Family Games for Six or Seven Players

One key to happiness – GAMES

Our family gaming group consists of seven people, in three generations. Finding good quality, challenging, and fun games for this group is a challenge in itself.

Before we discovered the current crop of Euro-games, we played Hearts, Nertz, Oh Hell, Mexican Train Dominoes, Yahtzee, Five Thousand, Fill or Bust, Sequence, Inklings, Anybody’s Guess, and Scattergories. We had fun, but did not know what we were missing. Then, we found Trumpet and began a journey into the modern age of games.

I’ve listed in a previous blog entry our favorite family games as of last month. Quite a different list from the above paragraph, isn’t it? A good number of those favorites are designed for a maximum of 5 players. We have 5 adults in our group, so that has been one of my criteria for game purchases until now. Our grandchildren are now ages 8 (Joel) and 10 (Natalia). Natalia enjoys only a few of our “group favorites,” and she plays them very well. Joel wants to play virtually all the games the adults play, and he plays them very well. As of today, I will only purchase games that can be played by 6 or 7 people, or games designed for 5 that I might be able to modify for play by 6 or 7.

Number of players is probably the most important criterion I use when considering new game purchases, but it is certainly not the only important one. There are many other factors that enter into my considerations.

Game Types We Are Not Interested In Purchasing

• Wargames
• Abstract Strategy
• Action/Dexterity
• Primarily for Ages Under 10
• Collectible Components
• Miniatures
• Science Fiction, Horror, or Fantasy Themes
• Themes with Fighting or Other Violence
• Memory Games
• Party Games
• Music Games (although the entire family is musical)
• Trivia, General Knowledge, or Primarily Educational
• Sports Themes, Including Auto Race Games
• Religious Themes
• Modern Political Themes
• Word Games (although some of these are acceptable)
• Games That Eliminate Players Before the End of the Game

Game Mechanics We Are Not Interested In Playing

• Acting, Singing, Role-Playing, or Other Performances
• Cooperative Play (we enjoy competition)
• Partnerships (we prefer individual competition)
• Voting
• Roll-and-Move

Things We Enjoy About Games

• Game Length: 60 – 90 Minutes, Maximum
• Negotiation/Trading
• Some Randomness, But Not Too Much
• Territory Management
• Connection Mechanics
• Set Collection (But Not Simple Rummy-Type Play)
• Tile-Laying
• Race Games, IF They Include Options or Complications (not just roll-and-move)
• Bidding/Auction
• Equal Competition for Adults and Intelligent Children
• Trick-Taking Card Games

Although an enormous number of available commercial games are eliminated by the criteria we don’t want to see in a game, a significant number of excellent games exist that meet the factors we enjoy (see our list of favorite games, listed in the previously-mentioned blog entry).

5-Player Games That Work Fine for 6 or 7

Some games designed primarily for 5 or 6 players can be played successfully by more players. Here are some examples.
• Bohnanza is a great game for 6 or 7.
• Boomtown works fine for 6.
• Trumpet is just as good for 7 as for 6.
• Zirkus Flohcati works fine for 6 or 7.
• David & Goliath plays as well with 7 as with 6.

Bohnanza --- The rules published with Bohnanza (from Rio Grande Games) include three modifications for 6 or 7 players: (1) remove the Cocoa and Garden Beans; (2) deal different numbers of cards, originally, to different players, based on seating; and (3) draw a different number of cards at the end of a player’s turn. NO, NO, NO! Forget those modifications. Play with all the cards and use the same rules as for 4 or 5 players. The modifications are completely unnecessary, except - exhaust the draw deck only two times. This is a great game for 6-7 players and is currently our family favorite.

Other Game Modifications

• Borrow a set of gray meeples from Carcassonne to play Hunters and Gatherers with 6 players. Use the builder and pig meeples (from the Carcassonne Traders and Builders expansion), or other different markers, for the two river huts. It works great.
• We have not tried this, but believe it would work: Remove, randomly, 2 property cards and 2 check cards from For Sale (leaving 28 of each) for a 7-player game.
• I am seriously considering purchasing/making a sixth set of “train” pieces (in a different color), allowing us to play Ticket to Ride with 6 players. We might have to experiment with ending the game when a player is down to 5 or less trains, because the available track routes will fill up quicker. I think playing with 6 would also modify game strategy, making shorter routes more valuable.
• Royal Turf could be easily expanded to 7 players, with the addition of a new color of four betting chits.
• I need to come up with a way to add 34 camels of a sixth color to Through the Desert! Probably will need to modify the game-end conditions, too, but, I’m working on it…
• I intend to print two additional “row cards” for Coloretto, so we can play with 6 or 7 players.
• I could print an additional player board for Princes of Florence, but I think it will take a lot of study and experimenting to learn whether the game is actually playable by 6 players. It may be too-tightly designed to allow modification for 6 players. Besides, I suspect it might make the game too long for us.
• I see no way to modify Hacienda, which is a shame, as I believe we would enjoy playing with 6 players.

Now, if I could just influence game designers and publishers to create more great family games for 6 and 7 players, that would be nice. At least, I wish they would include, or make available, expansions to their 4-player or 5-player games for 6 or 7 players (as they did for Settlers of Catan, with the 5-6 player expansion). In the case of Settlers, it required more tiles, more game pieces, and a modification of the rules, and it works beautifully.

So, I find myself reading about new games coming out, and the first thing I look for is the maximum number of players. If a game is designed for no more than 4 or 5 players, I’ll ignore it, at least until a 6- or 7-player expansion is issued, unless the game design appears to allow for house modification. I expect to miss out on a large number of excellent games because of this restriction, but we have too much fun playing games with the whole family to buy games we can’t all play together (designers and publishers, take note, please).

I am interested in any recommendations for games that meet our criteria and that we do not already own, as well as suggestions for modifying games to meet our needs.

--- Gerald … near Denver, Colorado
aka gamesgrandpa -- A grandpa who is a mile high on gaming