Quick Guide

In the Madison Area? Why not drop by and play a game? Just EMail me or use the CONTACT page to send me a message!

Yes, this is my favorite thing (well, one of them:)
=> My Favorite Thing

Need Help Choosing a Game? Once you are viewing a game, there will be a list of all the games in alphabetical order in the right panel (very nice way to scan the games, though you also can just type in a name in the search box). 

That right side panel also has a cool selection list that is just like this:

Plus here are just SOME of the games here at our house (alpha order) with a quick summary about each game (how many players, estimated time to play and complexity rating):

  1. 20 Express (aka Streams) –
  2. 7 Wonders => Video Playlist – 3-7 players, 30mins, 2.32 complexity rating, cards & deck building (there are differences between the 2010 and 2020 editions)
  3. Alhambra => Video Playlist – 2-6 players (need 3 players really), 45-60 mins, 2.10 complexity rating, individual tile placement strategy game
  4. Ares Expedition (Terraforming Mars Card Game) => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 45-60 mins, 2.89 complexity rating, over 200 cards
  5. Artisans of Splendent Vale => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, campaign game, 2.57 complexity rating (make your own adventure)
  6. Awkward Guests (a better Clue game) => Video Playlist – 1-8 players (best with 3-5), 45-75 mins, 2.32 complexity rating
  7. Azul (Original game) => Video Playlist – 2-4 players (best with 2), 30-45 mins, 1.76 complexity rating
  8. Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30-45 mins, 2.01 complexity rating, beautiful pieces placement on individual boards
  9. Banish the Snakes => Video playlist – 1-6 players (best with 3), 90-120 mins, 2.48 complexity rating, bring Christianity to Ireland
  10. Barenpark => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30-45 mins, 1.65 complexity, polynomial tile laying (think tetris)
  11. Barenpark Expansion Bad News Bears => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30-45 mins, 2.00 complexity rating, polynomial tile laying with 3D monorails
  12. Biblios => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30 mins, 1.68 complexity rating, strategy, bluffing and luck
  13. The Big Shuffle => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30-60 mins, 1.70 complexity rating
  14. Black Sonata => Video Playlist – 1 player, 30 mins, 2.04 complexity rating, solo card deduction
  15. Blokus => Video playlist – 2-4 players, 20 mins, 1.74 complexity rating
  16. Bohnanza => Video Playlist – 2-7 players, 45 mins, 1.67 complexity rating
  17. Books of Time => Video Playlist – 1-4 players (best with 2 or 3), 60-90 mins, 2.14 complexity rating, actually make your own book(s) with pages added to two ring binders. Great Solo!
  18. Burgle Bros => Video playlist – 1-4 players (harder with more players), 45-90 mins, 2.31 complexity rating
  19. Canvas => Video Playlist – 1-5 players, 30 mins, 1.61 complexity rating, individually overlaying transparent cards
  20. Carcassonne (Big Box with 11 expansions) => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 30-45 mins, 1.91 complexity rating, tile laying making one large map
  21. Cartographers => Video Playlist – 1-100 players, 30-45 mins, 1.89 complexity, drawing your own individual map based on map shapes (same map used by everyone)
  22. Cartographers Heroes (standalone expansion) => Video Playlist – 1-100 players, 30-45 mins, 2.13 complexity rating, drawing your own map but with invading monsters and helpful heroes
  23. Castle Panic (with several expansions) => Video Playlist – 1-6 players, 60 mins, 1.66 complexity rating, coop strategy game protecting your castle from invading monsters
  24. Castles of Burgundy 20th Anniversary Edition => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30-90 mins, 3.00 complexity rating, tile laying, resources, dice
  25. Castles of Burgundy Special Edition (Awaken Realms) with all expansions => Video Playlist => Previous Edition Video Playlist – 1-4 players (best with 2), 70-120 mins, 2.79 complexity rating
  26. Catacombs Cubes => Video Playlist – 1-6 players with expansion (1-4 base game), 30-60 mins, 2.14 complexity rating, 3 dimensional tetris like game
  27. Chronicles of Crime => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 60-90 mins, 2.07 complexity rating, app driven detective investigation (with 3D glasses and expansions)
