Just Guyton

We play board games in this house.

And I don’t mean we occasionally dust off Monopoly when the power goes out.

I mean actual board games. Birds. Dragons. Potions. Portals. Haunted mansions. Traveling musicians. Entire civilizations. Games that require strategy. Games that require teamwork. Games that require absolutely no dignity whatsoever.

My husband and I don’t always agree on which ones are the best, either. In fact, our taste in games can be wildly different.

So naturally, I decided we should make lists.

Here are ten games I would happily pull off the shelf, followed by ten from my husband—along with my completely unsolicited opinions about some of his choices.

Because marriage.

My Top 10

1. Wingspan

If you’re only going to take one recommendation from me today, make it Wingspan.

It’s beautiful. It’s strategic. You’re building habitats, attracting birds and creating your own little ecosystem. There’s something incredibly satisfying about watching everything you’ve built begin working together.

More importantly, my husband and I both genuinely love playing it.

We don’t agree on every game in this house, but Wingspan is sacred ground.

Buy the birds.

2. Flamecraft

Tiny artisan dragons.

Do I really need to continue?

The artwork is gorgeous. The dragons have little jobs. They work in shops. They make things.

It is so effing cute.

Yes, there’s an actual game underneath all that adorableness, and it’s a really enjoyable one. But I’m not going to pretend my affection for tiny employed dragons isn’t doing some heavy lifting here.

My husband loves this one too, so Flamecraft gets another unanimous vote from our house.

3. Key to the Kingdom

Give me weird creatures, an adventure, beautiful artwork and portals to travel through, and apparently I’m happy.

Key to the Kingdom feels like going on a little fantasy adventure every time we play it.

It’s colorful, strange and just plain fun.

4. Oltréé

This one feels like disappearing into a fairytale world for a while.

I love the artwork. I love the creatures. I love the adventure.

But one of my favorite things about Oltréé is that the choices you make help determine how everything turns out. You’re participating in the story instead of simply following it.

Apparently I have a type.

Give me beautiful artwork and another world to disappear into and I’ll probably sit down at the table.

5. On Tour

This one gets personal.

In On Tour, you’re planning a band’s route across the country.

In our house, however, my husband is usually operating some imaginary rock band while I’m apparently a rap star.

And then it’s on.

We’re competing to see who can put together the better tour and perform in more places—and the best part is that you genuinely never know who’s going to win.

Sometimes rock takes the country.

Sometimes hip-hop does.

Either way, somebody’s imaginary music career is about to suffer.

6. Cascadia

Cascadia is one of those games I could spend three paragraphs explaining, but honestly?

It’s super fun.

We love playing it together.

You’re building habitats, placing wildlife and trying to make everything work together. It’s relaxing enough to enjoy while still giving your brain something to do.

Sometimes the best recommendation I can give a game is simply this:

We keep pulling it back off the shelf.

7. Dumb Ways to Die

Does this game really need an explanation?

Look at the name.

It’s quick. It’s ridiculous. It’s not a huge investment, and I genuinely think everybody should have it sitting somewhere on their game shelf.

Not every game night needs an elaborate strategy session.

Sometimes you just need something stupidly fun.

8. Santa Monica

Another household favorite.

You build your own little beachfront community piece by piece, and there’s something incredibly satisfying about watching the whole thing come together.

We both enjoy this one, which automatically earns it a place on my list.

9. Return to Dark Tower

Now we’re talking.

Return to Dark Tower isn’t just something you play. It feels like an experience.

There’s a giant interactive tower sitting in the middle of the table. There’s an app. There are creatures. There’s adventure. You’re working together.

The tower itself is ridiculously cool.

If you like fantasy games that make the whole table feel like something is happening, this one deserves a look.

10. Marrakech

Colorful little rugs. Strategy. Money. A marketplace.

And the occasional opportunity to mildly inconvenience your spouse.

What’s not to love?

Marrakech is easy to understand, visually different from almost anything else on our shelf and incredibly satisfying to play.

Especially when your rug placement happens to cause problems for the person sitting across from you.

Not that I would ever do something like that intentionally.

Obviously.

And Then There’s My Husband’s List

This is where things get interesting.

Our tastes overlap, but they are definitely not identical.

1. Tokaido

His number one.

He describes Tokaido as relaxing, beautifully aesthetic and an all-around enjoyable experience.

Basically, while I’m looking for portals and strange creatures, this man would occasionally like everybody to calm down and enjoy the scenery.

