Looking for Suggestions for a 2+ Board Game

[Sliver]

Hey Playgrounders, my GF's birthday is coming up and I'm looking for some suggestions. I want to get her a board game, or a (not collective) card game, that we can play together, but that it also fits more than 2 players if needed, at least 3, but the more the better.

If there's a good cat-themed game, that would also be great. She's a cat person... I already have Exploding Kittens, so I'm looking for a more positive spin on the cat idea.

But other ideas are also good.

Last year I got her Forbidden Island. She also has Gloom and Munchkin Bites, though our friend also has the base Munchkin game with lots of expansions, and Munchkin Booty, so unless there is a really good Munchkin game we're missing out on, I'm not looking into expanding that collection too much. Our friend also has a co-op samurai themed game, an odd sushi matching game, and a couple of others that I'm not sure if are hers or her ex's...

I have Fluxx, Million Dollars But, Exploding Kittens, King of New York (present from GF), and I'm waiting for the Kickstarter shipments of Joking Hazard and Hero Realms.

Any suggestions much appreciated!

[heretic]

Castles of Burgundy is a good 2-4 player game. It's basically an action-economy city building game.

[Balain]

I really like takenoko and it works well for 2 players. Carcasonne was designed with 2 playersin mind. In fact the base game works better with 2 players than with 4 I think.

For cat games, kittens in a blender is fun.

[Sliver]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll have a look at those.

Doing some searching of my own, I've been reading good things about BattleCON: Devastation Of Indines. Anyone has experience with that one?

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Doing some searching of my own, I've been reading good things about BattleCON: Devastation Of Indines. Anyone has experience with that one?
I've played it quite a bit! It's a fun game, but definitely has a learning curve. It's inspired by fighting games (in particular, ArcSys anime fighting games) and has no random elements. Both players have a hand of "styles" and "bases", and they simultaneously choose a style and a base from their hand. Style/base combinations have unique stats and effects. And, naturally, each character has a different set of styles and a unique base that gets added to the standard bases.

The core system is a bit more complicated than rock-paper-scissors, because you're trying to hit the opponent by using a move that hits at the correct distance (and this is harder than it seems, because some moves let players advance or retreat spaces on the board!) and is either fast enough to outspeed the opponent's move or else has enough "stun guard" to not get "stunned out". (Some more powerful moves are slow and highly-damaging, and have stun guard so that a faster opponent doesn't negate them by hitting you first. It's like super armor.)

Learning the different ways that styles and bases combine is the bulk of the learning curve, and it can feel overwhelming sometimes because you don't know where to start. It's a pretty good game when you get into it, though, and I really enjoy how different the characters feel. They each have their own unique gimmick, and it feels very much like I'm playing a boardgame version of Guilty Gear.

Note: there's multiple BattleCON products out currently. Devastation of Indines was the second set, and they also released a second edition of the first set, War of Indines, with considerably improved art and totally revamped balance (which it was apparently in need of).

BattleCON: Fate of Indines (http://www.level99games.com/catalog/battlecon-line/28-battlecon-fate.html) is designed as a smaller entry point to the BattleCON series, and I know they're also working on a "Trial of Indines" game. Each game has its own unique selection of characters.

All that said, it's a game that really mainly shines in 1v1 play, and I don't know how well any 2v1 modes work in it.

[caden_varn]

A few coop options. They work well for 2 player, and may result in less arguments :smallsmile:

Pandemic is quite a quick one, fun and challenging enough for me. Save the world from plagues! 2-4 players

Arkham or Eldritch horror (eldritch is better IMO, and the newer one of the two) is a longer game set in the Cthulhu mythos. Quite fun, at least a couple of hours to play. 2-8 players

Dead of Winter (I'd go for the long night - you get the base game plus 3 modules). Survive the winter as a group of survivors in a zombie-filled wasteland. Semi-cooperative. 2-5 players

No cat-based games to suggest I'm afraid

[CarpeGuitarrem]

RE: cat games, Daniel Solis made one called Nine Lives (http://www.drivethrucards.com/product/121529/Nine-Lives-Card-Game?affiliate_id=491087&src=BlogSidebar). I haven't played it, but Daniel always puts out interesting card game designs and his games look visually amazing.

Deckbuilders also tend to scale fairly decently from 2 to 4 players. My absolute favorite is probably Puzzle Strike (https://www.amazon.com/Sirlin-Games-PS-03-Puzzle-Edition/dp/B007SYF07O), because it has ten unique characters and puts a fun interactive spin on deckbuilding, but Dominion (https://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-RGG370-Dominion/dp/B001JQY6K4) is also very solid, and the grandaddy of the genre.

Race For the Galaxy (https://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-RGG301-Galaxy/dp/B000YLAOEW/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1471980350&sr=1-1&keywords=race+for+the+galaxy) plays very well with 2 players or with more players (and it plays differently between the two experiences), although it can be a little intimidating at first.

[houlio]

Race For the Galaxy (https://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-RGG301-Galaxy/dp/B000YLAOEW/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1471980350&sr=1-1&keywords=race+for+the+galaxy) plays very well with 2 players or with more players (and it plays differently between the two experiences), although it can be a little intimidating at first.

There is also the excellent Roll for the Galaxy (https://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-492-Galaxy/dp/B00OYUZRIW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472076714&sr=8-1&keywords=roll+for+the+galaxy). It irons out many of logical leaps of Race (you can now produce and then ship goods in a turn), and has a quite enjoyable phase selection mechanic. The only thing I really have complained about is that I don't get to play it enough.

[Sian]

Pandemic is quite a quick one, fun and challenging enough for me. Save the world from plagues! 2-4 players

I suggest this one as well ... its a co-operational game where the players play against the game, so you'd easily be able to play two 'characters' each, if that is what you want

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I just remembered my favorite 2-4 player game, although I will warn you that it's one of the most cutthroat games I've ever played...

Hey, That's My Fish!

https://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1004115.jpg


I kid you not.

It's a game about penguins collecting fish from ice floes. And every time you make a move, a tile gets removed from the map. So here you both are, each with a team of penguins, and you're slicing the board into smaller and smaller pieces, constantly cutting the other player off from the tiles with the most fish. It's very simple, very intense, and very good.