Suggest a board game

Richard

I'm looking to get a friend a board game as a late Christmas gift. Both he and his wife likes board games but I am unsure on which game to get. They currently have Carcassone and Ticket to Ride with TtR as their favorite. I almost bought Pandemic the other day as I had heard really good things about it but they are both really competitive so maybe they wouldn't like a cooperative game as much. I also looked at The Resistance but it would be best if the game can be played with only 4 players. I have also briefly looked at Settlers of Catan, it seems to be a favorite for many people. He is a closet sci-fi nerd but I think she would prefer if the game is not Battlestar Galactica themed.

Does anyone have any good suggestions for games I could check out or should I get Pandemic and hope they can take a break from trying to best each other at board games?

Not sure if I should have posted this in "Help / Advice" instead or if a mod can move the thread (perhaps not possible). I also tried to find a existing "Suggest a game"-thread but the search engine and me are no longer friends.

Athenor

You're in luck! We have a whole thread full of board game suggestions, with an excellent first post that goes over the various popular games and what to expect with them.

http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/185312/board-games-meeples-minis-dice-cards-and-tokens-galore/p1

Pandemic is a really good co-op game. If you are looking for something more competitive, 4 players is the perfect sweet spot for Chaos in the Old World. If you are looking for sci-fi themed at 4 players, Race for the Galaxy is fairly complex but extremely good once you learn it.

Bedlam

Well there is a board game thread in critical failures for all your board game discussion needs and suggesting board game is just one of the many things you can do:

http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/185312/board-games-meeples-minis-dice-cards-and-tokens-galore#latest

With 4 players I would say Lords of Waterdeep is a good jumping off point. Its a simple worker placement game with a fantasy theme. Race for the Galaxy would be a good card game with a sci-fi theme. King of Tokyo or 7 Wonders are both games that work well with 4 and can scale up to 6-7 should the need arise.

Fallowing along with the afore mention thread or looking up stuff on http://boardgamegeek.com/ is a good way to figure out what works better for you. It sounds like you are just getting into the hobby so there is a lot of new things to choose from!

Richard

I just knew there was a thread but didn't see it, silly me. Thanks for your suggestions I will make sure to check them out!

Alegis

Some of my favorite games which can be played with 4 but also play great competitively with 2:

- Blokus
- Neuroshima Hex

Can't be played with 2 but is a lot of fun (and play with more):

- King of Tokyo
- Maaaaybe Bang