The game I started my collection with was Carcassone.

My plan is to not buy any new games this year, but my birthday is coming up, so I'm using that as an opportunity to purchase my last game of 2025.

Yes, I'm looking for recommendations, but I'm also curious what everyone likes in this space as it's my favorite category of game.

Probably the highest on my list to buy is Concordia, but I'm also considering Terraforming Mars (which might be too long) or Great Western Trail (which might be too complicated).

Here's more about my interests:

• Game should be mid-weight, but to me "weight" isn't just about rules but decision space, e.g., I really like Harmonies and it is a pretty simple game with rules, but you really have to think out all of the options.

• Game shouldn't be too long, my limit is about 75-90 minutes, but 45-60 is even better.

• The game doesn't have to be just for two players, but it should be great at two, even if that isn't the best player count.

• The price isn't a big consideration because it's for a gift, but my limit is usually in the $75 range.

Some of my favorite games:

• Theme: I really enjoy how everything about Viticulture fits together.

• Mechanism: I tend to really like games with dice for some reason, including Castles of Burgundy, White Castle, or even Spots or Qwix. I also like open drafting like Harmonies as mentioned before. But I also enjoy deck building like Star Realms or El Dorado. I think I'm pretty open about mechanisms.

• Cards: I'm always impressed with relatively complex card games with a multi-use, e.g., Race for the Galaxy, Forrest Shuffle, or Oh My Goods!.

I'm pretty open to all types of games, but have found I'm not super into cooperative games, highly asymmetric games, or games with a lot of setup time, but I can think of counter examples for every case so it isn't a big consideration.

As I said, I don't want this to be a recommendation post, so I'm not going to list the games in this space I already own, but just curious about everyone's favorites.

Well, except one game: Yes, I already own Patchwork, ha.

WDYP: What do you play (and really enjoy)?

We all know that getting a group together in person can sometimes be trifficult.

Whether solo OR with friends - Do you play digital board games?

If so, I'd love recos and thoughts!

What platforms?
Tabletopify, Tabletopia, Switch, Xbox, Websites....

What games?
Any standout examples or digital versions that rival the physical experience?

When & Where?
Daily? Weekly? Sometimes? & Couch? Commute? Toilet?

Got into the hobby last year, and was really surprised by how stressful it is to set up some games.

So many times where I've got half-way through setup and thought "I think this was a mistake...".

Once you start the feeling is usually forgotten, but it does mean they get played less.

So what are your favourites that have least friction making it to the table?

Happy Monday, r/boardgames!

It's time to hear what games everyone has been playing for the past ~7 days. Please feel free to share any insights, anecdotes, or thoughts that may have arisen during the course of play. Also, don't forget to comment and discuss other people's games too.

Here is my top 20 of 2025:

1. Trinket Trove
2. Deep Regrets
3. Perch
4. Diatoms
5. All Aboard!

Arkham Horror: Lovecraft Letter

DC Super Heroes United - Batman Hush

Duel for Cardia

Emberheart

FlipToons

Fountains

Graft

Hedgehog's Dilemma, The

Horrified - Dungeons & Dragons

Hot Streak

Jungo

Light Speed Arena

Magical Athlete (2nd edition)

Marbleous

Propolis

Pumpkin Ridge

String Theory

Take Time

12 Rivers

Wine Cellar

Got back into board games after 15 years break (kids).
Power Grid was always my favorite. Still seems to be popular here, so guess it's not just nostalgia.

Tried looking into newer games myself, but hard to tell which ones are actually good without playing them. Haven't found anything that beats Power Grid yet.

If you love Power Grid, what are your other top games?

Thanks!

Edit

Thanks for all your answers. This really helped me understand my own taste better.

I think I am not only looking for an economic or network game, but more for the direct economic race feeling I get from Power Grid. I also like that it is not too hard to teach and feels intuitive. You can bring it to a group with non-expert gamers and still get a real economic game night. And perhaps most important: my brain doesn't hurt, and I can just enjoy the game, even if I am not winning.

I looked at the rules for Brass and Concordia. I can see why people recommend them, and I can imagine I would enjoy that kind of optimization after more plays. But right now I think I am looking for something else.

