To answer the obvious question. yes, I will be doing more of these at other players counts. Eventually. And to follow that up, what's your favourite games at 6 players?
Thanks for the great video! Just played captain sonar with 6 the other day and was awesome :) . Also really enjoy Sheriff of Nottingham with the merry men expansion. Having 2 people as deputies creates a framework for short term teaming up then back stabbing in later rounds. Not only that but it limits the number of people doing turn by turn play to 4. 6 people also sits comfortably (imo) with jungle speed (party game)!
I agree TI4 with six players is a wonderful experience. Although, quite contrary to what you said, for me the best thing about four player is that all strategy cards DO get picked. That, and the bit more spacious map are in my opinion the best circumstances to teach the game to new people.
Vancouver Canada checking in! We have a monthly group where we play 6 player games and we share some common favs like GoT, TI3, and Dune. We also play Dominant Species, 1830, Imperial, and Princes of the Renaissance. Ill have to check out New Angeles, sounds interesting!
Another great vid. Really enjoy your presentation style and to-the-point information about the games. Recent new discovery for us that is a ton of fun at 6 players is Dutch Blitz. Very simple concept but the fun competitive banter gets going really quick and words you'd never expect from some people really start to flow after they've not finished first a few times in a row.
Other Party Game Suggestions for Best At 6: Cash 'n Guns, Just One, Bang! (dice or card version) My All-Time Favorite for 6: Cosmic Encounter Respectful Disagreement for 6: TI 4th Edition. Way, way too long at that point and without having all the strategy cards picked it may feel even longer. Big Surprise for me from this: Reverend Mother Gaius! I have never even heard of that mechanic in a game!! Genius. Another Big Surprise for me: Never even heard of your #1 game. This is why I subscribe: to learn about new games from a unique perspective of massively well-read (well-played??) kiwi. Friendly Suggestion #1 for the Channel: Have another tier of donation where the producers can add some italicised lore text between their names. I.e. John "I've got wood for sheep" Doe would incentivize another tier up while allowing your backers to express juvenile jokes about Catan or other games. Friendly Suggestion #2 for the Channel: Be wary of Top 10 lists. Dice Tower continues to beat that horse into senseless. I realize they drive clicks, but everyone does this. What I am looking for are unique, intelligent perspectives about board games and their associated novels, minis, culture, etc. You are well-positioned to be more than a reviewer, but an actual critic with a unique perspective, a Pauline Kael or John Simon of board gaming. Keep up the great work!
Definitely need to redo the tiers at some point. They were thrown together ideas at the time and its been over a year. Top 10's, like all long form content, will be at a far lower rate than the recaps. Which are the channels core business. The lists actually allow me the extra time to really jump into games, which the 3 min recap does not. Between lists and "the games i got rid of", people will get a lot more "critical" content than just from the recaps, which are designed for balance with "pros and cons" and to help people make their own minds up. Simply put, as one person is doing most of the work here, I doubt i'll ever have the time to beat any horse to death :)
Hell yeah, SidCon! I was only able to play once with 6 players (our usual group is 4) but it was awesome. Your #3 Dune is also on my radar, patiently waiting for the reprint. TI4 is definitely a bucket list game.
Came to the comments to suggest Sidereal Confluence, was pleasantly surprised to hear it on the list. Great game. I started looking for games that fit higher player counts when my regular group was bigger, and never got out of the habit. So even though the group is most often three or four nowadays, almost all of my games play five or six.
@@corrado8955. I feel its because most games don't reflect how real negotiation works where New Angeles does. In most games, any negotiation will result in a winner and a loser. This makes negotiation suck as you are often left feeling like you were beaten. In New Angeles, as in real negotiation, both can come out on top. This is because in New Angeles, you only need to beat one other person at the table not everyone. So negotiation is fun and something that is about finding out how to get the most out of the situation with another person, rather than beating that other person.
I enjoy “I’m the boss” a pure negotiation game. At 6 players all 6 role cards are assigned to players so all deals on the board can be made. I can understand why some people don’t like it cause it can be a deeply unfun game for the player who has their primary role card stolen and keeps drawing cards that don’t help turn after turn. It doesn’t happen every game, but it’s really sad to see it when it does happen. And it’s much more likely to happen in a 6 player game because there’s no “floating” role cards.
Agree with all of your choices (except Last Friday, which we haven't played), but our #1 choice for 6P now is Quartermaster General, which will be reissued soon with all expansions included. Highly, highly recommended as a minimal-downtime, historically-plausible (most of the time!), team game that takes no more than 90 minutes with experience.
