How much game fits into an hour?

If you have an hour, allow some of it for setting up, explaining the rules, and packing away. A game marked sixty minutes may leave no room for those jobs. The finder uses the upper end of the publisher’s playing-time range, so choose a shorter range when you need to finish on time.

Ticket to Ride: London is listed at ten to fifteen minutes; the original Ticket to Ride is listed at thirty to sixty. London leaves more room in a short session. Either can take longer than the printed estimate, especially while people are learning.

Check for conflicting figures if a particular game is close to your limit. The Wingspan store page lists forty to seventy minutes in its specifications and forty to ninety in its description. Until the publisher resolves that difference, the finder uses ninety as its upper bound.

For a group that meets regularly, keep a few notes about your own sessions. Record the player count, whether anyone was learning, and how long play took. Note setup and teaching separately. That will help you see which games fit a particular evening, instead of relying on one rushed or unusually long session.

If you are starting close to a deadline, check how the game ends and agree what to do if you run out of time. Some groups are happy to stop without a winner; others would prefer a shorter game they can finish. Decide before anyone spends the evening building toward a final turn.

Tell the table how much time you have and offer a few shorter choices. If nobody wants to hurry, save the longer game for another night.