Best Get to Know You Board Games
Let’s face it: getting to know new people is often awkward. But, with the help of a couple of awesome board games, you can become besties in a matter of rounds.
With so many different types of board games on the market, it can be hard to choose which game is right for you. So, we’ve created a list of the top cooperative, self-revelation, creative, and ‘find the best liar’ board games so you can figure out which best suits you.
Here are some of the best ‘get to know you’ board games around!
🏆 Our Top Picks for Best Get to Know You Board Games
In a hurry? Take a quick peek before you go.
Find the Best Cooperative Games
“There’s no ‘i’ in team.” “Teamwork makes the dreamwork.” — insert annoying inspirational teambuilding quote here. Nothing says let’s get to know each other like a little teamwork!
Pandemic
Players: 2- 4
Playing time: 45 mins
Pandemic gathers players together as skilled members of a disease-fighting team. As a team, you are tasked with the tough job of keeping four deadly diseases at bay. If that’s not tough enough, you’ll also need to discover their cures.
In this cooperative game, you and your teammates will trek across the globe to find resources for cures and to fight the spreading infections. There are a lot of strategies involved as players must use their characters’ strengths to plan for the future and try to get ahead of outbreaks.
What makes Pandemic such a great ‘get to know you’ game is that all players win or lose together, making teamwork one of the main objectives. You’ll learn a lot about a person when the fate of humanity is in your hands.
Pandemic is a great choice for teen or adult groups, bringing everyone together with a little high-stakes problem-solving!
You may also enjoy:
- Best Pandemic Expansions
- Pandemic: On the Brink Review
- Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 Review
- 5 Games Like Pandemic
Space Alert
Players: 1- 5
Playing time: 30 mins
Space Alert is a team survival game where players take on the role of a crew of space explorers sent out through hyperspace to survey a dangerous sector of the galaxy.
The game is set by 10-minute mp3 soundtracks (you can print the scenario cards if you don’t have access to a smartphone or device). During the 10 minutes, the crew scans the enemy’s sector while defending their own ship. If your team succeeds you’ll bring back valuable data, if not, your fate is sealed, and there’s no returning.
What’s great about Space Alert is that the most difficult part of challenges can be the players themselves. Teamwork will be needed to successfully travel missions throughout the galaxy!
It’s a fun cooperative game but does require a bit of rule-learning, so best to play with a smaller group of people.
Ghost Stories
Players: 1- 4
Playing time: 60 mins
Centuries ago, there was a battle against Wu-Feng, the Lord of the Nine Hells (sounds like a nice guy). Countless lives were lost, but eventually, Wu-Feng’s dark forces were defeated. His mortal body was cremated and tucked away in a sacred urn buried below an unassuming village (must have not had a homeowners association).
Fast track to present times, Wu-Feng has discovered his ashes and unleashed an army of ghosts to descend upon the village. In Ghost Stories, players are selfless Taoist priests, who come together to protect the villagers and defend Wu-Feng’s ashes.
At the beginning of every turn, you must draw the top card of the Ghost deck and put it in play. With 55 ghost cards on deck, each with its own unique strengths, weaknesses, and abilities, no two games feel alike.
With Haunters (ghosts descending upon the village) and Tormentors (ghosts forcing you to roll the curse die to disastrous effect), you’ll need to come together to move through the 9 village tiles and fight the evil forces.
Ghost stories makes battling ghosts and getting to know people fun!
Find the Best Self-Revelation Games
Self-revelation games are a lot of fun to play when you’re getting to know people. All is hidden until players reveal their cards. You’ll learn a lot about a person’s sense of humor with Apples to Apples and Cards Against Humanity. Particularly the latter.
Apples to Apples
Players: 4- 10
Playing time: 30 mins
Apples to Apples is a game of hilarious comparisons for the whole family.
With each round, a player becomes a judge and draws a description card. The other players decide which card best matches or might be the most hilarious. What’s great is that everyone has a different idea of what they’d choose, so no game is the same.
In Apples to Apples, you get to know people the fun way, learning about everyone’s different sense of humor. It’s good fun and can be played by all ages.
