Last weekend, my wife and I went on a long weekend with another couple. This couple knows that I am “into gaming”, but they really don’t know what that means. We had to have the talk about “yes, like Monopoly but not really anything like Monopoly”. I rattled off the names of some of the most recognizable games outside of the Monopolys and Sorrys of the world. Settlers, Dominion, etc. They never heard of any of them, lol.
I had introduced my wife and our kids to some games so I knew where I wanted to go first. So, I pulled Mountain Goats, Desperados of Dice Town, and Cash and Guns off the shelf. Easy rules, fun interactions, basic strategies, plenty of luck. Could have brought Flapjacks & Sasquatches too, but didn’t want to bring too many. They enjoyed them all! One of them asked me how complex they are compared to the games I play with my gaming group. I jumped on to Board Game Geek to show him that Mountain Goats is 1.05 complexity rating and Desperados is the “tough one” at 1.36. He got it. But, hey, you have to start somewhere! We talked about Wizard Miners and he asked where it would fall on the complexity scale. I must admit, after playing 1,000 times it is hard to say. For a “light hearted” game, there are a bunch of options each turn. So, I am guessing it would fall in the 2.4-2.7 range. Someday we will see!
I think the next time out we will try Settlers. Or maybe a Co-op game. Something that adds some complexity without adding frustration. Any suggestions? So much to choose from!