I’m just curious what games keep you coming back, but I’ll go first (in no particular order)
Twilight Imperium - excellent for when you want to give your brain a real workout and enjoy some cutthroat strategy.
Munchkin - It’s not a masterpiece or anything, but it’s a blast with friends
Red Dragon Inn - Not dissimilar to Munchkin for the high quality evening with friends potential. Expansions are endless, but almost always worth the change of pace. Does suffer from a little power creep between the OG box and the stuff released after it.
Xia Legends of a drift system - Best played on Tabletop Sim, but this sci-fi game about being a starship captain creates some great stories with friends.
Space Base - You might be seeing a bit of a theme here, but really they’re just really good games. Space Base is a pretty refined worker placement game, and it doesn’t take 9 hours like some of the games on this list.
Sheriff of Nottingham - Social deduction, pettiness, and silly voices, what’s not to love?
The King’s Dilemma - Okay this one is a bit of a cheaty one, it’s a legacy game but with the right crew who like to get in character it’s a fantastic experience.
Alright, your turn!
Going through my collection:
Catan: mostly due to a wide appeal+familiarity. I’m the source of getting my social group into gaming, so I have to have some games that they’ll have access to elsewhere/are already familiar with.
Sushi Go Party!: An easy intro to drafting games and has incredibly cute artwork. Usually the game I pick for board-gaming curious friends.
Skull king: Everyone loves a good trick taking game and the themeing+rock-paper-scissors of the non-suit cards really amps up the fun.
Cockroach Poker: A game that’s just as fun sober and otherwise. Incredibly portable and easy to get folks onboarded.
Coup: If you want to test the fabric holding the friend group together, and also have some incredible spicy back-stabby fun.
Betrayal at house on the hill: My introducion to modern board games and also the game I pick for the TTRPG curious among my friends. Exploring a haunted house with lots of flavour and dice rolling is always fun.