Cards Against Humanity
Players: 4- 30
Playing time: 30 mins
“A party game for horrible people.”
Cards Against Humanity can otherwise be described as an adult version of Apples to Apples. It’s super simple to learn, and you basically use the cards to make jokes.
In each round, one player asks a question from a black card, and everyone answers with their funniest white card. This is the perfect party game or college game to break the ice.
Also, if you’ve become a fan of Cards Against Humanity, you’re in luck. There are loads of expansion packs to choose from that add to the craziness!
Find the Best Creative Games
These games will get the creative juices flowing with loads of color and dreamlike imagery. Creative board games like Dixit and When I Dream pair well with vivid imaginations.
Dixit
Players: 3- 6
Playing time: 30 mins
Dixit takes the phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words” to the max!
It’s a fun illustrated game of creative guesswork where each player is the Storyteller in turn. The Storyteller chooses a card from their hand and gives a clue. Perhaps something like a word, song, or phrase.
The other players choose the card in their hand that best fits this clue. The Storyteller’s card is shuffled with the players’ cards, then all are revealed. Players secretly vote in the end.
Dixit is super fun as often you really aren’t sure which card is the Storytellers. It’s also a fun game for a group of kids as the rules are simple, and there’s no reading required.
When I Dream
Players: 4- 10
Playing time: 20- 40 mins
When I Dream is a simple yet enchanting game of creativity and communication.
Night has fallen, and you are floating into a magical world of dreams. Communicate with dream Spirits and try to interpret their messages.
In the game, When I Dream, players take turns as the Dreamer, placing a mask over their eyes. The other players take on the roles of Dream Spirits, using a single word to describe the same card. But lurking in the dark the Sandmen and other Boogeymen are trying to lead the Dreamer astray.
It’s a fun game that’s easy to learn and great to play with kids!
Find the Best Liar Games
Liar, liar, pants on fire. ‘Find the best liar’ games reveal a lot about the people you play with. Thought someone was too innocent to lie? Think again!
The Resistance: Avalon
Players: 5- 10
Playing time: 30 mins
Having fast become a top contender for hidden role games, The Resistance: Avalon pits the forces of good and evil in an epic battle to control the kingdom.
The game follows the legend of King Arthur, and players take on the roles of either Arthur’s loyal servants or Mordred’s minions. The evil side, being the minions, will attempt to thwart the servants without giving it away.
Through 5 quests, each side has the chance to pass or fail a quest. A leader is chosen for each quest with a couple of players. Votes are cast, and accusations start flying on who’s on what side.
If you’re a fan of the original The Resistance, give Avalon a try, as the new roles give the game a whole different feel.
Coup
Players: 2- 6
Playing time: 15 mins
In Coup, you have the space to flex your bluffing and bribery skills as you manipulate your way to power.
In the future, a new royal class of multinational CEOs runs the government as their own personal ATM. Greed, wealth, and absolute control are central to the few in charge. For the rest, poverty is a way of life until The Resistance seeks to overthrow the fat cats.
In a game of secret identities, players start with two coins and two face-down character cards, each with unique powers. The aim of the game is to be the last one standing, having driven your rivals into exile.
Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game
Players: 2- 5
Playing time: 60- 120 mins
There’s no better setting for getting to know someone than the backdrop of Dead of Winter’s apocalyptic world.
In this story-centric game, players face an epic struggle for power and survival. It’s a harsh winter in the apocalypse, and survivors must deal with their own psychological imperatives while still finding a way to work together.
Players must fight off outside threats, source food and supplies, and keep the colony’s morale up because even in a harsh, desolate apocalypse, people still need a little giggle.
If you’re looking for a heavy-thematic game that gives players a lot of space for decisions, Dead of Winter is your go-to game!
Wrap-Up
We hope you enjoyed our list of the best get-to-know-you board games. Whether you’re looking for a game for kids, colleagues, or a new group of friends, these games will get people out of their shells and into the fun of the game!
Have you tried any of the games on this list? Let us know in the comments below which board game is your favorite! We’d love to hear from you.
