Games players still suggest as a first modern board game, for families and friends who enjoy a game night. Picked from game awards, players’ forums and reviews.
Prices from shops in Czechia.
Short rules and a game within the hour. Most work from about eight, without being children’s games.
Collect train cards and claim railways across Europe to link the cities on your secret tickets. Stations let you get round a taken line, so it’s kinder than the US map.
CZK 975 dobre-knihy.cz
Each turn you add a tile to a shared landscape of roads and cities, and decide whether to claim it with a wooden figure. Learned in five minutes; none of the many expansions is needed.
CZK 449 15% sparkys.cz
Build a small kingdom from domino-like tiles; the better the tile you take, the later you pick next round. Fifteen minutes, fine from about six and still interesting for adults.
CZK 449 legenio.cz
Gather gem chips to buy cards, and every card makes the next ones cheaper. Half an hour, a little more thinking than a party game, and the heavy chips feel good in the hand.
CZK 685 hrydoruky.cz
Grow coloured bamboo in a Japanese garden and let a hungry panda eat it to meet your goals. Bright pieces and simple rules from about eight, with a fair bit of luck.
CZK 902 planetaher.cz
Solve crimes together by following suspects across a huge city map drawn in tiny detail. Almost no rules, for families with older children; sixteen cases, each solved once.
CZK 689 alza.czFor a lively evening, including people who rarely play. Words, pictures and luck count for more than planning, and a game takes half an hour at most.
Two teams and 25 words: one player on each side links several of their team’s words with a single clue, and the rest guess. Fifteen minutes, best with four or more.
CZK 507 nejhracka.cz
Everyone writes a one-word clue for one player’s secret word, but matching clues cancel out, so you try to help without being obvious. All on one side; best with five or more.
CZK 464 bohemiangames.cz
Hint at one of your dreamlike picture cards with a word, a sound or a song, and the others try to find it among decoys. The trick is to be neither too obvious nor too obscure.
CZK 679 fyft.cz
Giant monsters fight over Tokyo, rolling dice up to three times to score, heal or hit the others. Loud, quick and full of luck; a monster knocked out early waits for the rest.
CZK 722 planetaher.cz
Twenty-one cards: hold one, draw one, play one, and try to be the last one standing. Rounds take minutes and it fits in a coat pocket, though it’s mostly guessing and luck.
CZK 330 planetaher.czAbout half an hour each, for a couple or two friends. Two of them are only for two players; Azul also works as a lighter game for three or four.
Buy fabric patches with buttons and time and fit them into your quilt like Tetris pieces. Gentle to look at but a real contest, and players’ usual tip for a couple starting out.
CZK 499 deskoland.cz
Take coloured tiles from shared piles to decorate a palace wall, and any you can’t place cost points. The rules fit on a page, and the heavy tiles are a pleasure to handle.
CZK 854 kitstore.cz
Build a civilisation from cards in a shared layout, where each card you take may uncover one for your opponent. Players’ top recommendation for two; the symbols take a game or two to learn.
CZK 599 amipa.czFor when the quicker games have caught on and someone wants more to plan. Which one suits depends mostly on how many usually play.
Roll for resources and trade with the others to build roads and towns on an island: a lively evening for four who like to bargain. For five or six you need an extension.
CZK 799 alza.cz
Attract birds to your own board, and their powers start to chain together. Calm and beautifully made, with little to argue over, though it can feel like playing side by side.
CZK 1,299 alza.cz
Build an ancient city by keeping one card and passing the rest, everyone at once, so seven players take no longer than three. Not for two: that’s what 7 Wonders Duel is for.
CZK 1,029 deskoland.czEverything you want in one place. We show you where each is cheapest and tell you when the price drops.
Board and card games for children from four to about eight, grouped by age: stacking and quick-spotting games, puzzles, games played as one team and first games of strategy. Picked from children’s game awards, parents’ forums and reviews.
Games keen players come back to for years, for someone who already has the classics. Picked from players’ forums and Reddit, critics’ reviews and game awards.
Gifts for someone who scuba dives, in the sea or in lakes and quarries. Based on what divers say on forums and Reddit, on tests and on years of use.
Things riders are glad to have and rarely buy for themselves. Based on riders’ forums and Reddit, the tests of the German magazine MOTORRAD and years of use.
What birders take on every walk, and a few things they rarely buy themselves. Based on birders’ forums and Reddit, binocular tests and years of use.
Gifts chess players use for years, at the board and between games, for adults and for children. Based on players’ forums and Reddit, owners’ reviews and FIDE’s rules for tournament equipment.