Games & Tabletop
Board games, role-playing games, chess, puzzles — hobbies where the 'gear' is the games themselves, and the gateway titles you pick decide whether your group ever plays again. These guides cover the genuinely good starter games, the timeless deep ones worth growing into, and which much-bought boxes to leave on the shelf.
26 guides in this family
Star Trek Adventures RPG
Star Trek Adventures puts you and your friends in command of a Federation starship. The 2d20 system is built for collaborative storytelling, the universe is one of the richest in fiction, and Modiphius has created enough supplements to fuel a years-long campaign. Here's exactly what you need to sit down at the table.
Read the Star Trek Adventures RPG guide →Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash
LARPing
LARPing looks intimidating from the outside: foam swords, elaborate costumes, people charging across a field yelling combat calls. Most LARP communities are genuinely welcoming to newcomers, many events loan gear on day one, and you can get on the field for under $100.
Read the LARPing guide →Photo by Margo Evardson on Unsplash
Bridge
Bridge is the thinking person's card game, a partnership game of logic, memory, and precise communication with a partner. The gear list is short: quality cards, a score pad, and one honest book. The real investment is learning. Bidding is a shared language and it takes weeks to become fluent. Here's what to buy, and what to skip.
Read the Bridge guide →Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest games on earth, and one of the most satisfying to get good at. The rules take fifteen minutes. The strategy takes years. Here's what to buy first, what separates a good set from a cheap one, and what you don't need until you're genuinely hooked.
Read the Backgammon guide →Photo by Alisa Kreydina on Unsplash
Mahjong
Mahjong rewards patience — 144 tiles, four suits, a game refined over 150 years. The good news: a complete starter set runs $60–90, sets up in minutes, and once the tiles click the game flows beautifully. Here's exactly what to buy, and what to skip for now.
Read the Mahjong guide →Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash
Disney Lorcana TCG
Disney Lorcana is the fastest-growing card game of the past few years, and unlike most TCGs, it's designed to welcome newcomers. Starter decks are playable out of the box, the Disney artwork is stunning, and the secondary market hasn't gone off the rails. Here's what to buy first, and what to wait on until you're sure you're hooked.
Read the Disney Lorcana TCG guide →Photo by Gabriel Freitas on Unsplash
Kill Team
Warhammer's skirmish game is the smartest on-ramp to miniature gaming: a small squad instead of a full army, games that finish in 90 minutes, and the same legendary GW miniatures. Here's what to buy first (and what to skip while you figure out if it sticks).
Read the Kill Team guide →Photo by Louis Thai on Unsplash
Jigsaw Puzzles
Jigsaw puzzles are one of the cheapest, most satisfying solo hobbies you can start today. The barrier is literally a box and a flat surface. But the right first puzzle matters: pick one too hard and it sits unfinished, too easy and it's not fun. Here's what to buy, and what to skip until you're hooked.
Read the Jigsaw Puzzles guide →Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash
Go
Go has the simplest rules of any strategy game — and the deepest play. Four rules. Infinite complexity. The gear is beautiful: inky black stones, pale white, wooden bowls, a clean grid. You can start playing real games this weekend. Here's what to buy first and what to skip.
Read the Go guide →Photo by Elena Popova on Unsplash
Speedcubing
The Rubik's Cube has 43 quintillion possible permutations — and humans have turned solving it into a legitimate competitive sport with 40,000 registered WCA athletes. The right cube matters: a magnetic cube feels snappy and precise where a cheap one feels gummy and off. The best beginner cube costs $12. Here's what to buy first and the GAN vs. MoYu question answered.
Read the Speedcubing guide →Photo by Maxwell Ingham on Unsplash
Billiards (Pool)
Pool is one of the few sports you can walk into a bar and start playing immediately — but once you're hooked, your first real cue changes everything. Here's exactly what to buy, what's worth spending up for, and what you can keep borrowing off the wall rack.
Read the Billiards (Pool) guide →Photo by Nathan Cima on Unsplash
Poker (Home Game Setup)
Poker nights are one of the best reasons to own a dining table. The gear investment is surprisingly small — a decent chip set, quality cards, and something to play on. Get those three things right and everything else follows. Here's exactly what to buy and what to skip.
Read the Poker (Home Game Setup) guide →Photo by Maximo Lopez on Unsplash
Miniature Painting
Whether you're painting Warhammer, D&D figures, or just cool models you found online — the choice that trips up every new painter isn't technique, it's the paint aisle. Citadel vs. Vallejo vs. Army Painter: each has fans who'll argue forever. This guide tells you which to start with, what else you need, and what to ignore for now.
Read the Miniature Painting guide →Photo by Matias Luge on Unsplash
Chess
Chess has outlasted every other board game because the depth is real — but you don't need to understand most of it to start enjoying it. A free app gets you moving today, and a $30 weighted plastic set is all you'll need physically for years. Here's what actually matters.
Read the Chess guide →Photo by Carlos Esteves on Unsplash
Games & Tabletop glossary
Vocabulary from the FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store), the chess club, and the D&D table. Mostly opinionated genre labels and the occasional rule.
- Castling Chess
- A special move where the king and a rook swap positions, getting the king to safety and connecting the rooks. Do it early; most beginner losses involve a king that never castled.
- DM / GM RPG
- Dungeon Master (in D&D) or Game Master (in most other RPGs). The person who runs the world, voices the NPCs, and adjudicates the rules. Highest-leverage role at the table.
- Engine builder Tabletop
- A strategy game where each turn makes you slightly more powerful, snowballing into a satisfying late-game cascade. Wingspan and Splendor are accessible examples.
- En passant Chess
- French for "in passing" — a pawn capture rule that confuses every new player. If a pawn advances two squares past an enemy pawn, the enemy can capture it as if it had only moved one.
- Eurogame Tabletop
- Strategy-focused, low-luck, low-conflict games where players score points through efficient play. Catan, Carcassonne, Wingspan. Distinct from American-style "Ameritrash" — more dice, more chaos, more fun some nights.
- Gateway game Tabletop
- A game designed to introduce non-gamers to modern board games. Ticket to Ride and Azul are canonical: simple rules, satisfying decisions, real depth on a second play.
- Initiative RPG
- Turn order in combat, usually determined by a die roll plus a Dexterity-related modifier at the start of an encounter. Decides who acts when.
- Meeple Tabletop
- Wooden person-shaped piece used as a generic worker, player marker, or unit in countless games. The mascot of modern board gaming.
- Opening Chess
- The first 10–15 moves of a game. Theorized to death over centuries; most have names (Sicilian, Ruy Lopez, King's Indian). Beginners benefit from learning one or two well.
- Roll to-hit RPG
- Rolling a d20 (twenty-sided die) and adding modifiers to see if your attack lands. The heartbeat of D&D-style combat.
- Variable player powers Tabletop
- Each player starts with a different special ability or hand. Adds replayability — "the same game plays totally different depending on who you draw."
- Worker placement Tabletop
- A mechanic where players assign a limited number of pieces to action spots on the board, blocking opponents. Agricola, Lords of Waterdeep, Viticulture.