The first of two suggestions on this list which push the concept of ‘board game’, Magic: The Gathering is far and away my favorite TCG (trading card game), and its recently launched Foundations set has made it much more accessible for newcomers.

Magic pits you against other players in a battle of spell-casting where you hurl bolts of lightning, summon powerful creatures, and wield incredible artifacts – all represented by cards you draw from your deck, or library as the game calls it. If you can make your opponent run out of life, run out of cards in their library, or achieve one of a few other more niche win conditions, you emerge victorious.

While Magic has a consistent set of underlying rules, it has different ‘formats’ which mix up the card pool and impose different deck-building restrictions. The main one I play is Commander, Magic’s most popular and casual format. Instead of a one-on-one match it’s a three-or-more-player free-for-all (four is the ideal amount, five is doable, six or more is too chaotic). Commander players each rely on a 99-card deck of unique cards, ignoring Basic Lands (Magic’s resource system, kinda like Energy in Pokemon). Your 100th card is your Commander, a Legendary creature who you can always call upon to aid you, and who defines the theme and colors of your deck.

Wizards of the Coast has made preconstructed Commander decks for several years that you can play with right out of the box, and some of its 2023 and 2024 releases are actually quite powerful – I’ve even seen someone open one of these premade decks, shuffle it up, and then run away with a game against decks which cost several times more. Now, Foundations is bringing some newfound accessibility to Magic’s more competitive formats with a Beginner Box designed to teach players the game, and a 350-card Starter Collection which will give you an excellent starting point for a Standard deck (60 cards, four copies of a spell maximum), a Pauper deck (like Standard but with only ‘Common’ cards), or your own custom Commander deck.