I'm likely going to purchase two board games by mail (since I can't find many on this rock). Since shipping is so high I might add another. Does anyone have any suggestions for other games that are great for groups of non-super nerdy (yet still nerdy) twenty somethings.

How large is the group?

Cards Against Humanity is fun for a large group, if perverse.

Blokus is a good, casual, semi-nerdy game for a group of four.

I think I can fit up to 6

basically, the parameters are it can't be a sci fi, fantasy, or war game and I can't find it here (anything but the most popular will be hard to find here).

Settlers of Cataan is a pretty easy game to play, can accommodate 6 people although you'd need an expansion (standard is 4). It's just a resource trading game, semi-nerds typically like it because the rules aren't complex.

Another option is Dixit. Super simple game to play. Can play with six people. It's a picture interpretation game.

CAH is always fun with the right people. If it's with a really uptight group it's probably not the best but if you're loose it's great.

I highly recommend Cosmic Encounters. It's a bit nerdy, but very easy to learn. The rules are simple, but each player is one of 60 different alien races with particular properties or powers that, in combination, completely change the game. So no two plays are really the same at all.

Power Grid is an interesting one. It's a simpler version of Monopoly. I fall into the "nerdy but not super nerdy 20 somethings" category and love it

CAH is a good choice from upthread especially with the casual modifier in the title of thread

Ha, I have powergrid factory manager. Is the original any good? Factory manager was kinda meh.

Guestamation. Is a fun new game. All you have to do is be the closet to the answer. Great for kids and still challenging enough for adults.

Blokes is good for spacial recognition

define casual. Carcassonne is the most casual board game I've played recently and its a ton of fun.

If people consider Settlers to be casual (its anything but casual whenever I've played it, but thats probably because who I play it with is a bunch of extremely geeky and competitive strategic board game lovers) then Carcassonne is as well.

Ticket to Ride and Carcasonne are really good fun, and not nerdy at all.

I just bought Founding Fathers which is very tactical and interesting. The rules are written very poorly though, so don't play that one fresh out of the box (I think it can play 5). It's actually not hard to play. You try to pass articles of the constitution and use cards based on the historical delegates.

The farmers in Carcasonne confuse the hell out of me in terms of scoring.

I'll have to get founding fathers if I move back to DC

Great suggestions, feel free to add more. If you all want a better frame of reference I am thinking about ordering Acquire and Tammany Hall.

Puerto RIco is pretty fun. Also Civilization, though it requires more time to play. Agricola and Eclipse are lots of fun too. Dominion is a great card game.

But I think what you are looking for is Munchkin. Guaranteed laughs.

I've played munhkin, it is hilarious. I was thinking of Agricola, it seems interesting.

Not really a board game, but I always enjoy playing Bang! when I set things up with my non-nerd friends. It is really easy to learn and play, but still has a little strategy in it. Settlers of Catan has already been mentioned and is one of my favorites.

Most of these games are available on the apple app store. If you have an ipad or something I recommend you buy them there (cheaper than buying the real thing) so you can try some out and decide which one you prefer.

7 wonders is another decent and fast-paced civilization-building type game.

Also Robo-Rally is hella fun if you can decipher the rules. Probably one of my favorites.

I've only played Gravwell once, but it was extremely simple and pretty fun. You're basically in a race to get away from a "black hole," but the only way to get ahead is to sling yourself past other ships, which means that getting too far ahead becomes confusingly bad (as you then get slung backward). The rules could likely be explained in 90 seconds.

I know a really fun game called diplomacy... you should try it sometime.

Actually, sorry. I didn't notice that you weren't in any games.

seriously though, try a game called dominion. It's not a board game but is extremely fun. If you also want another card game that is fun and can sometimes give some laughs try apples to apples.

What do you mean by causal? Do you mean easy to pick up, short to play, suitable for people who are typically non-gamers? Because then I recommend The Resistance (kind of like Mafia but IMO better. Lots of deception and yelling).

I also second Putin's suggestion of Dixit. Very simple concept, doesn't feel too much like a "nerdy game" for non-gamers.

god how could i forget munchkin? co-GOAT party game for this demographic w/CAH

@putin, i only played one game which was pretty broken because i didnt know what i was doing lol. idk how it differs from factory manager, just enough to recommend it

mafia is also a wonderful suggestion if you want to argue a lot and have a deck of playing cards, i would recommend checking our games here for an example but... lol better sit down with about 10 hours of free time and a case of your favorite beer if you plan to read through one of them

Just bought Dominion a couple of months ago - pretty awesome game but not a board game. RoboRally is fun but if you have females playing then they tend to loose their shit (they just can't read maps!). Space Alert is a good one if you are after something different - but as 'work-as-a-team' type games go I would suggest Pandemic (win together or loose together) before Space Alert. I have to also suggest Zombies!!! for a bit of mindless fun (pun intended) it's really easy to learn and each game you play is different - personally though I prefer a game with a little more strategic depth to it, Alhambra is good that way. But if you can get people to play it History of the World is one of my all time favs.

"RoboRally is fun but if you have females playing then they tend to loose their shit (they just can't read maps!)" oh, this is what they were talking about in the misogyny thread. wtf?

also, i second the notion of carcassonne and munchkin being excellent games.

#Troll : Scrabble

don't see how scrabble would be a troll

This is a troll: Poker

If your group is in an ironic bent you could try Candyland or Life, or such.

For a group of two, I would seriously suggest Hnefatafl

Dominion is a great game, albeit technically not a board game.

One of my favorites is Last Night on Earth. Zombie survival scenarios.

you should check out Wil Wheaton's TableTop series on YouTube.

For example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU9FzW5QyEg

Tsuro is a pretty good, very fast paced, game that for up to eight players.
Twirkle is pretty good. It's kind of like scrabble but with shapes and colors rather than words.

If you like Munchkin, Illuminati is great (but super nerdy). It is a take over the world game, but you're doing it through influence over social groups and spending money.

Zombie Dice is awesome (probably also nerdy), I keep them in my pocket at Dragon Con and play with random strangers while waiting in line for panels (so, yeah, nerdy, but fun and fast paced.)

Yes to TableTop,

All of the games I mentioned (except Illuminati, I think) are on his series.

san juan is an easy going game with a lot of strategy, and has become my favorite because is the ONLY game that my girlfriend wants to play... and beat me too. is a perfect two player game.

Machiavelli, the son of diplomacy, is an excellent game that deserves more recognition. thank god there is a good online server (condottieri) that lets me get my fix.

Several of my recommendations have already been mentioned but what the heck. Carcassonne is very casual and easy to learn. I like it but my wife does not. San Juan is the easier version of Puerto Rico; I love it, but you can figure out the best strategies pretty easily so it's better as an "every so often" game. Ticket to Ride is a ton of fun and it has a lot of neat expansions. Everyone knows Settlers of Catan, but the expansions and sequels that I've played are all fun; I really like the American Trails to Rails one. I think it's better than the original.

Not technically a board game I guess (though Carcassonne and Puerto Rico aren't either), but for a very casual group, dominoes are fun. Not terribly strategic or something that will make you use your brain too hard, but fun.

Okay so, Twirkle is actually named Qwirkle. Handy information.

And, aside from Tsuro, none of my suggestions were boardgames.

Torres. Talisman. Cathedral.

@ckroberts: if you are not using your brain too hard to play dominoes, you are not playing it right.

Well, for Mexican Train or whatever, it's a game you can play with drinks in your hand.