It’s Phase 2. Many of us would have made plans to meet your friends, colleagues, cousins and extended family. But with the bad weather and crowds all over town, it seems like a chore to meet outside. Want to avoid crowds and stay in the comfort of your home while enjoying some company? Why not invite your friends over and play some board games?
In this article, we are listing the top card games and best board games in Singapore based on difficulty, starting with the most difficult game. You can bond with your friends and family over a relaxing or intense board game of your choice, but remember to keep it to a group of 5 maximum.
Pandemic
The most difficult game on our list, as well as one of the most popular games amongst tabletop fanatics, is the Pandemic Board game. If bonding with your beloved ones is the objective, the Pandemic game is perfect for you.
How to Play Pandemic Board Game
The game takes place in a world where several virulent diseases have broken out. It Is up to the players, who are disease-fighting specialists, to treat disease hotspots with aims to cure these diseases. With each taking a unique role within the team, players must plan their strategy to mesh with their specialists’ strengths to conquer the diseases. Hence, it is a highly complex game that requires a ton of cooperation and strategy to win.
Even though Pandemic is a highly complex game that challenges even the most skilled tacticians, it is relatively easy to pick up when one person has had experience playing it before. This is on account of the game being fully cooperative, which allows the teaching of the game in progress without compromising his or her strategy.
In addition, you are also able to adjust the difficulty of the game by inserting fewer epidemic cards into the playing deck. We recommend inserting 4 when starting out.
All in all, it is one of the most enjoyable tabletop games in the market right now. So, if you are one who loves challenges and wants a game that focusses on a collaborative effort, the pandemic board game is the ideal game for you.
How Many People Can Play Pandemic?
Number of Players: 4
Where to Buy Pandemic in Singapore?
Pandemic is easily purchasable online. We recommend getting it from https://www.zmangames.com/en/games/pandemic/
Catan
Catan, a revamped and rebranded version of the classic Settlers of Catan, has the same award-winning strategic gameplay but with a completely new and fresh aesthetic and art style.
Players are placed on the island of Catan, on each turn, two dices are rolled to determine what resources the island produces. Using those resources, players would have to build roads, settlements, and cities to attain points. Players can trade resources collected with each other as well as at the port. This is truly the highlight of the game as it makes the game feel more interactive and engaging. The sight of family members and friends scrambling to trade with you whilst you have a monopoly of resources is something that you shouldn’t miss.
How to Play Catan Board Game?
The essence of Catan – spending resources to attain a total of 10 victory points, may be a very simple concept to grasp, but can actually be quite challenging. Initially, the game starts out easy, with players attaining various resources based on where they placed their first two roads and houses. Before long, the game gets very competitive when resources are scarce, and players must compete for them.
Contrary to popular belief, Catan is very skill and strategic based game as despite the presence of luck, the dices. Other than that, every other aspect of the game requires a well-laid and thought-out plan.
The base Catan board game supports up to a total of 4 players, however, if you have a party of 6, fret not as Catan has released an expansion allowing up to 2 more players to join in on the fun.
Overall, Catan is a recommended game for those with competitive spirits.
How Many People Can Play Catan?
Number of Players: 3-4 (Without the expansion), 3-6 (With the expansion)
Where to Buy Catan in Singapore?
You can get Catan from their official website: https://www.catan.com/game/catan
Cluedo
The third tabletop game on our list is none other than the popular murder mystery board game, Cluedo. The aim of the game is to find out who committed the murder, the weapon used, as well as the room where the murder took place.
Ever wanted to become a detective, here is your chance as the only way to find out who, what and where the murder was committed is through strategic questioning of your fellow players. The feelings of anticipation you get when you are at the brink of truth and only one step away from solving the case is like no other. Having that feeling stripped away from under your feet by someone else who solved the case before you is something you might experience through Cluedo.
How to Play Cluedo?
Simplistic gameplay of questioning and eliminations, Cluedo is easy to grasp and play. However, to attain the desired information in the shortest amount of time makes the game oddly competitive.
