With so many variants, however, finding the right one for you, your family, and your friends can be a challenge. Have you found yourself scouring the web looking for board games to try this holiday season but you just can’t make a choice? Yes, we’ve been there too – most games are old and the newer alternatives are tricky to find.

Your default board game arsenal might have been a Monopoly, Charades, Scrabble, or Trivial Pursuit, but let us challenge you a little bit and offer you, what we believe are better alternatives.

In addition, the below list contains both – Christmas-themed board games as well as alternatives that simply fit the great festive feel.

Whether you are with your family or friends this holiday season, we are going to share with you our ten of the best Xmas games. There are some classic family Christmas games on the list, but most are fresh and, lesser-known games that are sure to make your holiday time so much more fun. Let’s dive in!

Top 10 Christmas Board Games – Quick Comparison

Best For a Small Group – Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries

Construct train tracks, connect city pairs and travel to the great northern cities in winter. Beat your opponents by being the first to complete rail tracks or outsmarting them by blocking their progress!

2-3

30-60 Min

8+

Easy

Check Price

Best Christmas Spirit – Santa’s Workshop

The most Christmas themed board game in our review where players lead a group of elves to make gifts and tend to the reindeer. The fine balance between gifts quantity and quality may get you the win!

2-5

45-60 Min

8+

Medium

Check Price

Instead of Trivial Pursuit – Timeline 3: Historical Events

With 110 historical-related cards, Timeline is sure to add some competitive challenge to your holiday season. Can you put all those events correctly on the timeline? Both educational and lots of fun!

2-5

120 Min

12+

Medium

Check Price

Instead of Charades – Concept

A perfect alternative to Charades where the players split into 2 teams to guess words or phrases using conceptual images and icons from the board. Pick one of the 3 difficulty levels to suit your group and enjoy the best words guessing fun!

4-12

40 Min

10+

Very Easy

Check Price

Instead of Scrabble – Wordsy

A crazy game of tension, pace, and laughter where players need to write words using the letters they have. What’s unique is that you don’t need to have all the letters to write the words!

1-6

20 Min

8+

Very Easy

Check Price

Instead of Taboo – Codenames

A multi-award winner game where two teams rival each other to uncover the opponents’ secret identities using code names. Family or Christmas gatherings – this game is sure to be the highlight.

2-8

15 Min

10+

Very Easy

Check Price

Sledge Racing – Snow Tails

Up to five brave sledders race each other in a test of skill and endurance. Navigate your Huskies through the track to get to that finish line first and score yourself a victory!

2-5

45-60 Min

10+

Easy

Check Price

Christmas Movie Classic – Home Alone Game

Based on the Christmas movie cult classic that delivers a great thematic feel. Take on the roles of the notorious Wet Bandits to steal the goods or Kevin and stop the burglars from looting the house.

2-4

15-20 Min

8+

Very Easy

Check Price

Christmas Tree Decorating – Christmas Lights

It is that time to decorate your Christmas tree. Untangle the lights, replace broken bulbs, and trade with other players to create multi-colored sets of lights the fastest to win the game.

2-6

10-30 Min

5+

Very Easy

Check Price

Christmas Carols – 12 Days

The game takes the famous “Twelve Days of Christmas” carol and twists it into a quick-playing card game. Use gifts to win one day of 12 at a time and earn points!

3-5

15 Min

6+

Very Easy

Check Price

The Ticket to Ride board game series has been hugely popular for quite some time, with the Nordic Countries board game releasing originally only for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland but open to a wider market in 2008.

The objective of the game is to link cities on the map/board together. Players must race to link cities.

At the beginning of the game, players take four train cards that are used to construct the tracks. They are also given three destination cards that show train routes the players must connect e.g. Helsinki – Oslo to gain extra points.

Players keep two of these destination cards hidden and discard any that they don’t want to the bottom of the deck.

Each round players have three options to choose from. You can either claim a route on the board (to gain points), draw two railway or three destination cards and keep one.

The game ends when a player has two or less of the colored train pieces left. Points are then counted against the number of destination tickets completed, alongside progress. The player with the most points wins the game.

If you are having a quiet Christmas day with three people or less, this game could be an excellent option to consider. 

Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries is a simple game with light elements of competition and challenge, and simple tactics and wits. If you’re planning to have a couple of friends over, it’s worth picking this all-time classic, you’ll be having a lot of fun.

Santa’s Workshop is a truly Christmas themed board game that delivers a great festive season atmosphere.

Control Santa’s elves in this workshop placement and crafting game. Players have a team of elves who must earn points by mining coal, tending to reindeer and producing gifts.

The game starts with players assigning the elves, who can be trained in different fields, such as mining and gift building. Allowing them to be a more efficient workforce.

The points in the game are called “Christmas Cookies” and are gained by building gifts, among other activities.

Gift assignments are collected from the mailroom, located on the board. Once players have their gift assignment, the elves can begin getting the gifts organized by collecting resources.

Gifts require different materials such as wood, plastic, metal, and fabric. For some gifts the plastic may be substituted for one of the other three, at a loss of Christmas cookies.

Another way to gain points and arguably one of the most important ways is tending to one of the eight reindeer. Over time these reindeer accumulate points if tended to, give the player a bonus which can be important for winning the game.

During the game, Santa himself will come around to “inspect” the workshop when this does happen bonus points are awarded to the leading team with the most gifts.

This family Christmas game successfully mixes a couple of different concepts from classic board games, video games, and a tiny sprinkle of worker placement. It plays with any number of players (up to 5), so you’ll be sat around the table for hours playing Santa’s Workshop, especially given that the game lasts around 40 minutes minimum.

Designed for a teenage audience in the first place, we found that with a little bit of explaining, even 8-year-old kids are able to join. Santa’s Workshop is a game that requires some thought when playing, but you can also play it casually for fun.

Get ready to make hard decisions picking and building gifts and tending to the reindeer in this busiest time of the year at the North Pole!

Timeline is a game series that has seen many iterations over the years since the original game in 1985.

Many of the versions have been granted awards such as the 2012 Årets Spel Best Adult Game Winner to the the original game.

The gameplay and rules of Timeline 3: Events are quite simple. The deck includes 55 historical events that contain a picture, some text and the year in which the event happened.

The idea is that players must create a timeline out of those cards, placing them in the correct chronological order.

If placed in the correct order, the tile stays on the table. If not, it is removed and the player must draw another one. The first player to gain an empty hand gets the victory.

