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How to pick which board game to play, in one handy flowchart

Dylan Matthews is a senior correspondent and head writer for Vox's Future Perfect section and has worked at Vox since 2014. He is particularly interested in global health and pandemic prevention, anti-poverty efforts, economic policy and theory, and conflicts about the right way to do philanthropy.

It is December. It is cold, and everything is terrible. It is a time to stay indoors as much as possible, drink hot toddies, watch The Great British Baking Show, and, of course, play board games. But with an astonishing array of high-quality games to choose from, and an ever-intensifying gaming culture surrounding them, it can be hard to decide which to play, and the last thing you want is to be stuck inside arguing about the comparative merits of Settlers of Catan versus Ticket to Ride.

Luckily, the online gambling company Silver Oak Casino made this handy flowchart to make choosing the right game as easy as possible. Just answer a few simple questions (how long do you want to play? what themes do you like? do you have to play with children?), and the chart spits out an answer:

<a href="https://www.silveroakcasino.com/infographic/how-to-choose-the-perfect-board-game/">Silver Oak Casino</a>

(Silver Oak Casino)

The chart has some flaws (Candy Land is not just for "girly-girls," you gender-normative goon!) but overall the advice is pretty solid. It gets special points for taking time to identify kid-friendly games. As much as I love Agricola, I'd rather try to explain corporate tax depreciation to an 8-year-old than that game. Small World's a much better call. And anything on the chart is probably more fun than blowing your money on online poker (sorry, Silver Oak).