Its not a 2022 board game - but I would really recommend Carcassonne with these two expansions:
- Traders and Builders [1]
- Inns and Cathedrals [2]
The base itself is little limited - but with these two expansions you have one of the best sets for a nice evening with friends. You can also add River or River II expansion - but they only 'divert' the beginning of the game - so you can omit them.
The Carcassonne is really a simple game - yet it takes real thinking and strategy to really master it.
What I like the most about Carcassonne is its 'minimalistic' approach. There are roads/cities/grasslands/monasteries ... and nothing else ... yet taking someone else' city or road is very important strategic move - or splitting the work between X players.
You do not need cards, figures, notes, calculators, excel or dice. You just play and move the cones on the scoring board.
The expansions are great, but I don't find base limiting at all!
I don't know any game that simple as versatile as Carcassone: you can play friendly or cutthroat, tactical or strategic, conservative or risky, focus on or ignore farmers...
+ Almost no setup, fast turns, equally good at any player count, you end up with a good looking map... this game is a jewel
Going to second Carcassonne, and say that one thing I really like about the game is that's almost purely contextless, in that it doesn't require you to hold long-term strategy/ideas/concepts in your head for extended periods of time. If you showed up to the middle of the game, and were told to play the turn for somebody, largely you could. This makes it a great casual game with friends, as a long continuous attention span isn't really required.
I tend to play with the River and Inns and Cathedrals. We also play with a house rule that you have a hand of 3 tiles to alleviate some of the draw-dependence of whether a strategy is successful or not.
Oh that’s a neat rule, I like that! It’s another level of strategy that you wouldn’t normally get. I can see it being fun in smaller groups, because there’s less to keep track of compared to a 5-person game
They’re good expansions if you’re playing with more than 2 people. If it’s just 2 people, the base game without the river really is the best. The tiles are far more limited so there’s the strategy of making sure it’s impossible for your opponent to complete some of their features and trap their meeples for the remainder of the game
I don’t like carcassonne at all. I find it to have too much luck involved since you always get one random tile. Is it really possible to be good at? Whenever I have played most players score about the same.
Definitely one of the best. I’ve played many many hours of this with and without expansions. Very playable with two, but best with 3 or 4 players - the negotiations between players is where the game really shines.
- Traders and Builders [1]
- Inns and Cathedrals [2]
The base itself is little limited - but with these two expansions you have one of the best sets for a nice evening with friends. You can also add River or River II expansion - but they only 'divert' the beginning of the game - so you can omit them.
The Carcassonne is really a simple game - yet it takes real thinking and strategy to really master it.
What I like the most about Carcassonne is its 'minimalistic' approach. There are roads/cities/grasslands/monasteries ... and nothing else ... yet taking someone else' city or road is very important strategic move - or splitting the work between X players.
You do not need cards, figures, notes, calculators, excel or dice. You just play and move the cones on the scoring board.
Regards.
[1] https://carcassonne.fandom.com/wiki/Traders_%26_Builders
[2] https://carcassonne.fandom.com/wiki/Inns_%26_Cathedrals