Gateway Game

A gateway game is whatever title gets someone hooked — low complexity rating, a rules explanation that takes five minutes instead of forty, and enough real decision-making that it doesn’t feel like a kids’ game even when kids are at the table. The name comes from what it does: it opens the door to the wider hobby for people who’ve only ever played the games that live in every closet.

Not every simple game qualifies — a gateway game specifically has to be interesting enough that the person who just learned it wants to play something else afterward. That’s the whole job. If you’re trying to convert a skeptical partner, a group of coworkers, or your own kids into people who actually ask for game night, tell us that and we’ll steer you toward titles built for exactly that first impression.