  28. Chronicles of Light => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 45-60mins, 2.00 complexity rating, Disney princesses are the heroes
  29. Codenames Duet => Video playlist – 1 players, 15-30mins, 1.36 complexity rating, coop
  30. Coffee Rush => Video Playlist – 2-4 players (3 best), 30 mins, 1.81 complexity rating
  31. CoLab => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 90-120 mins, 3.00 complexity rating, collaborating competitive dice and card game
  32. Cosmic Encounter => Video playlist – 3-8 players (5 best), 1-2hrs, 2.58 complexity rating (each alien breaks at least one game rule)
  33. The Crew: Quest for Planet Nine => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 5-10 mins (or less), 1.99 complexity rating, coop trick taking card game (Quick)
  34. The Crew: Deep Sea (sequel) => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 5-10 mins (or less), 2.06 complexity rating, coop trick taking card game (Quick)
  35. Cubitos => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30-60 mins, 2.13 complexity rating, dice racing game
  36. Dead Eye (solo only – with 3D glasses) => Video Playlist –
  37. Diatoms => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 30-45 mins, 1.5 complexity rating, tile laying (art)
  38. Dice Conquest => Video playlist – 1-4 players, 30 mins, 1.38 complexity rating
  39. Dice Manor => Video Playlist – 2-4 players (4 best), 30-45 mins, 2.00 complexity rating
  40. Dice Miner => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 20-30 mins, 1.82 complexity rating, dice game (Quick)
  41. Doomlings => Video Playlist – 2-6 players, 20-45 mins, complexity rating 1.33, luck based individual card playing area
  42. Dorfromantik => Playlist – 1-4 players, 30-60 mins, complexity rating 1.70 (similar to Carcassonne tile laying)
  43. Draconic (Dragon) Dice => Video Playlist 2-5 players, 10 mins, complexity rating 1.25 (extremely simple fast game)
  44. Dragomino (kids) => Video Playlist – 2-4 players ,15 mins, 1.09 complexity rating (easier version of Kingdomino)
  45. Earth Rising => Video Playlist – 1-6 players, 90-120 mins, complexity rating 2.5, cards, tiles, worker placement
  46. Eila and Something Shiny => Video Playlist – 1 player Solo, 30-45 mins, 2.01 complexity rating, sort of campaign game
  47. Exit: Nightfall Manor (4 mini-games) – 1-3 players, 2.00 complexity rating, use once escape room puzzle game
  48. Explorers => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 20 mins, 1.79 complexity rating, flip and write on a map
  49. Firefly Shiny Dice => Video Playlist – 1-5 players, 30 mins, 1.87 complexity, push your luck dice game
  50. Flash Point Fire Rescue => Video playlist – 1-6 players, 45 mins, 2.20 complexity rating, coop
  51. Food Chain Island => Video Playlist – 1 player, 15 mins, 1.33 complexity rating, cards in a grid solo game
  52. Forbidden Desert => Video playlist – 2-5 players, 45 mins, 2.03 complexity rating, coop
  53. Forbidden Island (cooperative game) => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30 mins, 1.74 complexity rating, tile collecting coop game
  54. Forbidden Sky => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 60 mins, 2.61 complexity rating, coop where you actually build a working circuit board that when completed lights up the ship and makes blast off noises
  55. Forever Home => Video Playlist – 1-5 players, 30 mins, 1.5 complexity rating, great for dog lovers
  56. Foundations of Rome => Video playlist – 1-5 players, 60-90 mins, 1.97 complexity rating, 3 dimensional buildings
  57. Four Corners => Video Playlist – 1-6 players, 30 mins, 2.00 complexity rating, can play solo or teams, tile laying
  58. The Game => Video Playlist – 1-5 players, 20 mins, 1.25 complexity rating, coop where you can’t say what cards you have (similar to The Crew and The Mind)
  59. The Game: Quick and Easy => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 1.06 complexity rating, coop with more hints and talking allowed
  60. Gearworks => Video playlist – 1-4 players, 30-45 mins, 2.00 complexity rating
  61. Genotype => Video Playlist – 1-5 players, 45-90 mins, 2.76 complexity rating, dice and cards strategy game
  62. Globetrotting (preordered) => Video Playlist – 1-6 players, 30 mins, 2.00 complexity rating, draw your route on a real globe
