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InfiniteMonkey -> RE: OT Board games for starters (11/21/2017 3:14:55 PM)
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Not that it really needs another endorsement, but Settlers of Catan is a great game. The expansions are good additions, but not required. My family plays a lot of games and we pull out Settlers fairly often. One of the things I like about it is that you need to pay attention to other's turns and individual turns are not too long. Turn based games often have this dynamic that has one player paying attention during their turn and ignoring what happens in between. If keeping their attention is of concern, then settlers can help with that some. During another players turn each player has to pay attention in order to collect resources, trade, etc. Turn duration is also a plus, since the play sequence is short. On the other hand, I would say it is about on par or possibly a bit less complicated than Axis and Allies. If your intent is to ramp up complexity, it might not be your best choice for that.
In the card game arena, Dominion is an interesting deck building game. With several expansions and a lot of randomness, you can get a nearly infinite number of games out of it.
7 Wonders and it's various expansions are pretty good games too.
We play the above 3 games a lot when we get together.
Others I enjoyed:
I enjoyed PowerGrid the one time I played it, but I am not sure how much replay ability it has.
Twilight Struggle was an interesting game and would allow for some replay, but it is 2 player only. I've played it 2 or 3 times and would play again. I generally play my one of my nephews and when we get together we look to play games that include the rest of the family. It would be a good choice for times when you have only one kid that wants to play a game or when two of your kids want to play something.
If WW2 air combat is an interest, then Fighting Wings is probably your best bet. It has a quick start rules set for simple games, but it is fairly complex. With 4 players at hand, you could do a lot of different scenarios. It might be hard to get a hold of the game right now, since the most recent published version is out of print (Whistling Death). However, the newest version (Wings of the Motherland) just went to the publisher and should be available soon (late 2017 / early 2018). Each version has revised the rule set and added new aircraft, air to ground, air to surface, etc. aspects. The designer (J.D. Webster) is a former navy fighter pilot and he is active on the google group in clarifying/explaining rules and adjudicating new player training missions. The full series includes Achtung Spitfire!, Buffalo Wings, Over the Reich, Whistling Death, Whistling Death: Spitfires over Darwin, and Wings of the Motherland. I only have Whistling Death. It does offer the possibility of playing others via PBEM and therefore continuing games when your 15 year old goes off to college.
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