The game represents a pretty simple yet fun race that can be enjoyed by up to 8 people in as little as 15 minutes. If you want to have an extended run with a larger deck, you can combine the Timeline 3: Events game with other games in the series. This makes it extremely flexible depending on how you want to play.

The game comes in a handy box making it quite portable to take with you. In case you are having your holidays away, this great little travel game could almost fit into your pocket.

Because the gameplay is simple, it’s playable for anyone over the age of ten.

Timeline is essentially a simple educational history game that works for anyone over the age of ten. You’re going to want to have some basic knowledge of the subject or have an interest in history to enjoy it. The fast-paced gameplay makes the learning part engaging and fun.

Concept is a board game that has won many awards. From the 2014 Lys Grand Public winner to the 2014 Hra Roku Award winner, it’s an immensely popular game.

It’s a guessing game, with a twist where players, split into two groups, choose a term or a word the opponents need to guess. They will then give hints by placing the pieces, shaped like question marks and exclamation marks, on the icons located on the board.

The icons can be anything from a body part, moods, an action or a shape. For example, if someone was to pick “Boxing Day” they could place their pieces on the icon for holidays.

The player that guesses right gets 2 points along with their team. However, the winner is the one who has the most points at the end of the game, which lasts around 35-40 minutes to play.

This game is a perfect Christmas party game. Since players are able to choose their own words or phrases, the game truly has endless potential. In fact, you may think that a couple of colorful figures and a board of icons is dull – you are in for a surprise as we think it is one of the best fun board games for Christmas and other social gatherings.

Concept is best played with a group of 8 players but can be enjoyed with up to 12. And because it’s only a board and a few pieces, it does not require much physical space to play.

There are limited icons on the board, so some phrases and words could be impossible to guess unless they are generic. And given that there’s no rule against using complex phrases and words, it can make the game challenging.

All in all, Concept is an excellent Christmas board game for larger groups. It is not specifically holiday themed, but has the right spirit for festive seasons. In addition, if you have previously enjoyed Charades, you are sure to find Concept to be one of the best board games this Christmas.

Alternatively, If you are looking to enjoy this game with your little ones, there is a kids version of the game – Concept Kids. It can be played with children age four and older.

Wordsy is a newer board game that has only been out for a couple of years but already has made an impact on the market.

As a 2017 Golden Geek Best Party Game Nominee, the game has impressed many board game fans and has received a lot of praise from all over the world.

Players must look at the letters placed down and write down a word that includes as many letters as possible. The letters are always consonants, making it easier for the players.

After writing a word you have to flip a 30-second timer. In that time, the other players must then write their own words. The score is handed out based on the Column the letter is placed on the table. The rarer the word, the higher the score.

Starting with the fastest player, the scores are counted going clockwise around the table. If by chance the player scores more than the fastest person, they get bonus points.

Once all of the scores are counted, the fastest player is able to claim a bonus. But only if the score is equal or higher than at least half of the other players.

The game ends after 7 rounds, making it a nice speedy game before or after your meal. At the end of which players count the points from their 5 best words. The player with the most points wins the game.

Because there is no board and you only get to use cards and paper, it can be played from almost anywhere and does not take up much space. Great for anything from a camping trip to a Christmas party.

In Codenames, players compete through clues given by “spymaster” players in an attempt to guess their team’s “code name” which is located on the board.

The game begins with two teams, red and blue. Each team has one spymaster, while the others are field operatives.

25 tiles displaying a word or a codename, are laid out on the table in random order.

The cards represent red and blue agents, some bystanders and one assassin, which teams should avoid picking at all costs.

The spymasters are given a map card, which displays 25 colored squares, mirroring the layout of the tiles on the table. Taking turns, spymasters must guide their teams using verbal hints, consisting of one word and a number.

These hints help operatives to choose the tile that has their agent on it. The number given in the hint dictates how many guesses there are this round, while also relating to how many words on the table relate to the hint. Making it a bit harder to guess!

When the teams make their guesses, the spymaster reveals the identity of the tile (red, blue, bystander or assassin) as indicated on the map. The assassin tile ends the game immediately, while if a bystander or another team’s codeword is pointed out, the turn ends immediately. The game ends when one of the teams discovers all codewords.

Codenames is uniquely fun, with each game taking around 15 minutes to complete when playing with the recommended 8 players. So long as you can read, you are sure to have some hilarious fun with this.

Snow Tails is a modular board game that features a race to the finish.

Players are dog sledders, and they must race to the finish line by playing cards drawn from a shared deck.

Along the track, players must avoid obstacles such as trees and the edge of the track itself.

Players may choose how the racecourse is set out, as the board is modular and can be interchanged and crafted newly each game.

Players get five cards from the shared deck at the start of the game, this is their playing hand. At the start of their turn, they may play 1 to 3 of these cards that correspond to an action (dog 1, 2, and break). The higher the value on the card, the stronger the pull depending on the action e.g. if the left value has a higher value than the right, the “sled” will swerve to the left.

Along the board, there are different conditions to adhere to and avoid. Some sections have speed limits, that if exceeded (when you push it too much) cause your sled to take damage. If you take 5 damage, your sled is destroyed and you are out of the race!

A bonus can be achieved if both dogs are given the same value when the hand is played. It allows the pawn to move further along the track, quicker.

This game is one of a kind. With an interchangeable map/board and decent playtimes of 45-60 minutes per game, you’ll find yourself addicted.

The game can be played by anyone over the age of 10, making it suitable for children and teens. It’s quite easy to learn the rules too, giving the possibility to make your own extensions to the map if you please.

You really need a large table if you want to play this effectively unless you want an extremely small track. If you don’t have one, it may be tricky to play this board game.

Snow Tails, however, is an excellent example of what a fun and engaging board game should be. With the ability to define your own experience through the placement of trees along the track, or the track itself. It’ll have you glued to the board for hours, leaving you wanting more.

Home Alone, the movie, has been a Christmas cult classic for many years, and the board game hopes to deliver the same classic feel.

One player takes control of Kevin, the kid, whose job is to lay booby traps to stop the bad guys in their stride. On the other hand, the bad guys are trying to find valuables to steal in order to score loot points.

At the start of the game, each player is handed a tailored to the character deck. Since the deck is different, the gameplay asymmetric, but it feels quite balanced.

The kid starts with all of the valuable items, or, loot cards placed face down on the boards.

At the start of each round, players draw up to six cards from their retrospective decks. The kid needs to take three loot cards and after showing the players, hide them in one of three locations. These locations are usually entry points for the bandits to break into.