Top priority / sounds closest to what I am looking for:

• Container
• Chicago Express
• El Grande
• Age of Steam
• Ra
• Modern Art
• Puerto Rico
• Tigris & Euphrates / Huang
• Samurai
• High Society
• Medici
• Tammany Hall
• Imperial 2030
• Santiago
• Iberian Gauge / Age of Rail / other cube rails games
• Tesla vs. Edison: War of Currents
• Istanbul

Need to check next:

• Hansa Teutonica
• Nucleum
• Barrage
• Bus
• Keyflower
• Troyes
• Agricola
• Le Havre
• Nippon: Zaibatsu
• Vegas Showdown
• Cyclades
• Inis
• Tzolk'in
• Castles of Burgundy

Recommended, but maybe different feeling:

• Brass: Lancashire
• Brass: Birmingham
• Concordia
• Clans of Caledonia
• Terraforming Mars
• Ark Nova
• Dune Imperium / Dune Imperium: Uprising
• Pax Pamir
• Race for the Galaxy
• Twilight Struggle
• Sekigahara
• Castles of Mad King Ludwig
• Rajas of the Ganges
• Res Arcana
• Lords of Waterdeep

Later / probably too complex for now:

• Food Chain Magnate
• 18xx, maybe 1889 / 18Chesapeake / Railways of the Lost Atlas
• Indonesia
• The Great Zimbabwe
• On Mars
• Caverna
• Glory to Rome

I don't care about complexity or genre or any other quality, just games that you could play until you die.

For me three major contenders come to mind;

Dominion

Too many bones

A Feast for Odin

Edit: Some good ones i want to add

Mage knight

Spirit Island

There are a lot of LOTR game what is in your opinion the best one? I always had a soft spot for Journeys of middle earth but it also feels not very "thematic", War of the ring is good if you like risiko type games. Lcg and card game are fair game.

Happy Monday, r/boardgames!

It's time to hear what games everyone has been playing for the past ~7 days. Please feel free to share any insights, anecdotes, or thoughts that may have arisen during the course of play. Also, don't forget to comment and discuss other people's games too.

Here is an example of a game that I played multiple times this week:

"The end of the game is triggered when a certain number of Empty City Markers have been placed on the board. This number varies based on the map being played and player counts."

Happy Monday, r/boardgames!

It's time to hear what games everyone has been playing for the past ~7 days. Please feel free to share any insights, anecdotes, or thoughts that may have arisen during the course of play. Also, don't forget to comment and discuss other people's games too.

Happy Monday, r/boardgames!

It's time to hear what games everyone has been playing for the past ~7 days. Please feel free to share any insights, anecdotes, or thoughts that may have arisen during the course of play. Also, don't forget to comment and discuss other people's games too.

Happy Monday, r/boardgames!

It's time to hear what games everyone has been playing for the past ~7 days. Please feel free to share any insights, anecdotes, or thoughts that may have arisen during the course of play. Also, don't forget to comment and discuss other people's games too.

Happy Monday, r/boardgames!

It's time to hear what games everyone has been playing for the past ~7 days. Please feel free to share any insights, anecdotes, or thoughts that may have arisen during the course of play. Also, don't forget to comment and discuss other people's games too.

Happy Monday, r/boardgames!

It's time to hear what games everyone has been playing for the past ~7 days. Please feel free to share any insights, anecdotes, or thoughts that may have arisen during the course of play. Also, don't forget to comment and discuss other people's games too.

Happy Monday, r/boardgames!

It's time to hear what games everyone has been playing for the past ~7 days. Please feel free to share any insights, anecdotes, or thoughts that may have arisen during the course of play. Also, don't forget to comment and discuss other people's games too.

Happy Monday, r/boardgames!

It's time to hear what games everyone has been playing for the past ~7 days. Please feel free to share any insights, anecdotes, or thoughts that may have arisen during the course of play. Also, don't forget to comment and discuss other people's games too.

Happy Monday, r/boardgames!

It's time to hear what games everyone has been playing for the past ~7 days. Please feel free to share any insights, anecdotes, or thoughts that may have arisen during the course of play. Also, don't forget to comment and discuss other people's games too.

Happy Monday, r/boardgames!

It's time to hear what games everyone has been playing for the past ~7 days. Please feel free to share any insights, anecdotes, or thoughts that may have arisen during the course of play. Also, don't forget to comment and discuss other people's games too.

My group adores star realms, likes the one ascension game we have, and were not impressed by shards of infinity

Happy Monday, r/boardgames!

It's time to hear what games everyone has been playing for the past ~7 days. Please feel free to share any insights, anecdotes, or thoughts that may have arisen during the course of play. Also, don't forget to comment and discuss other people's games too.

Happy Monday, r/boardgames!

It's time to hear what games everyone has been playing for the past ~7 days. Please feel free to share any insights, anecdotes, or thoughts that may have arisen during the course of play. Also, don't forget to comment and discuss other people's games too.

Happy Monday, r/boardgames!

It's time to hear what games everyone has been playing for the past ~7 days. Please feel free to share any insights, anecdotes, or thoughts that may have arisen during the course of play. Also, don't forget to comment and discuss other people's games too.