So you are interested in getting into the world of modern board games and are looking for where to start.
Here are 8 game suggestions to get you started, see what interests you and your group:
Survive the Island
You feel the ground rumbling beneath your feet as you see parts of the Island you were exploring start to sink into the sea not too far from you. Time to get to the rafts and leave. As you paddle away from the Island you watch as another raft gets swallowed by a sea serpent as you make your way to the nearby shores hoping that your raft isn't next.
Survive the Island is a reimplementation of the classic Survive! Escape From Atlantis game, originally released in 1982. You and the other players lead a team of explorers on an Island as the island starts to sink beneath the waves. Each player takes turns moving their explorers into boats that are scattered along the shoreline, in hopes of being able to move several at a time towards the safe shores nearby, while having to fend off other players and a variety of creatures that want to destroy your boats and eat the passengers inside.
Survive the Island is a game that is best played at 4 players, and is relatively quick to play after the rules are understood. (30-50mins) There is a heavy player vs. player element to the game which can be a bit mean at times and can be off-putting to some people.
Stone Age
Stone Age is a worker placement game of Prehistoric tribes struggling to survive and build what would become the foundation of civilization. You and the other players each take control of a group within the tribe as you allocate tasks to your workers. Each round is made up of three phases, the first in which players take turns placing groups of their workers into the different regions on the board. The board has different regions for different tasks with varying amounts of spaces available for workers to be placed there each round. From hunting, trading, collecting resources, making more workers to expanding the village, some spaces allow limited workers in the region, whereas the hunting grounds allow for any number of workers. The second phase has players receiving the rewards of the tasks that they had set their workers to do. The third phase is where the players must feed their workers.
Stone Age is a great introduction into the world of worker placement games, where decisions will have to be made based on what regions are available and what resources you desire to obtain in that round. The first player token gets passed to the next player each turn so everyone gets first pick of where to put their workers several times throughout the game. Stone Age is best played at 4 players and can take between 60mins to an hour and a half once the rules are understood.
Tokaido
Journey along the famed Tokaido road, visiting hot springs, taking in the sights, meeting people and picking up souvenirs in the cozy game Tokaido.
In this game players take turns moving along the linear Tokaido road stopping at as many spots as they choose to gather cards representing their meetings with the people along the road, souvenirs that they have bought and paintings of the different places they have seen, all of which offer points at the end of the game. The road is divided into 4 sections, which are marked by an inn at the end of each section. Once a player has reached the inn they have to wait for every other player to arrive. It is possible to rush to the inn to get the best meal to score the most points but it is the player who is furthest behind on the road that makes a move every turn so you are encouraged to take the road slowly and visit as many places as you can, especially due to most of the stops only being able to hold 1 person at a time. The game ends once all players are at the final inn, and end game scoring takes place.
Tokaido is game that is best played at 4 players and functions as a light and cozy game that takes about 45mins once rules are understood.
King of Tokyo/New York
Giant monsters clash over control of the city in Tokyo or the Districts of New York.
King of Tokyo and King of New York are games that players take turn rolling a set of 6 dice and have the option to reroll any number of them up to 2 times. These dice offer ways of scoring points, damaging your opponents, healing or gaining the currency of energy. There are cards that can be bought with the energy gained over your turns that can either provide an immediate effect and be discarded or the card will stick around in your play area to give an effect for future turns.
The game ends when either a player reaches 20 victory points or there is only 1 monster standing.
King of Tokyo and King of New York are fun party style games that is best played at 4-5 players, it is player vs player experience and there is player elimination, which can be an offputting factor to some groups.
7 Wonders
7 Wonders is a card drafting game that supports 3-7 players but is best at the 4-5 player range, it takes about 30-45mins to play once the rules are understood.
Each player is building up their own civilization through a series of 3 ages. At the start of each round that round's age cards are divided evenly between the players, then simultaneously the players select a card and place it in front of their Wonder board, then pass the cards to the next player in clockwise or counterclockwise rotation depending on the age. The cards are revealed simultaneously and players pay the cost of the card based on the resources produce by their wonder board, previously played cards or by purchasing them from the players to their immediate left or right. Once down to the last 2 cards then remaining card is placed in the middle of the table out of play. There are many ways to score points through the game from constructing cultural buildings, progressing in science, forming guilds, all while making sure that you have enough resources to build everything each turn.
Jungle Speed
Jungle Speed is a Party, Dexterity game, where similar to Snap, it relies on matching pairs for player interaction. Though unlike Snap if you can grab to Totem before the other player they have to take the cards from the winners played pile. The first player to get rid of all their cards win the game. Though watch out some cards look like pairs but they are a little bit different, if you grab the totem without a pair appearing you will have to take all the discarded cards on the table.
Jungle Speed is designed for 2-10 player but is best played at 5-6 players, it takes about 10 mins to play after the rules are understood.
Dixit
Dixit is a party game about clue and guess work, where players take turns being the storyteller who chooses a card from their hand and offers a clue as to what the picture is on the card. Then each of the other players will put in a card from their hand that they think fits the clue. The cards are then shuffled and placed along the number spaces on the board, then each player other than the storyteller has to guess which card is the storyteller's card. If everyone guesses the storyteller's card everyone but the storyteller gets points, but if at least one person does not guess the storytellers card then the storyteller will get points alongside those that guessed correctly. So it is prudent to not be too obvious or too vague with your clue.
Dixit is designed for 3-6 players but is best at 5-6 players, it takes around 30-40 mins to play through after the rules are understood.
Azul
Azul is a drafting, tile placement game of embellishing and decoration, where players take turn drafting colored tiles from the suppliers in the middle of the table. Points are scored based on the tiles are placed on your player board, extra points are awarded for specific patterns and completing sets. Though you need to be careful as to which color you take, because if you have no space left on your board for that color you will waste the tiles costing you points.
Azul has a strong tactile feel because the tiles are acrylic and clack together in the draw bag and when the are placed together on the boards and the suppliers zones.
Azul is designed for 2-4 players and is best played at 2 players, it takes around 30-45 mins to play through after the rules are understood.
These are some suggestions that will help get you started or have some kind of direction as to what kind of games are available in the world of modern board gaming.