I know everyone has been waiting with bated breath to read the second half of this Top 10 list, so without further ado, let's find out what my favorite filler games are!
#5: Sushi Go!
Card Drafting is a mechanic that is prevalent in so many popular board and card games: 7 Wonders, Seasons, Magic: the Gathering, etc. Sushi Go! offers that fun mechanic in a stripped-down game, that’s easy-to-teach, accessible, and most importantly, fun. It also has fun and adorable art work, which is always a plus; and usually gets people asking for another game right after.
#4: One Night Ultimate Werewolf
Unlike its cousin, Ultimate Werewolf, One Night takes place in just one round and does not require a player to sit out and moderate. Also unlike regular werewolf, games can take just 10 minutes or so and the gameplay focuses a lot more on bluffing than on deduction. Like a lot of these social games, they live and die by how much a group gets into the game. This game usually gets played a few times in a row and it can always be kept fresh by shaking up the roles available in each game.
#3: Bang! The Dice Game
The dice version of Bang! is generally regarded as a much more streamlined game than it’s card game cousin, and plays great as a filler for lower player counts (4-6). It does have a little bit of downtime, it does have player elimination, and can drag a bit at high player counts. Like Love Letter, there is the outside chance that you could be eliminated before you even have a chance to play (although it is rare). So what does Bang! have going for it? Dice chucking, hidden roles, hidden teams, and player powers all wrapped up in a tense, action-filled game that gets everybody involved. Even with the downtime, players are deeply invested in each roll of the dice, hoping that everything shakes out just the way it needs to for them to win.
#2: No Thanks!
Don’t let its drab cover and card art turn you away, this game is a ton of fun. The object of No Thank!s, like Parade, is to have the lowest number of points. You do this by trying to pass on cards with betting chips, hoarding chips to lower your points, and completing runs of cards (a la Rummy) to lower the total number “hit” against you. The betting portion of this game is a ton of fun, with push your luck elements, betting, and screwing your friends over by taking that card that they NEED to lower their total. Whenever this one comes out, expect to play at least 3 or 4 games in a row and learn just how much your friends don't want you to win.
#1: Coup
Coup is the best bluffing game since Poker. You start out with two roles, and the point is to be the last person standing at the end of the game. The catch? Each role has a special power, but you don’t have to be honest with which role you have. In fact, the meat of the game is in lying about what role you have and when you call out others when they’re lying. Like poker, the metagame between your friends grows much deeper after multiple plays as you begin to learn the tendencies of each player. This is by far my group’s most played game with probably more than 100 plays, and the expansion, Reformation, just makes the game better. Also be on the lookout for Coup: Rebellion G54 which brings in a whopping 25 different roles that you can mix in to each game, now that's replayability!
Honorable Mentions
Star RealmsStar Realms is a wonderful, quick deck-building game in which you start off with very low-powered ships and eventually build up a fleet of powerful ships and bases to attack your opponent and destroy them before they do the same to you. The game features some fun mechanics like rewarding you for sticking with the same color ships by offering bonuses on some cards. Why isn't it on the list? It's a 2 player game and that violated my initial rules for a filler game. While it fits the bill perfectly, it didn't hit my criteria. | TimelineComing in at #11 on my list was Timeline. A trivia game that doesn't require you to know dates off hand, just finding where something fits in along a timeline relative to other dates. This game comes in different flavors like: Inventions, Movies, Music, History, and even a variation where you have to order animal size! The biggest knock on it is that if you have any sort of memory, you might start to memorize the dates and the game becomes less of a challenge. |