It can happen to anyone: a friend of a friend joins for the evening and suddenly Catan is not an option.
What are your goto games in those situations?
I really like 7 Wonders, for 3-7 players and one round is also not too long with about 20 minutes ^^
With the Cities expansion it goes up to eight too. Pretty simple to explain and as turns are simultaneous the extra player doesn’t add any time (unless they are particularly slow)
Deception - Murder in Hongkong - for up to 12 people
Mysterium - identify the suspect by looking at abstract cards given by a ghost (goes up to 7 players I think; use the original Ukrainian rules!)
Shikoku - interesting movement game, goes up to eight players
Eclipse - epic space exploration and battles, nine players with the expansion (I’ve never played it nine players, it would probably take about a week and need a banqueting table to put it on)Blood on the Clocktower, but you kinda want 8 to 12 players for that.
Very similar, also suggest werewolf!
For Clank and Dominion we have the expansion to go up to 6 players 7 wonders if we are 5-7 people.
For more people it’s usually more casual/party games with the groups I play with
Catan has an expansion that supports more players. It makes the game longer, but I personally enjoy the change of pace.
Otherwise, there’s plenty of good suggestions on this thread already. Those that are of similar(ish) complexity and that I also enjoy:
- Bang! (Has player elimination, so make sure your friends are okay with sitting out for part of the game)
- 7 Wonders (Turns are taken in parallel, so much less down time. Great if you have slow players.)
- Sheriff of Nottingham
- Codenames (It’s marked as 2-8 players, but realistically, you can play with as many as you want.)
- Concept
With larger parties, you’ll often be waiting for that last person to arrive. Some simpler games if you want to fill that time:
- Coup/Complot
- Sushi go (Good warm-up to 7-Wonders if your group is new to the game)
Codenames isn’t really my type of game, since I don’t like abstract games and party games. And yet I have a lot of fun every single time I play it.
Quest, which is an evolution of Avalon. It’s a quicker game, because the voting phase has been eliminated. Instead, if the evil team win, the good team have a final chance to find the bad people. If you do play this game, I highly recomment playing with the “Director’s Cut” rules. It can take 4-10 players.
Libertalia can go up to 6 players, and it’s one of my favourites. I slightly prefer the new Winds of Galecrest version from Stonemaier Games, but any version of this game is fine.
Another game I’m on the lookout for is Feed The Kraken, which seems to be an improved version of Secret Hitler, but with a pirate ship.
If you want to end up hating your friends - The Resistance. I love it but it definitely is not for everyone.
A lot of hidden role games are good for large groups. Lots of interactions, simple rules. Mascerade is great too.
For us:
- Bang!: spaghetti western with secret teams, up to 7 players
- Fuji flush: easy card game, up to 8 players
- Exploding Kittens: silly cards where drawing may make you lose, up to 10 players (with the expansion)
- Secret Hitler: a kind of werewolf where you have to create governments and pass laws, up to 10 players
I prefer Bang! The dice game over the regular Bang!, because it eliminates the early game where nobody shoots. There’s almost always someone getting shot in every round even if you have no clue about the roles yet.
For 8-12 players, I like Green Team Wins.
Sidereal Confluence is a game that really starts to get exciting at 6+ players. It’s not for everyone, but for the right group it’s a blast!
Love this game too but you need medium heavy gamers or the rules may go over their heads
Cash n Guns - 8 players: Players get to have a standoff with foam guns pointed at one another trying to take out each other either with a loaded gun or bluffing that your gun is loaded to gain the most loot that was gathered from a prior heist.
A good question and an interesting thread. At five, our group sometimes tries a substantial game like Viticulture or Power Grid. Knowing the game is critical, however, since many complex games are not at their best with five players. When our group hits six, we’ve recently been playing Mysterium, which is an excellent, simple investigation game with evocative art and a great deal of replay value. It’s surprisingly accessible for new players.
With even larger groups, we sometimes play Mascarade. This Bruno Faidutti social deduction game is similar to his later Citadels, but easier to get started with. Another hit has been Bohnanza, although its wheeling-and-dealing style may not appeal to quieter folks.
When we have players who are easily overwhelmed by lots of rules, we tend to fall back to Sushi Go. This is entertaining enough–though beware of playing it with hate-drafting Magic players.
EDIT: It’s “Mascarade”, not “Masquerade”.
I love draft games (Magic player here, but I don’t hate draft a ton). Been thinking about picking up Sushi Go but my current living situation severely limits my ability to play board games.
I’ve just read the rules of Masquerade, it seems really good. Also, being able to play with up to 13 players makes it really flexible.
EDIT: Have you played the expansion as well?
No, but I would like to. I have not seen either game at our local stores, sadly.
Hi, just wanted to say that we tried it yesterday, and we loved it! Great game, great mechanics and even if it was our first there have been some great deceptions. Thank you for the suggestion!
You’re very welcome. I’m glad to hear it was a success.
Shadow Hunters is one of my favorites for 6-8 players, it’s not out of print but I assume the reprint “Fangs” is similar. Truro is a good simple game, and it stays quick from 1-8 players
Big fan of The Resistance, as well as Blood on the Clocktower, though the latter is a bit of an investment. If you don’t want social deduction, there’s also 7 Wonders and Citadels.