As Kevin, you’ll need to set traps, these traps can be disarmed by the bad guys if they choose to discard a card from their hand. The bad guys can choose to retreat at any time if the risk is too big. Some traps also allow the kid to damage the burglars.

The game ends if the bad guys steal $2,000 or more worth of valuables and money. But Kevin, the kid, is also able to win if he manages to save enough valuable items or the bad guys get arrested.

Overall, this hilarious battle between the kid and the burglars has elements of luck, yet feels pretty controlled nevertheless. In fact, over time it becomes more personal, but never overly competitive which is ideal for the relaxed holiday feel.

Whether you’re a board game expert or a newbie, Home Alone would work for you. Moreover, if you are a big fan of the movie or have little ones around you this holiday – we’ve got one of the top Christmas games for kids that is worth your serious consideration.

Christmas Lights: A Card Game thematically is trying to create an environment of the most wonderful time of the year – when you put up your Christmas lights.

Get ready to open up the boxes of beautiful goodies and decorations, untangle the lights, replace broken bulbs, and do up the tree.

The game challenges the players to compete in race of putting up the decorations on the tree – the first to complete it wins the game!

To complete your strands players need to sift through the light bulbs, arrange them in the right order and trade lights with other players.

The box and component artwork features a retro theme that looks and feels nice. Cards are extremely simple in their design and functionality and are split into four decks – Pattern, Bulb, Event and Character cards.

One of the characters is Santa and whoever draws it gets to go first! Pattern cards tell you the strings of lights you need to build. The Bulb cards are different colors and represent the sections of that string you need to put together which are one of three things – a working bulb, a broken bulb or a plug.

The trick of this game is that when you are dealt cards to your hand, you have to hold them with their backs facing you. That lets other players, but not you, see the actual cards in your hand and part of the challenge is to remember and memorize what is depicted as you play or exchange them with other players.

In essence, Christmas Lights is a set-collection, memory, information-trading game that is perfect as a filler Christmas game as it can take as little as 10 minutes to play. It is a great Xmas game to have around the kitchen table and will make a great addition to your family’s December rotation.

12 Days is a holiday-themed family card game based around the classic “12 Days of Christmas” carol song that we all know and love.

Players, over the course of the game, attempt to end up with the best hand of cards that will help them win the game. They do this by gifting the bad ones to other players and keeping the good ones.

At the start of the game, each player is dealt 12 cards from the deck that actually look like tiles. This deck features verses from the famous song and also two bonus cards for Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

Each round players give a gift (or, a card) to the player on their left. Next, gifts are opened and new cards are bought to refill the hand. The player with the lowest scoring gift value wins the holiday card which are worth extra points towards winning the game at the end.

The Mr. and Mrs. Claus cards count as 0, and unless two players play them the same round, it’s an automatic victory for that round. In the unlikely event of a tie, the next lowest card takes the round and wins the holiday card.

The winner is counted at the end of 12 rounds, which thematically represents 12 days. To win the game you must have the most holiday cards along with the most gift cards for each ranking at the end.

12 Days is a great take on classic games with a modern mix. A true game for all family, enjoyable for kids as young as 6. If carols and music is your thing, you are sure to find a fun, accessible and thematic delight with up to 5 players.

Top 10 Games For This Christmas – Wrap Up

Xmas board games may be around everywhere this time of the year, but the good ones are far and few between. Hopefully, you now have a choice from our list of top 10 carefully considered board games we’d love you to try this festive season for some great friends or family fun.

We’ve listed tile-placing Christmas tree games, games with a touch of strategy, and games for all the family.
Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries is a perfect fit for a small family as the game can only support three players. You’ll find yourself lost, trying to build railways between cities for hours.

Codenames will put you and your friends head to head in a competitive game of wits. Playable from almost anywhere it’s a sure pick if you’re traveling this holiday season.

And finally, Snow Tails, which in itself is an experience to remember. It is a super competitive game that, however, won’t leave a bitter taste in your mouth at the end.

Most games in this review are actually family-oriented, and if you are looking for specifically the top family board games of the year, check our other review. We are sure you’ll find a tabletop game of style and mechanics you would love.

Thanks for sticking around and we finally hope that we have answered your question on “What are the best games to play at Christmas?” and buying an ideal game has just become easier. We also hope we have managed to show a number of family board games that are great alternatives to Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, Charades, and Scrabble. The media tends to talk about the games that should be sold rather than the ones that are stunning to play and it is our duty to get the word out there and deliver the credit where it is due!

Lastly, feel free to leave your comments below and share with us your favorite Christmas-themed board games for families and friends! We’d love to know your thoughts on reading this article as well as your favorite holiday games that have not been mentioned in this review.

The post Best Christmas Board Games of 2025 – Top 10 Review and Comparison appeared first on Board Games Land.

Wargaming as a hobby got a big kick in the ‘70s and ‘80 with games like Axis and Allies and Risk where it brought this genre to a very large market. Today the war game market is a lot smaller but there is a lot more variety within this genre, and the quality of games now available has risen considerably.

Wargames would be considered a conflict simulation model at its heart, oftentimes basing this conflict on historical events but can also be entirely fictional.

There are three levels or types of these board games: strategic, operational, or tactical. Strategic games try to recreate an entire war on a large scale and add specific resources or politics to the game. Operational games would be slightly smaller and may cover a smaller war or a specific campaign within a large war. Tactical games cover a single battle or a series of smaller battles and use smaller-scale units.

In this article, we take a look at 10 of what we consider to be the best war board games out there. These games have a certain level of strategy needed as well as some cunning and competitiveness to ensure a victory over your opponent.

Top 10 Best War Board Games – Quick Comparison

Best World War 2 – Axis & Allies Europe 1940

The most epic, full scale world war 2 board game you can buy. Huge map and amazing miniatures, just make sure you have enough time to play it.

2-4

360 Min

14+

Medium

Check Price

Best Cold War – Twilight Struggle

The best war board games of all time according to BGG and we could not agree more. An immersive, tense and highly competitive cold war experience between the United States and the Soviet Union.

2

120-180 Min

14+

Hard

Check Price

Best Artwork – Inis

Inis is a beautiful war board game of Celtic history where negotiation is just as important as raw power. Loads of player interaction & emotional decision making, put Inis amongst the top war board games around. 

2-4

60-90 Min

12+

Easy

Check Price

Best Bluffing and Negotiation – Rising Sun

Beautiful and strategic war board game set in ancient Japan. If you like negotiation, strategy, bluffing and some backstabbing – it’s a must buy.

