A few of our staff-approved best sellers!
Splendor (2-4)
One of the best selling strategy games out on the market, Splendor is a wonderful balance between easy to learn while still being surprisingly tactical. Players will collect gem tokens in order to purchase cards. These cards will then act as permanent gems and victory points for the rest of the game. The object is simple, be the first to acquire 15 points, but beware, your opponents can see which gems you’re collecting and you can only ever have a total of 10 gems in hand. You’re going to need to plan ahead, reserve some cards, and try to see if you can attract some nobles to your cause.
Villainous (2-6)
This game is brilliant even if you aren’t a fan of disney movies, but if you grew up on them and always wanted a really fun board game then Villainous is exactly what you’ve been waiting for. Each player takes on the role of a unique disney villain. Jafar from Alladin, King John from Robin Hood, The Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Ursula from the Little Mermaid, Hook from Peter Pan, or Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. Each plays completely different from the other, but each has their own win scenario. You’ll play minions from the movies to aid your cause and you can hinder your opponents by causing them to draw from their fate deck where all of the movie’s heroes are waiting to come thwart their plans. This is a medium to difficult weight game but is very managable in smaller groups. For 5+ players some experience with Euro-games is recommended!
El Dorado (2-4)
If you’ve heard of the card game Dominion then you’re going to love El Dorado. This game features a card engine in much the same way where you draw a hand of 5 cards, play them out to add cards to your hand, and then discard. Shuffling when you run out of cards. The difference and what games like El Dorado have improved on since Dominion is that now your card engine DOES something. You use your cards to race through the jungles, mountains and waterways to be the first explorer to discover the lost city of Gold. Buy machetes, ditch prop planes, and hire navigators to give you that edge you need to be the speediest explorer of the bunch.
7 Wonders (3-7)
Larger Euro-games can be hard to find as most cap out at 4 or 5 players. 7 Wonders, as the name suggests, can accommodate up to 7. Each player will get one of the 7 wonders of the world and gather resources to advance their civilization. There are many ways to score points and ultimately win the game, such as advancing your science, building up more military might than the players you’re adjacent to at the table, and constructing blue cards as city improvements. And don’t forget more points for completing your wonder by the end of the 3rd age. Each age is a drafting phase where players will get a chance to pick cards and compete for the title of most advanced nation.
Azul (2-4)
This game is quick, fun, and gorgeous. Amazingly simple in its design while still offering a lot to players who like a spatial brainteaser. Players will pick coloured tiles to place within their palace. In order to score points players are trying to complete vertical lines, horizontal lines, or collect all 5 tiles in a colour. The trick isn’t just in acquiring them though, thoughtful placement and timing will result in more points as players will score points for each tile making up a line orthogonally as each tile is placed. Careful, if you wind up with tiles you can’t place on your grid you’ll get slapped with hefty negatives so it’s worth checking which your opponents are collecting so you can snag them first.