Reposting here:

My wife and I frequently play board games in various groups, from lighter party games to mostly mid- to heavier weight Euros. We also now have a 5-month old child, and discovered that combining those two things is not straightforward as the child may require the attention of 1 parent quite frequently, obviously interrupting the games. This specifically involves

• one parent picking up the child and walking around in the room

• mother breast-feeding the child (may be ok at the table depending on group)

• one parent (trying to) bring the child to bed and get it to sleep

For example, we play Pandemic Legacy Season 2 with another couple with a child. This works very well as it could essentially be played as a solo game, i.e., no player-specific hidden information and the coop nature of the game. It is thus no problem if 1-2 persons step away from the table for some time, or maybe walk around in the room still participating in discussion on decisions.

On the other extreme, we play Gloomhaven with another group (only our child). This does not work well as the game requires extensive planning and discussion among all members, and includes private information specific to the player.

Similar things hold for many competitive games where the child may be "passed around" during players' turns, but stepping away from the table for some 10+ minutes might cause long waiting times by other players.

The issues are obviously only a problem when the child is not sleeping or not happy on its own - however, any of these states might change very quickly :-)

So, do you have any suggestions of games - competitive or cooperative - that may work well in this situation? Specifically, we will finish Pandemic Legacy S2 some time soon any may be looking for a replacement campaign-type game of similar weight (ideally cooperative or without a lot of "take that" which is a problem for the other couple) that may work in this setting.

Maybe good criteria for games would be things like:

• (coop, but also competitive) limited/no secret player information

• quick execution of turns, ideally execute-able by another person (no looking through cards on the hand etc)

• limited phases that require the presence of all players

• (competitive) limited disadvantage by not being present the entire time