3-5

90-120 Min

14+

Medium

Check Price

Best Immersive Narrative – War of the Ring

A sheer brilliance of fantasy war board games. A war game at heart coupled with the Lords of the Ring story telling you can bend as you play along. The most immersive war board game in our review.

2-4

150-180 Min

14+

Hard

Check Price

Best Civil War – 1775: Rebellion

A great balance of luck and smart decision making. Simple, accessible yet intense and strategic entryway to more complex wargames. If you like American history and civil wars, 1775: Rebellion holds the crown.

2-4

60-120 Min

10+

Very Easy

Check Price

Best Backstabbing – A Game of Thrones

One of the most thematic war board game experiences we’ve ever had. For treachery, combat diplomacy and backstabbing, this is the best war board game you can find. Be careful though, it can ruin friendships.

2-6

120-240 Min

14+

Hard

Check Price

Best Fantasy War Board Game – Runewars

A great mix of strategy, civilization building, area control, exploration, role play and full scale fantasy battles, it does not get more epic than this! Muster armies, build strongholds and send your heroes on quests!

2-4

180-240 Min

14+

Hard

Check Price

Best for Casual Play – Memoir ’44

Memoir ’44 is the most accessible board game in our list. Simple rules, fast gameplay and hidden tactical depth make it the best war board game for beginners or casual play. Simply brilliant.

2-8

30-60 Min

8+

Very Easy

Check Price

Best Asymmetrical War Board Game – Root

Root is a very special board game that almost looks too cute for a war genre. It offers four distinct yet balanced factions with unique strengths, strategy and ways to win. Beautiful and stunning war game redefined.

2-4

60-90 Min

12+

Medium

Check Price

Axis & Allies has been around since 1981, and this is a lot of board game history to it.

The original game has been re-released several times and has evolved into many different spin-offs and revisions of the base game. The Axis & Allies Europe is being one of the most refined and most successful games in the series to date.

It is a stand-alone game where two to six players battle for control over Europe and surrounding countries using resources, strategies and military power.

It can also be combined with Axis & Allies Pacific 1940 (sold separately) to expand the world war 2 stage to a global scale. The gaming mechanics, quality components and strategic gameplay has earned it a spot in our top 10 strategy board games shootout.

One of the greatest things about this game is the board that is included. The board measures thirty-five inches wide by thirty-two inches high, so it is an impressive board to play on. When combined with A&A Pacific 1940, you get a complete board that is five feet across.

There are six hundred and ten individual pieces that represent infantry, armor, bombers, and naval vessels. In addition, you will find eighty chips, one hundred fifty-five various markers for your map, six dice, and five storage boxes to keep all your parts in safety when storing your game.

Gameplay

The game is played with the same mechanics as previous Axis & Allies games so if you have played any previous versions you will find the gameplay familiar. It does, however, introduce new items and cards that are relatively easy to grasp.

Each round of the game has global powers taking turns according to a predefined order. A turn consists of the following phases:

• Spend your points – each power gets a certain amount of points at the beginning of their turn. These points can be spent on more infantry or repairing structures. These points must be used up at the beginning of the round
• Movement – mobilize your units on the map to get that strategic placement. Once combat is completed, then you would declare your non-combat moves
• New unit placement – place any of your purchased units from the beginning of the turn on the board and count your points in preparation for the next turn

Combat is resolved using dice rolls. Essentially the player with the higher dice roll wins the combat, and this is continued until either all units of one player gets defeated or the attacking player calls a retreat.

Axis & Allies is one of the most widely played second world war board games of all time, and many people would have played one version or another in their lifetime. The Europe 1940 edition is a special edition with the ability to play additional countries such as France or Italy, but the core of the game is as great as the original game was intended to be. It is a very long game, so if you have the time and you have the players, it is worth it, even just for the nostalgic sense of it all.

Not all war games are tanks, infantry, and generals, especially if we are talking about cold wars.

Twilight Struggle taps into a lengthy historic tension between two world superpowers after WWII, the United States of America, and the Soviet Union. The board game emulates the cold war between these superpowers from 1946 to 1989.

The game is set up into ten rounds with each round being a particular time period and then ending with round ten, dated 1989.

The main goal of the game is to have enough influence around the globe to be the dominant superpower.

Playing the game can be lengthy and may take up to three hours if you are not experienced with the game, but as you get more familiar with Twilight Struggle, game sessions can take less than an hour.

Inside the box, you get a board game map of the world with full-color art by Mark Simonitch. The game board measures twenty-two by thirty-four inches and represents countries that were around at the time of the Cold War.

Countries are represented by small rectangles that have the countries flag, name, and a number which represents how many influence markers can be used in that country. There are also several tracks on the board related to gameplay such as turn and action round tracks, military action track, and the Defcon track which is used to keep track of how close you are to nuclear war.

There are no plastic game pieces included, yet you get two hundred and sixty small full-color game counters that are used to spread influence across the world by placing them on specific countries as directed throughout gameplay.

One hundred and ten full-color game cards are inside the box, separated into three-deck eras. You get early war, mid-war and late war decks that you include in the game as you play depending on what round you are on. Cards will have a specific event on each of them and can be used to help spread influence or other specific operations depending on that card’s Operations Points.

The game comes with two six-sided dice for events that require a dice roll, a large rule book, and two-player aid cards. The cards are helpful to keep games on track by having easy to follow, basic game directions.

Gameplay

The gameplay itself is quite straightforward. Turns start with dealing each player a number of cards. One more card is needed to raise the Defcon by one and resetting the military actions to zero.

Players select a card from their hand to play as their headline event. The event happens, and the results are applied to the board and each player as necessary. Then players take turns paying a card at a time and following the events or actions on the cards as described. Some of the things may include placing control markers, making a coup or taking military action.

It continues in this manner until all required cards come into play. The turn record marker on the board is moved up at the end of each turn. Once you hit turn four, you shuffle the mid-war cards into the deck and then at turn eight the late-war cards are then also shuffled into the deck. Once you finish turn ten, all scoring is tallied on all the regions, and then a winner is declared.

There are alternative ways of winning before the end of turn ten to make the game even more exciting. You can win by having control of Europe when the Europe Scoring card comes into play. If either of the players triggers a nuclear war by reaching Defcon 1 then the opposing player wins, and if either player reaches 20 victory points at any time, that player wins the game.

The board game has been in Boardgamegeek’s top ten games almost since its release in 2005. This Cold War board game is not for everyone, and if you are looking for a quick game night for two then this is not the best choice. Alternatively, if you want a deeply strategic war experience with an intriguing Cold War theme, Twilight Struggle is the best war board game for the job. We have previously reviewed the game as part of our two-player board game shootout and it made our best two player board games top 10.

