Personally, my 10 gateway games would go something like this: 1) Codenames 2) Tokaido 3) Onitama 4) Sagrada 5) Azul 6) Dream Home 7) Hanabi 8) 6Nimmt! 9) For Sale 10) Paris Connection
Tokaido is a relaxing set collection game with light player powers, Dream Home is a casual card drafting game with a little spatial puzzle aspect, For Sale is a simple buy low/sell high auction game, and Paris Connection has replaced Ticket to Ride for me, as it supports 1 more player, plays in 45 minutes, and basically does the same things like set collecting & route-building, but with stocks. All are super noob-friendly. Great series Jon, Keep up the good work! I definitely seek out your videos.
Interesting list with some games I added to my Amazon list. I will say that, for me, the best gateways have been Splendor and Century: Golem Edition. Surprising that those two and Sagrada and Azul didn't make the list.
I enjoyed Splendor and Azul, but neither had much staying power for us and this list was largely built around my personal top 10 gateway games as in, games that I enjoy and work well to teach to newer players. Honestly I wasn't very impressed with Sagrada, and while I loved parts of Century: Spice Road (functionally the same as Golem edition) there was a big issue with the action row that ultimately sunk the game for me.
My junger coisin who isn´t a gamer but plays from time to time with family refused to play the game for its randomness and the limited options you have. I kind of agree with her. I think it is gateway but in a way where the game plays you if you don´t already know a lot about the possible tickets etc. to actually be a little strategic. That defeats the purpose of being gateway though. A lot of people are used to and kind of feel at home with the "being played feel" from Monopoly, UNO and so on. In my experience there definetly is a big place for games that emulate the experience of choices that matter while to a large extent playing everyone. This way anybody can try to be strategic but you can also lay back and just wing it. No one is left behind or offended. Except people like me or my cousin who feel cheated by the whole experience.
Beginning with my personal experience plus introducing it to other people, I had nothing but tremendous success with TTR... I have 100+ games and I still collect its maps and play to this day... But if you have a friend that wants a brainier gaming experience from the get go, then perhaps Concordia or Castles of Burgundy could be used as gateway.
I’d bet that Lords of Waterdeep has a better track record of introducing worker placement to new players than Stone Age, your #4. At this point, Champions of Midgard would be a more compelling gateway than both for a US casual gamer audience because the dice resource element and the theme. I notice a lot of people newer to serious boardgaming like a press your luck element and a modest amount of take that/ameritrash. Stone Age has a somewhat standard “euro game feel” thematic that is a turnoff to newer gamers. Lucky for us, 1 year later, Zman is introducing an anniversary edition of Stone Age, so it should be very available.
I know that Waterdeep is seen as a good gateway game, but I stick with thinking Stone Age is superior for this. Waterdeep has tons of cards with various actions and while they are all relatively straight forward I still think the accessibility of Stone Age puts it on top.
@@JonGetsGames Interesting point. I doubt I'd recommend Waterdeep myself at this point, almost seven years after I first played it. I was not fond of the limited secret victory conditions (which I heard the expansion fixed), the take-that intrique cards mechanic (fine for casual adult gaming though), and I remember the D&D theme being a turn off to a couple of people I introduced it to. I guess that's why I would lean toward recommending Champions of Midgard for a gateway to worker placement, even though I personally don't like the game. (Specifically, I worry that Stone Age euro theme to be a turnoff as "too boring" for a number of players.) But I'd still bet Waterdeep has introduced more people to the worker placement mechanic than any other game in history. I recently saw the game for sale in some XMas/toys/calendars popup shop (when I was buying a calendar on closeout), so its still selling in non-gaming stores, and at an insanely low price I might add. I guess it's the Hasbro thing. I guess when it comes to "gateway", I am expecting a combination of the simpler rules and addictive gameplay which Stone Age has, coupled with a "stealth" aspect which can get someone outside the board gaming world completely hooked, which Lords of Waterdeep has (or had): the D&D theme to attract RPGers to board games; good production at a bargain basement price (the insert and cardboard were considered phenomenal at the time); and the take-that mechanic popular in American party games. For instance, I was against "eurogames" for the longest time, but then I played something like Waterdeep and find I'm just fine with the euro mechanic, I just dislike the parts that are happen to be associated with "euro" (meeples, wooden resources, solo player mentality, and a European Middle Ages or earlier theme). (Going a bit off topic, I think part of the success of Stonmaier games is just that: taking the euro mechanic and "stealthing" it in a theme and with production that has far broader appeal. So many adults I know love wine, Viticulture is a worker placement that is about winemaking without and of the crappy, hopeless stuff about real winemaking. Scythe is an action-selection euro that looks like a wargame, etc.) For a child, without such pre-conceived notions, a game like Stone Age would indeed be a better gateway overall (again, I'm not sure they wouldn't prefer the fighting monsters involved in Champions of Midgard though, at least at a certain age/gender). I think the theme and production in Everdell would be more attractive than Stone Age to my five-year-old self, but that game is just too difficult to be considered a gateway-a medium weight worker placement euro hiding in a kid-friendly appeal.
