Looking for a new board game to send my brother’s family. Every year I’m looking for one! 
I’m looking for a game that is NEW - within the last year-ish or so - so no Ticket To Ride or Catan or your other favorites you’ve had for awhile.
Looking for something that works for 2-4 players. Basically all adults though the “kids” are 16 and 19 - they are extremely bright and game afficianados.
Even a “game” that is card game based. Doesn’t have to be a big fancy board game.
TIA!!!
This was recommended on one of the many ‘best gift’ lists that come to my news feed.
Haven’t played it but it seems like an interesting game. I was considering buying it for S but the price went up while I was thinking about it 
I had heard about those escape room games!
This family likes strategy games or heavy brain work games - LOL, they are all super braniacs!!
Requested this year…(but not necessarily from this year)… Wingspan and Gloomhaven–Jaws of the Lion (supposedly easier and better than original Gloomhaven.) I know nothing about either but son has friends who play a lot and wanted these for his collection.
I got Funemployed for our Christmas go round–got a bunch of bluffers and talkers in our family so it seemed a perfect fit.
If you have a local game store, call them and ask. Ours has been terrific. They seem to play them all and know which ones different people are prone to like, telling me pros and cons for each game. They also were able to tell me about updates and when new things are coming out.
I buy from them (haven’t bought NEW games yet) even though they are more expensive because I want to keep them in business. I can’t get good in depth answers to my questions nearly as easily online.
ETA: When Covid isn’t an issue they have game days/nights when people come and play together. It’s a good way to test drive a game.
I got our family the game Half Truth for Hanukkah this year. It was created by Ken Jennings (Jeopardy GOAT) as a Kickstarter campaign in 2019, so it is pretty new. We opened it tonight but will play for the first time tomorrow since we are worn out from other stuff tonight. I am hoping it is more multi-generational than Cards Against Humanity, which is awkward explaining to my 75 and 80 year old parents!
Try quacks of quedlinburg. Not exactly this year but close enough. Wingspan as mentioned above is good but it’s on the “heavy” side. Gloomhaven is an acquired taste IMO. Happy to answer other questions, we are a big board game family.
Check out Board Game Geeks. They’ll give you a rundown as to complexity, popularity, type of game play, time involved, reviews. Sometimes looking for the newest game backfires–many get revised in later years for better game play.
The Quacks of Quedlinburg looks pretty fun!
Our family really enjoys Wingspan, as well as the more recent European expansion. But half the family are avid birders, so that helps. Not quite sure what “heavy” means above. Well made box. Heavy weight. It is a bit expensive. But pretty straightforward and quick to play, comparitively.
We love Dominion a deck building game. The new expansion Menagerie came out in March of this year, but you have to have the base set. And if your family plays they may already have it.
We actually as a family have decided that in many ways we like playing it on line better as you save all the set up time and the AI doesn’t let you make mistakes. You could get them a subscription to the online version if its a game you like - it’s at Dominion Online
Tokkaido
Terraforming Mars
we’ve enjoyed Photosynthesis, but it is best with 3 or 4 people.
Spaceteam is a card game that involves lots of chaotic yelling, but it is a nice break from board games, and a bit obscure.
if you don’t already have Azul, you should! We are also waiting for a fun game called Doomslings but it is a Kickstarter that isn’t done, yet, apparently.
yes, Azul is a good choice - we get a lot of play out of that one. and Takenoko
Half Truth looks good. I mentioned it to a friend after seeing your post and she purchased it to play with her family. She already bought Game of Phones which looks like a good one too.
This is a game that’s best for grammar geeks–STET!
@mathmom, we also prefer Dominion online. It’s so much easier to set up and faster to play. And it’s easy to look at the cards on your own time to remember what they do. At Thanksgiving, we all sat in the family room on our own devices to play online rather than set up all the cards on the table.
@Zinnia203 --My grown kids and their partners are all board game folks, and also have all recently gotten into birding, so I got this on your recommendation as a joint present for the four of them, and it has a been a big hit–thanks!