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Gateway Board Games
Andrew Jaster
Canada
Aldergrove
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Welcome, fellow gamers on my ultimate quest for the best gateway games. For all of you who may not know what that is, it's a game that you can use to introduce non-gamers to the world of 'real' games.

Now think of your top 3 successful gateway games. If you don't see them on this list, please add them. Keep in mind the following rules.

1. Must have been successful more than once with newbies
2. Good replay value
3. Nice game components
4. Good for mixed age groups

And, don't forget to leave a comment or two!
Your Tags: Add tags
Popular Tags: Gateway-Game-Recomendations [+] [View All]
The items in this list are ordered by overall database rank
Posted Fri Aug 26, 2005 12:28 am
1. Board Game: Power Grid [Average Rating:8.18 Overall Rank:4]
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Jeff Digman
United States
Unspecified
Illinois
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I bought this after reading the first revies of it here on the geek. One week later (and after several plays on BSW) I introduced it to my friends, and it was a big hit. Went over better than Settlers did. We still break this out on a weekly basis.
Bill Eldard
United States
Unspecified
Virginia
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I guess it depends on the level of complexity the newbies are ready for; your group apparently did okay with it. Power Grid doesn't come to my mind when I think of gateway games, because the rules are a bit fiddly, and first time players are likely to have little idea of how to formulate a strategy, or even why, until well after the game is over. This could cause some to abandon boardgames altogether.
2. Board Game: Tichu [Average Rating:7.72 Overall Rank:37]
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Morgan Dontanville
United States
Brooklyn
New York
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 I've only known one person not to like this game.
3. Board Game: The Settlers of Catan [Average Rating:7.61 Overall Rank:45]
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Andrew Jaster
Canada
Aldergrove
BC
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Of course, this one has to be on EVERY list, right?...
Bill Eldard
United States
Unspecified
Virginia
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Yep. :)
Yoki Erdtman
Sweden
Södertälje
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Definitely, it's a great gateway game.
4. Board Game: Ticket to Ride [Average Rating:7.51 Overall Rank:55]
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Arun Nayar
United States
Baton Rouge
Louisiana
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never fails to evoke a non-gamer's interest. I have had some pretty successful sessions with total non-gamers. One thing though, this game has not yet made any converts, in my case
Andrew Jaster
Canada
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Shadows over Camelot might be another good one From Days of Wonder. I have it but it's still a bit too early for me to tell if it's a good gateway game.
David Seddon
United Kingdom
Loughborough
Leicestershire
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I've hooked quite a few folks with this one too, and am tryig to talk the local toy shop owner into stcking it.
William Bekking
Canada
Kanata
Ontario
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If you've lead people to the hobby with this game, what other real games are they playing?
I ask because my family likes it as well, and now I am looking for a rival.
Bill Eldard
United States
Unspecified
Virginia
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This is an excellent gateway game.
Arcadian Del Sol
United States
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Unspecified
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I'd say the next step after Ticket To Ride is Starfarers of Catan. A price leap, but the game is probably the next step if you're looking to bottle-feed your players into hardcore gamers.
5. Board Game: Carcassonne [Average Rating:7.48 Overall Rank:65]
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Andrew Jaster
Canada
Aldergrove
BC
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...And this one too
Kevin H
China
Xiangtan
Hunan
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The Hunters & Gatherers version has been pretty much a bust for me...

"What's the point? So what? Where's the fun?"

It's now greeted with a "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo!!!" when brought up...
Bill Eldard
United States
Unspecified
Virginia
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Basic Carcassonne is an excellent gateway game.
Needle
Australia
Leichhardt
NSW
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Interesting H&G has been successful for me especially with getting kids and their parents to play
6. Board Game: Citadels [Average Rating:7.31 Overall Rank:92]
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Kevin H
China
Xiangtan
Hunan
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 The first game can be brutal and slow and long, until everyone gets a handle on the different character powers...

But even after that they seemed pretty interested. I wouldn't recommend it with 2 players...
7. Board Game: Through the Desert [Average Rating:7.24 Overall Rank:120]
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Andrew Jaster
Canada
Aldergrove
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Just picked this one up. Seems to be a good addition to this list of gateway games.
Arun Nayar
United States
Baton Rouge
Louisiana
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I am really interested in hearing other comments on this game. Sure its a cute looking game and that alone might entice non-gamers to try it. But has the actual gameplay been of interest? I tried the game twice with non-gamers, first time we just zipped through the game w/o any strategy. Second time with a bigger group, we just abandoned after it became cumbersome for some.
Karlo Gliha
Canada
Toronto
ON
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No luck with this one yet; we had a group of 4 read through the rules last night. Even though the group thought the pastel camels looked funny, they thought the rules were too abstract for them to grasp easily. We set it aside for San Juan and Carcassonne. I think my Go partner will likely enjoy this given the underlying mechanic.
Bill Eldard
United States
Unspecified
Virginia
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An outstanding gateway game, and we have used it as such quite successfully in our group.
8. Board Game: Bohnanza [Average Rating:7.18 Overall Rank:142]
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Kevin H
China
Xiangtan
Hunan
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 It's been a hit with everyone. Especially a young 8 year-old girl I've played it with who PLEEEEEADS with me to bring over "the bean game"