A natural-born detective or not, we believe that this game would bring hours upon hours of joy and fun for the entire party.
How Many People Can Play Cluedo?
Number of Players: 3-6
Where to Buy Cluedo in Singapore?
You can get Cluedo in Singapore through e-commerce platforms. Here’s a link to Cluedo on Shopee.
Ticket to Ride
The fourth game on our list of board games is Ticket to Ride, an award-winning, cross-country train adventure game. With elegantly simple gameplay, Ticket to Ride can be learned in under 15 minutes.
How to Play Ticket to Ride Board Game?
Players are set in the world of North America where they collect cards of various train cars to be used to claim railway routes. The aim of the game is to collect the most points by having the longest or most routes in the game. Each turn, players must choose to either draw more cards, claim a route, or get additional destination cards.
Destination cards are cards that allow you to collect or take away points if your route has successfully gone through the specified destinations as stated on the card. The sense of tension that comes with balancing greed, of adding more cards to your hand, and fear, of losing a critical route to a competitor, is definitely the highlight of the game.
Often referred to as the “gateway” game to board games, Ticket to Ride is an excellent game for a party of 2 to 5, with every game lasting around 1 to 2 hours. One thing to note is that even though the game lacks the presence of dice, and players can choose what cards to take on their turn, Ticket to Ride has a significant amount of luck involved. This means that no set strategy and tactic is guaranteed to win.
Being made for ages 8 and up, Ticket to Ride is a family-friendly board game. But this does not mean that this is a board game just for kids as it is an equally pleasant and engaging board game for adults and would make a welcome addition to any game night.
How Many People Can Play Ticket to Ride Board Game?
Number of Players: 2-5
Where to Buy Ticket to Ride in Singapore?
You can get Ticket to Ride in Singapore through e-commerce platforms. Here’s a link to purchase on Shopee.
The Singaporean Dream
The Singaporean Dream is a fun and interactive card game where you can play, steal or sabotage your way to become the ideal Singaporean.
How to Play the Singaporean Dream?
The goal of the game is to attain as many “Dream Cards” as possible before the deck runs out. These dream cards are obtainable through purchasing them with cash cards or through various action cards.
A usual turn comprises of drawing two cards from the action pile, playing up to two action cards, and occasionally purchasing the “Singaporean Dream”. If we were to compare, The Singaporean Dream resembles the ever-popular card game Monopoly Deal, with its simplistic yet engaging gameplay.
But unlike Monopoly Deal, there is another key selling point of this card game which is how relatable it is. This is portrayed through various means, ranging from the playable Singaporean personalities, such as the “NSF” or the “Complain Queen”, to the “Singaporean Dreams” displayed as, “Win Tickets To NDP” and “ORD LO!”.
It is this relatability of the cards that make this game extra engaging for us Singaporeans there would be a presence of emotional attachment to the activities listed, adding a touch of nostalgia to the game.
All in all, if you are a Singaporean or a person currently residing in Singapore, this is a must-have in your tabletop game collection.
How Many People Can Play the Singaporean Dream Card Game?
Now, with its latest expansion, you can enjoy this hilariously addictive game with up to 9 of your friends and family.
Number of Players: 2-6 (Without the expansion), 3-9 (With the expansion)
Where to Buy The Singaporean Dream?
You can get the Singaporean Dream card game in Singapore through e-commerce platforms. Here’s a link to purchase it from on Shopee.
Cards Against Humanity
Next on our list of tabletop games comes the well sought-after party game, cards against humanity. If you’ve been living under a rock and have not heard of this game, Cards Against Humanity is a party game in which players complete fill-in-the-blank statements on the black cards. This is done using white cards containing words and phrases typically deemed as offensive, risqué, or politically incorrect.
How to Play Cards Against Humanity?
Unlike most games on this list, Cards Against Humanity is a purely opinion-based game, relying on your knowledge of your friend’s or family’s type of comedy. Every turn, one player reveals a black card containing one or more blanks, the other players are then tasked to place down their white cards to fill in those blanks. After which, the initial player who placed down the black card has to select whose cards are the most humorous.
