Some other games of mention that are good at 5 players: Kemet Francis Drake Neither plays more than 5 without an expansion, and Kemet's Seth expansion changes it to a 1-vs-many game.
At the lighter end of the spectrum, I would also consider Long Shot: The Dice Game.
Also at the lighter end of medium weight that is typically a quick play with plenty of meaty decisions is Raccoon Tycoon. If not in this list, definitely in your future lighter weight games. Nice list!
Always good to talk about 5+ players … I had not realized the philosophy of Stonemaier Games. Here are some of the ones we like that were not mentioned:
Moonrakers Veiled Fate Creature Comforts Flamecraft Northguard Marvel United – need season 2 or beyond (X-Men) and really the 1 vs Many is much harder and complicated than playing all co-op
Ecos: First Continent – I think .. been a while since we played, might be time to play again.
My favorite game at five players is El Grande. I enjoy the game at other player counts but I just love it at five.
The bidding for actions is more meaningful and it's harder to keep track of the number of "caballeros" in the "castillo". Both of which make the game more exciting for me.
Broom Service is best at five ! Quacks with the Herbs expansion makes it play five, and that's fun because it's simultaneously played! Liberatalia Winds of Galecrest is one of my favorite games of all time, and crazy how fun it is at all player counts actually! Mysterioum is good at five, though more of a lighter game . Awesome video with some amazing picks! I do find it's hard to find a good heavier game that plays well at five, but that's also a huge reason I love Stonemaire games so much! Most of your games scale so well into the higher player counts, so owning some of them as a gamer is a must !
I think you could avoid the whole: is this game really "medium" argument by having a list that was "non-party games". Gamers can be weird calling a medium game "light", but most of them will agree what is a party game and what isn't.
Before watching your list and off the top of my head: Scythe, Euphoria, Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Ethnos, The Artemis Project, 7 Wonders, King of Tokyo, Concordia, Captain Sonar, Notre Dame.
(I think Wingspan is a touch long at 5, but I can't wait to try the flock mode at 6-7 and see how it plays.)
At 5+ I like games with more interaction; trading, negotiation, auction, and war games. Moonrakers, Chinatown, Sidereal Confluence, Kemet, Eclipse, and Modern Art.
Some thoughts: 1) Orleans has a 5th player expansion that has the player color black. Jamey addresses this in his video description. 2) I like a lot of these picks, Isle of Skye works so well at 5. 3) A low key medium weight game that plays well at higher player counts is Antike II. 4) I wouldn’t consider Twilight Imperium IV as ‘medium’ and I often wonder what games gamers are playing where TI IV is considered ‘medium’.
Have you tried Twilight Inscription? Not sure if you'd class it more on the lower end of heavy, but also being simultaneous play, it fascinates me to see a game that plays up to 8.
I usually play games with a group of 4, sometimes 5, so this really helps for those times when we need a game to fit that extra person!
I appreciate the focus on 5 player games as this is the typical player count in my game group, and I rarely get to play the (too) many games that are designed for 4 players. I agree with comment below that El Grande may be the best 5-player game (because all the cards are used), but a close second is Modern Art and throw Hansa Teutonica in as well. These unfortunately do not scale down very well.
My favourite games I think fall into this category are Mission Red Planet and Colt Express. Simultaneous selection keeps things pretty quick but fun decisions and a bit of chaos.
A good list. I own Castles, Cartographers, Fantastic Factories, and Space Base. I have the app for Lords of Waterdeep. I have played Isle of Sky, Architects and Ra, and will soon own the new version of the latter. I've been wanting to play Orleans.
I have acquired Ra, Isle of Skye and Castles of Mad King Ludwig based entirely on your past recommendations, and I also own Cartographers, Lords of Waterdrep and Architects.
All of that is to say I think you have immaculate taste sir 😉
Hansa Teutonica is my favorite 5 player game. So much fun and it's pretty snappy. I love the whole pull your cubes off your board to get better actions mechanic (similar to Terra Mystica). I usually upgrade too much and forget about the main board…which is also a lot of fun to explore and get in other player's way.
Between Two Castles and Space Base are the top choices for me that don’t lose a step going up to 5, but honorable mentions would go to 7 Wonders, Verdant, and The Crew.
Some of your ambassadors must have a lot of patience with some of their picks! Some of those I would hesitate to play with even 4…
Ethnos or Senji didnt even make the ambassador list…maybe its time to apply to become an ambassador or maybe they are too light 🤷♂️ Quacks of Quedlinburg is probably the lighter version of orleans. If you want to try Senji bring some peeps to gopo in Fulton and Ill teach ya 😁
Camel Up is probably on your light list, but as an avid gamer who leans toward medium weight games, I think it’s FANTASTIC at high player counts. I played with my family at 8 over the holidays, and we all had a great time.
