Games
Grouped by the player count each game serves best. Kept games not in the considered list are marked bring.
2 players (day games)
| Title | Players | Minutes | Oriented to | Status | Price | Canon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undaunted: Normandy | 2 (best 2) | 45–60 | Mark | buy | Ordered from Amazon Sep 23, arrives Fri Sep 25. Canon. Step up from Memoir '44. North Africa is the suggested second box. | ||
| Sky Team | 2 (best 2) | 20 | Melissa | bring | Loved it. | ||
| Hive Pocket | 2 (best 2) | 20 | anyone | bring | Beach pouch. | ||
| Blue Moon Legends | 2 (best 2) | 30 | Greg | bring | Free two-player fallback. | ||
| Tigris and Euphrates | 2–4 (best 4) | 60–120 | Mark, Melissa | bring | Mark's favorite; Melissa dominated her play. Canon. | ||
| Shards of Infinity | 2–3 (best 2) | 30 | Sarah, Melissa | bring | Canon | Canon. Deck builder already owned; sci-fi theme may not land with Sarah. | |
| Lost Cities, Battle Line, Patchwork, Carcassonne: The Castle, Lord of the Rings: Duel | 2 | 20–30 | filler | bring | Owned. | ||
| Albedo | 2–4 (best 2) | Greg | skip | Canon | Canon. Race for the Galaxy covers Greg. | ||
| Imperium: The Contention | 1–6 (best 2, 4) | 120+ | Greg | skip | Stellaris in a box, but heavy and long; a Greg-only night at best. | ||
| Capital Lux 2: Pocket | 2–4 (best 3) | 30 | Greg | skip | $50 plus shipping is too steep. | ||
| Boggle | 1–4 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Animal Upon Animal: My Very First Games | 1–3 (best 2, 3) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Arboretum | 2–4 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Azul | 2–4 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Battle Line | 2–2 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Battleship | 2–2 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Blue Moon | 2–2 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Carcassonne: The Castle | 2–2 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Cathedral | 2–2 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Chess (game) | 2–2 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Codex: Card-Time Strategy | 2–2 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Double Twelve Dominoes | 2–4 (best 1) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| En Garde | 2–2 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Exploding Kittens | 3–5 (best 1) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Kabuto Sumo | 2–4 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Lacuna | 2–2 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Lost Cities (simpliciter) | 2–2 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Magic: The Gathering | 2–2 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Marital Bliss | 2–2 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Pandemic | 2–4 (best 1) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Patchwork | 2–2 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Root: The Riverfolk expansion | 1–1 (best 1) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Spirit Island | 1–4 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle Earth | 2–2 (best 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore |
3 to 4 players (day games, small evenings)
| Title | Players | Minutes | Oriented to | Status | Price | Canon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race for the Galaxy (2nd ed) | 2–4 (best 2) | 45 | Greg | buy | $29.97 | Buy at GameNerdz. Jacob's favorite tableau builder; Greg gave him the original. Fine at 3 with Mark. Not at either TDG. Ships to the rental. | |
| Whale Riders | 2–5 (best 4) | 45 | Melodee | buy | $29.97 | Canon | Buy at GameNerdz. Canon. Knizia, shared market, ocean art. Ships to the rental. |
| Dominion Base Set 2nd ed | 2–4 (best 3) | 30 | Sarah, Melissa | buy | $33.97 | Buy at GameNerdz. Sarah has played a lot of it; restores the base kingdom cards for teaching; Jacob is designing Clave, a deck builder. Ships to the rental. | |
| Knarr | 2–4 (best 3) | 30 | Caleb, Jacob | skip | Canon | Canon. Out of stock at GameNerdz; Caleb is covered by The Crew and Hot Streak. | |
| The Crew: Mission Deep Sea | 3–5 (best 4) | 20 | Caleb, Melissa | buy | Canon | Buy at TDG Philly. Canon: "superior to its excellent predecessor." Quest for Planet Nine is owned. | |
| The Quest for El Dorado | 2–4 | 45 | Sarah, Melissa | skip | Canon | Canon. Dominion and Shards of Infinity cover the deck-builder lane. | |
| Hero Realms | 2–4 | 30 | Sarah | skip | Not on the Canon; overlaps Shards of Infinity. | ||
| Hanabi Deluxe | 2–5 (best 4) | 30 | Melodee, Melissa | bring | Preferred over Bomb Busters in the co-op deduction lane. | ||
| So Clover! | 3–6 (best 3–4) | 30 | Melissa | bring | Loved. | ||
