A pair of dice rolls across the table, slowing down as four tense players hold their breaths. The cubes come to a stop displaying two sixes on top. One player cheers with joy, while the others groan in pain, disappointed that such a riveting game finally has a winner, or at the very least, a winner other than themselves. Board games serve as an entertaining medium for social gatherings and fun. The immense variety within the genre means that anyone can find themselves enveloped in the hobby as long as they find a good gateway. Board games also make excellent gifts for birthdays, Christmas, or any occasion during which many people will attend as the recipient can open the game and immediately enjoy it with friends and family. Here are some excellent gateway games which cover a wide variety of genres for one to discover.
A perpetual classic, Klaus Teuber’s The Settlers of Catan is considered by most tabletop gamers to be the epitome of board games. Similar to the well-known game Monopoly, Catan focuses on the acquisition of territory and trading of resources to create a superior position over your opponents, a position which can be earned through smart management, thinking ahead, 
or even exploitation of your friends. The game revolves around both the construction of settlements used to harvest resources and building connections to ports and yourother towns while trying to cut off your opponents. The board is composed of hexagonal pieces associated with one of the five resources: brick, ore, wool, grain, or lumber. Up to three settlements and six roads can be placed on a piece, resulting in a limited amount of space for each resource, forcing players to compete for the best harvests. Each resource tile is associated with a number between 1-12 (except for 7) and during each player’s turn they roll two dice, and each tile with the number rolled produces its resources, allowing players with towns on the tile to harvest it. Resources can be used for the construction of roads and towns as well as for trading with other players. Each constructed road or settlement grants victory points and whoever reaches 10 points first wins the game. The Settlers of Catan offers a friendly, yet competitive experience for two to four players and its conceptual similarities to Monopoly make it an easy game for anyone to pick up.
For those interested in a less competitive experience, Looney Labs’s Flux offers a hilarious and lighthearted experience for anyone. The rules of the game are simple: each player starts with three cards, they draw one at the beginning of their turn and are allowed to play one card. Despite the game rules only offering vague instructions, the cards create rules which add depth to the game. Action cards create events, such as switching cards with a player, rule cards change the base rules of the game, such as drawing four cards at the start of a turn instead of one, and cre
eper cards prevent a player from winning the game. However, all of these cards are useless without the goal cards, since these cards create win conditions for the game, usually requiring a player to control certain cards in order to win. As a result, cards, goal cards, and action cards constantly overrule each other, causing the rules of the game to never stay constant. One turn, a player could draw five cards and play all of them but then play a card that removes all rules forcing the next player to draw one and play one. The constantly changing rules of Flux inhibits any sort of cutthroat gameplay, making it a fun and relaxing experience for those who don’t want to hold grudges.
Grudge holding, however, becomes a serious problem in Don Eskridge’s The Resistance. Set in a futuristic dystopian universe, five to ten players play as a group of freedom fighters plotting to overthrow the imperial government. Players work together by sending the most trustworthy among them on missions to aid in their insurgency. However, one-third of the players is actually imperial spies! If a spy is sent on a mission with other members of the resistance, they can sabotage the mission, resulting in a failure for the insurgents. The resistance does not know who among them are spies, but the imperials know who the spies are and aren’t. Despite being outnumbered, the informational advantage allows spies to manipulate the resistance while the insurgents must work hard to deduce who amongst them are traitors. This dynamic can lead to a lot of arguing, accusing, and lying, but it’s all in good fun! As the resistance and their traitors attempt missions, the players vote on who to send on a mission. The amount of players sent varies, but the last mission will almost always require every non-spy member of the resistance. This means that the resistance has a limited amount of time to discover the spies while the spies must gain the favor of the crowd. A member of the resistance could discover the identities of all the spies, but their opinion would mean nothing if the spies had already convinced everyone that that player was a spy. The Resistance offers a dynamic and logic-based experience, one filled with tension and emotion that always ends with at least a few grudges.
Though The Resistance plays with its backstabs very seriously, Munchkin by Steve Jackson Games provides an alternative for those who wish to backstab in a more comical environment. Set in a parody of the famous role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, Munchkin challenges players to fight monsters, collect loot and evade danger in order to reach level ten before the rest of their friends. To do this, players rely on an arsenal of loot, races, and classes to both boost their combat strength and weaken their opponents’. Due to cards and classes which can buff or inhibit a player’s combat score while fighting a monster, players are forced to make uneasy alliances with one another, alliances which always end with a betrayal. As players advance through dungeon rooms and gain levels, they can discover a multitude of wacky items such as the Gentleman’s Club, the Sistine Bow of the Black Maiden which shoots witches that never run out, and even the threatening 11-Foot Pole! While collecting items, characters can gain races and classes from the classic Dungeons & Dragons, roles such as Elf, Dwarf, Cleric, or Thief. “Munchkin” offers a silly yet complex game for those interested in a laugh with their friends during a competitive game.
For those who prefer to work with their friends, Z-Man Games’ Pandemic offers a cooperative experience in which players must work together to avoid being overrun by four dangerous plagues threatening mankind. The players run an organization dedicated to eradicating the four plagues infecting various cities across the globe. In order to engage the disease, players are randomly assigned specialized roles to aid in the cause, roles such as scientist, engineer, or dispatcher. Constantly under the threat of epidemic, the players work together to establish 
bases, research the plagues, and navigate the globe, all working towards curing the four diseases. During the research phases, the players must act carefully; for if a player draws an epidemic card, new cities become infected while the plagued cities spread diseases to nearby locations. Even if players discover a cure, the disease can continue to wreak havoc upon its territory as players must individually cure locations with the disease. Pandemic grants players a cooperative experience, one that requires teamwork, critical thinking, and preparation for the worst.
Whether a newcomer to the board game scene or a long time veteran, anyone interested in tabletop gaming would love to have any of these games in their collection. These games offer a wide variety of experiences, ranging from friendly and cooperative to deceptive and competitive. These unique experiences cater to a wide variety of players and those unsure about which game caters their tastes should contact Mr. Harmon as he owns and demos every game mentioned in this article! Tabletop gaming offers social fun for both friends and family and these games make perfect gifts for a friend or loved one this Christmas season.
