounter cards. You might go head to head with a monster in Istanbul or find yourself in a tough spot with the crime syndicate in a major city. Maybe you will embark on an expedition to the Pyramids or research a clue you uncover in the unnamed wilderness. You may even find your way through a gate and explore a dimension beyond time and space.
Expansions (Base Game Is Required):
Forsaken Lore: Includes a new Ancient One as well as new Mystery cards for the base game Ancient Ones, hundreds of new encounters, and new Artifacts, Assets and Spells for investigators to wield against the Ancient Ones. No two games are ever the same.
Mountains of Madness: This expansion introduces a new Antarctica side board along with 8 new investigators and new allies. Investigators can undertake personal tasks to gain powerful rewards. They will find a plethora of useful items, magic spells, hideous conditions and terrifying encounters.
Under the Pyramids: This expansion features an Egypt side board where investigators explore bustling cities, barren deserts and mysterious archeological sites. Eight new investigators join the game, aided by invaluable Relics, powerful Glamour Spells and legendary allies.
Masks of Nyarlathotep: This expansion introduces investigator-specific Personal Stories, Focus and Gather Resources actions and a host of additional Assets, Spells and Artifacts.
Strange Remnants: This expansion features a new Ancient One, new encounters, Adventure cards and Prelude cards. Four more investigators enter the game along with Artifacts, Assets, Spells and Unique Assets to aid them in their struggle to save the world.
Why I Like This Game:
- It’s a twist on Arkham Horror 2nd Edition, which is my favorite game.
- It’s a cooperative game.
- The replayability of this game is high.
- There are different investigators with unique abilities.
- There are numerous monsters.
- There are hundreds of possible encounter.
- Every game is a different and unique experience.
Suburbia
Bezier Games
Game Overview:
Plan, build, and develop a small town into a major metropolis. Use hex-shaped building tiles to add residential, commercial, civic, and industrial areas, as well as special points of interest that provide benefits and take advantage of the resources of nearby towns. Your goal is to have your borough thrive and end up with a greater population than any of your opponents.
1-4 Players
60-90 Minutes of Gameplay
Ages 8+
A tile-laying game in which each player tries to build up an economic engine and infrastructure that will be initially self-sufficient, and eventually become both profitable and encourage population growth. When your town grows, you’ll modify both your income and your reputation. As your income increases, you’ll have more cash on hand to purchase better and more valuable buildings, such as an international airport or a high-rise office building. As your reputation increases, you’ll gain more and more population — and the player with the largest population at the end of the game wins.
During each game, players compete for several unique goals that offer an additional population boost — and the buildings available in each game vary, so you’ll never play the same game twice!
Expansions (Base Game Is Required):
Suburbia 5 🌟 : Build landmarks, monuments, and tourist traps to increase your reputation and income while determining the player order each turn. In addition, the metropolitan area has expanded, allowing up to five players to build the city of their holiday dreams simultaneously.
Suburbia Inc: Define borders that are unique and provide you with all new benefits. Build more than a dozen new, powerful buildings to optimize your income and reputation. And take advantage of new Bonuses (to increase your income) and Challenges (to boost your reputation) by achieving mid-game goals.
Why I Like This Game:
- Gameplay is equal part luck & part strategy
- Family game
- Plays well with only 2 players
- Some game objectives are secret
- Variety of ways to win the game, allowing for every player to have a chance to win regardless of skill and ability.
Pandemic Legacy Season 0
Z-Man Games
Game Overview:
Set in the era of the Cold War, players must work together and use carefully constructed character aliases to complete mission objectives for the CIA before the world is overwhelmed by the looming threat of a new bioweapon. A truly cooperative game where you win or lose together.
2-4 Players
45-60 Minutes of Gameplay
Ages 14+
This is a Legacy game, where the board, game pieces, and rules change permanently as the game progresses. This game is played over the course of 1 year, depending on how well you did the previous month will dictate, which new rules, game pieces, objectives etc. will be added to the game going forward. Actions have consequences from one game to the next as you strive to avert global disaster. Trigger certain events and you’ll unlock tools that reveal strategies for dealing with each new problem. These developments have a direct impact on the game itself. There are many paths to follow.
Other Versions (Stand Alone Games):
Pandemic Reign of Cthulhu: Players work to shut down cults and ward off monsters while attempting to seal the gates. Travel between key locations in four cities central to the Cthulhu Mythos as you make use of your investigator’s unique ability to stem the tide of evil.
