Fillers

I like a long deep game dripping with theme, but sometimes you just need to get a short game out, something that you can either play multiple games of in a go, relax between more taxing games of the night or just killing 10 minutes while waiting for people to turn up/get food sorted/pack up the last game.  So I'm going to take about a few of my favorite short games.  

I find that fillers see a lot more table time that larger games, most work with higher player counts so work if we have a large group together and we could just spend the night playing a selection of fillers.  They also tend to be quite light so work with non-gamers.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf

Designed by Ted Alspach & Akihisa Okui

Published by Bezier Games Inc

One night is a hidden role deduction game.  It is a spin off of Werewolf or Mafia.  Each player is given a role either, Werewolf or one of the towns folk.  There are special roles that allow the player to perform actions during the night phase that could change who other people are or give them extra information.  Players are all dealt a card with a role and 3 spares are put face down in the middle of the table.  Each player looks at their card and then close their eyes for the night  phase.  Either with a moderator or using the app (get the app it's free and really good) each role that needs it will be called out, told to open their eyes and told what action to take.  Werewolves will look at each other, the Troublemaker will get to swap two other players cards, the Seer gets to look 2 cards in the middle or one other player's card and so on.  Then you will be asked to open your eyes and have a set time limit to talk before voting on who to kill.  Kill a werewolf and the townspeople win, don't and the werewolves win.

It's a quick game and I've never played a game of it yet without someone asking to play a second or third straight away.  The build in timer to the app means it can't drag out.  I'm a fan of hidden role games anyway.  This plays up to 10 players and there are expansions for more roles.  If you had a lot of players you could play full Werewolf but with no player elimination, no moderator and only taking 10 minutes a game I think this is a much better version if you have less than 10 people.  The app is a must get,  if you have new players it tells them what action to take when they wake during the night phase so you don't need to worry about them forgetting.  It can also be set up to play background noise to hide the noise of cards moving and the times for each action and talking can be edited. 

The Resistance 

Designed by Don Eskridge

Published by Indy Boards and Cards

I'm not going to talk to much about this one, you can read my blog post about it here The Resistance And Resistance Avalon.  I will talk quickly about it's use as a filler.

I does run slightly longer than some of the other games in this post but is still fast enough I'd consider it for a filler game.  The hidden role aspect is deeper than in One Night Ultimate Werewolf since the game itself runs for longer.  It is still fast enough and has no player elimination (unless the other plays peg you as a spy early on and never let you on a mission, but even then you still get to vote).  It is deeper as well so I don't think it will go down quite as well with non-gamers, it isn't too much but given the choice I'd use werewolf if I had people at the table that don't play games much.

Overall a game I enjoy and it works well as a quick game between larger games or as a warm up game at the start of the night.

Bang! The Dice Game

Designed by Michael Palm & Lukas Zach

Published by dV Giochi

Bang! is a dice version of Bang! The Card Game.  Players are given a hidden role either Sheriff, Deputy, Outlaw or Renegade.  This affects what their objective is in the game. The Sheriff wants to kill all the Outlaws and Renegades, the Deputies want to make sure the Sheriff survives and completes his objective, the Outlaws want to kill the Sheriff and the Renegades want to be the last man standing.  The Renegades are the only people that win individually the rest win as a team even if you have been eliminated.  This does mean that if the Sheriff dies to a Renegade after all the Outlaws are dead while either another Renegade or Deputy are still alive the Outlaws still win, they may be dead but the Sheriff is dead and that means they're victory conditions are meet and the Renegade still isn't the last man standing.

Each player takes turns rolling the dice with a couple of re-rolls and then using the rolls to get the best outcomes.  The "1" or "2" let you shoot a player 1 or 2 places away from you, the bullet holes shoot everyone else once if you get 3 of them at the end of your roll, Beer gives you a health back (or another player if you give it to them), Dynomite can't be re-rolled and if you get 3 of them it ends your go and you lose one health and the arrow means you have to take an arrow token but can be re-rolled after, if there are no more arrows you are attacked by the natives and everyone loses health equal to the number of arrows you have.  Run out of health and you are dead, simple.

The game includes player powers as well which I like in any game so that is a plus for me and again it is hidden roles which you may have noticed is something I like.  It plays fast and even though players can be eliminated the time it takes is short enough that you don't have long to wait until the game is done and you can jump back in again.  It is always fun to throw dice so that is an added bonus and the game comes with "cheat cards" which tell you what each face means so you can just hand them to new players to help them remember what does what.  It is easy to teach and like One Night I've never been able to play just one game of it without being asked to play a 2nd or 3rd time.

