Bait Games
Scott Nicholson
United States
Fayetteville
New York
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I gave a recent talk about games in libraries, and introduced the concept of "Bait".
The idea of a "Bait Game" is that it is short, easy to teach, visually attractive, and instantly engaging. It's a game that you can have out on a table and someone says "Hey, what's that?' It's a game to have out alongside video games and draw people over to try it. If someone watches a Bait game in action, they should be able to get a basic idea of what's going on from watching it for a short while.
While we have gateway games like Ticket to Ride, these aren't as good as Bait. Gateway games are the 2nd step. Bait is how you lure them over. 2-player only games are not as good Bait choices as you want to get some interaction going between a group.
We talked about this on the On Board Games podcast at http://onboardgames.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=434294
Help me make a great list of Bait Games!
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1.
Board Game: Tsuro
[Average Rating:6.48 Overall Rank:811]
Scott Nicholson
United States
Fayetteville
New York
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Tsuro is great. It's easy to teach, attractive, plays 2-8 just fine, and is over quickly. Sadly, Wizkids just announced they are shutting down, so get it while you can.
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2.
Board Game: Blokus
[Average Rating:7.14 Overall Rank:214]
Scott Nicholson
United States
Fayetteville
New York
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Or GIANT Blokus if you can manage it. Very attractive, easy to teach, and fast to play. Too bad it only handles 4 really well. I keep Travel Blokus on my desk at school, and have played with many students.
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Scott Nicholson
United States
Fayetteville
New York
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This is expensive bait, but it draws a crowd, and is a dexterity game with no setup time.
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Scott Nicholson
United States
Fayetteville
New York
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Another large Bait game. This one doesn't sound fun until you try it. Then, before you know it, you are hooked.
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Scott Nicholson
United States
Fayetteville
New York
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Sorry Sliders is quickly become a new big hit. Cheap, easy to teach, readily available, and varied game boards makes this work well.
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Scott Nicholson
United States
Fayetteville
New York
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This is my go-to party game. Attractive to anyone who likes to gamble, and very easy to teach as you play a round. After a round, people can bow out but rarely do. Also, it will handle a big group well.
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7.
Board Game: Hive
[Average Rating:7.37 Overall Rank:115]
Pietro Del Mar
United States
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Yeah, I know you said no 2 player games, but I always have this with me and Hive always gets questions. Coffee shops, restaurants, bars, outside...anywhere. People wanna know about it.
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Pietro Del Mar
United States
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Believe it or not-four adults played this at a recent Portland Boardgame Meetup. There were probably 5 other game tables going but everybody stopped to check this one out. A good, mean game if you've got the right players. And quick too.
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Donald Dennis
United States
Pawleys Island
South Carolina
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Maybe this isn't for everyone, or suitable for every setting, but a bunch of guys pointing guns at each other certainly gets everyone's attention. And the game play is engaging as well.
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Greg Gatto
United States
Exton
Pennsylvania
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Can a card game be a "bait"? I love this game for its simplicity: you spend 5 minutes on the rules, and they look at you as if to say, "Please, how could this possibly be interesting??"
And then they play it, and then want to play it some more.
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David Kahnt
United States
Upper Gwynedd
Pennsylvania
It's fun, it's healthy, it's good exercise. The kids will just love it. And we put a little sand inside to make the experience more pleasant.
You know, they say there was a man who jumped from the forty-FIFTH floor? But that's another story...
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Having never actually seen this game played... I'm sure it qualifies as a "Bait Game."
-DK
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David Kahnt
United States
Upper Gwynedd
Pennsylvania
It's fun, it's healthy, it's good exercise. The kids will just love it. And we put a little sand inside to make the experience more pleasant.
You know, they say there was a man who jumped from the forty-FIFTH floor? But that's another story...
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What could be better for a "Bait Game" then one in which anyone can enter at any time?
-DK
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Shawn Fallon
United States
Helmetta
New Jersey
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I found GiftTrap to be a great "Bait" game with people I know. (Despite the fiddly tracking of points.)
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Keith Creighton
United States
Decatur
IL
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With my students there is nothing that draws them in faster than a huge board with dragons and ninjas. The game basics are easy to teach and the more fiddly rules can be added in game without too much trouble. This is even more successful if the game is pre-set with armies. Thus eliminating the need for drafting and the concept of "point values."
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15.