We just played Ra with 5-players yesterday and had a lot of fun. It was my first time playing! We also played Princes of Florence with 5 and that was terrific as well. It would be a medium to heavy game though. Last week we played Moonrakers with 5, and while it went a little long with 4 players learning the game, it spiced up the negotiations. Great list👍
Even though it does not say it on the box Dominion works with 5. Quick and easy to set up and moves quickly if you don’t use any of the more exotic expansions. Also Quacks with Herb Witches
Interesting insights as always, thanks! I recently played Cosmic Encounter for the first time and we were 5 players. It was so much fun and is one of those rarer games where you almost need at least 4 or 5 players for it to really work.
The newest printing of Orleans by Capstone is 2-5 players out of the box. I'd throw in Atlantis Rising, Kemet, Istanbul, and Mission Red Planet. Slightly lighter – Campy Creatures and Mysterium.
I would argue that Tokaido is a lighter game (hopefully to be featured in the future!) but it is my absolute favorite game to play with a full 5 players. Turns are simple enough to keep things moving but the limited spaces and different goals for finishing a painting first or having the most friends still encourage healthy competition and strategy when choosing where to go.
I highly disagree about Lords of Waterdeep. I much prefer that one at a lower player count. 3 is best, but 2 is also good. The higher player counts feel far too restrictive for me since you don't really get to do much every round, you have too few workers. Sure, the intrigue cards (if you get good ones) can help with that, but if you are unlucky with the intrigue cards, I tend to feel too "stuck" when playing Lords of Waterdeep at a higher player count.
This is a really good list and very helpful, since the 5 player game night is a dilemna my group often faces! I am surprised that Nidavellir didn’t make the cut!
I think Keyflower works well at 5. The bidding for tiles involves everyone, then you simultaneously place your tiles.
Some other games of mention that are good at 5 players:
Kemet
Francis Drake
Neither plays more than 5 without an expansion, and Kemet's Seth expansion changes it to a 1-vs-many game.
At the lighter end of the spectrum, I would also consider Long Shot: The Dice Game.
Also at the lighter end of medium weight that is typically a quick play with plenty of meaty decisions is Raccoon Tycoon. If not in this list, definitely in your future lighter weight games. Nice list!
Always good to talk about 5+ players … I had not realized the philosophy of Stonemaier Games.
Here are some of the ones we like that were not mentioned:
Moonrakers
Veiled Fate
Creature Comforts
Flamecraft
Northguard
Marvel United – need season 2 or beyond (X-Men) and really the 1 vs Many is much harder and complicated than playing all co-op
Ecos: First Continent – I think .. been a while since we played, might be time to play again.
My favorite game at five players is El Grande. I enjoy the game at other player counts but I just love it at five.
The bidding for actions is more meaningful and it's harder to keep track of the number of "caballeros" in the "castillo". Both of which make the game more exciting for me.
Orleans is really good, but it's 4 players only, right?
Broom Service is best at five !
Quacks with the Herbs expansion makes it play five, and that's fun because it's simultaneously played!
Liberatalia Winds of Galecrest is one of my favorite games of all time, and crazy how fun it is at all player counts actually!
Mysterioum is good at five, though more of a lighter game .
Awesome video with some amazing picks! I do find it's hard to find a good heavier game that plays well at five, but that's also a huge reason I love Stonemaire games so much! Most of your games scale so well into the higher player counts, so owning some of them as a gamer is a must !
I think you could avoid the whole: is this game really "medium" argument by having a list that was "non-party games". Gamers can be weird calling a medium game "light", but most of them will agree what is a party game and what isn't.
Before watching your list and off the top of my head: Scythe, Euphoria, Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Ethnos, The Artemis Project, 7 Wonders, King of Tokyo, Concordia, Captain Sonar, Notre Dame.
(I think Wingspan is a touch long at 5, but I can't wait to try the flock mode at 6-7 and see how it plays.)
I love how Fantastic Factories "scales well" for all player counts, especially solo.
At 5+ I like games with more interaction; trading, negotiation, auction, and war games.
Moonrakers, Chinatown, Sidereal Confluence, Kemet, Eclipse, and Modern Art.
Some thoughts:
1) Orleans has a 5th player expansion that has the player color black. Jamey addresses this in his video description.
2) I like a lot of these picks, Isle of Skye works so well at 5.
3) A low key medium weight game that plays well at higher player counts is Antike II.
