Eurogames, also known as German-style games, are a form of tabletop game that are predominantly score-based, rarely have player elimination, and tend to feature minimal direct interaction between players. Eurogames also have a reputation for being complex, as they often have numerous components and numerous methods for scoring points.
Because of this reputation, many people are put off the style of board games. However, there are several excellent Eurogames that aren't too complicated to learn, making them perfect for newcomers. For those interested in exploring this tabletop realm, try out these titles.
6 Settlers of Catan
- Player Count: 3-4
- Playing Time: 60-120 minutes
Catan was created by German designer Klaus Teuber and was released in 1995. The game was one of the first Eurogames to be a major success outside of Europe, and it has gone on to sell over 40 million copies, making it one of the best-selling board games of all time.
Catan tasks players with growing settlements, which will earn them victory points needed to win the game. Due to the game's commercial success, numerous expansions and variations have been released, including Catan: Traders & Barbarians and Catan: Explorers & Pirates.
5 Splendor
- Player Count: 2-4
- Playing Time: 30 minutes
Splendor lets players recreate the role of Renaissance gem makers and tasks them with accumulating prestige points by developing mines, transportation, and shops. The game differentiates itself from most Eurogames by having a lot of luck involved its gameplay. Although this is uncommon for the genre, it's a welcome inclusion, as the game's balance of luck and skill is brilliantly executed.
Splendor won numerous rewards upon release, including Best Family Game from the Dice Tower Gaming Awards and Board Game of the Year from Golden Geek. It's a highly-recommended starting point for Eurogame beginners.
4 Dominion
- Player Count: 2-4
- Playing Time: 30 minutes
Dominion was released in 2008 and is one of the most influential modern board games. It was the first-ever deck-builder, which has since become a popular subgenre of Eurogames. As the name suggests, deck-building is a mechanic that tasks players with gradually accumulating powerful cards to build the strongest deck, a gameplay style reminiscent of popular collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Pokémon. Although Dominion was the first deck-builder, many still consider it to be the subgenre's strongest release. The game solely uses cards, which makes it easy to set up and put away, and there are far more cards than are needed for a single game, so players can randomize them each time to make every game feel different.
The goal of Dominion is to collect the most victory cards, which can be bought with currency. Buying victory cards is easier said than done though, as currency must also be purchased. In short, players need to build a deck that will help accumulate the most money to buy more, higher-value victory point cards than their opponents. Dominion was a major success and has received numerous expansions to ensure that the game's loyal fans continuously have new cards to experiment with in their deck.
3 Ticket To Ride
- Player Count: 2-5
- Playing Time: 30-60 minutes
Ticket To Ride is an ideal game for beginners. It's one of the easiest games to learn on this list, differentiating it from the many Eurogames that have novels for instruction booklets. The goal of the game is to collect routes to earn points; the longer the route, the more points earned.
The original version of Ticket To Ride is set in North America, though following the game's worldwide success, numerous other editions have been released, including Ticket To Ride: Europe, Ticket To Ride: Rails And Sails, and Ticket To Ride: The Heart of Africa. Players can build railroads taking them all over the world.
2 7 Wonders
- Player Count: 2-7
- Playing Time: 30 minutes
7 Wonders was released in 2010 and tasks players with building a city over three ages. The game is reminiscent of the turn-based strategy video game series Civilization, with constructing world wonders being a key component of the game. Moreover, the game shares similar win conditions to Civilization, with science, military/domination, and score/point victories appearing in both games.
Although 7 Wonders can be played with just two players, those who predominantly play with just one other person may prefer 7 Wonder Duel; a reworked version of the game designed to suit two players. The alternative version of the game was a hit with fans and critics and won the Best 2-Player Board Game accolade at the Golden Geek awards.
1 Point Salad
- Player Count: 2-6
- Playing Time: 15-30 minutes
Like Ticket To Ride, Point Salad is a perfect game for newcomers to Eurogames due to how simple it is to learn. The card drafting Eurogame befits its name, as it boasts over a hundred ways to score points.
The game's cards depict six types of vegetables that each have their own scoring system, offering a simple but enjoyable level of strategic depth. Point Salad won numerous awards upon release, including Best Card Game from the 2020 Origin Awards.