Great "Gateway" Games Geared toward Small Groups of 3-5 players

Everyone loves games, but some of the more "gamer" oriented games have a lot of instructions, require extensive setup and concentration. The following games are wonderful games to teach new players because they are easy to explain, require little setup and are also a lot of fun! We call them "gateway" games, because people who get hooked on these often go on to play the more strategy intense games that do require more effort.



Our all time favorite game is Ticket to Ride and all its variations. This is a very simple to teach game, loads of fun and guaranteed to keep people coming back for more. There are several differences between each version, enough to keep each game a little different from the next. We personally have the original TTR and Europe versions, but would not mind having them all!

The game's objective is to complete trip tickets by building your train from point A to point B (depending on your ticket destination). Each turn is simple, and the game does not require so much concentration that you can't still have dessert or conversation while playing. Game play takes about 1 hour. This game makes a great gift!



The Settlers of Catan is THE game that got us, and so many other gamers, hooked. (You need to click the link called "Catan Games" on the left to see more info.) Again, there are multiple versions and expansions for Settlers, but the only ones we have direct experience with are the original game as well as the 2 player Catan Card Game.

This game is a little more involved attention-wise than Ticket to Ride since there are trading and pay-outs that affect all players at each turn, but still an easy game to learn and play. It also takes a little longer to set up the game board, but is well worth the extra effort.

The basic premise of this game is to collect the most points by building settlements on tracts of land that produce resources each time their number is rolled with the dice. Wheat, Sheep, Lumber, Ore and Brick are collected and traded on each turn. Players can use their resources to build more settlements, roads or chance cards. Game play takes about 1.5 hours.

The 2 player card game retains a lot of the elements from the original game without losing the fun. A great gift for the Catan player who doesn't get to attend gaming groups often.



Carcassone is another simple to play, simple to set up and teach game that we enjoy a lot. The great thing about this game is that it plays just as well with 2 people as it does with 5. Again, lots of variations are available. This game has the added benefit of being able to pack in a small space for trips because of the nature of the pieces.

The game board is revealed as a player chooses and plays a tile at each turn. The object is to join tiles in a manner to build a city. They then have a choice to place a person on the tile or pass play to the next person. The winner has the most points from cities completed or combinations with where their people are played. Game play takes about 30 minutes.



Wyatt Earp was a gift from my friend Glenna one Christmas. We have really enjoyed it since, and it has become a favorite at family gatherings. The object is to "capture" outlaws and collect the reward money. Again, this game is easy to explain, takes about 30 minutes to play and is very portable.