The Most Approachable, Giftable Role-Playing Games

Number of players:1 to 4| Game master needed?No |Accessories:None| Time commitment:Multiple sessions to play through all nine chapters

For someone looking to make the jump from traditional board games to role-playing games,Mice & Mysticsis a great entry point. Players portray a prince and his allies who have been transformed into mice and have to go on an adventure to save the kingdom. The game comes with a board, pieces, and dice that make it feel like a board game, but it uses simplified RPG mechanics to guide you through different challenges and battles. You don’t have to keep track of as many character stats as you would in many RPGs, and the board has lots of visual elements. For example, there’s a wheel full of cheese pieces that players can earn or lose; they can spend from the wheel for advantages but face consequences if all the pieces are lost. There are nine “chapters” of the game; depending how long you want to play, you could play through one or two per session. I played this with friends earlier this year and really enjoyed how the simple mechanics let us have fun with the story.Mice & Mysticswould also make a great introduction to RPGs for kids.

Number of players:3 to 5| Game master needed?No |Accessories:None| Time commitment:Single session

Fiascorequires neither a game master nor prep, making it just about as easy to jump into as a traditional board game. The game will guide you through everything you need to do to play right on the spot. Designed to tell “cinematic tales of small time capers,” it’s all about playing through situations where everything goes wrong due to the characters’ faults and flaws. “It’s like a Cohen-brothers film where everything goes totally chaotic by the end,” says Lauren Bilanko, owner of theTwenty Sidedgame shop in Brooklyn.

Number of players:3 to 5| Game master needed?Yes |Accessories:Dice| Time commitment:Single session

In this no-prep-required game, everyone plays goblins who have to run an errand in the human world. “You’ve got to work together and be scrappy to get what you need and get out without causing a huge commotion,” says Emma Scaggs, a co-host of theRead, Play, Gamepodcast. The fun is that the goblinswillinevitably be noticed and hilariously cause a commotion among the humans.

Number of players:Any (best with 2+ but can be played solo)| Game master needed?No |Accessories:None| Time commitment:Single or multiple sessions

ThisAnimal Crossing–eqsue game is easy for beginners to learn, says Jessica Enloe, a co-host ofRead, Play, Game, because it doesn’t use dice and there aren’t many rules. The way the book is written is also very accessible, Enloe says. Players create anthropomorphic “animal folk” characters who travel around a peaceful, pastoral world completing challenges to earn tokens. It’s a very open-ended, player-driven game, which doesn’t technically require anyone to facilitate as agame master, with adorable artwork that’s inspired by the worlds ofMoomin,Redwall, andStudio Ghibli.

Number of players:Variable depending on the game| Game master needed?Variable depending on the game |Accessories:Dice| Time commitment:Single session

For beginners or those who don’t have time to dedicate to routine gaming sessions (most RPGs are designed to be played over multiple sessions), Scaggs also recommends one-page RPGs, which are shorter, quicker games that you can complete in a single session. Many are available for free or as inexpensive downloads online, but a compilation book like this one from publisher Rowan, Rook, and Decard makes a nice gift. It features 13 games, including one of Scaggs’s favorites,Sexy Battle Wizards.

Number of players:2 to 4| Game master needed?Yes |Accessories:Dice| Time commitment:Multiple sessions

Scaggs also recommendsSlugblasteras a good entry-level RPG. The setting is the small town of Hillview, and everyone plays as teenswho ride hoverboards and go on adventures into other dimensions. Scaggs says it’s quick and easy to pick up; the rulebook is well structured, and the onus on players is light in terms of what they need to keep track of.

Number of players:3 to 5| Game master needed?Yes |Accessories:Dice| Time commitment:Multiple sessions

In this game inspired by TV shows likeBuffy the Vampire SlayerorSupernatural, the main cast of characters are a team of monster hunters. Each character is built around a monster-hunter archetype, such as the Chosen or the Gumshoe. It’s very simple without too many rules and simplified dice rolling. (I can attest to that myself — it’s one of the first RPGs I ever played.) There’s a lot of flexibility to create different stories inMonster of the Week, but the game is especially fun for those who like solving mysteries.

Number of players:3 to 5| Game master needed?Yes |Accessories?Dice| Time commitment:Multiple sessions

For sci-fi fans, Enloe recommendsMothership, an alien horror game that’s all about trying to survive in outer space. The game is fairly streamlined, so it’s easy to pick up quickly — there’s even an app to help guide players through creating their characters. She says it’s also a good game for newer game masters (called Wardens in this game), because the information provided in the manual is so well organized.