@@3MBG No, although that is also excellent and just as good as the original if playing with five. Here's the BGG entry for QMG. boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/159473/quartermaster-general
Holy shit! Best video you posted in a long time. I have the perfect 6p group that would love pretty much all games you suggested. Time to go shopping for games now :)
Great list. I have not played all the games, and am not too fond of Robo Rally, but at 100% agree on everything you say about Codenames and Sidereal. One game, I wonder, if it's on your "not played" or "not liked" list is PRINCES OF THE RENAISSANCE. It's arguably as good at 5 as at 6, but I wouldn't play it at lower counts, and it does not support 7 or more. I know, the theme had been done to death with paste-on-games like Lorenzo Il Magnifico, but boy is it done right in this one! It just oozes history! This game had been really hard to find for some time, it might be not as easy now again, but the Mercury reprint of 2016 sure makes it at least possible to find.
I find good six player games come with a lot of caveats. They are dependant on all the players being as dedicated to playing as each other. One less than serious player can throw the whole game out. Root can be good with six, with the right combination of factions. Betrayal is also good as long as you aren't taking the game too seriously. Lords of Waterdeep is a great game with six players. It's probably my favourite way to play the game. However, you do need the expansion to play that way.
My favorite games at 6 are Codenames, Cosmic Encounter. I agree, that's the perfect player count for it. It works well pretty much any count from 3-8, but 6 is the best. Another game I really like that plays well with 5-7p (but better at 5 and 7 than 6) is Dark Moon. My favorite hidden traitor/deception game. Zombicide works at 6, but I prefer it at 3p, so that everyone gets 2 characters. Between Two Castles is good at 6. Betrayal at House on the Hill is frequently not a good game, but occasionally it works out well, and it's not too slow even at 6p.
Flame Rouge w/ Peleton Expansion is a great mess at six and really gives the texture of a tour-de-frace type race. Decrypto also works well at six, and I quite like Sushi Go: Party! for that same "manageable mess" at that player count.
Great list! And I loved the joke with Rex and Dune. A game that I can recommend whick works really well with six players (been this one the best way to play it really) is Senji. I you have the chance to play it with six players enjoy it.
"Imperios milenarios" could be considered a civilization upgrade, if you manage to get one. "Shadows Amsterdam" is the son of Codenames + mysterium, works great at 6. It's a nice alternative.
Great selection, I would say that from your list, my 4 favorites are: RoboRally (I rather enjoy the newer edition and the one you showed in your video), Code Name, Twilight Imperium and Sidereal Confluence. The 3 games I play the most at the 6 player count are: Power Grid, Arkham Horror (2nd edition), Railways of the World and Zombicide. Thanks again for this entertaining video!
Great video. I actually have the issue of having a 6 player game night coming and this came right on time. I'm surprised Zombicide Black Plague isn't in the lineup. I'd like to get your thoughts on it.
Have not played Z:BP. I got Zombiecide seasons 1-3, and that was enough. But to compare, we found the best games were either 2 player with 3 survivors each, or 3 player with 2 each.
Two games I'd add to your honorable mentions are Euphoria and Charterstone, both designed by Jamey Stegmaier. Euphoria plays best at a higher player count and Charterstone really needs six players to unlock all areas and develop each region.
Only played euphoria at lower player counts, but I could see that one working well due to the fast turn structure. Charterstone I have, but have not touched yet.
I heard "Last Friday" wasn't as good as it seems. I know it doesnt compare to whitehall mystery/letters of whitechapel, or Fury of Dracula, but how would you compare it with Scotland yard?
6 player games not mentioned: Ethnos, Downforce, Mare Nostrum, Cthulhu Wars, and the new Letter Jam. I have not played your 1 or 2... I need to get on that. New Angeles is super intriguing to me. Thanks for a great video.
@@3MBG I played it at 8... just because it was epic. We all had a great time but it wasn't great. I think 6 is as epic as you want. I thought I might argue for 3 and 5... but I really like the epic game without it taking as long as TI. I cant wait to play New Angeles... thanks again for that.
Love your videos another classic! so glad you started at 6 players! We have this number often and find it the hardest to fill. we have a bit of overlap! 1. Twilight Imperium 4 2. Dune (being reprinted soon hype!!) 3. Drakkon 4. Diplomacy 5. Sidreal Confluence 6. Western Legends 7. Libertalia 8. power grid 9. Citadels 10. Eclipse HM Viticulture Mission Red Planet Forumula D
6-player Power Grid is still supposed to be played with 5 areas, with a fewer amount of cities triggering phase changes, keeping it a reasonable length.
My picks would be: Ca$h n’ Gun$ Wits and wagers (Vegas) Bang! The dice game Pit The resistance King of Tokyo Flash point Dixit Shadows Over Camelot Time’s up! Honorable mention: any drinking board game
Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition. This edition added Italy as a playable nation... bringing the game to six players and refined the rules to now be the definitive edition in one box.