| Pandemic with On the Brink | 1–5 (best 4) | 45–60 | Caleb, Greg | bring | Preferred over Fall of Rome for simplicity; Antike II covers the Roman theme. Both liked Fall of Rome. | ||
| SCOUT | 3–5 (best 4) | 15 | Caleb | bring | Canon | ||
| Ra | 2–5 (best 3–4) | 45–60 | Melodee | bring | Canon | Canon. Auction. | |
| Azul, Blue Lagoon, Through the Desert, Modern Art, Stephenson's Rocket | 2–5 | 30–60 | Melodee | bring | Owned. Through the Desert, Modern Art, Stephenson's Rocket are Canon. | ||
| Cascadia | 1–4 (best 2–3) | 45 | Melodee | skip | Too solitaire. | ||
| Bomb Busters | 2–5 (best 4) | 30 | Melodee | skip | Too gambit-driven for a deduction game. | ||
| Sanibel | 2–4 | Melodee | skip | Reviews call it shallow. | |||
| Forest Shuffle | 2–5 (best 2) | 60 | Melodee | skip | Sweet spot 2. | ||
| Sleuth | 3–7 (best 4) | 45 | Melodee | skip | Sackson's 1971 deduction game; out of print. | ||
| Paint the Roses | 2–5 | 60 | Melodee | skip | Hanabi covers the lane. | ||
| MicroMacro: Crime City | 1–4 (best 2) | 30 | Melissa | bring | Canon | Best at 2. | |
| Space Base | 2–5 (best 3–4) | 60 | Greg | skip | Luckier than Greg's taste. | ||
| Oak, Voidfall, Autobahn | 1–4 | 120+ | Greg | skip | Oak is Canon but unavailable; the other two are too heavy for Mark. | ||
| Regicide, Two Towers Trick-Taking, Don't L.L.A.M.A. Dice | 1–4 | 20 | Caleb | skip | The Crew and Hot Streak cover him. Fill or Bust and Skip-Bo are owned. | ||
| My City, The King's Dilemma | 2–5 | campaign | skip | Legacy campaigns need a fixed group. | |||
| Fill or Bust | 2–10 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Flinch | 1–8 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Skip-Bo | 2–6 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| 5 Second Rule | 3–6 (best 4, 5, 6) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| There's a Moose in the House | 2–5 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Twisted Fish | 3–6 (best 3) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Agricola | 1–5 (best 4) | bring | Canon | Kept in Keeplore | |||
| Animal Upon Animal | 2–4 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Bananagrams | 2–6 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Blue Lagoon | 2–4 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Century: Spice Road | 2–5 (best 3) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Cheeky Monkey | 3–7 (best 4, 5) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Chicago Express | 3–5 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Civilization (game) | 4–7 (best 4, 5, 6) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Colossal Arena | 2–5 (best 3) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Dominion | 2–4 (best 3) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Dutch Blitz | 3–4 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Escape: The Curse of the Temple | 1–6 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Fairy Tale | 2–5 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Five Crowns | 3–7 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Food Chain Magnate | 2–5 (best 3, 4) | bring | Canon | Kept in Keeplore | |||
| Guards of Atlantis | 4–9 (best 4, 6, 8) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Gulo Gulo | 2–6 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Han (game) | 2–5 (best 3) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Jenga | 2–6 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Junk Art | 2–6 (best 4) | bring | Canon | Kept in Keeplore | |||
| Keltis: The Oracle, Das Orakel | 2–4 (best 3) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Le Havre | 1–4 (best 3) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Loony Quest | 2–5 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Loopin' Chewie | 3–3 (best 3) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Lost Cities: Rivals | 3–4 (best 3) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Lost Cities: The Board Game | 2–4 (best 3, 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Love Letter | 3–4 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Lowlands | 2–4 (best 3) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Magic Labyrinth (The) | 2–4 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Modern Art | 3–5 (best 4, 5) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Money! (simpliciter) | 3–5 (best 4, 5) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Mountain Goats: Expansion | 2–5 (best 4, 5) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| On Tour | 1–8 (best 4, 2) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Pandemic: Fall of Rome | 1–5 (best 3) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Pandemic: On the Brink | 1–4 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Priests of Ra | 2–5 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Ra (game) | 2–5 (best 3, 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Ra: The Dice Game | 2–4 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Rehobothopoly | 3–6 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Root | 3–6 (best 4) | bring | Canon | Kept in Keeplore | |||
