Tabletop Games in under 60 Minutes

AndyCr15

AndyCr15

AndyCr15

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Another request for recommendations. I love games that take a couple of hours of more, but sometimes you need something a little quicker.

Preferably 3 to 6 players, what games would you recommend for taking less than an hour?

Thanks.

I'll get the ball rolling with Splendor (4 players max)
 
I've played Pandemic, it was a while back, so can't be sure, but thought it took closer to two hours? BGG has it 30 to 90 mins.

It's also been a while since I played Ticket to Ride, but wouldn't have said it was under and hour to play? BGG has it 30 to 60 mins though, so I guess I just don't remember to well!

Maybe I just play with slow people!
 
Yeah, I'd say both TTR and Small World are around 90 minutes, Pandemic closer to 2 hours.

Can't really think of many ~1 hour games really, generally makes me think of filler games closer to 15-30 minutes:
Fluxx (can vary so much but don't think we've had many games >30 minutes)
Zombie Dice/Martian Dice
Heckmeck
Love Letter
Munchkin (probably closest to the hour mark, but can drag on beyond I think)
8 Minute Empire (really not 8 minutes, lies tbh :p)
Iota

There's loads more but yeah, most are way under the hour really.
 
How slowly do you guys play Pandemic!? Admittedly I generally play 2P but from the box hitting the table to the lid going back on is < 1 hour!
 
Psymonkee said:
How slowly do you guys play Pandemic!? Admittedly I generally play 2P but from the box hitting the table to the lid going back on is < 1 hour!
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Pandemic is roughly 20m/player. SKILL: 8 Minute Empires gets its name from being 8 minutes per player. Honestly I wish more people recorded games in time per player as it's a better metric; I could say that Arkwright plays in 60 minutes, but that's two players using the Spinning Jenny variant. Playing the full Water Frame version is 60 minutes per player. Another offender is Archipelago, which has a hilarious boxout that says "2-5 players, 30-240 minutes". This seems crazy until you realise 30 minutes is 2-player with Short goals and four hours is five players with Long goals.

Games for 3-6 that play in an hour is tricky, most 5-6 player games go up to 90 minutes due to player count. However, any of the Tiny Epic series will play 5 in an hour (except possibly Defenders, which I think caps at 4). Bomarzo and Viticulture will play 4 in an hour, if nobody has AP. Via Nebula will play 4 in 45 minutes, as will Town Center. Mysterium is a bit more of a social game but will play up to 7 in 45 minutes.
 
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Guess we'll just have to disagree - just done 3 players in 25 mins with an AP prone, shouty mum. That's box on table to lid on. The box says 45 mins!
 
Ooo! Them's fighting words! :p

Forbidden Island/Desert are worth a look as is Flash Point Fire Rescue if you like co-op games! :)

Escape: Curse of the Temple and Kingsburg might be worth a look too! :)
 
Once organised arcadia quest is only around 20-40 mins a mission and it's excellent.

Other I can think of:
King of Tokyo/New York
Memior 44
Carcassone
MTG duel decks?
 
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!!
 
i would definitely go for some version of fluxx, the one me and my freinds play is star fluxx.

When you learn what all the cards do the games fly by. some games can last minutes. and others may go on for a lot longer. but to me it is still such a good game because it can be so random at times.
 
fewfe3 said:
i would definitely go for some version of fluxx, the one me and my freinds play is star fluxx.

When you learn what all the cards do the games fly by. some games can last minutes. and others may go on for a lot longer. but to me it is still such a good game because it can be so random at times.
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That's pretty much why it's the opposite of a good game, in my opinion. I'll still play it occasionally for the social side, but I'd play almost anything else first.

If you want something similar to Fluxx, try Red7. It has the same basic setup of putting cards in front of you and using other cards to change the rules, but players have a lot more agency and there's interaction beyond "Welp, player B changed the rules to Play 4 and now I have to play cards that will make player C win the game". It also never lasts longer than 10-15 minutes because you play a maximum of seven rounds.
 
JeditOjanen said:
That's pretty much why it's the opposite of a good game, in my opinion.
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This. Fluxx is on the same level of Munchkin for me. A silly game that can far outstay it's welcome as games can drag on, which isn't great in a game that is inherently unfun to begin with.
 
A three player game of Blood Rage should be do-able if you have it well organised before setup. I would love to know how anyone can make Munchkin last that long :D.
 
dcsarge said:
A three player game of Blood Rage should be do-able if you have it well organised before setup. I would love to know how anyone can make Munchkin last that long :D.
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How can anyone make it not last that long? A game of Munchkin involves a cycle of one player getting close to victory and being stabbed until eventually everyone runs out of ways to stab the leader. It can last for hours.
 
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