Personally, I massively prefer that game 2 player. Axis vs Allies. Also, check out my copy of it vom-krieg.blogspot.com/search/label/Axis%20and%20Allies FLEXES HARD :)
Thanks for some great game suggestions! A game I would add is Colt Express. A game that is somehow comparable to Robo Rally, but it is way more fun and with 6 players the mechanics seem to work best ;)
New Angeles above TI4? Wow. But as for me, it's too hard to play as traitor when it's 6 players,and I don't see much difference between 5 and 6 players.
Video idea, best games that scale well from 3-6+ . So you can buy without having the pressure of only being able to get it to the table under those conditions.
Have you ever played Alhambra? Playing that with 6 players seems pretty great. Classic Euro game. I am glad you included Robo Rally that has always been a fun hilarious game. Used to play Civ all the time but, yeah you have to have a ton of time to play it all the way through. Good list!
I remember it being pretty good, although we were playing St Petersburg at the same time and the gameplay of those two games has blurred a bit in my head.
Cosmic Encounter. We play it 5 players with 3 (initially hidden) powers, each. Mayhem. Utter. Wth that many powers eventually in play it's almost impossible to keep track of interactions and thus even with everything revealed unexpected/crazy situations continue to occur until the very end.
I recommed you Imperial 2030. It's an economic game that plays like a war game. A weird beast designed for 6 players with a Diplomacy like combat system.
David McKeown I think imperial shines with less than 6, 3-4 is best really. At 6, players can spend a significant time playing no power, and you want people to be playing at least one power a lot of the time
@@Cepheus_Rex I do enjoy it a lot at 3 as well. I liked 6 because it allows more alliances and negotiation. With the Swiss Bank rule, players can usually buy back a country pretty quickly.
I agree. I played his at 6 and was Swiss basically the whole game. It was so boring I will never do it again. I know you don’t need a country to win but it’s sucks to just sit there waiting to invest and watching a 2 to 3 hour game.
I knew Dune/Rex and Twilight Imperium had to be on here. They're really only playable at six. Neither game feels right without the full six. I, personally, would have Carnival Zombie, Cash N' Guns, and Talisman (Yes, I am that sick); but I've not played Sidereal, New Angeles, or Last Friday.
Own all the games from number 5 to 1. But only Game of thrones and Sidereal confluence could be tabled.That too once. The other three are sitting in the shelf for 2 years. Very difficult to convince and organise 5-6 interested players.
@@3MBG it works surprisingly well too! (Most of the time) when your teammate takes an action, you take the action too. You sit on the opposite sides of the table. Three teams, 6p, sitting order ABCABC :P
Zombicide was close for me. But the best games i've played of that have been with two people with 3 survivors each. Betrayal is another one i considered (original though, not played the BG one)
@@3MBG Technically I played with 2 other people with 2 Survivors each, but I still think it would work extremely well with 6, whereas Massive Darkness I would never play with more than 4.
I haven't played many games at 6, also I play at two different clubs which is a different situation to a regular group of six players. The games: Mare Nostrum: Empires Fantasy Realms Ethnos Between Two Castles 7 Wonders Codenames Breaking Bad I can't play games that rely heavily on trading and negotiation in French due to the extra cognitive load it puts on me and the fact that I am just more reticent and miss things because it's my second language. I can't play most word games either, I can just about manage Codenames.
That linguistic component is so important to you, and I really get that. I think you would be in a great position to do some really good writing on language dependency in games, and of the cognitive load required to translate and play at the same time.
@@3MBGIt's something that I definitely would like to do in the future. I have had problems with a regular player in one of the clubs really not understanding how much it changes things for me. It's taken a year but it's finally sunk in! It can be exhausting, especially when you are also neurodivergent as I am (autistic and ADHD).
The best 6 player game I've played is 'Here I Stand', but like Civilisation tht won't be for everyone! Battlestar Galactica is also great at 6. Enjoyable list. I definitely agree with GoT, TI and Rex/Dune.
You have impeccable timing. I have been invited to play Here i stand at a convention in a few weeks. That, along with "virgin queen" are two of my bucket list games I've never purchased because i suspected i'd never get a group together to play them. I have been assigned the English to play.
@@3MBG the English won our game! I was the Hapsburgs. Its incredible. I immediately went and put a P500 order in for the reprint of Virgin Queen. Enjoy!
Not a huge fan of BSG at six. Like it at five and even seven... In base, dislike the sympathizer rule at six, and haven't found a variant or revealed blend that I think keeps the right feel
As mentioned below. I last played Cosmic in the 80's. So my memory of the game is fuzzy at best. It's the first game mentioned on my "ten game that changed how i think about board games" vid though. But as I have never played it at 6, i can't really call it one of my favs at the play count.
@@3MBG at six players who've played before you can get TONS of energy in the room, and it grows until the end! You can go multiple turns where someone is about to win, and a few plays later everyone is going crazy over what just happened... then it's the next player's turn!
@@3MBG um, yes, no. It's euro, little engine building and little combat. It's a rondell and after a couple turns, the games just moves so fast because your turn is a single simple action except when you move and almost small world style combat others.