| SCOUT (game) | 3–5 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| SET (game) | 1–8 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Settlers of Catan: Fishers | 3–4 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Stephenson's Rocket | 2–4 (best 4) | bring | Canon | Kept in Keeplore | |||
| Sushi Go | 2–5 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| T.I.M.E Stories: Under the Mask | 2–4 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| T.I.M.E. Stories (Time Stories) | 3–4 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine | 2–5 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Through the Desert | 2–5 (best 3) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Ticket to Ride: 1910 | 2–5 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Timeline: American History | 2–8 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Timeline: Historical Events | 2–8 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Tribune: Expansion | 3–6 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Twister (game) | 2–4 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Welcome To (simpliciter) and mat | 1–12 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore |
5 to 6 players (late game)
| Title | Players | Minutes | Oriented to | Status | Price | Canon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Container (Allplay 2026) | 4–5 (best 5) | 60–90 | Jacob, Mark, Kurt, Sarah, Greg | buy | about $40 | Buy at TDG Philly. Open economy, brinksmanship. Bigney played this edition (Notebook Nations, Aug 2026). Needs 4. | |
| Antike II | 4–6 (best 5) | 90–120 | Mark, Kurt, Melodee | bring | Canon | Canon. Fresh from June 2026, which helps. | |
| Imperial 2030 | 3–6 (best 4) | 120 | Mark, Kurt | bring | Canon | Canon. Shifting incentives. | |
| Cosmic Encounter: Cosmic Eons | 4–7 (best 5–6) | 60–120 | Jacob, Kurt | bring | Temporary alliances; theme is meh for Melodee. | ||
| El Grande | 3–5 (best 5) | 90 | Kurt, Mark | bring | Canon | Canon. Whole-family repeat hit. | |
| Senji, Tribune, Hansa Teutonica, Chicago Express | 3–6 | 60–120 | Mark, Kurt, Melodee | bring | All Canon; Chicago Express and Antike II are Melodee's strategy picks. | ||
| Mysterium | 3–7 (best 4–5) | 45 | Melissa, Marian | bring | Canon | Involved co-op. | |
| Autobahn | 1–4 (best 3) | 120 | skip | Solo mode signals low interaction; tops out at 4. | |||
| Diplomacy, 1830 | 6–7 / 3–6 | 360 / 180 | Mark | skip | Too long for the beach. 1830 is not kept. | ||
| Civilization (1982) | 4–7 (best 6–7) | 360 | family | skip | Family knows it, but a 6-hour game and a separate errand to the parents' house. | ||
| Poker: No Limit Texas Hold'em | 2–10 (best 6) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Cards Against Humanity: Family Edition | 4–30 (best 5, 6) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Hot Seat | 3–99 (best 6, 7, 8, 9) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Quelf | 3–8 (best 5, 6) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Apples to Apples | 4–11 (best 6, 8) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Chinatown | 4–5 (best 5) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Coup | 3–6 (best 5) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Deep Pockets, Tiefe Taschen | 5–8 (best 6, 7) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Dixit | 4–6 (best 5) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| El Grande: Intrigue and the King | 3–5 (best 5) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| For Sale | 3–6 (best 5) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| GoodCritters | 4–8 (best 6, 7, 8) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Hansa Teutonica | 3–5 (best 5) | bring | Canon | Kept in Keeplore | |||
| Hive Mind | 4–11 (best 6) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Monikers | 4–16 (best 6) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Mysterious House, Tajemnicze Domostwo, Mysterium | 2–7 (best 5) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Ransom Notes | 4–6 (best 6) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Ravine | 3–6 (best 5, 6) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Reverse Charades | 6–12 (best 6, 8, 10, 12) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Rising Sun | 3–6 (best 5, 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Senji | 4–6 (best 6) | bring | Canon | Kept in Keeplore | |||
