12 board games to take to a family reunion

Plus: How I think about what games I'm taking.

Family reunions — especially in larger families or reunions with extended families — often feature a wide variety of skill levels, understanding, and intensity when it comes to playing board games.

Packing your game bag with just the right mix to suit varied members of such a crowd is difficult, and it’s something I’ve not done in quite the way I’d want in the past. Too often I’ve skewed one way or another — too simple, too heavy, too many games I’ve never played. This time, I’m trying a more deliberate approach with regard to what I'm bringing, rather than just tossing every game I can possibly fit into one large bag. (I can’t promise I won’t also do that as the clock winds down.)

We’ll be attending a family reunion soon (and then another one less than a month later, but that one’s at the beach and with a different side of my wife’s family, and you know I’m bringing a different set of games to the beach,) so I thought this would be a great opportunity to talk through this together. Thanks for coming with me on this journey!

Kingdomino and Can't Stop | Photos by Matt Montgomery

A game for everyone

Bringing a game that (nearly) anyone can figure out and play together is a huge part of planning for a family reunion; this is probably the most important section of your game bag. The last thing you want to do is bring a bunch of games that are difficult to teach, difficult to learn, or just more involved than you have time.

My niece, on Sunday: “You know that Dragonimo game you got me? There’s Kingdomino and Queendomino!’ I think that might just seal it for me. I’ll be taking a couple other games that fit this bill neatly, too.

• Kingdomino, a family-friendly tile placement game with a neat drafting mechanic (drafting a more valuable tile means you’ll pick later the following round). Designed by Bruno Cathala, published by Blue Orange Games.

• Can’t Stop, one of the greatest push-your-luck games. Designed by Sid Sackson. Currently published in North America by Eagle-Gryphon Games, but keep an eye out for the Korean version by Playte, which comes in a nice, small box that doubles as the game board.

• A Fake Artist Goes to New York, a drawing game where you’re making a picture together — but there’s a fake artist in your midst. Designed by Jun Sasaki, published by Oink Games.

• Nana Toridori, a climbing/shedding game in which you can’t reorganize your hand. It’s a nice, simple one — great for introducing younger players to the genre. Designed by Toshiki Arao, published by Arclight Games in Japan.

Nokosu Dice | Photo by Matt Montgomery

A game for gamers

Of course, this one only truly applies if you have members of your family that are very into board games, but in the case of this one, there are several of us around. (It’s a lucky thing, really.) Bring something that you know (or at least hope) those into board games will be into. That doesn’t have to be Merchant of Venus or some other sort of lengthy game, but maybe it’s something that’s a bit weird or unusual. Make it something you’re excited about, but you need the right crowd for.

I won’t be bringing Nokosu Dice (because Ginny’s uncle is bringing it, a fact I thought I’d clarify in case he reads this so we don’t accidentally end up with zero copies of the game on-site accidentally.) It’s a trick-taking game that features a novel dice-drafting mechanic, which you’ll use in addition to the cards in your hand. It’s not a complicated game, but the twist around having dice you play in addition to cards makes this a game for folks with some trick-taking experience. Designed by Yusuke Matsumoto, published by Engames.

I will, however, be bringing:

• French Quarter, a strategic roll-and-write game set in New Orleans. Designed by Adam Hill, Ben Pinchback, and Matt Riddle. Published by 25th Century Games.

This is the shortest list, and that’s because this isn’t a gaming retreat. Playing games will be great, but I suspect there won’t be hours upon hours devoted every night to the activity. (Which may mean I’m bringing more games than I need. I suspect it does. Hmm.)

Xylotar | Photo by Matt Montgomery

A game you’re excited about

One of the best ways to get a game to the table is to bring games you’re genuinely excited about playing, whether that’s something you’ve recently picked up and feel ready to teach, or it’s something you know well and think others will enjoy. These might be games that aren’t quite for everyone, and they might not quite be a gamer’s game, but you can involve less-experienced gamers without too much effort.

I’ll be bringing:

• Rafter Five, a dexterity game in which you’re building an ever-expanding raft atop the game box with cards, placing treasure chests and wooden figures atop those cards. Knock off too many of other players’ chests and you’ll lose. Designed by Mashiu and Jun Sasaki, published by Oink Games.

• Xylotar, a trick-taking game where you don’t know the values of your cards until you play them — and you have to use one of those cards to place a bid. Designed by Chris Wray, published by Bezier Games, who provided a review copy.

• Clever 4Ever, yet another roll-and-write game in the Clever series.

A game you want to learn and teach

I have a few of these in my bag. These are games that you can learn in fairly short order and feel confident teaching. Games with simple rulesets are great options. I’ve got a handful of trick-taking games I’ll be taking along, in my case. I might not play them, and I might not have the time to learn them, but, I don’t know, what if I do! That’s really the trick. (Heh.)

Some of the games I’ll be bringing with this in mind:

• Hey Yo!, a real-time rhythm card game. Designed by Takashi Saito, published by Oink Games.

• Newsboys, a flip-and-write game about expanding newspaper routes. Designed by Saashi, published by Saashi & Saashi.

• Rebel Princess, a trick-taking game with a fairy tale theme and apparently some memory elements. Ginny’s gonna beat me at this one. Designed by Daniel Byrne, José Gerardo Guerrero, Kevin Peláez and Tirso Virgós. Published by a number of international publishers with a North American release pending from Bezier Games.

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Thank you, as always, for reading Don’t Eat the Meeples. Sending this out is one of my favorite parts of my week, and it’s hard to believe we’ve all been together as long as we have. (Cue the cute “aww” sound from a ‘90s sitcom.)

I’m curious: What games do you like to take to gatherings with mixed groups? Are you looking to always accommodate anyone who wants to play? Are you seeking out more close-knit gaming experiences? I’d love to hear your thoughts.