Oh, sure, there is less of a punctuated "wow, your attack completely routed my army" event, but if you catch the subtler maneuvers where advanced players pinch every penny, and live vicariously through your opponents, they're still a good time.
I'm not exactly sure. I mean, drafting isn't the issue, as I'm fine with that in other games. I think it's probably that the theme is so thin on the mechanics, it wasn't the game I expected going in, and the actual gameplay didn't feel all that rewarding or interesting.
Sidereal Confluence at 6 players? Too chaotic. You're bargaining, negotiating with other players on the other side of the table to see what they need, but sitting from afar, you have to walk over there, so they can hear you over the din and voices of other players bargaining/negotiating with other players, while the timer is running down. NOPE! Almost unbearable. HOw about Sushi Go party at 6 players? Fantastic quick game.
I know different people have different tastes, which is great. But i have to laugh at the reasons you don't like Sidereal confluence at 6 are exactly why i love it. Its exactly that chaos and uncertainty, the having to move and talk and interact which is what i love.
@@3MBG I forgot to mention, at 6 player, we were playing at a rectangular table, and with me at one end, I felt disadvantaged because I can't see or hear the other players on the other side, whereas those sitting near the middle could easily see, hear, and bargain with just about anybody. Just felt disadvantaged with the timer running down.
To answer the obvious question. yes, I will be doing more of these at other players counts. Eventually. And to follow that up, what's your favourite games at 6 players?
Thanks for the great video! Just played captain sonar with 6 the other day and was awesome :) . Also really enjoy Sheriff of Nottingham with the merry men expansion. Having 2 people as deputies creates a framework for short term teaming up then back stabbing in later rounds. Not only that but it limits the number of people doing turn by turn play to 4. 6 people also sits comfortably (imo) with jungle speed (party game)!
Caverna. Don't hate me. :)
I two weeks I'm having my first ever 6 player games session and have been asking around for suggestions. Thank you for chipping in. 😆
Imperial 2030 is an amazing game at 6. I also enjoyed Mission Red Planet at 6, although it's a bit chaotic.
I agree TI4 with six players is a wonderful experience. Although, quite contrary to what you said, for me the best thing about four player is that all strategy cards DO get picked. That, and the bit more spacious map are in my opinion the best circumstances to teach the game to new people.
Wow.. 6 players, I don't even have that many friends.
Vancouver Canada checking in! We have a monthly group where we play 6 player games and we share some common favs like GoT, TI3, and Dune. We also play Dominant Species, 1830, Imperial, and Princes of the Renaissance. Ill have to check out New Angeles, sounds interesting!
1. Sidereal Confluence
2. Power Grid
3. Mission Red Planet
4. Ethnos
5. Spoils of War "Lairs Dice"
+1 for Power Grid
I love Power Grid, I just think it's better with 5.
SidCon is amazing.
Another great vid. Really enjoy your presentation style and to-the-point information about the games.
Recent new discovery for us that is a ton of fun at 6 players is Dutch Blitz. Very simple concept but the fun competitive banter gets going really quick and words you'd never expect from some people really start to flow after they've not finished first a few times in a row.
Dutch blitz looks a little like Pit
Other Party Game Suggestions for Best At 6: Cash 'n Guns, Just One, Bang! (dice or card version)
My All-Time Favorite for 6: Cosmic Encounter
Respectful Disagreement for 6: TI 4th Edition. Way, way too long at that point and without having all the strategy cards picked it may feel even longer.
Big Surprise for me from this: Reverend Mother Gaius! I have never even heard of that mechanic in a game!! Genius.
Another Big Surprise for me: Never even heard of your #1 game. This is why I subscribe: to learn about new games from a unique perspective of massively well-read (well-played??) kiwi.
Friendly Suggestion #1 for the Channel: Have another tier of donation where the producers can add some italicised lore text between their names. I.e. John "I've got wood for sheep" Doe would incentivize another tier up while allowing your backers to express juvenile jokes about Catan or other games.
Friendly Suggestion #2 for the Channel: Be wary of Top 10 lists. Dice Tower continues to beat that horse into senseless. I realize they drive clicks, but everyone does this. What I am looking for are unique, intelligent perspectives about board games and their associated novels, minis, culture, etc. You are well-positioned to be more than a reviewer, but an actual critic with a unique perspective, a Pauline Kael or John Simon of board gaming.
Keep up the great work!
Definitely need to redo the tiers at some point. They were thrown together ideas at the time and its been over a year.
Top 10's, like all long form content, will be at a far lower rate than the recaps. Which are the channels core business. The lists actually allow me the extra time to really jump into games, which the 3 min recap does not. Between lists and "the games i got rid of", people will get a lot more "critical" content than just from the recaps, which are designed for balance with "pros and cons" and to help people make their own minds up.
