Complexity Rating

Also called a game’s “weight” in board game circles, the complexity rating is a 1-to-5 scale for how much setup and rules-explaining a title asks of the table before the first turn happens. A 1 means read the card and go; a 5 means plan on spending close to an hour just getting everyone up to speed before the game itself starts.

It has nothing to do with how good a game is — some of the best nights in this house have come from a 5. It’s there so you can filter for what the evening actually has room for: a 1 or 2 for a weeknight with tired kids, a 4 or 5 for a weekend when everyone’s genuinely settling in.