Number of players:3 to 5| Game master needed?Yes |Accessories:Dice, candles| Time commitment:Single session

The basic setup of this cooperative horror game, recommended by Whitney Wolfe, owner of theLast Place on Earthboard-game café in Brooklyn, is that there are ten candles on the table and each candle represents a scene. “All of the players at first have collective narrative power before the game master does,” Wolfe says. “So they are building this horror story together.” Everyone will die in the end, when only one candle is still lit. The whole point is to make something scary, Wolfe says, so it’s very suspenseful and it gets really spooky if you do it right.

Number of players:2 to 6| Game master needed?Yes |Accessories:Dice| Time commitment:Multiple sessions

Brindlewood Bayis a cozy-mystery-meets-cosmic-horror story. “It’s such a cute game where you get to play these little grandmas or grandpas, and you are investigating a mystery,” Wolfe says, “But it turns out you are actually investigating something paranormal.” The game is low prep and easy to jump into, even without much experience, and it comes with six different mysteries to play.

Number of players:2 to 5| Game master needed?Yes |Accessories:None| Time commitment:Multiple sessions

Wolfe also recommends this Jane Austen–inspired game in which players portray Regency-era characters like a striving socialite or a gentleman suitor. “You’re around other high-society people, going to the ball, falling in love, or having some kind of dramatic financial thing with your dad,” Wolfe says. Whatever the story, therewillbe drama: Each character has a secret desire they’re striving to achieve by using their social connections.

Number of players:1 to 4| Game master needed?No |Accessories:Dice| Time commitment:Single session

Bilanko likes thiskaiju-themed game that can be played solo or with friends. The story is about a mech pilot (the person controlling a giant robot from inside) who has to defend their home from an invading monster. But it’s up to the player(s) to create the world, the monsters, and the characters. “You can play it as a solo journaling game where you’re developing your home world,” Bilanko says, “and then you can run it for your friends as an adventure.”

Number of players:2 to 6| Game master needed?Yes |Accessories:Dice (the boxed set comes with custom dice, but it can be played with regular dice too)| Time commitment:Multiple sessions

Mouse Guardalso has aRedwall-ish vibe — the characters are anthropomorphic mice in a medieval fantasy world — but it’s actually based on acomic seriesof the same name. No knowledge of the comics is necessary to play, though. The main characters are members of the Mouse Guard, tasked with protecting the mouse territories from predators and other threats. The game has a similar vibe toD&D, thanks to the setting, but the gameplay style and the character creation are different. For example, combat is played with cards that allow a limited range of actions. While I found it simpler thanD&Din some ways, it is a bit more complicated than some of the games above.

Number of players:3 to 6| Game master needed?Yes |Accessories:Dice| Time commitment:Multiple sessions

Created by the makers ofCritical Role, one of the most popularD&Dpodcasts,Daggerheartis “designed to be an easier to approach fantasy game that has a lot fewer rules,” says Isaac VanDuyn, founder of theCarcosa Clubgaming space in Brooklyn and creator of the gameOutcast Silver Raiders. It’s set in a similar Tolkien-like fantasy world asD&Dbut is more narrative-driven, so the improvisational and imaginative storytelling are at the forefront with less emphasis on doing lots of math and following ultraspecific rules. It would make a great gift for fans ofCritical Roleas well as those looking for an approachable entry to table-top role play.

Number of players:3 to 5| Game master needed?Yes |Accessories:Dice| Time commitment:Multiple sessions

The aptly namedApocalypse Worldis a survival story set in a postapocalyptic,Mad Max–style society 50 years out from an inciting event. The game comes recommended by VanDuyn, who says it has “a very interesting mechanical system that is very simple to understand”: Players roll a pair of six-sided dice and add a number between negative two and positive two to the results. That’s the only dice roll needed to do anything in the game; otherwise, the game is played through storytelling and collaboration among players. Players cooperatively build out the world in the first session as they create their characters. Rather than planning everything ahead of time, the Master of Ceremonies (the game’s version of a game master) will ask players questions to expand the world and develop characters.

Apocalypse Worldhas actually inspired a whole subcategory of RPGs, which are calledPowered by the Apocalypse(PBtA) games because they borrow fromApocalypse World’s mechanics. Because it’s been so influential in RPG game design, it’s a great pick for both newbies and experienced players. “I have played many Powered by the Apocalypse Games, and I still think that the original one did it best,” VanDuyn says.

Number of players:2 to 4| Game master needed?Yes |Accessories:Dice| Time commitment:Multiple sessions

VanDuyn also likes this gothic game of “personal and political horror” from the ’90s where players portray vampires in a secret society. LikeApocalypse World, it’s more narrative-driven, focusing on the plot and characters more than combat or challenges.