Inis is a Celtic based strategy war game that can be played in a span of an hour to an hour and a half.

There are three different ways to dominate Inis. One is to obtain a role of leadership or have more clan figures than any of the other player.

Second is to claim at least six different territories by your clans.

And lastly, you can win based on religion or have your clans in territories that contain at the minimum, six sanctuaries.

As the primary goal of the game is to become Ireland’s high king, it means the strategy is not always based on conquering as many opponents as possible as this can lead to less unity and thereby making it more difficult to create a unified kingdom.

The unique part of Inis is seventeen unique territory tiles that are placed on the table each turn. The tiles represent jagged puzzle pieces and are covered in amazing artwork. Each piece connects nicely with adjacent pieces and helps to ensure the game board is different every time you play.

A total of forty-eight clan figures come with the game in four different colors; green, orange, white, and blue. Twenty miniature buildings are included with ten of them being citadels and ten being sanctuaries.

There are four different types of cards that come with the game; action cards, advantage cards, epic tale cards, and four different clan reference cards. There are also fifteen different tokens or markers that are used throughout the game.

Game Play

Inis comes with a rulebook with only eleven pages which is quite small for a strategy war game.

The gameplay is pretty straightfoward where each turn consists of two primary phases, the assembly phase, and the season phase. The assembly phase is routine housekeeping phase that keeps the island of Inis in shape. The season phase is where each player takes actions that get him/her a step closer to victory.

Assembly Phase

The assembly phase consists of the following actions:

• Assign the new Brenn, the player who controls the capital city for one round
• Check if any victory conditions are met
• Take Advantage Cards based on the territories players occupy<
• Determine clockwise or counterclockwise play order by flipping the crow token
• Deal action cards depending on specific conditions that are explained in the rulebook
• Draft cards. Choose one card and pass the rest to the player on your left.

Season Phase

Each player has three choices to choose from during the turn – play a card, pass, or take a pretender token.

• Playing a card. This is the heart of gameplay for Inis. Cards let you explore new territories, start clashes with other players or provide bonuses.
• Pass. You can be forced to pass if you no longer have any cards in hand, but you can also choose to pass if you feel it will work for this particular turn strategically.
• Taking a pretender token. You can’t take a token unless you meet one of the win conditions. Taking a token would show other players that you want to finish the game so be ready for a clash or two.

Clashing in Inis is a form of combat which is instigated by playing certain cards. You can choose not to fight if a clash is brought up. At times it is safer not to be involved in these fights and resort to diplomatic ways of resolving conflicts.

All in all, Inis has just about everything you want from a quick and easy to learn war board game. The randomness of the game tiles means you have a different map every time you play. The fact that all the cards are used in each round means you can learn what can be played each round and let you formulate more complex strategies. This is a fun game that offers a unique experience unlike any other war board game out there.

Rising Sun is a strategic war board game that was made possible by crowdfunding a Kickstarter project. The board game has brought in over four million dollars with over thirty thousand backers.

It is a three to five player board game that sets the scene in feudal Japan where ancient gods are coming from the heavens to change the landscape of the country.

Each player fights for survival trying to lead their clan to victory at the same time.

Rising Sun is more than simply a game of power and warfare, it adds a unique twist of honor, negotiation, and alliances into the gameplay.

Rising Sun comes in a big box with a lot of stuff. There is your main game board with each territory marked out clearly and various track bars around the map to monitor the different events happening throughout the game.

There are fifty-three breathtaking miniatures in each box with some of the most detailed sculpts in board gaming today. Each clan is molded in different colors, and the golds are all done in grey, so there is no mistaking who is where on the game board.

Seventy-two tokens represent everything from strongholds, ships, clans, and counters. There are also thirty coins that get used by each clan in various events throughout the game.

Five clan screens are included so you can do certain events behind the screen and away from the eyes of your opponents. Nine mandate cards are also needed to round off all the parts needed for play.

Game Play

Each game consists of three seasons representing rounds. Each season is broken up into four phases, each with a very specific set of goals.

The first phase is mainly about the setup. You get to draw cards, as well as receive income and hostages from the previous season.

The second phase is where players form alliances. There are many reasons why you want to form alliances as they can increase your chances for bonuses in the next phase.

The third phase is the political phase where you use a stack of different tiles that have various activities affecting all the players. The top 4 tiles are removed from the stack and turned face up. One tile is chosen by the active player, and the remaining three are returned to the stack. The tile is then activated, and players follow the instructions on the tile.

The final phase is the war phase where players battle for contested territories. Each player uses their war advantage board and chooses the advantages they want using coins. Once both players have made their choices, their war board is revealed, and the battle is resolved.

Rising Sun is a great thematic war board game that can last up to two hours in length. The immensely successful Kickstarter campaign and positive reviews from major board gaming sites is a result of a carefully crafted gameplay that is both engaging and addictive.

There have been many Lord of the Rings board games, but mostly they do not live up to the books or the epic movies. War of the Ring breaks this cycle and gives board gamers an epic war game based on the good and evil of the J.R.R. Tolkien’s tale.

The game is rich in its narrative and starts at the fellowship of the ring. It follows through to the conclusion of the trilogy with the ring being destroyed or the Shadow Army being victorious over the Free Peoples of Middle-earth.

It is an area control strategy war game at heart that is best played with two or four (two on each side) players.

War of the Ring comes with a large game board with a map of Middle-earth and all of the key strategic locations.

Two hundred and four plastic miniatures are included to represent different armies and characters from the novels.

One hundred and ten event cards that depict various events from the box are needed for, and sixteen action dice coupled with five combat dice are used in conjunction with these cards. Seventy-six cardboard counters are used to keep track of various things throughout the game.

Gameplay

The objectives of the game follow the books as closely as possible. The story goes that the shadow is attempting to corrupt the ring-bearer and obtain the ring or conquer all of the Free People’s nations. For the Free People, there are two ways to emerge victorious. They either need to sneak into Mount Doom and destroying the One Ring or face Shadow Armies in a direct confrontation. Despite the second option being attainable, it is a lot harder to achieve unless you are an experienced War of The Ring player.

While the objectives mimic the books quite nicely, the way you achieve them can be different. The fellowship also begins as it does in the books but you get to decide where and when it makes sense to split the party.

As the game progresses, events unfold by using the included cards. Players draw cards and then play them by using the action dice. Event cards represent all the things that have happened in the books such as the Ents Awakening, Gollum arriving and much more.

