Sometimes a game comes out and we just know we are going to love it. 

Whether its because of its theme, mechanic, designer, or publisher, we just know that it’s one we can’t wait to put on our shelves back home. 

Other times, however, it’s not as easy. Maybe it’s something completely different from what we’re used to playing. Perhaps it seems too similar to what we already have. Or maybe we’re just not sure if it’s worth the price. Whatever the reason, there are a lot of games that hit the shelves at stores that we aren’t sure would work for us. That’s why when we can, we like to try a game before we buy it.

Due to a lack of board gaming friends with libraries we can borrow from, we’ve found a lot of different ways to test out games before we purchase them. Here are three of our favorites!

1. DIY

You don’t have to be Chip and Joanna; making your own version of a game can be surprisingly easy sometimes! When Azul came out last year we were so overwhelmed with the hype. Everyone was talking about it! But we kept asking ourselves, “Is this game really worth it?” We just couldn’t decide if the game would hit the table often enough to justify the cost of purchasing it. 

So we made our own!

Using our printer and a few Ticket to Ride trains, we were able to make our own version of the game in about 10 minutes and for $0. 

Um, yes please!

We have played this little DIY version of Azul so many times that we know for sure it’s a game we want for our shelves. Minus the amazing components that you can only get by purchasing Azul, we were able to get the entire feel for the game and, over the course of a few months, see how often we chose to play it to make sure that it would indeed be a good addition. 

We have done this also with a couple other games as well!

Santorini hit our table for the first time in the form of Checkers pieces and meeples before it ultimately landed on our shelves.

We also made our own copy of Onitama and were able to decide from that experience that we probably got all the fun out of it that we would get and decided that it would not be a great addition to our library.

2. Print and Play

Some games offer smaller print and play versions of their retail games that you can print to try out. One of our favorites to do this with are the ones from Unlock!

Because escape rooms are so fun and because we weren’t sure how it would work when boiled down to just a bunch of cards we chose to print and play their 30 minute demo game. 

And it was awesome. Cue buying allllll the Unlock games. 

In fact, we had so much fun with this FREE print and play that it unlocked our wallet and we ended up buying literally ALL of the games available last year as gifts for our families for Christmas. They were an absolute hit! 

So beware, if you do a print and play, you may end up liking it too much and spending a bunch of money.

3. Board Game Stores

This one might seem like a no brainer, but not everyone knows that some board game stores have demo shelves where they keep a collection of games that customers can come and play for free. 

When we can find the time (and a sitter,) this is one of our favorite things to do. We love not only being able to try out the physical game itself, being able to look at the components close up, but we also love the sense of community that you get from being part of your local store. 

There are always people hanging out in the game room playing demos or games that they brought themselves to the store to meet up with friends. Stores will also frequently host game nights where you can bring your own games or join a table with some new friends and spend the evening trying some new games out! 

One of our local stores would also host demos of brand new games that they just got into the store. We’d sign up for a time slot and would arrive to join the table where an employee would teach us all the new game and we’d then get to play it together. This was great because if we ever got stuck or confused on a rule, they were right there to help explain it to the group and get us back on track.

Through our local stores, we have been able to try multiple games that we have since added to our collection and others that we were able to determine weren’t the best fit for us. We highly recommend seeing what your local store is up to and consider heading to an event!

Don’t have a board game store? Check your local library! Some libraries keep a collection of board games you can check out for a short time or for a small fee and they are another great place to check for board game meet ups and gaming nights.

Bonus!

4. Apps

Any list about how to try out games would be incomplete without at least a brief mention of the awesome amount of boardgames available on the app store. 

Some of our favorite board game apps are Potion Explosion, Ticket to Ride (great way to try out different maps!) Scotland Yard, Stone Age, Lords of Waterdeep, Jaipur, and Suburbia just to name a few. 

We’ve tried out many different games on their app first before purchasing them. Sometimes the small (or even free) cost of the app is a little easier to stomach than the full price game when you just aren’t sure if you’re going to like it – or even if you know you love it but just don’t like to do the math for scoring, (looking at you Suburbia.)

Whether it’s diy, print and play, or a local board game meet up, there are a ton of different opportunities available to help you test out a game before you buy it. But of course, not every game is available for demo or is a bit too difficult to just simply remake at home and that’s why we still do a TON of research on games before we purchase them. But when we can test it out, we do, and so far, it has really helped us hone in on what we like in our gaming experience and what we don’t.

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