@@JonGetsGames BTW, I thought this video, overall was great! It really got me thinking. I'm sorry if it looks like just having a small quibble with one single choice made it look otherwise.
@@tychay Personal taste differences can be so interesting! I have loved euro style games since the beginning of my board gaming experience, and remember the first time I heard the term and realized that it essentially meant "I'm going to like this". You seem to have had an opposite impression and these things do have a big impact on how and what we we recommend things for others. Thanks for your comments, it's always interesting to see things from different angles.
Lords of Waterdeep is an all-time favourite for me and one that I continue to introduce new players to due to the simple ruleset, relatively deep strategy and high level of player interaction (especially for a euro).
Stone age and Catan (maybe) are good gateway games, but the rest... to be honest if those would have been my gateway games I would never play board games today. A gateway doesn`t necessarily must be and easy game, a gateway game must draw your attention that "Wow...board games are capable of doing this? I`m suprised, I need to see more". I`ve played Catan long before I got really into the hobby, but it was not a gateway for me, I haven`t played another board game for years. My gateway was Dead of Winter :D literally that was my 3rd board game what I played in my life until that point, but man that blew me away, that was the moment when I wanted to see more from this world. With this in mind I guess my Top Gateway games are. Stone Age, Ticket To Ride, Pandemic, Takenoko, Bang - The Dice Game, Clank, Happy Pigs, The Resistance and the EXIT games, maybe Captain Sonar too :)
I was hesitant about making this list mostly due to "gateway" being SUCH a subjective term. As you said you found Catan to not bring you in at all while it sent my flying off a cliff into board game fever.
I guess gateway can vary heavily for some people. Most of the games you name as gateway are not that more complex. Maybe a little more thematic and geared twoards social deduction. I had Bang The Dice Game bomb heavily. It depends on the group and a list of gateway games has a broad unexperienced audience in mind and can´t narrow down on people who would love to start with a game like Dead of Winter. While that is totally fine, the name of that list would need to be more specific.
Jon, don`t hesitate, just make these lists :D I agree that this is a very subjective topic, anyhow, it`s a good video so keep up the good work :) Roger X yes, you`ve pointed out, the theme is the huge bait for newcomers, so a gateway in my opinion must be really thematic and good looking. For example if we play Takenoko all the people are curious what are we doing with those colorful components.
Huh, personally I considered putting Carcassonne on this list but ultimately felt like it is actually abit more complex than I'd want for this list. It seems simple, but some of the scoring options are clunky to teach to new people (i've tried) and the process of trying to find legal places to go in the mid to late game caused me to pull it off. I think it's a brilliant 2p game, but for gateway I felt these other ones made more sense.
I actually agree that Stone Age is a good gateway worker placement game and I was glad to see it make your list. You place workers, buy buildings, or take cards. It also has that great leather cup that adds a lot of tactile feel and adds to the story you can weave about the game as you set it up. Anything to help the first time worker placement player be engaged. Carcassonne on the other hand gets a little wonky on scoring those farms.
Nice list, John! I have never understood why everyone says that concept is "more activity than a game" though. A lot of games like Spyfall, Codenames and other party word games are the same. It´s just a more intellectual variant of a party game.