The player who placed down the most humorous card would then obtain a point. Hence, this game requires little to no strategy and tactics. Some may see this as a downside as there is no sure way to win the game. But it is due to this concept that makes the game unbearably hilarious and fun. In essence, the game tests the knowledge of the people you are playing with instead of the game itself.
Wish for a less crude version to indulge with your family? Your wishes have come true with their newly released Cards Against Humanity family edition, bring joy and laughter to your family game nights.
Ever wanted to have some laid-back fun with your chums, Cards Against Humanity is the game for you that would undoubtedly bring upon hours of fun and laughter. Great as a drinking game as well *winks*
How Many People Can Play Cards Against Humanity?
Number of Players: 3-20+
Where to Buy Cards Against Humanity in Singapore?
You can get different Cards Against Humanity packs through their official website or print for free online: https://cardsagainsthumanity.com/
Exploding Kittens
Love cats? Love Russian Roulettes? Boy, do we have the game for you.
Exploding Kittens is a highly strategic kitty-powered version of Russian Roulette, where you only have one objective. To be the last one standing.
How to Play Exploding Kittens?
Every player draws from the deck of cards until someone draws an Exploding Kitten card, which would result in the person “dying”, and leaving the game. This would usually be the case, unless, the player has and plays a defuse card which would then stop the kitten from exploding.
There are also other ways to cheat death and be the longest surviving survivor such as playing various other cards to skip your turn, attack other players, peek at the deck, or secretly relocate an Exploding Kitten card. Think of Exploding kittens as UNO but with goats, magical enchiladas, weaponised back hair, and kittens that can absolutely obliterate you.
It’s always a wonder how games like this are able to attain huge funding on Kickstarter, however, after playing Exploding Kittens, we feel that it’s rightfully so. Exploding Kittens is a masterpiece of a game that manages to grasp the thrill of a Russian Roulette, all whilst placing their own well thought out spin on it.
Apart from the gruesome name and art, the original game is meant for ages 7 and up, hence, the card game is safe-for-work and kid-friendly.
If you are a thrill-seeker or just someone who wants to fill pockets of time, Exploding Kittens is the game for you.
How Many People Can Play Exploding Kittens?
Number of Players: 2-5
Where to Buy Exploding Kittens in Singapore?
You can get Exploding Kittens through their official website: https://shop.explodingkittens.com/products/exploding-kittens-original-edition
Jenga
The last game on our list of top board games in Singapore belongs to our beloved childhood game, Jenga. Unlike the other games on this list where strategy is the primary tool for victory, in Jenga, tactics alone are just not enough, as Jenga is a game comprising of both mental and physical skills.
How to Play Jenga?
Players take turns removing one block at a time from a tower of 54 blocks. The aim of the game is to remove blocks from the existing tower and placing them on the top without the tower toppling. The game is easy to pick up and play, but hard to master. There are many tricks to be learned in this simple game, distinguishing the veteran from the beginner. Even though there are lots of tricks to learn and master within the game, the game itself has a very repetitive nature, which is its greatest downfall as what Jenga lacks is replayability.
How to Make Jenga More Fun?
Fret not as we have a neat trick to spice up your Jenga sessions whenever it gets dull and boring.
Just like how the cast of Kingdom is playing Jenga while answering questions, a fun way to take your Jenga game to the next level is to write tasks on the Jenga blocks itself, forcing the player to do the task as stated on the block when removed from the tower. By doing so, it makes the game way more engaging and amusing.
As time goes by, there are many childhood classics that we would want to revisit, and this is no exception.
How Many Players Can Play Jenga?
Number of Players: 2 or more
Where to Buy Jenga in Singapore?
You can get Jenga in Singapore through e-commerce platforms. Here’s a link to purchase Jenga on Shopee.
Online Alternatives
While we understand that the virus is still out there and one needs to be continually vigilant, socialization is undoubtedly an important part of mental health. Instead of board games, why not socialise with your friends online through these party games? We even have a tabletop game alternative there.
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