Carcassonne

If you asked me the three best gateway games, I would without hesitation tell you Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, and Carcassonne. Each of the three games has their selling points, and Carcassonne has been one of my favorite games to suck more people into the fold of great board games. More recently, I've just begun to use the basic principles of the game to teach my four year old some tactics and strategies. Carcassonne looks fantastic when set up on the table, has a wide range of expansions available, and should be a part of every gamer's collection. I must say that Wrede's later Carcassonne works are getting better, as the game now has had the benefit of hundreds of thousands of playings. If you're not interested in the expandability of the game, then I would highly recommend picking up Ark of the Covenant or Carcassonne: the City. Both of them are slightly simpler and overall a bit superior to Carcassonne when played by itself. But when expansions are added, Carcassonne becomes a different animal, with a huge variety. Better yet, the expansions can be mixed and matched with little or no effect, allowing one to play Carcassonne with the rules of their pleasing. Mr. Wrede certainly designed a classic game when he came up with Carcassonne. There are some that dislike it (mostly hard-core gamers), but most people I've introduced it to have enjoyed it greatly. Not only does it play well in multiplayer (up to five, six with the expansion), but it also makes a tremendous two-player. It's simple, easy, and fun; and most people have asked me to try it again. I enjoy it, and with its expansions I find it one of the most fun games I own. It certainly would be one of the last I'd get rid of. Five years after it's release Carcassonne still has expansions coming out and is rising in popularity. This is for good reason - if you haven't played the game yet, check it out!