Here at Skip-A-Turn we tend to lean more towards the user-friendly games on the market. We’ll happily play game that require a good two weeks of preparation for, of course, but we tend to be much kinder towards games that you can just pick up and play. There is a very precise reason for this, though: We love games that we can play with friends. Not just our gaming friends, either, but our “civilian” friends whose eyes glaze over when we start talking about expansion boxes and question my life choices for getting back into Magic the Gathering.  We want those friends to play too, because for some reason gaming is the only form of entertainment that actively scares away folks. “But Steven, you magnificent, amazing, employable symbol of sexuality,” I hear you cry, “Isn’t this just a diet version of Shut up and Sit Down’s The Opener?” And to that I say… Yes. That is exactly what we’re doing. Exactly that. “But wait!” I hear you cry, “What about Battle of the Sexes Part 2? And what about you saying you were going to go back to normal reviews!” Well, truth be told, I have been traveling and experiencing a special kind of flying hell, so, enjoy our Top 5 Games to Get Your Friends Interested In Gaming, and I’m going to go make myself a stiff drink…

5. Elder Sign

This is at the bottom of our list because it suffers the Fantasy Flight curse. The game is, at first glance, a terrifying box of cardboard and dice and rules and horrors unknown. Once you get into it, however, you find it a simple cooperative dice game with easy to understand rules and some pretty decent stakes. There is also a fantastic iOS/Android app for this game that we may or may not have mentioned before, so, enjoy that.

4. Pandemic

You and your friends are CDC scientists trying to prevent the zombie apocalypse/Ebola outbreak/SARS outbreak/Whatever, and you only have one shot before you lose. Also, there may or may not be a terrorist running amok and ruining your plans. This game, much like Elder Sign, is a cooperative game of strategy and surprisingly simple mechanics. We’ll get a real review for it eventually, but until then, give the iOS/Android app a shot. Seriously.

3. Takenoko

I swear to Gygax we are going to do a real review of this game eventually. This game is a competitive game where you and your friends take care of a silly, fat, cuddly panda as he wanders through your Japanese garden eating every thing. As he’s a present to the king, you have to make him happy, but as you’re the gardener, you have to keep your job!  This isn’t really a hard game, and as The Opener said, this game isn’t really that… Complicated.  But it’s cute and fun, so, it’s not hard to get people interested.

2. Love Letter

We did a review of this, and you should know this by now: It’s a fun game where we actually ended up with some one (me) going “Wait, it can’t be that simple.” Honestly, it’s dirt cheap and easy as hell. Go get it.

1. Ticket to Ride

This game is a classic where you collect cards, lay out plastic trains, and brings out the worst in every one playing. It’s simple enough to just dive into, but complicated enough to get any one involved. And yes, there is indeed an iOS/Android app! Hm, it’s almost like we’re planning an article or something about tablet-based gaming that I was working on before this trip! Hoo-hum! Regarldess, Ticket to Ride is a magnificent classic game. Seriously, go play it.

Ticket to Ride/Ticket to Ride/Suck my di**/I got a ticket to ride!  – The Ticket to Ride Theme Song