Simply put, as one person is doing most of the work here, I doubt i'll ever have the time to beat any horse to death :)
Hell yeah, SidCon! I was only able to play once with 6 players (our usual group is 4) but it was awesome. Your #3 Dune is also on my radar, patiently waiting for the reprint. TI4 is definitely a bucket list game.
Came to the comments to suggest Sidereal Confluence, was pleasantly surprised to hear it on the list. Great game.
I started looking for games that fit higher player counts when my regular group was bigger, and never got out of the habit. So even though the group is most often three or four nowadays, almost all of my games play five or six.
Wonderful to see New Angeles get recognised. Its a game that is badly overlooked IMO
Luke JW agree! When this hits it’s just so great. I don’t even really like negotiating in games but for some reason this is the exception.
@@corrado8955. I feel its because most games don't reflect how real negotiation works where New Angeles does. In most games, any negotiation will result in a winner and a loser. This makes negotiation suck as you are often left feeling like you were beaten.
In New Angeles, as in real negotiation, both can come out on top. This is because in New Angeles, you only need to beat one other person at the table not everyone. So negotiation is fun and something that is about finding out how to get the most out of the situation with another person, rather than beating that other person.
Mother of Dragons is amazing! Just played it with 7 recently.
I enjoy “I’m the boss” a pure negotiation game. At 6 players all 6 role cards are assigned to players so all deals on the board can be made.
I can understand why some people don’t like it cause it can be a deeply unfun game for the player who has their primary role card stolen and keeps drawing cards that don’t help turn after turn. It doesn’t happen every game, but it’s really sad to see it when it does happen. And it’s much more likely to happen in a 6 player game because there’s no “floating” role cards.
Agree with all of your choices (except Last Friday, which we haven't played), but our #1 choice for 6P now is Quartermaster General, which will be reissued soon with all expansions included. Highly, highly recommended as a minimal-downtime, historically-plausible (most of the time!), team game that takes no more than 90 minutes with experience.
This one? boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/208773/quartermaster-general-1914
@@3MBG No, although that is also excellent and just as good as the original if playing with five. Here's the BGG entry for QMG. boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/159473/quartermaster-general
Holy shit! Best video you posted in a long time. I have the perfect 6p group that would love pretty much all games you suggested. Time to go shopping for games now :)
Great list. I have not played all the games, and am not too fond of Robo Rally, but at 100% agree on everything you say about Codenames and Sidereal.
One game, I wonder, if it's on your "not played" or "not liked" list is PRINCES OF THE RENAISSANCE. It's arguably as good at 5 as at 6, but I wouldn't play it at lower counts, and it does not support 7 or more. I know, the theme had been done to death with paste-on-games like Lorenzo Il Magnifico, but boy is it done right in this one! It just oozes history! This game had been really hard to find for some time, it might be not as easy now again, but the Mercury reprint of 2016 sure makes it at least possible to find.
PRINCES OF THE RENAISSANCE is indeed in my unplayed pile. I haven't seen it around in ages, not sure if i know anyone with it either.
I find good six player games come with a lot of caveats. They are dependant on all the players being as dedicated to playing as each other. One less than serious player can throw the whole game out.
Root can be good with six, with the right combination of factions.
Betrayal is also good as long as you aren't taking the game too seriously.
Lords of Waterdeep is a great game with six players. It's probably my favourite way to play the game. However, you do need the expansion to play that way.
Totally agree. I really stressed that in some games i mentioned. AGOT is the one I really feel that is most true in.
Love the list. Great games for sure. Try Dominant Species as well as it would have been my number one for sure.
My favorite games at 6 are Codenames, Cosmic Encounter. I agree, that's the perfect player count for it. It works well pretty much any count from 3-8, but 6 is the best. Another game I really like that plays well with 5-7p (but better at 5 and 7 than 6) is Dark Moon. My favorite hidden traitor/deception game.
Zombicide works at 6, but I prefer it at 3p, so that everyone gets 2 characters. Between Two Castles is good at 6. Betrayal at House on the Hill is frequently not a good game, but occasionally it works out well, and it's not too slow even at 6p.
I'll second both Dark Moon and Cosmic Encounter.
Sidereal as the #1 though is perfect. That game is amazing.
Flame Rouge w/ Peleton Expansion is a great mess at six and really gives the texture of a tour-de-frace type race. Decrypto also works well at six, and I quite like Sushi Go: Party! for that same "manageable mess" at that player count.
Wait - civ got a reprint? Where? Who? When?! I am not seeing this anywhere, even on bgg. Info, please!
gibsonsgames.co.uk/games/civilization
Jay, I really like this video. If this style is easier than the 3-minute edited ones more power to you.
To create, these are about as hard. But I don't need to test the games and play them over and over like a recap.
Great list! And I loved the joke with Rex and Dune.
A game that I can recommend whick works really well with six players (been this one the best way to play it really) is Senji.