  63. Gnomes at Night (kids) => Video Playlist – 2 players, 15 minutes, 1.00 complexity rating, coop game with vertical board and player pieces with magnets
  64. Hardback (word game) => Video Playlist – 1-5 players, 45-90 mins, 2.13 complexity rating (think Scrabble)
  65. Harsh Shadows (solo only) => Video Playlist – 1 player, 20-30 mins, 1.67 complexity rating
  66. Hive => Video Playlist – 2 players (like chess), 20 mins, 2.32 complexity rating, an open space piece moving game (Quick)
  67. Hues and Cues => Video playlist – 3-8 players, 30 mins, 1.11 complexity rating, guess the color game
  68. Illusion => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 2.00 complexity rating, visually determine amount of a specific color on a card
  69. Initiative => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 30-60 mins, 1.89 complexity rating, Escape Room and Strategy coop game
  70. Inside Job => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 20-30 mins, 1.64 complexity rating, coop (mostly) like the Crew with Social Deduction
  71. Ierusalem => Video Playlist – 1-4 players (best with 3-4), 90 mins, 3.10 complexity rating, the Last Supper with Jesus
  72. ISS Vanguard => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 90-120 mins, 3.60 complexity rating, coop space exploration
  73. It’s A Wonderful World => Video Playlist – 1-5 players, 30-60 mins, 2.30 complexity rating, card drafting, engine building
  74. Jerusalem => See Ierusalem (with an I)
  75. The King is Dead 2nd Edition => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30-45 mins, 2.12 complexity rating, very few but strategic cards
  76. Kingdom Legacy => Video playlist – 1 player, 6-8 hrs, 2.00 complexity rating
  77. Kingdomino => Video Playlist – 2-4 players,  15 mins, 1.22 complexity rating, tile drafting, dominoes with crowns (Game of the Year award)
  78. Kingsburg (2nd Edition with Expansions) => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 2.43 complexity rating, dice, building and some battles
  79. The Little Prince – Make Me A Planet => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 25 mins, 1.57 complexity rating, tile laying
  80. The Loop => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 60 mins, 2.59 complexity rating, coop game
  81. Luddite => Video Playlist 1-99 players, 20-40 mins, 3.0 complexity rating, coop, competitive, solo roll and write
  82. Machi Koro => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30 mins, 1.53 complexity rating
  83. Mandala Stones => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30 mins, 1.77 complexity rating, pick and stack stones to get points
  84. Martian Dice => Video Playlist – 2-99 players, 10 mins, 1.07 complexity rating (fast filler game)
  85. Mass Effect The Board Game => Video playlist – 1-4 players, 75-90 mins, 3.0 complexity rating
  86. Match Madness => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 10 mins, 1.10 complexity rating, dexterity real time cube matching
  87. MicroMacro Crime City => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 15-45 mins, 1.13 complexity rating, a HUGE map – like Where’s Waldo turned into a huge game
  88. Mill (an ancient two player game) – 2 players (like checkers), 20 mins, 1.83 complexity rating. get three in a row to remove an opponent’s piece (Quick)
  89. The Mind – 2-4 players, 20 mins, 1.07 complexity rating (cannot speak while playing similar to The Crew)
  90. The Mind: Soulmates => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 20 mins, 1.5 complexity rating, like The Mind but with clues and playing cards face down
  91. Monolyth => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 30 mins, 1.67 complexity rating, make a cube with three dimensional Tetris style pieces
  92. M.U.L.E. => Video Playlist – 3-4 players, 90-120 mins, 2.64 complexity rating, the Commodore 64 / Atari computer game now as a Board Game (trying to sell)
  93. My City (full legacy board game) => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30 mins, 1.99 complexity rating, similar to the roll and build version but with real polynomial pieces plus stickers etc
  94. My City: Roll and Build => Video Playlist – 1-6 players, 30 mins, 1.64 complexity rating, roll and write
  95. New Bedford (with Rising Tide expansion) – 1-4 players, 30-60 mins, 2.36 complexity rating, resource management (trying to sell)