I think it's pretty neat myself because you're forced to plan ahead. And giving away cards for free is so frequent that the mood stays light.
9. Board Game: Alhambra [Average Rating:7.09 Overall Rank:177]
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Lee Hancox
Australia
Sydney
NSW
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 Alhambra:
Meets your requirements. Was the game that my in-laws loved most. Was easy to teach, was easy to play and they kept asking for more. In fact, they are getting it for christmas.
10. Board Game: Lord of the Rings [Average Rating:6.97 Overall Rank:227]
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Arcadian Del Sol
United States
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Unspecified
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 Good gateway game because its not player vs player and while there is a big of player elimination sometimes, its a loss shared by the whole group rather than a victory shared by the whole group.

Its also got some of the best artwork in the business.
11. Board Game: Big City [Average Rating:6.96 Overall Rank:312]
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Morgan Dontanville
United States
Brooklyn
New York
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 This has never failed to please.
Bill Eldard
United States
Unspecified
Virginia
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This is one of the best gateway games, because it combines a good set of rules with bits that are second-to-none. We've used this very successfully as a gateway game, and it remains one of my personal favorites today.
12. Board Game: Bang! [Average Rating:6.82 Overall Rank:336]
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Karlo Gliha
Canada
Toronto
ON
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 It may not meet your 3rd criteria (regarding components), but seemed to illicit squeals of evil laughter from one and all. People ask ahead of time if I'm going to bring it over.
13. Board Game: Elfenland [Average Rating:6.82 Overall Rank:329]
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Morgan Dontanville
United States
Brooklyn
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 This is a great game that teaches new players that it is ok to be mean.
Bill Eldard
United States
Unspecified
Virginia
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An excellent gateway game.
14. Board Game: Balloon Cup [Average Rating:6.75 Overall Rank:387]
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Joe Sack
United States
Birmingham
Alabama
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 This is a great two-player gateway game. Most people have played traditional card games, which makes the colors/numbers easy to grasp. It's also a fantastic way to get friends into the concept of little wooden cubes. Balloon Cup has always been a big winner in my book. :D
15. Board Game: O Zoo le Mio [Average Rating:6.75 Overall Rank:440]
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Andrew Jaster
Canada
Aldergrove
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This gateway game actually has a surprising level of depth which is usually an oddity in a gateway game.
Morgan Dontanville
United States
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Agreed, this game is great.
16. Board Game: TransAmerica [Average Rating:6.66 Overall Rank:457]
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Andrew Jaster
Canada
Aldergrove
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This has by far been MY most successful gateway game. Now if everyone would just stop asking me to bring it back out. Don't get me wrong, I'll always say yes to a game of it. I'd just rather play TTR.
William Bekking
Canada
Kanata
Ontario
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This is one of the games I am considering for my non gaming family. But they do love Ticket to Ride, so I am concerned this will not be played in favour of TtR. I'd hate to hear the comment, 'yeah, it's cool, but I'd rather play that Ticket to Ride train game instead'.
Bill Eldard
United States
Unspecified
Virginia
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Quote:
This has by far been MY most successful gateway game.


Same with our group. And since we play it virtually every week, I have to say it's been one of our most successful games, period.
17. Board Game: Clans [Average Rating:6.60 Overall Rank:532]
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Andrew Jaster
Canada
Aldergrove
BC
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This is actually the game that started this list as I've never heard of it. It seems to be a good gateway game though. What do you think?
Arun Nayar
United States
Baton Rouge
Louisiana
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I owned this one for a while but never felt interested enough to bring it on the table. Something abt the theme I guess.
Lee Hancox
Australia
Sydney
NSW
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My wife and I played this 3 times. On each occasion I employed a strategy on each occasion she just played move by move. On all 3 games she thrashed me. What we found strange was that she has no idea how she wins. It is of course possible that I am just a crap strategist. We gave it back to the friend we borrowed it from and crossed it off the want list.
Matthew Mär' kwŭnd
United States
Columbus
Ohio
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I'm an avid Clans player (as you can tell from my profile). I would say give it another chance but I know that's hard once you've already formed an opinion.

The game is interesting in that it can play very lightly. However, even though it's so simple to teach and play there is a surprising level of tactical play with some depth to the decision tree. The sweet spot is 2 or 3 players.
Tomi Korpipaa
Finland
Oulu
Pohjois-Pohjanmaa
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Great, quick game. Easy to explain as well. Quite abstract though. It's been a surprisingly big hit with my group.
David Seddon
United Kingdom
Loughborough
Leicestershire
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I like this game very much and it makes a good two player game, too. It's rather unusual in style, light in flavour and middle-ranking for brain-burning.
18. Board Game: Tonga Bonga [Average Rating:6.58 Overall Rank:1113]
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Morgan Dontanville
United States
Brooklyn
New York
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 This is one of my favorite games to spring on new players. So far all have enjoyed it.
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