4) I wouldn’t consider Twilight Imperium IV as ‘medium’ and I often wonder what games gamers are playing where TI IV is considered ‘medium’.
Have you tried Twilight Inscription?
Not sure if you'd class it more on the lower end of heavy, but also being simultaneous play, it fascinates me to see a game that plays up to 8.
I usually play games with a group of 4, sometimes 5, so this really helps for those times when we need a game to fit that extra person!
Feld’s Strasbourg is great with 5 and doesn’t drag at all
I appreciate the focus on 5 player games as this is the typical player count in my game group, and I rarely get to play the (too) many games that are designed for 4 players. I agree with comment below that El Grande may be the best 5-player game (because all the cards are used), but a close second is Modern Art and throw Hansa Teutonica in as well. These unfortunately do not scale down very well.
Interesting that you chose Ra over Modern Art at 5 players – I've heard it's best at 3 to 4 players.
My favourite games I think fall into this category are Mission Red Planet and Colt Express. Simultaneous selection keeps things pretty quick but fun decisions and a bit of chaos.
A good list. I own Castles, Cartographers, Fantastic Factories, and Space Base. I have the app for Lords of Waterdeep. I have played Isle of Sky, Architects and Ra, and will soon own the new version of the latter. I've been wanting to play Orleans.
I have acquired Ra, Isle of Skye and Castles of Mad King Ludwig based entirely on your past recommendations, and I also own Cartographers, Lords of Waterdrep and Architects.
All of that is to say I think you have immaculate taste sir 😉
Hansa Teutonica is my favorite 5 player game. So much fun and it's pretty snappy. I love the whole pull your cubes off your board to get better actions mechanic (similar to Terra Mystica). I usually upgrade too much and forget about the main board…which is also a lot of fun to explore and get in other player's way.
Between Two Castles and Space Base are the top choices for me that don’t lose a step going up to 5, but honorable mentions would go to 7 Wonders, Verdant, and The Crew.
Some of your ambassadors must have a lot of patience with some of their picks! Some of those I would hesitate to play with even 4…
Ethnos or Senji didnt even make the ambassador list…maybe its time to apply to become an ambassador or maybe they are too light 🤷♂️ Quacks of Quedlinburg is probably the lighter version of orleans. If you want to try Senji bring some peeps to gopo in Fulton and Ill teach ya 😁
Camel Up is probably on your light list, but as an avid gamer who leans toward medium weight games, I think it’s FANTASTIC at high player counts. I played with my family at 8 over the holidays, and we all had a great time.
We just played Ra with 5-players yesterday and had a lot of fun. It was my first time playing! We also played Princes of Florence with 5 and that was terrific as well. It would be a medium to heavy game though. Last week we played Moonrakers with 5, and while it went a little long with 4 players learning the game, it spiced up the negotiations. Great list👍
Even though it does not say it on the box Dominion works with 5. Quick and easy to set up and moves quickly if you don’t use any of the more exotic expansions. Also Quacks with Herb Witches
I always wanted to play King's Dilemma with 5 people but it's just damn near impossible to get the same 5 people to the table on a regular basis.
I rarely play at 5 players, but if I do, I would pull out:
Citadels
Liar's Dice (= Perudo)
Winner's Circle
Do you think there is a market for 5+ player count games?
Great list! My gaming group has an all-day gathering on Saturday, and this list gave me some ideas of what to bring to the table!
Interesting insights as always, thanks! I recently played Cosmic Encounter for the first time and we were 5 players. It was so much fun and is one of those rarer games where you almost need at least 4 or 5 players for it to really work.
The newest printing of Orleans by Capstone is 2-5 players out of the box. I'd throw in Atlantis Rising, Kemet, Istanbul, and Mission Red Planet. Slightly lighter – Campy Creatures and Mysterium.
I would argue that Tokaido is a lighter game (hopefully to be featured in the future!) but it is my absolute favorite game to play with a full 5 players. Turns are simple enough to keep things moving but the limited spaces and different goals for finishing a painting first or having the most friends still encourage healthy competition and strategy when choosing where to go.
I highly disagree about Lords of Waterdeep. I much prefer that one at a lower player count. 3 is best, but 2 is also good. The higher player counts feel far too restrictive for me since you don't really get to do much every round, you have too few workers. Sure, the intrigue cards (if you get good ones) can help with that, but if you are unlucky with the intrigue cards, I tend to feel too "stuck" when playing Lords of Waterdeep at a higher player count.
This is a really good list and very helpful, since the 5 player game night is a dilemna my group often faces! I am surprised that Nidavellir didn’t make the cut!