Pandemic Legacy Season 1: It starts simply. A virus tougher than the rest. Nothing your team can’t handle. But as January turns to February, things take a turn for the worse. This is no ordinary virus. The world is on the brink of collapse. The coming year will determine the fate of humanity. Gather your team and prepare for a campaign full of epic twists and evolving gameplay.
Pandemic Legacy Season 2: The world almost ended seventy-one years ago. A virulent plague came out of nowhere and ravaged the world. As you play, you will unlock new components, make new discoveries about your world, and stumble upon secrets that could change the course of history. No matter what happens, though, the world is counting on you.
Pandemic : Four diseases threaten the world, and your elite team of specialists must find a cure for each of them before it’s too late. Everyone must work together applying their unique character skills to benefit the team—and the world.
Why I Like This Game:
- The passport mechanic is so much fun. You get to create your own spy, with disguises (stickers), special abilities, etc.
- The Legacy aspect of the game is like a choose your own adventure book, where you choices change how the game is played.
- This game is co-operative and honestly I just love games where everyone is on the same side.
- Every round of the game is different, different rules, game pieces, objectives…
- The game comes with secret boxes, stickers, etc. As the game progresses and depending upon your previous actions, you will be instructed to open the number boxes, reveal a new game rule, tear a card up, etc.
Elder Sign
Fantasy Flight Games
Game Overview:
Players take the roles of investigators racing against the clock to stave off the imminent return of the Ancient Ones. Armed with cards for tools, allies, and occult knowledge, they must put their sanity and stamina to the test as they adventure to locate Elder Signs, the eldritch symbols used to seal away the Ancient Ones and win the game.
1-8 Players
1-2 Hours Playtime
Ages 14+
To locate Elder Signs, investigators must successfully endure Adventures within the museum. A countdown mechanism makes an Ancient One appear if the investigators are not quick enough. The investigators must then battle the Ancient One. Clever use of investigators’ talents and timely item use are crucial as players work to bend the luck of the dice to their favor.
Elder Sign recreates the Lovecraftian thrills of eerie suspense and mind-numbing horrors in a game players can finish in one to two hours. Expert design in rules, card text, and innovative dice mechanics make this game easy to learn, quick to play and strategic enough to offer high replayability.
Expansions (Base Game Is Required):
Omens of the Deep: The new R’lyeh Rising mode of gameplay features two stages. Navigate the Dark Waters track and assemble the Amulet of R’lyeh to stop one of three dangerous new Ancient Ones from waking and devouring the world. Engage the newly introduced mission tokens for hard-won rewards, fend off the dogged Deep One Legion and move to unknown dangers on the Pacific Adventure cards.
Omens of Ice: This expansion features a complete deck of 60 Alaskan Adventure cards that open up locations across that frozen territory with three new Ancient Ones. A new deck of Mythos cards makes midnight more terrifying than ever. Eight additional investigators come with new Allies, Spells, Common Items and Unique Items to help prevent the freezing of the entire Earth.
Omens of the Pharaoh: The Lightless Pyramid game mode lets the investigators travel back and forth between Cairo and Dashur to gather supplies and gain special advantages by advancing the party’s Expedition. Gather powerful Relics to bolster your chances of stopping Nephren-Ka and explore Hidden Chambers to reveal the powerful Elder Signs!
Gates of Arkham: Four new Ancient Ones threaten humanity and eight new investigators join the quest for elder signs. Investigators can also now acquire skills that give them lasting advantages. Memberships in either the brutal Sheldon Gang or the mysterious Silver Twilight Lodge help investigators complete tasks and grant them added rewards.
Why I Like This Game:
- It’s quicker than playing a game of Arkham Horror or Eldritch Horror.
- Must have for anyone into horror games, the theme is on point.
- Lots of replayability
- Nice artwork
- Lots of dice! (Invest in a dice tray for this one.)
- Co-operative gameplay
- Easy to learn the rules, however the gameplay is challenging.
Dead of Winter
Plaid Hat Games
Game Overview:
Players must frequently make difficult decisions and often choose between what actions are best for the colony and what is best for themselves. Survive the winter, survive the dead and survive each other
2-5 Players
60-120 Minutes of Gameplay
Ages 13+
A meta-cooperative psychological survival game. This means players are working together toward one common victory condition, but for each individual player to achieve victory, they must also complete their personal secret objective, which could relate to a psychological tick that’s fairly harmless to most others in the colony, a dangerous obsession that could put the main objective at risk, a desire for sabotage of the main mission, or (worst of all) vengeance against the colony! Games could end with all players winning, some winning and some losing, or all players losing. Work toward the group’s goal.