  96. One Deck Dungeon => Video Playlist – 1 or 2 players, 30 mins, 2.00 complexity rating, not too much table space
  97. Palm Island => Video Playlist – 1 player, 15 mins, 1.72 complexity rating, play whole game with cards in hand
  98. Palm Laboratory => Video Playlist – 1 player, 15 mins, 2.0 complexity rating estimate, small deck of cards is the whole game just like Palm Island
  99. Pandemic => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 45 mins, 2.41 complexity rating, map and cards coop game
  100. Pandemic: Hot Zone Europe => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30 mins, 1.67 complexity rating, map and cards coop game
  101. Pandemic: Hot Zone North America => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30 mins, 1.87 complexity rating, map and cards coop game
  102. Pandemic Legacy (all three editions) => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 60 mins, 2.83 complexity rating, map and cards coop game where the rules and board change as you play
  103. Pandemic The Cure => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 30 mins, 2.06 complexity rating, pandemic game but with dice
  104. Paperback (word game) => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 45 mins, 1.99 complexity rating (think Scrabble with cards)
  105. Paperback Adventures => Video Playlist – 1-2 players, 50-150 mins, 2.50 complexity rating, word game
  106. Patrician => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 20-30 mins, 1.92 complexity rating
  107. Perudo => Video Playlist – 2-6 players, 15-30 mins, 1.26 complexity rating, dice game
  108. Photosynthesis => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30-60 mins, 2.26 complexity rating
  109. Planet (with 3D globes for each player) => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30-45 mins, 1.63 complexity rating, cards and tile laying
  110. Planet Unknown => Video Playlist – 1-6 players, 60-80 mins, 2.20 complexity rating, lazy Susan polynomials
  111. Pop Art => Video Playlist – 1-8 players, 15 mins, 2.00 complexity, transparent cards
  112. Popcorn Dice Game => Video Playlist – 2-12 players, 15-90 mins, 1.10 complexity rating, press your luck dice game (Quick)
  113. Project L (tetris style game) => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 20-40 mins, 1.54 complexity rating (Quick)
  114. Puerto Rico Special Edition (super deluxe) => Video playlist Special Edition // Original Edition playlist – 1-5 players,
  115. Puerto Rico Deluxe => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 90-150 mins, 3.28 complexity rating, resource management
  116. Quest Kids Giant Adventure (life size) => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30-60mins, 1.10 complexity rating
  117. Qwirkle – 2-4 players, 45 mins, 1.62 complexity rating, tile laying game
  118. Race to the Raft => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 40-60 mins, 2.38 complexity rating
  119. Railroad Ink Challenge – 1-99 players, 15-30 mins, 2.11 complexity rating (Quick)
  120. Ready, Set, Bet => Video Playlist – 2-9 players, 45-60 mins, 1.30 complexity rating, real time horse race betting
  121. Rogue Angels => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 60-120 mins, 2.50 complexity rating, legacy game
  122. Roll For It => Video Playlist – 2-8 players, 30 mins, 1.05 complexity rating; fast easy dice game
  123. Roll Player => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 60-90 mins, 2.41 complexity rating, dice and cards game
  124. Roll Player Adventures => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 90-150 mins, 2.33 complexity rating, dice and cards coop adventure game
  125. Rumis => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 15-20 mins, 1.75 complexity rating, building with 3D pieces
  126. Sagrada with the 5-6 player expansion => Video Playlist – 1-6 players, 30-45 mins, 1.93 complexity rating, dice placement
  127. San Juan (card game version of Puerto Rico game) => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 45-60 mins, 2.29 complexity rating, cards, town and resource management
  128. Santorini New York => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 15-30 mins, 1.89 complexity rating, 3D playing pieces
  129. Scrabble Up => Video Playlist – 2 players, 20 mins, 1.4 complexity rating, real time timer