If you are a Lord of the Rings fan and are looking for something a lot more in-depth than your run of the mill game, War of the Ring would be a perfect fit. A battle game that has a strategic portion to it and has all your favorite parts of the books and movies is a perfect combination for several hours of gameplay.

In 1775: Rebellion, players take on roles of the Patriots, American Continental Army, Loyalists or British Army in a battle to control colonies, provinces, and territories.

The board game is based on the birth of the American revolution. Depending on your chosen side, the goal of the game is to either create a revolution or to quell the rebellion. As a thematic conclusion, the game ends with the historic signing of the Treaty of Paris.

The unique twist of the game is that it is both competitive and cooperative, with British Regulars and Loyalist Militia being on one side and Continental Army and Patriot Militia on the other of the war.

There is a good size board that includes all the original thirteen colonies.

Military units are represented by colored wooden cubes. White for American Militia, Red for British regulars, Blue for Continental Army, and yellow for loyalist militia. There are also purple and orange cubes to represent French allied forces and Allied Hessian factions.

Each faction has its own combat dice which can roll a hit, a flee, or a command decision during combat. Command decisions can be used to retreat to an adjacent location on the map.

Each faction comes with their own deck and decks include movement cards, event cards, and one truce cart. For each turn, players play a movement card and their choice of event cards.

There is one additional board, the Treaty of Paris board. This is a smaller board that has spaces on it for the faction treaty cards as they are played in the game.

Gameplay

There are eight rounds to the game and four turns in each round, one turn for each faction.

To start a round you draw one of the four colored dice and place it on the turn track on the game board. Continue to do this for all factions, and this will give you the order for the turns on each round. This means that every round can be different for who goes first and who goes last, leaving a lot of the strategy of the game also up to chance.

Each turn consists of 4 phases:

• Reinforcement phase – build your armies strength by adding additional cubes to the game board in various areas.
• Movement phase – gives you the opportunity to mobilize your units in appropriate directions in preparation for the next event.
• Battle phase – use dice rolls to determine how your forces fight and you follow the hit, flee or command decision choices on each dice roll.
• Draw Cards phase – bring your hand back to the original number of in hand cards.

The gameplay is quite straightforward and not overly complicated, so you are unlikely to find yourself reading a rulebook for any more than a couple of minutes. The game does have an age range of ten or above, so it does not get too complicated, but there is still a certain level of strategy needed to use the cards in hand for your movements.

After the eighth round, the game ends and the faction with most territories wins the game. Alternatively, the game can end any time after round three if two of the factions play their treaty cards.

It is the perfect light war board game for those who want to have some casual fun without complex rules or strategies to play. Also, anyone looking to step up from Risk series board games will find 1775: Rebellion extremely appealing.

Game of Thrones has been a household name for some time now, and there is no surprise that this huge title has also evolved into a board game as well.

The board game is recommended for three to six players and can take upwards of three hours to play. Each player controls one of six great houses of Westeros.

Each house is fighting for control of the Iron Throne after King Robert Baratheon has died.

Armies march to war on a detailed map to show military might and to gain control of territory on your quest for dominance while politics are used to make alliances or break them as necessary.

The game board is a beautiful representation of Westeros separated into territories players can control. There are several tracks on the board that help players monitor the number of strongholds they control, supplies they produce, and influence hierarchy between players.

In addition, the board features a wildling track that represents bad events that happen to Westeros and affecting all players. When the wildling track reaches the end, then the wildlings attack and everyone needs to band together to fend them off.

One hundred and thirty-eight plastic units are included to represent footmen, knights, ships, and siege engines. The tokens look like they are made of marble. They are placed on the board and are moved around as your war for Westeros progresses.

A hundred and five cards are used for various events, to depict various well-known characters, and to give orders to your armies as they are needed.

A player screen is available for each of the six available houses and has information that is useful for each house printed on the inside, and two hundred and sixty-six tokens and overlays are used throughout the game as needed.

Gameplay

Each round of the game consists of three distinct phases – Westeros, Planning, and Action.

The Westeros phase represents special events that affect all players. This is the only time where you get together with other players to potentially fight common enemies, wildlings.

The Planning phase is where you issue orders to your armies in secret. This phase works around diplomacy, negotiation, and deduction.

The final phase is the Action Phase, at which point everyone’s orders are simultaneously revealed. Fierce battles can now occur, alliances crumble, and the fate of each player is decided.

Ten rounds are played, and at the end of the tenth round, castles and strongholds are tallied, and the one with the most is declared the winner. If at any point in the game one player controls seven of these castles or stronghold then the game is immediately won by that player.

Game of Thrones Board Game is a wonderfully in-depth board game that is great for a few well-adjusted friends who are willing to spend two to three hours being immersed in a fantasy world of Westeros. The game works best with six players and decent with five, anything less than that we find to deliver a sub-optimal gaming experience.

While the game can take a little to learn and get the hang of, it is well worth it. The sense of competition, tension, and painful betrayal delivers a unique experience only the best strategic war games can offer. Strategic, cunning, and all-out epic battles are all part of this visually stunning game.

If you are looking for an epic game of adventure, conquest, and fantasy for two to four players, then Runewars is just what you need.

The game takes place in the same Fantasy Flight universe as other games such as Runebound and Descent: Journeys in the Dark so the more you play, the more familiar you get with heroes, monsters and the universe in general.

Runewars is a strategic and tactical battle over finding and controlling Dragon Runes, but only one faction can be victorious.

The game features a tile-based board so every time you play the game board can change depending on how and where you lay your land tiles.

Runewars does not have a traditional game board and instead comes with thirteen hex shape map tiles. As part of the setup, you get to use those tiles to put the board together which comes out different every time.

A full spread of one hundred and ninety-six miniatures represent everything from human soldiers, war machines, giants, winged horses, and even dragons. These miniatures are used by each faction to move across the game times and battle opponents to bring your faction closer to finding the Dragon Runes

There are four faction sheets that each player uses to keep track of things like resources and other aspects of gameplay. Dials are used to illustrate how much resources are on hand and available for each turn.

Two hundred and thirty-five tokens and markers are used to keep track of different elements of the game while you are playing. These tokens are all full color and beautifully illustrated.

Decks or cards are used to represent different season during, and there are additional cards used for actions for your armies or your heroes during each of the seasonal cycles.

Gameplay

Each turn consists of four seasons or will represent a full year. Each season a card is revealed that affects the entire map and each of the players. After each season players will use their cards to represent actions such as grow your army or mobilize. As the seasons progress, they can affect your actions and can also affect your armies in play.