Expansions:
The Long Night: Experience a new colony full of new survivors and new gameplay elements. Fight off bandits from another colony, build improvements to your colony, and most intriguingly, unravel the mysteries of the new Raxxon Pharmaceutical location. (This is a stand alone expansion, The Base Game Is Not Required)
Warring Colonies: Can be played with either Dead of Winter or The Long Night. Expand your Dead of Winter games with new survivors, items, crossroads cards, and crisis cards. Compete for resources and territory with up to eleven players in the epic colony vs. colony variant.
Why I Like This Game:
- High replayability
- Zombies! Seriously if it has zombies sign me up!
- Can be played with 2 people
- Hidden objectives
- Good story telling
- Has a fully co-operative variant (removes the personal goals)
Gloom (2nd Edition)
Atlas Games
Game Overview:
In this card game, you assume control of the fate of an eccentric family of misfits and misanthropes. The goal of the game is sad, but simple: you want your characters to suffer the greatest tragedies possible before passing on to the well-deserved respite of death. You’ll play horrible mishaps like Pursued by Poodles or Mocked by Midgets on your own characters to lower their Self-Worth scores, while trying to cheer your opponents’ characters with marriages and other happy occasions that pile on positive points. The player with the lowest total Family Value wins.
2-5 Players
60 Minute Play Time
Ages 13+
Printed on transparent plastic cards. Multiple modifier cards can be played on top of the same character card; since the cards are transparent, elements from previously played modifier cards either show through or are obscured by those played above them. You’ll immediately and easily know the worth of every character, no matter how many modifiers they have.
Expansions (Base Game Is Required To Play):
Unhappy Homes: Adds morbid new Modifiers, Events, and Untimely Deaths, and a new family — the artistes of Le Canard Noir, whose creative endeavors always end in disaster. Unhappy Homes adds new rules for Mysteries, Residences, and allows for an additional player in the game. The second edition includes new packaging (with side-by-side half-decks), rules fixes, timing icons, reminder cards, and more; plus it’s fully compatible with the first edition game and supplements.
Unwelcome Guests: Adds morbid new Modifiers, Events, and Untimely Deaths, and a new family – the malodorous Malone mob – including The Broken Arms Hotel as a Residence card to use with the Unhappy Homes expansion. Also inside are five new Character cards called Unwelcome Guests, which can move from family to family during the game; and Transformations. The new Malone family allows an additional player to join a game.
Unquiet Dead: Mad scientists can reanimate relatives or invent invisibility. Vampires and shape shifters can terrorize the townsfolk and go mad in the moonlight. Just mix the 55 transparent cards in this set together with your copy of Gloom to add morbid new Modifiers, Events, and Untimely Deaths. Unquiet Dead also introduces Stories, Undead, and Timing Symbols to the madness of Gloom.
Fairytale Gloom (Stand Alone Game): A custom collection of fairy tale characters like Jack, Gretel, Puss in Boots, and Little Red Riding Hood do their best to stay happy, but circumstances conspire to rain woe on their sad, benighted heads.
Why I Like This Game:
- Inexpensive
- Easy set up
- Storytelling aspect, allows you to get creative
- Dark humor
- Easy to learn
- High replayability
Lords of Waterdeep
Dungeons & Dragons
Game Overview:
Euro-style board game, this immersive game casts players as Lords of Waterdeep who hire adventurers to complete quests.
2-5 Players
60 Minute Playtime
Ages 12+
You take in the role of one of the masked Lords of Waterdeep, secret rulers of the city. Through your agents, you recruit adventurers to go on quests on your behalf, earning rewards and increasing your influence over the city. Expand the city by purchasing new buildings that open up new actions on the board, and hinder—or help—the other lords by playing Intrigue cards to enact your carefully laid plans. Played over 8 rounds.
Expansions (Base Game Is Required To Play):
Scoundrels of Skullport: This expansion adds brand new content for owners of the Lords of Water deep. Two, complete expansions in one, the sprawling dungeon of Under mountain and the criminal haven of Skull port. This expansion introduces a new 6th player to the game, further enhancing the gameplay.
Why I Like This Game:
- I’m good at it, honestly, who doesn’t love a game that they dominate.
- Easy set up
- Secret objectives
- Meeples, this game has them and they are awesome! (Check out the “Waterdeeples” that replace the base game meeples. A must have!)
- This game comes down to strategy and deviousness, may the best player win.
- Plays well with 2 people