I suppose, but in Spyfall and Codenames you have clear winners and losers whereas Concept is just a highly satisfying experience. Like playing 20 questions without the "20" limit we found.
Hmm, perhaps I should have considered Splendor. It's a tough kind of list to make because I had to balance how much I personally enjoy the game vs how good I think it would be as a gateway game. I wasn't crazy about Splendor, Century, or TTR so they didn't really get considered even though they are all pretty solid when it comes to rules complexity to interesting decisions ratios. I've only played Ethnos once and did enjoy it, but that's not enough for me to endorse it at this point.
Interesting List.... I especially agree with Concept and Coloretto. I don´t get why people hold Can´t Stop so high though. It way overstays its welcome for me and has a lot of downtime. A better option for push your luck would be incan gold aka diamant.
I've only played Incan Gold once, and I did think it was a fun experience. I suppose I should have considered Port Royal as a different push your luck game, but I have had SO much fun with Can't Stop that I had to put it on. I have introduced it to several people who have no experience with modern board games and they have loved it. Seemed like a solid enough data point for me to stick it on here (including my nostalgic love for it throughout the decades).
It surely is a solid game. Maybe I´m just nitpicky or one of the few ones who feel it is long winded. My friends actually enjoyed both Can´t Stop and Incan Gold. Port Royal I want to try but didn´t have the chance. From the reviews I watched I couldn´t really grasp it.
![Megan Thee Stallion - Neva Play (feat. RM) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TpYTyAaTRts/mqdefault.jpg)
While my list would be vastly different, it's great to see you pick a number of games that are new to me.
what are your pics?
Personally, my 10 gateway games would go something like this:
1) Codenames
2) Tokaido
3) Onitama
4) Sagrada
5) Azul
6) Dream Home
7) Hanabi
8) 6Nimmt!
9) For Sale
10) Paris Connection
Good list, I still haven't had a chance to play Tokaido, Dream Home, For Sale, or Paris Connection yet.
Tokaido is a relaxing set collection game with light player powers, Dream Home is a casual card drafting game with a little spatial puzzle aspect, For Sale is a simple buy low/sell high auction game, and Paris Connection has replaced Ticket to Ride for me, as it supports 1 more player, plays in 45 minutes, and basically does the same things like set collecting & route-building, but with stocks. All are super noob-friendly.
Great series Jon, Keep up the good work! I definitely seek out your videos.
Interesting list with some games I added to my Amazon list. I will say that, for me, the best gateways have been Splendor and Century: Golem Edition. Surprising that those two and Sagrada and Azul didn't make the list.
I enjoyed Splendor and Azul, but neither had much staying power for us and this list was largely built around my personal top 10 gateway games as in, games that I enjoy and work well to teach to newer players. Honestly I wasn't very impressed with Sagrada, and while I loved parts of Century: Spice Road (functionally the same as Golem edition) there was a big issue with the action row that ultimately sunk the game for me.
I still think the best gateway is the one and only Ticket to Ride...
It's certainly a solid game, and one that I can see working as a gateway game, but it never really stood out to me.
Just not great with 2 players... In that case Carcassonne is still the winner for me...
My junger coisin who isn´t a gamer but plays from time to time with family refused to play the game for its randomness and the limited options you have. I kind of agree with her. I think it is gateway but in a way where the game plays you if you don´t already know a lot about the possible tickets etc. to actually be a little strategic. That defeats the purpose of being gateway though.
A lot of people are used to and kind of feel at home with the "being played feel" from Monopoly, UNO and so on. In my experience there definetly is a big place for games that emulate the experience of choices that matter while to a large extent playing everyone. This way anybody can try to be strategic but you can also lay back and just wing it. No one is left behind or offended. Except people like me or my cousin who feel cheated by the whole experience.
Beginning with my personal experience plus introducing it to other people, I had nothing but tremendous success with TTR... I have 100+ games and I still collect its maps and play to this day... But if you have a friend that wants a brainier gaming experience from the get go, then perhaps Concordia or Castles of Burgundy could be used as gateway.