Zombie Dice

Designed by Steve Jackson

Published by Steve Jackson Games 

Talking of throwing dice, Zombie Dice is a fast push your luck game that plays any number of players.  The object it to get 13 Brains.  You draw dice from the cup 3 at a time and roll them.  Roll a Brain and you have a point, Feet re-roll in your next roll and Shotgun Blasts can't be used again, get three and your go is over and you lose any Brains you haven't banked yet.

I really enjoy this, it is so simple and trying to decide whether you can have just one more go to get a few more Brains before you bank is great fun, especially when it pays off (or if it doesn't for another player).  It is fast and easy so makes a great filler.  We played a game last game night in the time it took two people to walk round the corner to the off licence for more wine.  Because you draw dice from the storage tub there is no set up or set down and easy to carry around.

I am always up for playing this even though it is really such a simple game with almost no strategy since it is all luck, you can make guesses based on the dice that are left, Red dice have more Shotguns and Greens have more Brains but it really comes down to luck and knowing when to stop.

Ca$h 'n Guns

Designed by Ludovic Maublanc

Published by Repos Production

This is probably the longest game in this post but I think the 50mins on the box is the upper end of the time scale.  It can also be shortened with few rounds so playing 5 instead of the normal 8 rounds.

A set of loot cards are dealt out on the table and then everyone plays either a Bang or Click card face down on the table.  On the count of three everyone points their gun (you really get foam guns) at another player and then going round the table decide whether you are going to stay standing or dive for cover putting you out of the running for the loot.  Then you go round the players still standing that are pointing at a player still standing and reveal if you had a click or a bang, Click and the player you shot is safe, Bang and they take a wound and go out for the round.  Everyone left splits the loot between them and then a new round starts.  You have the strategy of knowing when to play clicks or bangs and when to dive out the way as well as what loot to take.  At the end whoever has the most value in loot wins simple.  

The 2nd edition includes player powers which mix things up if you include them and add more chaos to the game.  I love pointing the guns at people in a giant stand off Reservoir Dogs style.  It is fast and fun and might take longer than it takes you to decide what the next big game is going to be but I still think it can be fast enough to count as a filler, just a slightly longer one.  It isn't the sort of thing you'd have as your main game for the night but is something you can pull out to relax between two more serious games.

Coup

Designed by Rikki Tahta

Published by Indy Boards & Cards

Coup is another hidden role deception game.  It is set in the same universe as The Resistance.  In this game there is a deck of cards with different roles on them.  Each role has an action it can take and/or the ability to block an action.  Players are dealt two face down and then have to try and be the last player with any cards left.  Players can take any action whether they have the appropriate card or not, however if you take an action that needs a card other players can call your bluff and ask to see the card you are claiming to have.  If you don't have that card you lose one of your cards, if you do the accusing player loses one of theirs.  There are other ways of getting rid of players cards either with a coup that costs 7 credits or assassination (which needs you to claim to have an assassin card) for 3 credits.  Other abilities let you block assassins, steal credits, take extra credits or swap your cards.

The game is fast, I think it can be slightly harder for non-gamers to understand.  The game is simple enough but it requires a slightly deeper understanding of game strategy than some of the others on this list.  It is still quick and a great game to play.  I really enjoy when I've been bluffing that I have a role for a few turns and then 3 others claim the same role and it clicks to people that there are only 3 of that card in the deck so one of us is lying.

It is a fast bluffing game that works really well as a filler and since it only has one small deck of cards it is portable and takes a small amount of table space.

I'm happy to use any of these as well as others for fillers on a game night.  Some might be a bit deeper or longer and others but they are all simple enough that you can use them between longer games which make up the core of your game night.  Some I have used multiple times and made a whole night out of fillers.  

I also us my sister as a judge on how easy they are for non-gamers.  She never really enjoys or understands some of the games we play on games nights but there are games on this list we use at the start of the night if she is around until she goes to do her own thing and we get out Eldritch Horror.  If you want something for non-gamers to get involved with on your game nights I can recommend One Night Ultimate Werewolf or Bang! both are games that she asks to play anytime my friends come over to play games before we play the games we planned for the night.  She likes both and has even asked me to get them out when her friends are around so they can play them.

Any games you use for fillers or if you disagree with any other the games on this list, let me know in the comments.