Fair enough.

2. Wingspan

Look at us agreeing again.

Wingspan is my number one and his number two.

If that doesn’t qualify as the official household recommendation, I don’t know what does.

3. Scythe

He loves the artwork, the asymmetrical powers and the resource-gathering and infrastructure-building mechanics.

My review?

That’s my husband’s nonsense and he can play it by himself.

Full disclosure: I have never actually played Scythe.

This has not prevented me from forming an opinion.

Welcome to Just Guyton.

I prefer Expeditions.

Moving on.

4. Red Rising

My husband is a huge fan of the novels, so he already loves the world and its characters. He also loves the artwork and appreciates that it’s a relatively straightforward hand-building game.

And here’s where I agree with him.

Red Rising didn’t make my personal Top 10, but I’ve played it and absolutely recommend it.

Bring this one to your table.

5. Mysterium

Teamwork and spooky atmosphere.

That’s the appeal for him, and I’m with him on this one too.

One player is essentially trying to communicate through strange illustrated visions while everybody else attempts to understand what they’re being told.

Which, when you think about it, isn’t terribly different from marriage.

Another one I’d recommend.

6. Five Tribes

Apparently my husband is a sucker for meeples and Mancala.

Five Tribes gives him both, along with different abilities and powers that make the strategy interesting.

I cannot offer my own review because I haven’t played this one yet.

Apparently while writing this article I discovered my husband has an entire secondary board-game life.

7. Quantum

In Quantum, the dice are essentially your ships, and the face of each die determines what kind of power you’re working with.

My husband loves that mechanic and the area-control strategy surrounding it.

My opinion?

I haven’t played this one either.

The investigation into my husband’s secret gaming activities continues.

8. Court of the Dead: Mourners Call

He loves the drafting, card management and area control.

He also thinks the miniatures are awesome and the artwork is phenomenal.

And yes.

Before you ask.

I haven’t played this one either.

At this point I’ve learned things about my own household.

9. The Quacks of Quedlinburg

FINALLY.

One I’ve played.

My husband likes the bag-building mechanic, the changing effects of the ingredients and the fact that there’s a constant risk-versus-reward decision happening.

Keep pulling ingredients and you might build an incredible potion.

Or you might blow the whole damn thing up.

It’s very much a push-your-luck game.

And yes, I recommend it.

Take that.

10. Flamecraft

We have returned to common ground.

He loves the whimsical artwork and adorable dragons, but he also points out something important: Flamecraft is relatively easy to learn, doesn’t require an enormous time commitment and makes a great gateway into modern board games.

His official description is essentially a cozy, enjoyable gaming experience.

Mine remains:

LOOK AT THE LITTLE DRAGONS.

They’re so effing cute.

Both reviews are valid.

And Then There’s Decorum

Before we go, we need to discuss one more game.

Decorum.

I’m not putting it on a worst-games list because it isn’t a bad game.

I’m simply saying you may want to evaluate the structural integrity of your relationships before opening the box.

Decorum is cooperative, except everybody has their own hidden requirements for how a shared house should be decorated.

You’re supposed to work together.

You also can’t simply tell everybody exactly what you need.

It’s brutal.

To be fair, my husband and I actually play Decorum pretty well together. Considering what this game asks of two human beings, I consider that an accomplishment.

We still haven’t finished it.

I also can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to throw the thing out the door.

I’m convinced there are people somewhere who started Decorum as friends and aren’t friends anymore.

Couples who started playing and are now dividing furniture.

Family members who have revoked each other’s family membership.

I’m pretty sure this game has started at least one small war.

Our copy has been sitting peacefully untouched on the shelf for about a year and a half.

Maybe we’ll pull it down this week.

Maybe we won’t.

We’re doing pretty well.

Why tempt fate?

Turn Off the TV

That’s the thing I love about board games.

You put the phones down. You turn the television off. You sit across from somebody you love—or somebody you’re apparently willing to destroy over imaginary rugs—and you spend some actual time together.

Sometimes you’re building a bird sanctuary.

Sometimes you’re running competing imaginary music careers.

Sometimes you’re making potions.

Sometimes you’re trying to understand why the person you married hates the perfectly good lamp you just put in the living room but legally cannot explain themselves.

But you’re together.

And in a world where there’s always another screen begging for our attention, there’s something pretty wonderful about that.

So turn off the TV.

Pull something off the shelf.

We’re playing a board game.

— GUYTON