Has never failed for me
I’d bet that Lords of Waterdeep has a better track record of introducing worker placement to new players than Stone Age, your #4. At this point, Champions of Midgard would be a more compelling gateway than both for a US casual gamer audience because the dice resource element and the theme. I notice a lot of people newer to serious boardgaming like a press your luck element and a modest amount of take that/ameritrash.
Stone Age has a somewhat standard “euro game feel” thematic that is a turnoff to newer gamers. Lucky for us, 1 year later, Zman is introducing an anniversary edition of Stone Age, so it should be very available.
I know that Waterdeep is seen as a good gateway game, but I stick with thinking Stone Age is superior for this. Waterdeep has tons of cards with various actions and while they are all relatively straight forward I still think the accessibility of Stone Age puts it on top.
@@JonGetsGames Interesting point. I doubt I'd recommend Waterdeep myself at this point, almost seven years after I first played it. I was not fond of the limited secret victory conditions (which I heard the expansion fixed), the take-that intrique cards mechanic (fine for casual adult gaming though), and I remember the D&D theme being a turn off to a couple of people I introduced it to. I guess that's why I would lean toward recommending Champions of Midgard for a gateway to worker placement, even though I personally don't like the game.
(Specifically, I worry that Stone Age euro theme to be a turnoff as "too boring" for a number of players.)
But I'd still bet Waterdeep has introduced more people to the worker placement mechanic than any other game in history. I recently saw the game for sale in some XMas/toys/calendars popup shop (when I was buying a calendar on closeout), so its still selling in non-gaming stores, and at an insanely low price I might add. I guess it's the Hasbro thing.
I guess when it comes to "gateway", I am expecting a combination of the simpler rules and addictive gameplay which Stone Age has, coupled with a "stealth" aspect which can get someone outside the board gaming world completely hooked, which Lords of Waterdeep has (or had): the D&D theme to attract RPGers to board games; good production at a bargain basement price (the insert and cardboard were considered phenomenal at the time); and the take-that mechanic popular in American party games.
For instance, I was against "eurogames" for the longest time, but then I played something like Waterdeep and find I'm just fine with the euro mechanic, I just dislike the parts that are happen to be associated with "euro" (meeples, wooden resources, solo player mentality, and a European Middle Ages or earlier theme).
(Going a bit off topic, I think part of the success of Stonmaier games is just that: taking the euro mechanic and "stealthing" it in a theme and with production that has far broader appeal. So many adults I know love wine, Viticulture is a worker placement that is about winemaking without and of the crappy, hopeless stuff about real winemaking. Scythe is an action-selection euro that looks like a wargame, etc.)
For a child, without such pre-conceived notions, a game like Stone Age would indeed be a better gateway overall (again, I'm not sure they wouldn't prefer the fighting monsters involved in Champions of Midgard though, at least at a certain age/gender). I think the theme and production in Everdell would be more attractive than Stone Age to my five-year-old self, but that game is just too difficult to be considered a gateway-a medium weight worker placement euro hiding in a kid-friendly appeal.
@@JonGetsGames BTW, I thought this video, overall was great! It really got me thinking. I'm sorry if it looks like just having a small quibble with one single choice made it look otherwise.
@@tychay Personal taste differences can be so interesting! I have loved euro style games since the beginning of my board gaming experience, and remember the first time I heard the term and realized that it essentially meant "I'm going to like this". You seem to have had an opposite impression and these things do have a big impact on how and what we we recommend things for others. Thanks for your comments, it's always interesting to see things from different angles.
Lords of Waterdeep is an all-time favourite for me and one that I continue to introduce new players to due to the simple ruleset, relatively deep strategy and high level of player interaction (especially for a euro).
Loving all this content Jon. So glad you went pro.
Dimension is such a great game. It always goes over well.
Did you also play Uluru? Could you compare?
I have not played, so I can't compare. Sorry.
Stone age and Catan (maybe) are good gateway games, but the rest... to be honest if those would have been my gateway games I would never play board games today. A gateway doesn`t necessarily must be and easy game, a gateway game must draw your attention that "Wow...board games are capable of doing this? I`m suprised, I need to see more". I`ve played Catan long before I got really into the hobby, but it was not a gateway for me, I haven`t played another board game for years.
My gateway was Dead of Winter :D literally that was my 3rd board game what I played in my life until that point, but man that blew me away, that was the moment when I wanted to see more from this world.