I you have the chance to play it with six players enjoy it.
Senji is one I have not heard of before. Looking it up. Feudal Japan and Bruno C? Wow, how did that fly past me.
@@3MBG I hope you manage to play it! Is a must for 6 players :)
"Imperios milenarios" could be considered a civilization upgrade, if you manage to get one. "Shadows Amsterdam" is the son of Codenames + mysterium, works great at 6. It's a nice alternative.
Great selection, I would say that from your list, my 4 favorites are: RoboRally (I rather enjoy the newer edition and the one you showed in your video), Code Name, Twilight Imperium and Sidereal Confluence.
The 3 games I play the most at the 6 player count are: Power Grid, Arkham Horror (2nd edition), Railways of the World and Zombicide. Thanks again for this entertaining video!
Cheers Migmeister. We mainly played zombicide 2 players, 3 characters it. Its really good at that player count in my opinion.
@@3MBG I also play it as a 2 player games, with 3 character each. We always play 6 character, whatever is the player count! :-)
Thanks for this, my game group has just hit 6, and it is an odd number.
We found a time limited Talisman game pretty fun, and also Zombies.
Talisman, by the way, was my first ever hobby game back in 1987
Great video. I actually have the issue of having a 6 player game night coming and this came right on time. I'm surprised Zombicide Black Plague isn't in the lineup. I'd like to get your thoughts on it.
Have not played Z:BP. I got Zombiecide seasons 1-3, and that was enough. But to compare, we found the best games were either 2 player with 3 survivors each, or 3 player with 2 each.
Two games I'd add to your honorable mentions are Euphoria and Charterstone, both designed by Jamey Stegmaier. Euphoria plays best at a higher player count and Charterstone really needs six players to unlock all areas and develop each region.
Only played euphoria at lower player counts, but I could see that one working well due to the fast turn structure.
Charterstone I have, but have not touched yet.
At 6:
Mission Red Planet, Camel Up, Goodcritters, Masque of the Red Death
I heard "Last Friday" wasn't as good as it seems. I know it doesnt compare to whitehall mystery/letters of whitechapel, or Fury of Dracula, but how would you compare it with Scotland yard?
In a way, its like scotland yard if SY had 4 scenarios in it.
Ooh, Civilization with 6 players: you have me drooling!
6 player games not mentioned: Ethnos, Downforce, Mare Nostrum, Cthulhu Wars, and the new Letter Jam. I have not played your 1 or 2... I need to get on that. New Angeles is super intriguing to me. Thanks for a great video.
OF those, Cthulhu wars is the only one i've played at 6, and that was by far the worst game of it i played.
@@3MBG I played it at 8... just because it was epic. We all had a great time but it wasn't great. I think 6 is as epic as you want. I thought I might argue for 3 and 5... but I really like the epic game without it taking as long as TI. I cant wait to play New Angeles... thanks again for that.
My CW at 6 experience was bad due to the worst AP player i have ever played against. It took 6 hours for 3 turns.
two headed giant is a four player format. I believe you meant the Emperor format.
Ah, that might be it. It's been 20 odd years, but the one where the person in the middle has flankers.
3 Minute Board Games yeah that’s emperor 👍
Doh! Lol, ah well. Hopefully people understood what i was implying even if i got the term wrong.
We have played a house-ruled variant "three-headed giant" game and that was quite fun. Emperor was always a blast too, though.
Love your videos another classic! so glad you started at 6 players! We have this number often and find it the hardest to fill. we have a bit of overlap!
1. Twilight Imperium 4
2. Dune (being reprinted soon hype!!)
3. Drakkon
4. Diplomacy
5. Sidreal Confluence
6. Western Legends
7. Libertalia
8. power grid
9. Citadels
10. Eclipse
HM Viticulture Mission Red Planet Forumula D
Power grid at 6? Interesting. Does it slow down much?
@@3MBG No it plays better you do not have to remove any area's for play. I like it at 6. 5 is good as well but less than 5 it is not that good.
6-player Power Grid is still supposed to be played with 5 areas, with a fewer amount of cities triggering phase changes, keeping it a reasonable length.
My picks would be:
Ca$h n’ Gun$
Wits and wagers (Vegas)
Bang! The dice game
Pit
The resistance
King of Tokyo
Flash point
Dixit
Shadows Over Camelot
Time’s up!
Honorable mention: any drinking board game
voldosmith, I’m with you on The Resistance. I really like it at 6. Same with Dixit.
Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition. This edition added Italy as a playable nation... bringing the game to six players and refined the rules to now be the definitive edition in one box.
Personally, I massively prefer that game 2 player. Axis vs Allies. Also, check out my copy of it vom-krieg.blogspot.com/search/label/Axis%20and%20Allies FLEXES HARD :)
Guards of Atlantis is moba style game that is great with 6 players. Also, colt express is very good since it is very crowded with 6 players.