Board Game: Set
[Average Rating:6.50 Overall Rank:829]
Greg Jones
United States
Washington
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I have witnessed the bait effect of this game. It's not that visually appealing. I think it just has familiarity as a puzzle. People look at it, and if they are puzzle minded, they think, "I bet I can do this." They ask how it's done.
When it comes to explaining it, the game follows through. The rules are pretty easy.
There's also no reason you can't let them join in mid-game. There's no player pawn, no per-player setup of any kind. In fact, I've found there's no stopping them from joining in mid-game. Once they know how, they can't resist playing along in their heads, and usually once they've found one, they can't resist calling it out.
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Michelle Z
United States
Mesa
Arizona
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Seriously, could a game look any more fun?
EDIT: If this is too long (officially 45 minutes, though usually shorter), you can cut down the number of recipes needed to win).
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Donald Dennis
United States
Pawleys Island
South Carolina
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Just make sure M&Ms aren't being served as a snack...
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Michelle Z
United States
Mesa
Arizona
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Yes, monkey tennis. Officially this is a 2-player game, but we usually play doubles, so four people can all be falling over laughing at the same time. The 60 minute playing time is way, way longer than we've ever played, and you can adjust the time by only playing a couple of sets.
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Michelle Z
United States
Mesa
Arizona
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Another great dexterity game with no setup time! The colorful pieces draw people in, and the clever design of each shape encourages creativity.
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Michelle Z
United States
Mesa
Arizona
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Not only is this visually appealing, short, and easy to explain, but (like many push your luck games) people tend to get drawn in and react loudly to the vicissitudes of fate. As an added bonus, it plays up to 8.
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Michelle Z
United States
Mesa
Arizona
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Quick, fun, simultaneous action dexterity game.
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Michelle Z
United States
Mesa
Arizona
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Yeah, it's 2-player, but it's also a great spectator sport, what with the frickin' lasers and all.
If you really want to go all kinds of crazy and ensure that EVERYBODY stops by to watch, you can add the tower expansion:
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Avri Klemer
United States
NYC
New York
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Guaranteed to pass the "Whatcha doing?" test.
The simple game printed on the tubes is fast and fun, but a knowledgeble demoer can showcase many, many different games and (more importantly) game types using these pretty, pretty gaming pyramids.
Everything from dexterity games to perfect information abstract strategy games, and everything in between . . .
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Jarred
United States
University Place
Washington
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This is the first thing that came to mind, but can you really use a dexterity game to lead into board games? I think it could work because at least you get the dialogue started, but it's sort of misleading...
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Ben Lott
United States
Mason
Michigan
It's a gift...
...and a curse!
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Most dexterity games will make this list, and this one is no exception.
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) are now very popular.
This game surprised a lot of people who thought this was just a colorful form of Jenga.
Helmetta
New Jersey
Pawleys Island
South Carolina
Ah, gotcha. The big deal about these bait games is that they are eye catching and quick. The idea is to make people come over and ask “what is that?” instead of having to drag people into the experience. In other words bait games sell them selves by appearance, while being short enough to keep the opportunity cost of learning them very low. If you don’t need, or appreciate, games filling that niche then bait might not be right for you.
As far as opening people up to the idea that games are more than a monotony fest of roll and move, or tedious trivia games, an array of bait games will cast a broader net than the so called gateway. When would bait games be particularly successful? Mixed social clicks (gamers and non gamers) parties like holiday or family gatherings. Scott’s (and my) interests also fall into public events not attended exclusively by die hard gamers, such as library open houses and game nights, industry trade shows, or other events of that ilk.
That being said, I agree that only having bait games would be much less effective if they stood alone. Having some gateway games on display and ready to go would help round out the appeal of any games presentation. Of course then you have to ask the question – what kind and how many?
For the record, I dislike the name “bait games” but I haven’t thought of a better one yet. Maybe First Step Games? (Because the game causes the target to take the first step.)
Steubenville
Ohio
Thanks to this list I've come to the epiphany that I've been focusing my game collection on acquiring more and more gateway games and yet I have no bait games.
This explains my constant "forcing others to play board games." Pulling out the Monk's famous line, "You'll thank me later." only to find out if I don't keep my energy level up in the first game with constant enthusiasm they may not want to play another game.
Why have I been such a dote.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the list and for the new games in my wishlist. I knew there was a way just to relax and let the games be played. Now I know how to do it. And knowing is half the battle.