With this in mind I guess my Top Gateway games are. Stone Age, Ticket To Ride, Pandemic, Takenoko, Bang - The Dice Game, Clank, Happy Pigs, The Resistance and the EXIT games, maybe Captain Sonar too :)
I was hesitant about making this list mostly due to "gateway" being SUCH a subjective term. As you said you found Catan to not bring you in at all while it sent my flying off a cliff into board game fever.
I guess gateway can vary heavily for some people. Most of the games you name as gateway are not that more complex. Maybe a little more thematic and geared twoards social deduction. I had Bang The Dice Game bomb heavily.
It depends on the group and a list of gateway games has a broad unexperienced audience in mind and can´t narrow down on people who would love to start with a game like Dead of Winter. While that is totally fine, the name of that list would need to be more specific.
Jon, don`t hesitate, just make these lists :D I agree that this is a very subjective topic, anyhow, it`s a good video so keep up the good work :)
Roger X yes, you`ve pointed out, the theme is the huge bait for newcomers, so a gateway in my opinion must be really thematic and good looking. For example if we play Takenoko all the people are curious what are we doing with those colorful components.
Good points with Pandemic and Ticket to Ride!
Stone Age is an amazing gateway game!
i would include Splendor, the resistance , Dixit
Great list!
Don't think id count Stone Age as a Gateway game. I'd have this down as a second tier after Carcassonne etc.
Huh, personally I considered putting Carcassonne on this list but ultimately felt like it is actually abit more complex than I'd want for this list. It seems simple, but some of the scoring options are clunky to teach to new people (i've tried) and the process of trying to find legal places to go in the mid to late game caused me to pull it off. I think it's a brilliant 2p game, but for gateway I felt these other ones made more sense.
I actually agree that Stone Age is a good gateway worker placement game and I was glad to see it make your list. You place workers, buy buildings, or take cards. It also has that great leather cup that adds a lot of tactile feel and adds to the story you can weave about the game as you set it up. Anything to help the first time worker placement player be engaged. Carcassonne on the other hand gets a little wonky on scoring those farms.
I'm actually hoping to play Coloretto this summer with family ... I've gone over the rules but never have broken it out !PEACE !
Nice list, John! I have never understood why everyone says that concept is "more activity than a game" though. A lot of games like Spyfall, Codenames and other party word games are the same. It´s just a more intellectual variant of a party game.
jankogo I think only the Dice Tower say that.
Yeah, "only" the Diced Tower. They got no influence at all... ;)
I suppose, but in Spyfall and Codenames you have clear winners and losers whereas Concept is just a highly satisfying experience. Like playing 20 questions without the "20" limit we found.
Splendor, Century Spice Road, Ethnos, Ticket to Ride?
Hmm, perhaps I should have considered Splendor. It's a tough kind of list to make because I had to balance how much I personally enjoy the game vs how good I think it would be as a gateway game. I wasn't crazy about Splendor, Century, or TTR so they didn't really get considered even though they are all pretty solid when it comes to rules complexity to interesting decisions ratios. I've only played Ethnos once and did enjoy it, but that's not enough for me to endorse it at this point.
I've heard a lot of good stuff about Ethnos
Coloretto is a perfect choice for number 1.
Interesting List.... I especially agree with Concept and Coloretto. I don´t get why people hold Can´t Stop so high though. It way overstays its welcome for me and has a lot of downtime. A better option for push your luck would be incan gold aka diamant.
I've only played Incan Gold once, and I did think it was a fun experience. I suppose I should have considered Port Royal as a different push your luck game, but I have had SO much fun with Can't Stop that I had to put it on. I have introduced it to several people who have no experience with modern board games and they have loved it. Seemed like a solid enough data point for me to stick it on here (including my nostalgic love for it throughout the decades).
It surely is a solid game. Maybe I´m just nitpicky or one of the few ones who feel it is long winded. My friends actually enjoyed both Can´t Stop and Incan Gold. Port Royal I want to try but didn´t have the chance. From the reviews I watched I couldn´t really grasp it.
Yeah Coloretto is best filler, gateway game for me too.