Recommended by local players and game enthusiasts

Pandemic. (Ages 13 and up.) In this cooperative game, players work together against the board, so everyone wins — or loses. The goal is for the players (a team of scientists, medics and engineers) to contain a disease before an outbreak. You need teamwork skills, but it's still very competitive.

Ticket to Ride. (Ages 8 and up.) The No. 1 family game on boardgamegeek.com. This strategy game turns players into railroad tycoons who build tracks and formulate secret plans to get from one destination to the next.

Telestrations. (Ages 12 and up.) This low-pressure game is a cross between Pictionary and the old whispering game of telephone.

Snake Oil. (Ages 10 and up.) In this game, players draw cards and put them together to form a pitch, like a snake oil salesman. The game relies on improvisational skills.

Sushi Go! (Ages 8 and up.) In this fast and fun family card game, you pass cards and keep matches for points. A game can last as little as 20 minutes.

King of Tokyo. (Ages 8 and up.) The game combines strategy and luck. Players are mutant monsters who compete to rule Tokyo.

Codenames. (Ages 14 and up.) Like an enhanced version of the old television game Password, this game tests your ability to find relationships between words that aren't so obvious.

Chess. "Remains the greatest. Partly because of technology. Partly because of imagination. Partly because of the genius of one man, Bobby Fischer."

Games recommended by Logan McKee, Games by James; Syneva Barrett, St. Catherine University; Wendy Brunsman, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School; Eric Ingman, board game meetup organizer