Board Games : what to get?

[Katherine852]

Hello Airbnb community, I am a fairly new (3 months old) host and I need your advise regarding board games.

We bought quite a few board games for our listing (cards, uno, monopoly, chess, checkers, twister, scrabble) and we have found that only a few guests have used the games. Maybe it is our bias (since we love board games!).

Our question:

- should we buy more sophisticated board games?

- are we overthinking this topic?

For an experienced host this might sound a very trivial question; however we truly want to provide the best possible experience for our guests and need your experience..

Thanks in advance for your help!

Katherine

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Katherine852 sadly most guests use their phones these days. I would stick with what you have which will be appreciated by those groups who communicate with each other in a more traditional manner.

[Gillian166]

Hi there, @Katherine852  we have 3 listings, and hosted over 200 stays this year. We have no TVs in our listings (we are in a wine region, we have wonderful wine glasses, cheese boards and fireplaces instead) but we do have a really great selection of board games, and so far i think only 10 groups have borrowed games. We currently have 40 board games on offer for guests, I was worried our selection was too boring to start with but I've really expanded it.

top tip: go to thrift stores to find board games, you'll pay a fraction of the price and so far every game i've bought has been in very good condition. I sometimes have to print out the instructions (easily found online). I generally pay $2~$6 and have found some of the old classics (Game of Life, Operation, Guess Who?) that way.   

I also love board games and i think your selections are a bit boring. I love Scrabble but no one else will play with me (cos i beat them, haha), i hate monopoly, and Uno is a bit meh (although Uno Flip at least makes the game more fun). I don't play chess (and everyone beats me!), checkers is boring and twister is for kids and horny teens....  😂 so yes, i'd consider getting a few more interesting games. 

[M199]

@Katherine852 

Great question!

You can't possibly anticipate guest game types.  We use local thrift stores for our games.  Yahtzee, Battleship, Scrabble (we've had guests bring their own), 20 Questions.

Really a variety for guests to explore.  Keep in mind a range of games for different guest ages.

Avoid Monopoly, as my husband calls it.  "Monotony",  but he doesn't get games.

[Gillian166]

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@M199 wrote:

Avoid Monopoly, as my husband calls it.  "Monotony",  but he doesn't get games.

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I agree with him, and everyone ends up fighting ! But also, it's a game that every household seems to have, hardly that exciting when on holiday. We still have it of course, and we have 4 themed versions of it!  

[Amanda660]

I pick up new board games on local selling sites and have a cupboard full for guests.  I find these are used more the darker/colder months by groups - generally couples and families.  We’ve had a few groups of ladies comment that they’ve had great fun with them.  I’ve added to the collection since this was taken.

[Quincy]

Hi @Katherine852, this is a great topic! We actually posted a topic back in 2019 asking Hosts whether they offer boardgames! 😃 Here's the link (in case you're curious to take a look) 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Do-you-provide-board-games-for-your-guests/m-p/1038765

[Gwen386]

I agree with @Mike-And-Jane0 because I use my phone to play all types of games.

Also, since the pandemic, I’m weary of providing guests with anything that I’m unable to sanitize. Matter-of-the-fact, one of my guests brought their own board game. I only know because they left it behind and came back a couple of weeks later to pick it up. 

@Katherine852 I suggest not spending too much money on purchasing board games. 

[Sudsrung0]

Sadly to say I threw them all out they got trashed guest not taking care, all we have now is a pack of cards, as somebody has already mentioned people play more game online with their phone or iPad 

[Anonymous]

@Katherine852  I enjoy playing board/card games when travelling, but I tend to take my own. Whenever I've borrowed them at a rental home, they've been in not the best condition and often missing pieces. I wouldn't expect any host to go through and inspect all the game boxes between each guest. So if I were choosing the ideal games to add to a BNB, my top considerations would be:

- missing pieces/cards don't affect gameplay

- fast setup time

- durable pieces that can't fit up a nose (if hosting families with small kids)

Rummikub and Splendor would be two examples that fit all those criteria and don't make a mess.

Groups of 4 or more without little kinds still enjoy non-competitive games like Cards Against Humanity a lot, although the content is offensive to some.

[Cathie19]

For my homestay, a game like Twister isn’t going to happen. I don’t need people falling over themselves or others, injuring themselves on the furniture. Though if played outside on the grass, that would be different, but that’s out of my control, lol! 
A couple of extra young games and card games for children and I have a couple of non regular for adults and a few basics including Jenga. As we are also a young family friendly space, the chess set is kept high away due to small pieces, but others are behind cupboard doors. Nothing like Lego for small mouths either. 😁

[Katherine852]

Thanks for all the answers and support received with this question. We will definitively adjust the games offered so that they are fun, safe, not relying in all pieces to work (ie puzzles) and not expensive. 

I also want to applaud the involvement of this  community. Even a simple question about games was answered. As a new host there are plenty of questions that we have; it is ultra useful that instead of reinventing the wheel, we can ask more experienced hosts.

Cheers,

Katherine

[Byron54]

Hi @Katherine852 , i do include cards, UNO,  spin the bottle (until some kid took the bottle with him and we noticed too late). I recently added this game where you put the cards below your nose and you have to guest what kind of expression you have, really fun game until i remembered, who in their right mind would like to put these cards below their nose which have been previously used by someone else LOL, so i decided it wouldnt work there.

I also included a Box full of toys for kids, but from time to time, there was less and less toys left on the box because our guests kids also took them, so i scratched that as well. 

[Jannie19]

Hi, I love the ludo king board game. It can be played online, offline or with multiple players. https://ludokingfun.com/ There are downloading options also available for PC or IOS as well. You can add it in your list now.

[J-C35]

hopefully you have grown your library and continue to explore new games. The best descriptions and classifications, in most cases with pdfs for lost or damaged rulesets, is boardgamegeek. There is also a freemium web portal that has many top tier classics: boiteajeux. Staples include Agricola (misery farming), Bruxelles 1893, Concordia, DIE Burgen Von Burgen (the castles of Burgundy), Deus. 

Pt 2. If you want it to be a success with or w/o guests you need some type of habit/routine. Find a frequency you believe you can commit to maintaining, then take it down at least 25% and consider 50% (humans are terrible at estimation). Once you have a proven game night then you can add it as a feature for guests or even post guestbook. 

Finally, do not get suckered into Catan. it looks like a simple step forward but actually it often drags around endgame like the described, "Monotony". 100 better games. Happy competition!