Filling a Game Closet - what would you include?

I would choose five different types games, so that you would have a game for each occasion. Sometimes you want a game that accomodates up to 6 players or a 2-player game, a short game or a longer game, a light game or something more involved. So here's my list of games I would choose:

1. Lost Cities. Light, 2 player, 30 minutes.
This card game is the most played game in my collection. It's a simple game, but the intricate scoring makes for some agonzing decisions. Alternatives for this category could be Lord of the Rings: the Confrontation, which is a bit meatier and more thematic; Go or Chess, if you like abstracts, in which case you might check out the games from the GIPF project as well (DVONN, GIPF, TAMSK, YINSH, ZERTZ); or even the traditional card game Crazy Eights, which works really well as a 2 player game, UNO is derived from it.

2. Web of Power. Light - medium, 3-5 players, 45 minutes.
This is our favorite game for three players. It also works well with four players, not so much with five. It's an area-majority game. Like Lost Cities, the rules are simple, but an intricate scoring mechanism makes for some tough decisions. There's a bit of luck in the card draw which keeps things fresh and exciting, and the pace of the game is brisk. Alternatives for this category could be Pueblo, a nice looking 3D block placement game; Ra, a great auction game.

3. 6 Nimmt! (also called Category 5). Light, 2-10 players, 30 minutes.
A simple card game, with a bit of bluff and double guessing. Fairly random, especially with a large group, but it's really fun. 6 Nimmt! is often the first game I teach non-gamers, because it's so easy to pick up and they can be competitive right away. Alternatives: TransAmerica, an easy routeplanning game with a railroad theme, which accomodates up to 6 players; Diamant, a fun double guessing and press-your-luck type of game with an exploration theme.

4. Ticket to Ride. Medium, 2-5 players, 60 minutes.
I wouldn't play this with just 2 players, but it's possible. With any other number of players it's a great game of card drafting and routeplanning. It's a great game to play with non-gamers if they are up for something more involved, or a great game to play with experienced gamers if you want something quick and relaxing to start or end the evening with. Alternatives: Settlers of Catan, the classic game of trading and building. Only plays with 3-4 and sometimes tends to drag toward the end, but still a great game and you owe it to yourself to at least play it once, simply to see how it works; Carcassonne, the classic tile laying game and landscape building game.

5. Puerto Rico. Medium - heavy, 2-5 players, 90 minutes.
A much more involved game than the above, although at it's basic level it's still fairly simple. This game is great if you want something more strategic and something more involved. It's a game about building and shipping and it's main mechanic is something called "variable phase order" which was quite a novel concept when this game came out. Alternatives: Princes of Florence, also a complex game, perhaps even more strategic, doesn't have variable phase order, but it does feature auctions; Euphrat & Tigris, a brilliant tile-laying and civilization building game, but it does have some concepts that might be tough to wrap your head around, it's a great game when you do manage that, though.

Those are my picks, although there are a dozen other games I could have picked and alternatives I could have listed, it's just so hard to choose!