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Our next guest game night feature is expertly captained by Alex from @narrowboardgames!

Alex and I first met at UKGE a few years back whilst enjoying a demo of After Us, where I encouraged him to join the friendly board game community on Instagram! Since then, he’s reminded me that I’m personally responsible for his wonderful new hobby, and his empty bank account! Of course, I accept full credit. And zero blame.

He creates warm, witty content from his floating home, and he’s currently halfway through a Spirit Island deep dive challenge that I'm loving! I'm sure you all agree he’s the perfect person to share a unique insight into game night!

Take it away, Alex!

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Game Night! The most anticipated night of the week. Requiring meticulous planning,
attention to detail, hours pouring over rulebooks, making sure the lighting, the music
the temperature is exactly right for this momentous occasion!

In reality I don’t have time to worry too much about all these things. I’m all for a
simple life and why should game night be any different? So, lets cover our setting
before we delve into the games themselves.

Rock the Boat

For me my favourite place to host would be in the comfort of my own home, my little
narrowboat. Now this does come with its own restrictions. For one we could probably
only comfortably have around four players around the table, which honestly, suits me
perfectly.

Our next restriction is the games we play. Whilst I’m very much enjoy playing big
sprawling games like Spirit Island, logistically with four people, it’s probably a no go.
Therefore, I’m probably going to try and point us towards some slightly smaller
games, but I think this comes with its own benefits as you might be able to get some
repeat plays if people are really enjoying a certain game. The obvious benefit to a
small box game is the storage, which trust me in a small living space is a game
changer!

I also think the boat comes with some major attractions which make game night
extra special. First and foremost: it’s a boat. You can put the log burner on, get the
record player going (I’m a huge fan of film soundtracks so something along those
lines). It’s cosy. More often than not we are surrounded by picturesque scenery. I just
love it!

The Main Event

Game time! Now we could go seriously thematic and just make everything about
boats/ water. An obvious choice would be something like Brass Birmingham/
Lancashire which are brilliant games in their own right but it’s very likely that’s all
you’ll be playing! If you’re friends are up for it though a four player game of Brass is
one of life’s little pleasures.

Staying on the watery theme Finspan is an absolute little treat. It’s an engine building
game that sees players taking on the role of Marine Researchers diving to find
aquatic life. I find it a little lighter than it’s predecessors Wingspan and Wyrmspan
which makes it a nice quick teach with easy and engaging gameplay.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

As I alluded to above I think I’d aim to keep things as small and simple as possible. A
set of games that lend themselves very nicely to this are think Oink Games! Things
like Dro Polter, Scout and TRND. The latter is literally a set collection game all about
chairs that will literally have you on the edge of your… SEAT! (sorry). All of these are
simple to teach, take up little space and are a great time.

Another small box game I absolutely love is Faraway. This game is the definition of
easy to learn and hard to master. You’ll be laying a set of cards out in front of you
over the course of the game, depicting a journey that you’re taking into a strange
land. At the end of the game, you score points by going over your journey in reverse,
leading you to curse your earlier decisions and melt your brain, but in a really good
way.

I also really want to mention Anomia. I don’t think there is another game that makes
me laugh more. On your turn you flip over a card from a central deck on the table.
The card will have a symbol (like an apple) and a category (like Composers). If your
symbol matches with another player you each have to rush to name something of
the opposing players category, first to do so wins the card. You’ll be stunned by how
quickly your brain folds under pressure.

My Favourite Designer

I also want to give a little shoutout to my favourite board game designer Reiner
Knizia. I love his games in general but they also make amazing additions to game
night. They usually have immensely simple rules but with a lot of tactical depth. One
of my favourites over the last year has been Rebirth. This is a gorgeous tile laying
game set in Scotland or Ireland that is nothing short of brilliant. I genuinely think it
should be one of those games everyone owns.

For more classic Knizia and on the lighter side Lost Cities is also a great shout. I
think this game blends strategy and luck really well and again is an easy
recommendation. This time you’re playing cards to send your little meeples to
explore lost civilizations across the central map. However, in order to advance your
piece your cards must go in ascending order. How long are you willing to wait for just
the right card?

So that’s what game night looks like from a small living space. Lots of small games/
easy to teach games, cosy vibes and hopefully a fun evening for all!

- Alex

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If that doesn’t make you want to cram yourself into a narrow boat with a stack of small box games, nothing will. His lineup is spot on too because if you’re not slipping a bit of Knizia into your game night, what are you even doing.

Huge thanks to Alex from @narrowboardgames for giving us a peek into his perfect setup, complete with log burner vibes, film soundtracks humming away in the background and a table that can fit exactly four humans if everyone breathes in.

If you enjoyed his take, go follow him on Instagram at @narrowboardgames. His content is clever, funny and usually filmed on his gorgoeus narrowboat!

- Dan