Long games are the only way to get that sense of epic scale as you play. If you're conquering a fantasy kingdom or developing a spaceborne civilization, a game that takes a few hours makes sense. But they can be tough to schedule. Most nights a shorter game, or maybe two, makes sense.

But what if you could go even more quick playing than that? What if it wasn't just game nights but a game lunch in the office, or a game to fill that awkward silence at a dinner party, or one to amuse you at a bus stop? Luckily, there are games that fit all those criteria, fast games that take 30 minutes, 20 minutes, or even less. Take your pick and get playing whenever, wherever.

FUSE

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The best way to guarantee a short game is to play a time-boxed game. Ten minutes isn't long, and it feels even quicker when you're working together to defuse a deckful of bombs. To do this, players roll a bunch of colored dice. The dice are used to defuse bomb cards by matching the pattern on the card: numbers, shapes, colors. Which would be easy, if you weren't crammed up against that timer. Beating all the bombs demands everyone work together, making hard decisions, fast. It's a ton of tension tucked into a ten-minute package.

5-Minute Dungeon / 5-Minute Marvel

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This is a pair of cooperative time-boxed games, but with an even shorter timer, and it comes in fantasy or superhero flavors. Whichever you pick, the goal is to get through a growing deck of threat cards by matching their symbols with cards played from your hand. Doing so under that tyrannical timer is so tough the result is almost always anarchy: duplicate cards, useless plays, forgotten special powers and a general sense of sweet, sweet chaos. To make things worse, the decks are full of funny parodies and thematic Easter eggs that everyone will want to stop and laugh at. Don't. You'll all die.

Spyfall

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How do you spot a spy in your midst? In Spyfall, it's the player who isn't sure where they are. All players get a location card, from a School to a Space Station, except one who gets a spy card instead. Then they ask each other questions based on their card and a role printed on it. Can the spy work out where they're playing while bluffing over their ignorance? Well, that's the game, and a riotous round of mistrust, lies, and laughter is bound to ensue.

Coup

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For a more cynical and suspicious party game, try Coup. There are six roles in the game, each with their own action. All roles involve gaining or losing cash or cards, paying to assassinate another player, or blocking such an attempt. On your turn, pick one (knowing that other players can challenge your decision). If you hold the matching role card, they're in trouble. If you don't, the pain is all yours. Cue one of the most paranoid and resentful quarter hours you're ever likely to spend.

Tsuro

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Games with dragons tend to be multi-hour fantasy epics. Tsuro is different: your aim is to be the last dragon standing on the gridded board. Players play tiles from their hands to create a path their dragon follows. With limited options, it's hard to keep your token on the board. But beware, because tiles can also cause other dragons to move, and a collision will knock you out. It's a delicious balance of luck, spatial strategy and outright meanness to enjoy in a mere fifteen minutes. Plus, dragons.

Sushi Go / Sushi Go Party

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Short games sometimes lack strategy, but for some tasty tactics, try Sushi Go. Everyone gets a stack of cards featuring cute cartoon sushi courses. They pick one and pass the rest to the next player. The goal is to collect sets to score points. But since everyone is after the same high-value cards, getting them involves a good memory and audacious timing. The deck is full of temptations, especially delicious Miso which scores big -- providing no-one else took one that turn. Sushi Go Party is the same game but ups the ante with a much wider selection of scoring sets.

Ticket to Ride: New York

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Ticket to Ride is a top-selling family game franchise. Based vaguely on Rummy, it has you you pick up cards each turn to make colored sets. Play one to claim a route on a cramped map of the USA. But since you're trying to join up routes across the continent, it's quite cutthroat, with players taking every chance to block each other. This New York variant is the same game on a tiny map, which means it's even more confined, more cutthroat and quicker.

KLASK

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Klask is Pong, but with magnets. Wait, don't go yet. For starters, this being a physical game, the graphics are better and you get full four-way movement. So there's a lot more skill to hitting and blocking the ball. But still, that's a bit like air hockey, right? Except air hockey doesn't have malicious magnetic obstacles littering the field. Get too close and these polar pains will attach themselves to your bat, making your shots go awry. It might be Pong with magnets, but it's amazingly intense.

Magic Maze

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After opening with two, let's close with yet another time-boxed cooperative title. This time you're fantasy adventurers fallen on hard times and looting your gear from a fantasy mall. This being a fantasy mall, though, it's a maze, full of traps and, er, magical escalators. You start with a mere three minutes to explore the mall, avoid the traps, loot your target, and get out (though you may gain more time during the run). The catch is that you can't talk as you play. There's only the sinister "do something" pawn to place before another player. Why do you have it? Why are the other players staring at you angrily? That's for you to work out.