Thanks for some great game suggestions!
A game I would add is Colt Express. A game that is somehow comparable to Robo Rally, but it is way more fun and with 6 players the mechanics seem to work best ;)
New Angeles above TI4? Wow.
But as for me, it's too hard to play as traitor when it's 6 players,and I don't see much difference between 5 and 6 players.
I really like NA, and it plays a lot quicker than TI IV. Which is a game I like, but don't love, mostly due to the time commitments
Bohnanza is brilliant at six players
One of my favorite 5-7 player games
A bit long for me at 6
How can you omit Diplomacy? I could also recommend six player 1830. Someone else mentioned Power Grid.
Because Diplomacy is best at 7 players?
I feel Cosmic Encounter is probably best at six as well but for me Fief France 1429 is the top game for exactly six players.
Video idea, best games that scale well from 3-6+ . So you can buy without having the pressure of only being able to get it to the table under those conditions.
Pretty solid idea that
Have you ever played Alhambra? Playing that with 6 players seems pretty great. Classic Euro game. I am glad you included Robo Rally that has always been a fun hilarious game. Used to play Civ all the time but, yeah you have to have a ton of time to play it all the way through. Good list!
Played Alhambra a bunch back in the mid 2000's, but never with more than 4 i think.
@@3MBG it is a fun easy game. I think it works pretty well with max players but the ones on your list were better choices for sure.
I remember it being pretty good, although we were playing St Petersburg at the same time and the gameplay of those two games has blurred a bit in my head.
Cosmic Encounter. We play it 5 players with 3 (initially hidden) powers, each.
Mayhem.
Utter.
Wth that many powers eventually in play it's almost impossible to keep track of interactions and thus even with everything revealed unexpected/crazy situations continue to occur until the very end.
That sounds, and pardon my language here, utterly batshit crazy! :)
I recommed you Imperial 2030. It's an economic game that plays like a war game. A weird beast designed for 6 players with a Diplomacy like combat system.
David McKeown I think imperial shines with less than 6, 3-4 is best really. At 6, players can spend a significant time playing no power, and you want people to be playing at least one power a lot of the time
@@Cepheus_Rex I do enjoy it a lot at 3 as well. I liked 6 because it allows more alliances and negotiation. With the Swiss Bank rule, players can usually buy back a country pretty quickly.
I agree. I played his at 6 and was Swiss basically the whole game. It was so boring I will never do it again. I know you don’t need a country to win but it’s sucks to just sit there waiting to invest and watching a 2 to 3 hour game.
Great video!
I knew Dune/Rex and Twilight Imperium had to be on here. They're really only playable at six. Neither game feels right without the full six.
I, personally, would have Carnival Zombie, Cash N' Guns, and Talisman (Yes, I am that sick); but I've not played Sidereal, New Angeles, or Last Friday.
Talisman at 6, lol. That could drag a bit, but really, Talisman is all about the journey and not the winning.
Own all the games from number 5 to 1.
But only Game of thrones and Sidereal confluence could be tabled.That too once. The other three are sitting in the shelf for 2 years. Very difficult to convince and organise 5-6 interested players.
Opposite problem here. Lot's of good 3-4 player games but the group of 6 is hesitant to split into smaller groups.
Colt Express
Zero downtime and gameplay around an hour with 6 players
Jaimie Stegmaier stole Dune's combat mechanic for Scythe so it's now familiar to a lot of gamers. (It actually works better in Dune.)
Partially true. But in Scythe you don't lose EVERYTHING if you lose and most of your stuff if you win :)
Decrypto, Flamme Rouge, Concordia with Venus (2vs2vs2), Sidereal Confluence, Amul, 7 Wonders.
I dig concordia, but have no experience with Venus. Did not even know team play was an option. Interesting.
@@3MBG it works surprisingly well too! (Most of the time) when your teammate takes an action, you take the action too. You sit on the opposite sides of the table. Three teams, 6p, sitting order ABCABC :P
Another great video but none of those games will ever see the tables at my game groups. Most of our fuses only burn for 90 minutes max 🤗
Yeah, 6 is just an awkward number. Most good games you could play in 90 minutes would get their time bloated up because of the player count.
Great list!
What do you think of Race for the Galaxy with 6?
I think 5 is the most i've played it with.
bang: the dice game
Avalon/resistance
For me (That I have played with 6):
Drakon
Zombicide: Green Horde
Bang: Dice
Betrayal at Baldur's Gate
Cyclades
Zombicide was close for me. But the best games i've played of that have been with two people with 3 survivors each.
Betrayal is another one i considered (original though, not played the BG one)
@@3MBG Technically I played with 2 other people with 2 Survivors each, but I still think it would work extremely well with 6, whereas Massive Darkness I would never play with more than 4.
We played Massive Darkness with six. It was a painful experience. We never really made it past the first tile.