During gameplay, there is also a heroes element that emulates a roleplay aspect of the board game. Heroes can go on quests to develop their characters and become stronger to better assist your faction. By using the strategy with these characters, you can often obtain dragon runes through diplomacy instead of on the battlefield giving each player more strategic avenues than just all-out war.

As with any army or realm, resources play an important role. Armies need to be fed and clothed, and weapons need to be created. Strongholds and cities can be formed and fortified to withstand attacks, or a more nomadic strategy can be used keeping your armies on the move with hit and fall back tactics.

Runewars has managed to find a winning combination of a fantasy theme, strategy, epic battles and combine it with modern elements such as resource management and role play. If you are just starting out with the game, it may come across as overwhelming at first as it does require some learning curve. At the same time, once you get the grips on the game, it delivers an incredibly adventurous and epic scale war game experience only a handful of war board games out there can match.

Each faction of the game is unique and comes with miniatures, cards and special powers. Coupled with a modular game board layout, there is plenty of replayability to make each and every game a unique experience.

Memoir ’44 is the most accessible war board game in our review. It is predominantly a two player game but can be stretched to accommodate up to 8 players.

The board game is based on real World War II scenarios, so it feels both thematic and educational.

One player gets to takes on the role of the Allied forces, and the other would take on Axis powers.

The gameplay is driven by Richard Borg’s Command and Colors system which proved to be successful and is used in several other war strategy board games.

Command cards are used to issue order to units and can be placed in three different zones on your game board. 

The combat is done using a dice roll mechanic keeping the game fairly random. The gameplay can last for twenty to forty-five minutes and ends when one player collects enough medals.

Memoir 44 comes with a dual-sided board with one side having a grassy terrain and the other side depicting a beach area. There are forty-four double-sided terrain pieces that are used differently depending on which scenario you are playing.

There are sixty command cards and some explanation cards with terrain and unit information on them for quick reference. The cards are laid out nicely and as you would expect for a game of this caliber.

One of the most important parts of war board games are miniatures and Memoir 44 does not disappoint. Over seventy plastic miniatures to represent soldiers, tanks, artillery, sandbags, barbed wire, and hedgehogs are included in the box and add that perfect bit of fun when it comes to war games.

Gameplay

Playing the game itself is not overly complicated. There are 5 phases for each turn, and each phase is pretty straightforward and makes sense.

• Command cards – play a card from your hand. These cards let you order units for a zone on the board
• Order – Choose which of your units on the board to be activated for this turn
• Move – you can move any of your activated units. Units all have different rules for how far they can move and how they are affected by terrain.
• Battle – each of your units can not fight with the enemy. This is done in three steps
  • Check your range – check how many hexes away you can attack
  • Check your terrain – see how the terrain can affect your attack
  • Resolve your battle – roll the dice and check your results. There are five different sides to the dice. Infantry is on two sides and then a single side for armor, flag, star, and grenade. For each symbol you roll, if it matches the unit you are attacking, then you kill off a figure in that particular unit. Once all the figures of a unit are gone, the unit is removed, and you receive a medal. If you roll a flag, then you force the defenders to move back one hex.
• Draw a command card – draw from the pile to bring your hand back to its starting quantity.

You can get a good feel for the game in a few turns, and the rules take no longer than 10 minutes to go through meaning you can be up and playing in no time at all.

The rules are simple and easy for anyone to grasp within 10 minutes or so. At the same time, this simplicity does have some drawbacks to it.

The randomness of the card deck can mean that you are driven by the card you get dealt from the deck. A bad shuffle or a run of cards that don’t lead to the desired outcome can ruin your well thought out strategy, so make sure you shuffle them well.

In addition, battles are controlled by dice rolls, which assumes luck and randomness in battle outcomes. You could potentially have a great thought out plan which could get thwarted by a bad dice roll. The good side of dice driven battles is that they are always fun and that you never have the same game twice. Conversely, it can lead to a slight level of frustration if you don’t see the dice rolls you need or get that card you are hoping for.

Overall, there are a number of deeply strategic war board games in our review but Memoir ’44 is not one of them. Instead, it is a light and easy to learn war board game that remains accessible for most players, yet still employs a sufficient level of strategic depth. The gameplay is both fun and enjoyable and with streamlined rules, the game only takes about 45 minutes to play. It is not intended for hardcore war board gamers but rather casual gaming nights and as a perfect way to get yourself immersed in the wargame genre.

Most of the time when you think of war games you think tanks and guns and armies and units fighting for territories.

Root takes the fighting part of war games and combines it with a cute look of woodland scenes and creatures. Don’t be fooled by the looks, however, it is a war game through and through.

Each player gets to lead one of four factions (up to four players) with unique abilities, units and ways of playing.

 Even the win conditions are different between faction, so each player is sure to have a different strategy on the way to the top.

You get a game map that lays out your playing field. It depicts a woodland type of area with several clearings where you need to gain control over.

There are many adorable Meeples to represent each faction. There are twenty-five Marquise that are cats, twenty Eyrie who are birds, ten alliance who are mice and one vagabond that is a raccoon.

For each of the factions you get a player board to keep track of things, there are two counter sheets, and two dice for various dice throws as well.

Gameplay

The gameplay is asymmetrical as each faction has a different way of playing the game. Cats score points by building structures around the forest. They have three actions for each round and have to watch their supplies of wood to be sure there is enough to accomplish their tasks.

Birds are also out to build structures but do so in a different method than the cats do. Their goal is to build as quickly as possible.

Mice are out to gain sympathy from the forest and then try to create revolutions to achieve unbalance in the woodland.

Vagabonds, the raccoon, is a single piece on the game board but can move not only on trails but through the forest itself. The Vagabond needs to acquire items that he needs to use in his journeys to complete his tasks.

Have we missed one of your favorite war board games? Let us know the war game you would like to see in the above list, by leaving a quick comment below:

The post Best War Board Games of 2025 – Review and Comparison appeared first on Board Games Land.

For most of us, time is precious and sadly shorter than we would like. Life is certainly too short to waste on playing bad, boring, or simply ‘ok’ board games. Instead, we want our choices to make the spine tingle, the hairs on the neck stand up, and a creepy sense of the unknown to overcome us.

Gameplay should be addictive and fast-paced, able to keep your brain guessing while still supplying that sense of dread which is crucial for a good game of this genre. The outcome should be satisfying and a challenge to reach and of course, more than anything, should spook you to your very core.

We have made it our mission to provide you with the best horror board games you can buy today. After extensive research and testing, we have put together a list of the top ten horror-themed board games. Be warned: some are not for the faint-hearted!

