5 tips for finding the right games for you! | BOARD GAME 101

Hey friends! I'm bringing the BOARD GAME 101 series back! I know these might be things some of you already know but for those just getting into the hobby I hope this is helpful! I just want to help people get into this amazing hobby! If you have any other tips feel free to leave them down below! Thanks!

Check out the Movo WMX-20 Wireless Lavalier Microphone!

CHAPTERS
00:00 intro
02:36 new audio & camera (what do you think?)
04:08 #1
06:49 #2
08:43 #3
10:31 #4
13:55 #5
17:41 outro

✿ Want more of this? More of the garden? ✿
Subscribe to my main channel: Jenna Rose
Follow me on Instagram: @jennarosebeasley

✿ Want to collaborate or work together? ✿

✿ Interested in a game I talked about? ✿
Be sure to check out your FLGS (Local Friendly Game Store), check out the publishers website or look up an online game store in your country!

#theboardgamegarden #TBGG #boardgames #tabletopgames

[sethwinslow]

Great video. The popular recommendations for new games (Catan, Ticket to Ride, Carcassone, Sagrada, Azulejo, and so on) check MANY boxes, making them B+ “college GPA’ choices across the board. That’s great, generically.

But sometimes what’s needed is a game that might have a B- average, but be an A in a specific person (because of theme, mechanism, time length, or whatever).

I find this analogy works well in many areas of life, although sometimes it goes the other way. As a B+ GPA professionally, I’ve built a career in being a generalist. Everyone in the room knows more than me about something, but often my B+ across the board gives me a better perspective than those with one or two A’s and a bunch of C’s in everything else.

[christinaruiz]

I like playing several short games as opposed to one long game. But I will say, it's so exciting to play a long game and then see who wins in the end!

[anthonium.]

Great video and the sound quality is great! Thank you for the tips!
Some tips I can advise are:
- Don’t fall for the hype. Sure there are many good games but buy based on what’s right for you not what everyone else is playing
- Avoid the kickstarter fear of missing out or you’ll find yourself spending a lot of money on games you may not ultimately like. Some of these games do make it to retail.
- Start slow. Buy a game, learn it properly, play it before you start filling your collection and never get around to some games that in the end go to the Shelf of Shame

[kimberley]

13:27 I’ve been wanting to see a video on board game mechanisms. I’ve just spotted that you actually made a video about board game mechanisms on your main channel (which I am about to watch after finishing this video). But it’s great to hear you say that you want to do a series going through the different mechanisms with examples of games that use them as this is exactly the type of video that I would want to watch 💛.

[vincentgaliano]

As a new board game enthusiast, I'll add another important tip : knowing how big will a game be on a table ! For instance, although I'd love to buy Darwin's Journey and Scythe, I know I don't currently have the room for them, unless playing on the floor. Same for Gloomhaven (but Gloomhaven JOTL is perfect for me). Watching a lot of videos helped a lot knowing what I like (solo heavy narrative games, high difficulty, with cards). Also, I found that a board game can be a good entrance to a theme/universe. So, instead of buying a space game because one like space, buy a very thematic game to explore that theme. Viticulture for instance is a fantastic way to explore wine making, Final Girl for horror films, Hegemony for social politics, Terraforming Mars to understand the challenges that it would create, etc. Do you have any other board game you would recommend to explore a particular theme ?

[gurnblanston]

Great video, Jenna! I've been in the hobby for about the same length of time as you, and it was all a little overwhelming at first trying to decide which games to add to my collection. One thing that helped me early on was looking for videos on Youtube highlighting great games for people new to the hobby, or great games for couples (that my wife and I might enjoy together) I was amazed at how many content creators there were in the board game space, and how many great suggestions I found in their videos.

[michaelmueller]

Mic and camera both crisp and clear! Very good tips for new gamers, but also some good points for veteran gamers to ask themselves every couple years, as situations and tastes can be quite fluid. Great stuff Jenna!

[jameskirk]

Those are great advice! All that is what I had to be doing for past few years cause I don't have a gaming group and have to cater to specific tastes of my different family members.

