Simple Actions, Complex Order

One thing I love in gaming (outside of just being around the table with people I love) is when a game presents you with a simple understanding of what you need to do, but how you do it isn’t as straightforward. I’ve found through my experience that most games that are simple to teach end up being either too light or party driven. I game primarily with my fiancé Mikayla, so most of the games we end up pulling out are generally more mid/heavy-weight games that can play well at a two-player count.

We’ve recently reconnected with old friends, also enjoying hobby game space, which has caused me to be the primary “teacher” during our game days. I’ve found myself drawn to teaching games I can teach in 10 minutes or less. Here are five games I’ve had success with and the one-sentence overview. 

Ark Nova

“Select one of the five actions under your zoo and perform it at its current value for strength.”

Tapestry

“Choose a track to move up by paying its resources or collect your income as you move into the next era.”

Obsession

“Choose a tile to perform with character cards from your hand, but make sure you have enough staff meeples required for all of what you’ve chosen.”

The Magnificent

“Build, Travel, or perform at the total strength of all of that dice matching the color of the one you’ve just selected.”

Century Golem Edition (Century Spiced Road)

“Pick a card, play a card, purchase a golem, or reclaim all your cards each turn until someone wins.”

The distilled one sentence alone can not teach the game alone, but I’ve found finishing the teach by recapping the whole game in one sentence similar to the ones from above has helped cement how the game flow is played. All five games still live in our collection because Mikayla and I find that there are still plenty of plays left on the bone for us to experience and enjoy. They all seem to fall under that game principle I love finding in games, “a simple understanding of what you need to do, but how you do it isn’t as straightforward.” I’d love to hear other games described in one sentence in the comments below.