Board game for 12 year old

[Noidea2024]

DS loves Board and card games. We have quite a lot already, but particular favourites include Ticket to Ride, Risk, Small World, Catan, Exploding Kittens and Unstable Unicorns. He is less keen on things like Throw, Throw Burrito.

He is getting Carcassone for his birthday, but would love to get something else for Christmas, and perhaps a card type game for his stocking.

Can anyone suggest something we have not yet come across please? TIA

Taco, cat, goat cheese pizza is a fun card game. Other good board games... Azule, Wingspan, Agricola, Pandemic, Welcome to

A game called Pandemic! (although we have not played it since covid) Majong, poker perhaps. Dread pirate is a family favourite and works for younger and older siblings.

When we had a 12yo the favourites were:
7 Wonders Duel (2 player)
Minecraft Builders & Biomes
Marvel Splendor
Colt Express

I also really recommend Cosmoctopus which we got recently and is ideal for that age range.

Many 12yos with a good grounding in boardgames are ready for Terraforming Mars but that's a big and challenging game and needs all the family to be enthusiastic.

Uno and its variations

The one with the trains.

Thanks ladies. Looks like Pandemic is a good call then. I'll also have a look at a few of the others.

we already play the Minecraft game suggested (had forgotten that one), and Taco, Cat wasn't a big hit, although I had expected it to be (& secretly quite liked it myself).

Stratego is good. Personally love Risk but see you already have that

Azul or The London Game.

Jaipur is a fun card game for two people. The Simpsons UNO has been well used over the years in our house.

Forbidden Desert is good - it’s cooperative so you work together against the sandstorm to try and get a plane together to escape.

Kodama is a nice family game too - you build trees and compete to please the tree spirits the most.

Roll Player
Five Tribes
Machi Koro

Camel Up, Kingdomino, King of Tokyo, Jhaipur, Love letters, Sushi Go and Dominion have all been hits at our house.

Azul
Codenames
And for larger gatherings: one night a werewolf

Pandemic is good.
quacks of Quedlinburg
heat
Qwirkle
sushi go party

are all great choices

2nd for Forbidden Desert / Island (which is essentially Pandemic light). You might get on well with Quacks of Quedlingberg or something from the Evolution /Oceans range

We enjoy Takenoko and Dixit

We like Tension. You have to name 10 things in a category eg dinosaurs and you have to match the 10 on the card. A lot of the categories are designed for children's knowledge and parents will struggle, so it is fun for everyone.

For fun card games, Cover Your Assets or Guillotine (Wizards of the Coast)

Ongoing hits in our house are:

Macho Koro
Quacks of Quedlinburg
7 Wonders
Splendor
Dixit
Cascadia
Rustling Leaves

for smaller (card) games :
Goat Lords
6 Nimmt
Monopoly Deal
Love Letters

Dominion

Ligretto and rummikub are brilliant

Sequence is brilliant and great for all ages we have got loads of friends into it and it can be highly competitive!

Not a board game exactly but Herd Mentality has been a fun game for family & groups to play, some of the other Big Potato range of games look good too (we also have one called Shoot for the Stars which has been a huge hit with my young teens but I'm not sure if big potato make that one any more)

Who knows where?
Sequence
Azul

Yes yes to Azul. It is lovely to play.
Tsuro
Takenoko
Through the Desert
Dinosaur Island (a bit complicated to learn and expensive but bloody brilliant)
Not played it but my ds who works in a board game shop recommended Forest Shuffle to me the other day. I went in the shop today and they've sold out which is a pretty good recommendation.

For stocking games look at those by Oink Games. They are pack of card size boxes and some really great games. Or the travel version of Quirkle which is just the same game as the full size but smaller tiles that all fit in a nice pouch. Nobody actually knows why the full size version exists.

What a lovely thread - off to look at some of the games mentioned to surprise my family as they are more into these types of games than me so they won't expect me to buy something new for Christmas.

My teens have enjoyed playing Scotland Yard since they received it last Christmas. They like colour brain too.