As exciting as game night can be, there can be a major downside to it. That potential downside is the amount of time it can take to play some games. Maybe someone can’t stay too long or the group wants to fit in more games than usual. In either case, attempting to get through hour-long games can be a nightmare. For these particular occasions, it’s always good to have shorter tabletop games available. Below is a list of just some outstandingly fun quick board games for folks with a limited amount of playtime.

Tsuro 

If you’ve got fifteen to twenty minutes, then you really can’t go wrong with Tsuro. Each of up to eight players controls a dragon token as they attempt to keep their game piece on the board longer than anyone else. The gameplay is very simple: play a tile and follow the path depicted on it. Try not to force yourself off, but trick others into flying to their demise. It’s easy to pick up, easy to play, and still manages to use strategic thinking.

Sushi Go! 

Sushi Go! Is a very fast-paced card game in which players choose which sushi they want from their hand and pass their cards on to the next player. Each type of sushi, and combinations of sushi, are all worth a different amount of points. Choose wisely; make sure you get all the goods you want without letting your opponents grab better sushi than you do, or even prevent you from seeing your strategy succeed. It’s also worth noting that all the sushi have adorable little faces on them which absolutely adds to the fun.

5-Minute Dungeon

The name says it all with this one. A game of 5-Minute Dungeon only lasts five extremely exciting minutes. Players cooperate as they make their way through the randomly-generated dungeon filled with foes, monsters, and of course, bosses. It takes strategy, communication, and luck to make it past every threat and through the dungeon. Cards are played so fast that it does make it hard to discuss a plan, so you’ll need to think on your feet.

Exploding Kittens

Adorable and suspenseful, Exploding Kittens is a blast to play. It only takes about fifteen minutes, but your heart will race the entire time. It’s essentially a cute version of Russian Roulette that uses more strategy. If you draw an Exploding Kitten, you’re out. However, there are plenty of other cards in the deck that shake things up a bit. Don’t worry, no real kittens are harmed during the game.

We Didn’t Playtest This At All

Like 5-Minute Dungeon, the same says it all here as well. We Didn’t Playtest This At All is one of the most chaotic card games you’ll ever play. It’s hilariously random to the point that it genuinely feels it was never playtested, but it somehow works. The goal is simple: win. To do so depends on the cards drawn that game, whether it be gifting bombs to your opponents, being victorious in Rock Paper Scissors battles, or playing the most Star Cards. There are plenty of ways someone can win or lose the game. You can be eliminated just for wearing jeans or win just because your opponents draw cards telling them they lose. It’s a hilarious time, and a few matches can be played within minutes.

Codenames

A thought-provoking and surprisingly suspenseful game, Codenames pits two teams of secret agents against each other. Each team’s leader, or Spymaster, gives clues to the rest of their team who must use them to choose the correct codename cards before the opposing team finds all of theirs. What makes it even trickier is the assassin that causes a team to lose if they mistakenly choose it. The Spymasters have to give hints that the other players would understand, and everyone thinks differently, so every match truly feels different. If you play really well, or really poorly, a single match can end rather quickly.

Coup

Coup is a game of bluffing, deceit, and clever thinking. Each player takes on the role of the head of a family who influences the government, and their goal is to be the last family with influence left standing. Steal gold, assassinate other characters, and attempt to figure out who is lying about who they really are. Coup offers a fun and quick way to mess with your friends’ brains, but they’re also able to mess with yours. The futuristic aesthetic and beautiful artwork immerses players into the game’s world which truly helps with taking on these influential roles.

Zombie Dice

“Eat brains. Don’t get shotgunned” starts Zombie Dice’s description on Board Game Geek, and it’s fairly accurate. The game is basically that simple. In Zombie Dice, every player is a zombie who is starving for brains. The more brains, the better. The dice all have three symbols on them: brains, shotgun blasts, and footsteps. Each brain rolled is one point and each footstep symbol can be rerolled (or adds nothing if you decide to stop after that roll). If a player rolls three shotgun blasts, though, their turn is over and they do not score. The first zombie to score thirteen brains wins. It’s a riveting game of gambling, with an interesting mix of luck and making strategic calls. It’s a very quick and easy to learn game, but it’ll have you and your friends laughing, holding your breaths, and screaming.

Get Bit!

In Get Bit!, players must outswim their friends as they’re chased by a shark. Cards are played to rearrange the order of the player pieces, and whoever is stuck in the back gets chomped by the shark and loses a limb. If a player’s piece loses all four limbs (they pop right off), they’re dead in the water and become the shark’s next snack. The last one still swimming wins the game. It’s a pretty wacky gameplay experience and leads to a lot of laughter and excitement even if you do lose a limb or two to the shark. It’s a simple numbers game, but with a Jaws-like twist.