[malvinafis]

You made really important points. I learned to adapt my purchases more to what I think would actually get played with my boyfriend who is my main playing partner. If I know he will not like it and it does not have a great solo mode, I am not getting it.

[WobblebearTrail]

Great advice! I think tip numbers 1 & 2 are so overlooked but so important! I started off getting these big exciting games and realized that the people I would play games with didn't really want to. Or at the end of the day people would be tired and not want to think. Realizing that board games don't energize people as much as they do for me was an important lesson.

[wesleyscott]

Honestly this was a super useful video. Being relatively novice to board games it’s great to see videos like this. A video I think would be incredible helpful is describing the types of games or mechanics. I was lost with the terminology when I started, and still have to look up descriptors sometimes. I know you can find the breakdowns out there, but if someone comes across you and loves your style, it would be a nice 101 add. Cheers

[jsbays]

My mistake early on was choosing games that were too difficult for the people I played with regularly. Constantly having to explain the rules over and over, and go back to the rule book to clarify, every time we play, makes it no fun for anyone. Choosing lighter games that may not offer the same "experience" of game, but has a better experience overall, is a win.

[refreshdaemon]

Board game "endurance" (I call it stamina) is a curious thing. I find that, despite my love for playing games, I actually only have middling stamina, depending on the game. I only have it in me to play one crunchy game in a day, like an Ark Nova, an Arkham Horror, or even some medium weight games like Lost Ruins of Arnak and intense social deduction games like The Resistance or Secret Hitler also burn me out quickly. However, I've also found that while I can play lighter games pretty much all day, I get bored if they're too light and I'm playing them too much in a row too.

I think your last tip--do research and try out games is probably the most important one. I've bought too many games that others told me I'd like and I ended up not being as into them as I was told and now I'm more intent on either playing them first or at least watching playthroughs before even considering buying them.

[zmollon]

Finding games is easy. Finding players to play with is like trying to find unicorns 🤪

BGA to try games.

Never back Kickstarters.

[CG_Hali]

Noticed the audio/video upgrade right away! Nice! I agree, there was a lot of trial and error at first. I went for the popular ones, some fell flat but mostly they hit the target. BGG ranking is not the best but helpful. The best feature for me is 'Fans also like'. Found great games inspired from those I love the most :D
Not often talked about: My biggest issue as a newbie was finding out I overpaid for my first few orders because I didn't know about Board Game Oracle or when big sales happened or that you could get big discount on damaged boxes.
You are right one should think how often one can play. I can almost everyday cause I'm homebound and disabled. Board games saved my sanity but I can't play long due to pain and energy. I found many tricks (can't do online games, I gee virtual sickness) but watching videos is helpful while I rest (like now). But I have no clue how others with huge collections can even find enough time?!?
Today is my first board game anniversary! Learned 117 games this year and played each 5 times at least. Oh yeah!

[epiphoney]

Thanks. I was just searching for this question. I guess I'll try the online games. Dobble and Rhino Hero look good to me from Actualol's tent game video.

[agaricus]

Video looks good, mic quality is good. Quite crisp. If I had to nitpick, the volume seems a bit quiet compared to a "typical" listening volume I'm used to for youtube videos. I can easily bring it up, just ends up needing a 30%-ish increase from the typical. If in line with your other videos, then it's really probably not worth the bother to fine tune.

[minch]

One of my best tips for finding the right games for you is, watch/read what different people have to say about games that they like, and play the ones that sound interesting to you. And when you find someone that seems to have tastes in games that really click with your own tastes, go dig deeper into other games that they really like.

Another tip that helps me a lot is, when I find a mechanic that I really enjoy, to do a deep dive on it and look around at other games in that sub niche that are really well regarded.

[ddcraven]

Great video! Where do you purchase most of your games from? Friendly local or Amazon? Do you go to the Round Table to play/purchase games?

[patcon]

Definitely go to your local board game cafe if you are lucky enough to be near one. You'll find plenty of friendly people who will happily guide you along and teach you games. You can experiment with different kinds of games to see what floats your boat without spending money on a game you end up not liking. I have a huge collection at home from my pre-cafe days, but now try to limit new purchases to games the cafe doesn't have or that I will want to play at home. (I did say "try" because it's a constant struggle.)