| Sequoia: Expansion | 3–6 (best 5) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Sidereal Confluence | 4–9 (best 6) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Spyfall 2 | 5–12 (best 6) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Taboo | 4–10 (best 6) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| The Oregon Trail Card Game | 3–6 (best 6) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| True Colors | 4–6 (best 6) | bring | Kept in Keeplore |
7 to 11 players (first and second game)
| Title | Players | Minutes | Oriented to | Status | Price | Canon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wavelength | 4–12 (best 6, 8) | 30–45 | everyone | bring | Opener at 11. | ||
| Green Team Wins | 5–13 (best 7, 9, 11) | 30 | everyone | bring | Canon | Seats 11. | |
| Codenames | 4–10 (best 6, 8) | 15 | Melissa, Marian | bring | |||
| Decrypto | 4–8 (best 6) | 15–45 | Melissa, Sarah | bring | Repeat hit. | ||
| Hot Streak | 3–8 (best 5–6) | 30 | Harper, Caleb, Marian | buy | Buy at TDG Philly. Ages 6+, no reading or acting. | ||
| That's Not a Hat | 4–8 (best 5) | 15 | Melissa, Marian | buy | $11 | Buy at TDG Philly. Memory and bluffing. | |
| Wilmot's Warehouse | 2–6+ (best 4–5) | 30 | Melissa, Harper, Kurt | buy | $38.69 | Buy at GameNerdz. Co-op memory and story; ages 6+. Mainly for Melissa and the long stay. Ships to the rental. | |
| Cockroach Poker | 3–6 (best 5) | 20 | Marian | bring | Canon | Canon. Lower memory load than That's Not a Hat. | |
| Just One | 3–7 (best 6–7) | 20 | everyone | buy | $19.99 | Canon | Buy at GameNerdz. Refresh edition. Ships to the rental. |
| Skull | 3–6 (best 5–6) | 15 | Kurt, Marian | buy | Canon | Buy at TDG Philly or GameNerdz. Not kept any more; re-buying. TDG if in stock, otherwise add to the GameNerdz order. | |
| Deep Pockets, GoodCritters, Dead Last, Taboo, The Chameleon, Spyfall 2 | 5–12 | 15–45 | bring | Owned. | |||
| Monikers, Reverse Charades | 4–16 | 30–60 | Kurt, Rosi | bring | Acting. Melodee dislikes acting; use when she has dropped out. | ||
| Thereish (thereish.app) | 2–6, 12 after thereish#161 | 20 | everyone | bring | Bring a laptop. Jacob raises the cap before Oct 1. | ||
| The Resistance | 5–10 (best 7) | 30 | Marian, Kurt | skip | Buying for church game night, not the vacation: TDG if in stock, otherwise the GameNerdz order. Sarah dislikes social deduction. | ||
| Blood on the Clocktower, Werewolf, Captain Sonar | 6–16 | 30–120 | skip | Social deduction or disliked by Melodee. | |||
| 25 Words or Less | 4–12 (best 8) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Blood on the Clocktower | 6–16 (best 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Bunco | 2–12 (best 8, 12) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Captain Sonar | 6–8 (best 8) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Dead Last | 6–12 (best 8, 9, 10) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Diamant | 4–8 (best 8) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| The Chameleon | 4–8 | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| The Resistance: Assassin | 5–10 (best 7) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | ||||
| Werewolf (game) | 8–24 (best 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) | bring | Kept in Keeplore |
Kids (Harper 6, Hallie 2.5)
| Title | Players | Minutes | Min age | Oriented to | Status | Price | Canon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loopin' Louie | 2–4 | bring | Harper's favorite; replay all night. | |||||
| Paku Paku | 3–6 (best 5) | Harper | buy | about $15 | Buy at TDG Philly or Amazon Prime. Real-time dice stacking, ages 6+. If TDG lacks it, Amazon Prime to the rental so it lands before Harper leaves Oct 5. | |||
| First Orchard, Animal Upon Animal, Here Fishy Fishy | 1–4 | bring | Hallie can play First Orchard. | |||||
| Guess Who? | 2 | bring | ||||||
| Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza | 3–8 | others bring | Kurt brings his if he wants. Jacob is not a fan. | |||||
| Memory, Golf, Poker | 2+ | bring | Two plastic four-color decks and the poker chip set. Poker likely draws the men. | |||||
| Qwirkle | 2–4 | others bring | Melodee brings hers. Beach game with Hive Pocket. | |||||
| Candy Land, CandyLand | 2–4 (best 4) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | |||||
| First Orchard | 1–4 (best 3) | bring | Kept in Keeplore | |||||
| Here, Fishy, Fishy! | 1–4 (best 3) | bring | Kept in Keeplore |
Role play
| Title | Players | Minutes | Oriented to | Status | Price | Canon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dungeons and Dragons (5th Edition) | 2–5 (best 4, 5) | bring | Kept in Keeplore |