  130. Shake That City => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 20-40 mins, 1.75 complexity rating, has a fun shaker box for color cubes to determine their placement in a grid
  131. Showdown Yahtzee => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 30 mins, 1.29 complexity rating, dice
  132. Sirens => Video playlist – 1-2 players, 15-30 mins, 1.20 complexity rating, cards actually make a song (play it via their app)
  133. Spirit Island => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 90-120 mins, 4.03 complexity rating, coop map building game
  134. Splendor => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 20-30mins, 1.78 complexity rating, quick engine building
  135. Suburbia => Video Playlist – 1-5 players, 90mins, 2.73 complexity rating, city building deluxe
  136. Tedoku => Video Playlist – 1-99 players, 10mins, 1.05 complexity rating, roll N flip N write
  137. Terraforming Mars (now with 3D tiles and real metal cubes) => Video Playlist – 1-5 players, 120 mins, 3.24 complexity rating, tile laying card game
  138. Terraforming Mars: Dice Game => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 45 mins, 2.33 complexity rating (Terraforming Mars with a little more luck via dice)
  139. Tesseract => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 60-90 mins, 2.0 complexity rating estimate, dice stacked
  140. This War of Mine => Video Playlist – 1-6 players, 45-120 mins, 3.28 complexity rating
  141. Ticket to Ride => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 30-60 mins, 1.85 complexity, card playing, track laying map game
  142. Ticket To Ride Europe => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 30-60 mins, 1.93 complexity rating, card playing, track laying map game
  143. Ticket To Ride London => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 10-15 mins, 1.27 complexity rating, card playing, track laying smaller map game
  144. Tiny Epic Galaxies => Video playlist – 1-5 players (4-5 has more down time), 30-45 mins, 2.15 complexity rating, the best Tiny Epic series game
  145. Trailblazers => Video playlist – 1-8 players, 30 mins, 1.74 complexity rating
  146. Trails of Tucana => Video Playlist – 1-8 players, 15 mins, 1.25 complexity rating, flip and write (Quick)
  147. Trekking the National Parks 2nd Edition => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 30-60 mins, 1.76 complexity rating, cards and stone collecting from a map
  148. Trekking The World => Video Playlist – 2-5 players, 30-60 mins, 1.92 complexity rating
  149. Tripoley (note that we play with our own house rules) – 2-9 players, 60 mins, 1.48 complexity rating, trick taking card game
  150. Tsuro (very fast easy to learn game) – 2-8 players, 15-20 mins, 1.23 complexity rating, tile placement path game (Quick)
  151. Unlock: Escape Adventures: Island of Doctor Soorse – 2-6 players best=4 (because you split into two groups), 60 mins, 2.91 complexity rating, escape room puzzle solving
  152. Unlock: Star Wars (Escape Room/Puzzle Solving – one of the easiest of the series) – 2-6 players (2-3 is best), 60 mins per scenario (3 included in the box), 1.87 complexity rating, puzzle solving
  153. Uno Roboto – 2-10 players, 40 mins, 1.38 complexity rating, card playing game
  154. Untold: Adventure Awaits – 1-4 players (3 best), 45-60 mins, 1.67 complexity rating, uses Rory’s story cubes
  155. Vantage => Video playlist – 1=6 players, 2-3hrs, 3.17 complexity rating, exploring without a map
  156. Wandering Towers => Video playlist – 1-6 players, 30min, 1.64 complexity rating (great table presence with real 3D towers you move and stack on top of each other)
  157. Warp’s Edge (solo only) => Video Playlist – 1 player, 30-45 mins, 2.41 complexity (bag building)
  158. Welcome To… – 1-100 players, 25 mins, 1.82 complexity rating, card flipping individual game board writing game
  159. Welcome To… The Moon – 1-6 players, 30mins, 2.40 complexity rating. Flip N Write
  160. Wingspan => Video Playlist – 1-4 players, 40-70 mins, 2.46 complexity rating
  161. Wits and Wagers – 4-100, 1.21 complexity rating. Guess and Bet game
  162. Zombie Kidz Evolution => Video Playlist – 2-4 players, 5-15 mins, 1.39 complexity rating, legacy kids game

I don’t have a Wall of Games :) But we have games on shelves in a closet, in our garage, under a table and inside this cabinet (and now some in our Guest Room):

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