@@jasonnewell7036 Even though the D&D Adventure System is 5 players, I feel 6 wouldn't be bad.
These games all seemed frickin sick, to bad it would be way to hard for me to get a group of 6 willing to learn a game like them.
Well, i play over the rest of the year to count down from 6 to 1 player counts. So keep an eye out.
I haven't played many games at 6, also I play at two different clubs which is a different situation to a regular group of six players.
The games:
Mare Nostrum: Empires
Fantasy Realms
Ethnos
Between Two Castles
7 Wonders
Codenames
Breaking Bad
I can't play games that rely heavily on trading and negotiation in French due to the extra cognitive load it puts on me and the fact that I am just more reticent and miss things because it's my second language.
I can't play most word games either, I can just about manage Codenames.
That linguistic component is so important to you, and I really get that. I think you would be in a great position to do some really good writing on language dependency in games, and of the cognitive load required to translate and play at the same time.
@@3MBGIt's something that I definitely would like to do in the future. I have had problems with a regular player in one of the clubs really not understanding how much it changes things for me. It's taken a year but it's finally sunk in!
It can be exhausting, especially when you are also neurodivergent as I am (autistic and ADHD).
The best 6 player game I've played is 'Here I Stand', but like Civilisation tht won't be for everyone! Battlestar Galactica is also great at 6.
Enjoyable list. I definitely agree with GoT, TI and Rex/Dune.
You have impeccable timing. I have been invited to play Here i stand at a convention in a few weeks. That, along with "virgin queen" are two of my bucket list games I've never purchased because i suspected i'd never get a group together to play them. I have been assigned the English to play.
@@3MBG the English won our game! I was the Hapsburgs. Its incredible. I immediately went and put a P500 order in for the reprint of Virgin Queen. Enjoy!
Not a huge fan of BSG at six. Like it at five and even seven... In base, dislike the sympathizer rule at six, and haven't found a variant or revealed blend that I think keeps the right feel
An absolute crime Cosmic Encounter does not get even a reference
As mentioned below. I last played Cosmic in the 80's. So my memory of the game is fuzzy at best. It's the first game mentioned on my "ten game that changed how i think about board games" vid though. But as I have never played it at 6, i can't really call it one of my favs at the play count.
@@3MBG at six players who've played before you can get TONS of energy in the room, and it grows until the end! You can go multiple turns where someone is about to win, and a few plays later everyone is going crazy over what just happened... then it's the next player's turn!
Antike II is the best mostly Euro strategy game I've played at 6p
Not played that, a quick look and it looks very "civilization like"
@@3MBG um, yes, no. It's euro, little engine building and little combat. It's a rondell and after a couple turns, the games just moves so fast because your turn is a single simple action except when you move and almost small world style combat others.
Interesting, will definitely give it a look if i come across it. Don't think i've ever seen it in store in NZ.
Niceeeee another great videoooo
Need an update- got to add Heat!
Literally got a copy of Heat this weekend. Spooky
Euro's are too heavy- heres twighlight imperium, civ and game of thrones! Why not throw 1822 into the mix while you're at it :P
I think "multi-player solitaire" type games was what I was getting at. Ones where you are in your own head more than in your opponents.
Oh, sure, there is less of a punctuated "wow, your attack completely routed my army" event, but if you catch the subtler maneuvers where advanced players pinch every penny, and live vicariously through your opponents, they're still a good time.
7 Wonders should be a slam dunk for me, since I like the theme, but I cannot stand the game.
What bugs you about it?
I'm not exactly sure. I mean, drafting isn't the issue, as I'm fine with that in other games. I think it's probably that the theme is so thin on the mechanics, it wasn't the game I expected going in, and the actual gameplay didn't feel all that rewarding or interesting.
That, and a bad first play where one of the guys playing beside me saw my inexperience as a way to win.
Sidereal Confluence at 6 players? Too chaotic. You're bargaining, negotiating with other players on the other side of the table to see what they need, but sitting from afar, you have to walk over there, so they can hear you over the din and voices of other players bargaining/negotiating with other players, while the timer is running down. NOPE! Almost unbearable.
HOw about Sushi Go party at 6 players? Fantastic quick game.
I know different people have different tastes, which is great. But i have to laugh at the reasons you don't like Sidereal confluence at 6 are exactly why i love it. Its exactly that chaos and uncertainty, the having to move and talk and interact which is what i love.
@@3MBG I forgot to mention, at 6 player, we were playing at a rectangular table, and with me at one end, I felt disadvantaged because I can't see or hear the other players on the other side, whereas those sitting near the middle could easily see, hear, and bargain with just about anybody. Just felt disadvantaged with the timer running down.
To many long games for your average run of the mill board gamer.
Spyfall can answer that challenge! Great at 6 players, and it's on a timer for 5-8 minutes depending on how long you want to play.