Detonate

Everyone rolls one die and tries not to blow up. A row of point tiles sits in the middle, and on your turn you choose: roll, or stop and take the lowest tile left, which locks in a small score and takes you out of the round. The catch is that the explosion numbers grow. On your first turn only a one explodes, on your second a one or a two, and so on, so the longer you stay in, the more likely you leave with nothing. The whole rulebook is that paragraph, which is why we reach for it when a big group walks in and nobody wants to be taught anything. It works with any number of players, and children understand the gamble straight away. Buy it as the opener for a birthday table or an office party, not as a game to sit down to.