I Don’t Have a Lot of Time or Money

Memory brings to mind a commercial from about 11 years ago about going to lunch. “I don’t have a lot of time,'' says one person. “I don’t have a lot of money,” replays another. They both respond with “Sizzler!” How often at game night do we look at the shelf at some point trying to find something to play? You suggest how we could play The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31! Yet you get responses like; too long, James should be here soon, or how long does it take to learn?

Don’t get me wrong at all. I love serious games, anyone familiar with the Meeple Nation podcast knows that we as a group love story, campaign, and legacy games. We have an issue with time trying to get these to the table after adding so many to our collections. My goal is to get a small list together of games that resolve some of these issues so when you are faced with that question you can respond with the same enthusiasm ________ filling in the blank from any game on the list. The plus side is that most of these games are fairly easy to add to your collection both cost and space needed on your shelf.

Skull

Also known as Skulls and Roses, this very quick and very pretty bluffing game is amazing. I played for the first time at Hugg-A-Meeple Con. I was so happy with the game I ordered my copy while still playing the first game. If you like bluffing and bidding this is a game for you. Fairly quick and if you would like to add extra players they have rules if you buy two copies of the game. Do note that if you play with 12 people your time playing the game goes up.

• Available on BGG Shop, eBay, and Amazon (Chances your local game store as well.)

Werewords

This is twenty questions meets Ultimate Werewolf. An app-based game that has a built-in time limit to keep the game quick. Werewords plays best with around six people going up to ten. The app is great at guiding and moderating the experience with ease, making playing the game that much better. Players with the roles of the Mayor, Werewolf, and Seer know the secret word. The player's goal is to guess the word. Depending on player count, the Werewolf or Werewolves are trying to distract while not being obvious. The Seer is trying to guide you on the right path trying to hide from the Werewolves.

The game ends in one of two ways. If the secret word is guessed, the werewolves have a short amount of time to discuss and identify the Seer. If they do this correctly they win. Otherwise, if your time runs out, the villagers have a window to find at least one of the Werewolves, if they do the village wins. Do note, that the Mayor could also be a werewolf and can lie when asked questions! Completely worth your short time to play the game.

• Widely available, I even found a copy at my local Sam’s Club once.

The City

The City boasted a playtime of thirty minutes. In my experience, very few games last that long. The game includes tableau building with victory points being accumulated each turn. The iconography makes it easy to see which cards play off each other. As with any tableau, builder time will increase with players that want to try and max each play.

Each round you pick a card from your hand to add to your tableau and pay for it by discarding other cards that remain in your hand. The hand management element makes it difficult to save an amazing card you get in your starting hand since there will be no way to play the card for a long time. The game snowballs fairly quickly and the game ends when any player gets to fifty points. This is always a good choice to play when waiting for a friend to show up to the game night. If the sci-fi is more your speed pickup Jumpdrive.

• Both wildly available

Welcome To

Welcome To is a flip and write game where you design a 1950’s neighborhood in the United States. Very similar to a roll and write but each round you flip three equal stacks of cards. You pick from one of the three sets of house numbers and actions to build your neighborhood. Trying to be able to place numbers in numerical order. Be mindful that you don’t paint yourself into a corner. With so many choices for extra victory points and the ease of adding players (up to 99!) This is a solid choice.

Not only is the base game awesome in my mind, but the company, Blue Cocker Games, has also created 12 expansions that give you a new game experience! The base game stays the same, but with simple changes, they add something that helps keep the game fresh. In the spring edition for example, you play the game as normal, yet some houses have easter eggs on them. If you play a number that allows you to circle the eggs you get bonus points.

It is almost to the point where you can celebrate the year with a new expansion or game each month like your changing calendar.

• Easily accessible.

While I could keep going with lots of games on this list, (Nathan, Andy, and Dave gave me a huge list) the intention was to keep it brief. I will come back to this in a future blog with new games and new suggestions. Until next time, I would love to hear what some of your favorite quick games are!