Light Games for Four or More

I was recently asked for suggestions on short to medium length games that work well with four or more players. The group of gamers is made up of some guys and their wives; they've been paying Settlers of Catan and enjoy it but wanted something a little lighter and with less of a time commitment. Here's the list I came up with, feel free to share your own list if you'd like! If you haven't played any of these games I highly suggest giving them a try:

Ticket to Ride
image courtesy Pr Halios

This is probably the first many would recommend. You are trying to collect sets of colored cards that allow you to build various length connections between cities on a map of the US. It's really easy to learn and play and the game can be as friendly or competitive as players want to make it. Plays up to 5 (I think it's at its best with 3 or 5) and will probably take around an hour to and hour and a half depending on your players.

If you haven't played Ticket to Ride before and are thinking of a purchase, head over to the Days of Wonder website. You can register on the site for free and play Ticket to Ride online. If you like what you see I highly suggest picking up a copy.

Alhambra
image courtesy myadestes

Each player is trying to build the best Alhambra. Yes, I know there is only one Alhambra but never mind the logistics behind that. It's a pretty game and there's no real confrontation (each players has their own play area), just a little bit of competition to purchase the tiles you want. You can play perfectly fine by only paying attention to your own Alhambra but you'll do better if you keep an eye on what others are doing. Plays up to six although I think it gets too chaotic for my tastes with more than four.

Bohnanza
image courtesy spearjr

Fun little game about bean farming. You have a hand of bean cards that form a queue so you must play them in the order you receive them. The fun is that you may only have two fields of beans in front of you at a time but on your turn you can trade away cards with other players to try and set yourself up for future plays. Bohnanza is very light, easy and entertaining. It has a fun social aspect as you trade with other players and requires just a little bit of forethought to try and plan your moves.

Category 5
image courtesy m . a b e

I've already mentioned this twice on the blog now but it fits perfectly on this list so I thought I'd bring it up a third time! A single round takes no more than a few minutes and there's a minimal amount of thought that needs to go into any given round of play. It also supports up to ten players, making it one of the most flexible games you'll find.

I promise to make this the last time I mention Category 5 for quite some time!

For Sale
image courtesy Jormi_Boced

Players buy up houses on the market and then try to sell them for the most money. It's a theme most people can relate to and the rules are incredibly simple. Just enough light strategy that you can put some thought into it and try to figure out the groupthink mentality each round or you can just play a card and see what happens. The art is fun, it plays up to six and I think I have yet to find someone who hasn't enjoyed it. For Sale is light enough to introduce to new gamers but there's enough substance there to work as the perfect filler for a more serious game group.