Complexity: Easy & Interactive

Gameplay: Cartographers is a fantastic "flip-and-write" game that allows up to 100 people to play simultaneously! Every turn, a card is flipped showing a terrain type and a Tetris-like shape. Everyone draws that shape onto their own personal map sheet. The trick is placing your shapes strategically to meet the Queen’s specific demands, which change as the game progresses.

How to Win: After four "seasons" of mapping, the player with the most points from completing the Queen's demands wins.

Complexity: Very Easy

Gameplay: Sushi Go! is a quick, lighthearted game perfect for warming up or waiting on other groups to finish. You pick one adorable sushi card from your hand to keep, and pass the rest of your cards to the player next to you. You are trying to collect the best combinations of sushi dishes as the hands get passed around the table.

How to Win: Score the most points from your culinary combinations over three quick rounds, and you win!

Complexity: Easy & Fast-Paced 

Gameplay: Splendor is an elegant game of economic engine-building. The rules are very light and easy to grasp: on your turn, you either collect heavy, poker-style gem chips or spend them to buy development cards. Those cards then act as permanent gems, making future purchases cheaper and eventually earning you high-scoring noble cards.

How to Win: It is a straightforward, thrilling race—the winner is the first merchant to reach exactly 15 prestige points.

Complexity: Easy & Relaxing

Gameplay: Cascadia is a relaxing, incredibly accessible tile-laying game set in the Pacific Northwest. On your turn, you simply choose a pairing of one habitat tile and one wildlife token, placing them into your growing personal ecosystem. It is very easy to learn but offers deeply satisfying puzzle-solving choices.

How to Win: You score points by creating the largest continuous landscapes (like rivers or mountains) and arranging your animals into specific, scoring patterns. The highest score wins!

Complexity: Takes a Little Focus

Gameplay: This is the modern classic that revolutionized board gaming. Catan relies heavily on table talk and friendly negotiation. You’ll collect resources like wood, brick, and wheat based on the roll of the dice, and use those resources to build roads and settlements across the island. The true heart of the game is trading with your fellow players to get what you need.

How to Win: It is a strategic race to expand your territory. The winner is the first person to reach 10 Victory Points.

Complexity: A Bit More Strategic 

Gameplay: Wingspan is a beautiful, award-winning "engine-builder" about attracting birds to your wildlife preserves. As you play bird cards into your different habitats, those birds create powerful chain reactions that let you gather food, lay eggs, and draw more cards with a single action. It requires a bit more strategic planning, but the turns move quickly.

How to Win: The game ends after four rounds. You win by having the most points, which are calculated from your played birds, collected eggs, and secret bonus goals.