From vampires to zombies, ghosts to ghouls, there is something here to capture your interest, and let you indulge your desire for scares and shivers in the comfort of your own home. Are you brave enough to start a journey into the unknown? Can you stay on course, even when the creepiness evolves ever further? And do you have the guts to go all the way, and emerge the winner? Read on for our top picks for the best horror board games of all time, and play if you dare…

Top 10 Horror Board Games – Quick Summary

Best Horror Board Game Overall – Arkham Horror

With the third edition being released, Arkham Horror is one of the best horror board games ever made. Lovecraft universe, teamwork & tension.

1-6

120-180 Min

12+

Medium

Check Price

Best Horror Cooperative Board Game – Mansions of Madness

Investigate and solve the mystery by collaborating with other players in a house full of horror. Best full-scale horror cooperative experience we’ve ever had.

1-5

120-180 Min

12+

Medium

Check Price

Best Murder Case Solving – Mysterium

Interrogate the amnesiac ghost through visions to discover who has committed the crime. A unique and interactive take on mystery solving.

2-7

42 Min

8+

Easy

Check Price

Best Horror Board Game Classic – Betrayal at House on the Hill

Build the haunted house as you advance in the game. One of the all-time horror board game classics that is full of excitement and suspense!

3-6

60 Min

12+

Easy

Check Price

Best Hidden Identities – Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game

Close to perfect semi-cooperative zombie board game with hidden identities. On top of the team goal, players have individual secret objectives. Tense, fun and extremely immersive gameplay.

2-5

60-120 Min

12+

Medium

Check Price

Best Quick Horror Board Game – Ghost Stories

Stunning horror artwork and amazing component quality. A different take on horror board games that is fast-paced with almost no downtime.

1-4

60 Min

12+

Medium

Check Price

Best Zombie Killing Massacre – Zombicide Season 3: Rue Morgue

Looking for maximum action and heavy zombie killing? Zombicide is the real deal. It is easy to learn, has great components and can be enjoyed with up to 12 players, – best party horror board game we’ve seen.

1-12

60-180 Min

12+

Easy

Check Price

Best For Two – Arkham Horror: The Card Game

An amazing Lovecraft narrative where each scenario poses decisions the results of which carry over to other scenarios. Thematic, storytelling and challenging – easily the best horror board game for two players.

1-2

60-120 Min

14+

Medium

Check Price

Best Vampire Board Game – Fury of Dracula

Beautiful artwork and enhanced thematic experience where some play as hunters and one plays as Dracula. Hunt down Count Dracula while being misled to fight him in the epic finale and save Europe.

2-5

120-180 Min

12+

Medium

Check Price

Best Horror Miniatures – The Others

Amazing artwork and the exquisite 5″ tall horror miniatures make a visually stunning and thematic one versus all experience.

2-5

90 Min

12+

Medium

Check Price

Best Rated Horror Games – Detailed Reviews

Arkham Horror is set against a backdrop of Lovecraftian horror, one or two investigators must work to unravel arcane mysteries and conspiracies as the Ancient Ones seek to enter our world.

The choices you make determine the course of your scenario but extend far beyond it. They can carry forward throughout the campaign, challenging players to face and overcome their demons.

A unique blend of roleplaying experience and a card game all in one, Arkham Horror was the easiest pick for our top ten horror board games.

During the game, the players – or ‘investigators’ – explore the notorious Arkham City.

They encounter people, place creatures which are both mundane and normal. The investigators undergo a series of adventures and gain the clues and resources they require to confront and thwart the Mythos threat in the final phase.

During their time in the city, they gather spells, weapons, clues, and other items to help them throughout the scenario. At first, they aim to avoid powerful monsters, before moving on to close a few gates and seal the active gates, which is the objective of the game.

Once several gates have been sealed and the investigators have the resources they need, they make a final assault on Mythos and try to seal the most active gates. If they succeed, the world is saved. If they fail, the Ancient One awakens for a climactic battle, and it is time to fight for your lives!

Five phases determine one turn in the game. Starting with the first player and continuing clockwise, each player performs the actions which occur within that phase. Once all the players have completed the phase, the first player marker is passed to the player to the left, and a new turn begins along with the next phase.

The phases of each turn are:

Phase I: Upkeep – refresh exhausted cards, perform upkeep actions and adjust skills (if changed)
Phase II: Movement – change investigator’s physical location on the board, pick up clue tokens and trade
Phase III: Arkham Encounters – complete an encounter if the investigator is at location
Phase IV: Other World – complete an encounter if the investigator is at the Other World
Phase V: Mythos – when bad things happen and monsters get spawned

Each phase has its requirements and set of actions to complete, all of which leads to the final, dramatic battle for survival and the fate of the world!

Arkham Horror is tense, atmospheric and requires the player to constantly remain on their toes, thinking, and making important decisions. There are a strong narrative and a story that weaves throughout the game, and the choices you make can have a big impact on the outcome.

It can be tricky with a larger number of players, as the difficulty tends to increase. In fact, anywhere up to four players seem to keep the game balance. Over four makes the game less enjoyable due to the additional downtime and increased complexity.

Overall, an immersive experience that takes you into another world, and encourages you to fight to the death for a successful outcome!

Mansions of Madness takes you to Arkham, Massachusetts and lets you on a dark secret.

Spectral presences lurk in the shadows. Horrors hide in schools and monasteries. Crypts groan with the weight of monsters and ghouls.

Something is not right with this town. The lucky victims are simply devoured; those who are not so fortunate are left broken, insane shells of their former selves.

Now, it is up to you and your team of investigators to tackle the nightmare and figure out what has really happened. Are you ready?

Mansions of Madness consists of a unique map that leads players through a pre-set story, offering several different combinations of plot possibilities and outcomes. It is played over a series of rounds, and each round has two phases: Investigator and Mythos. These are played in a continuous cycle until the players win or lose.

Investigator Phase
During this phase, investigators perform actions to move around the game board, attack monsters, and explore their surroundings, such as:

● Move
● Explore
● Search
● Interact
● Trade
● Component
● Attack

Once all Investigators have had a turn, play moves to the Mythos Phase where bad things happen.

Mythos Phase
This phase generates mythos effects, such as spawning monsters and raising challenges and indicated monster actions. Investigators must resolve these events, and may include Horror Check or Monster Activations – be prepared for anything in this phase!

When setting up the game, the scenario selected will tell the Investigators what they need to do to win. The twist? This goal is hidden from the players. As the game progresses, it is up to you to unravel the mystery and find out the ultimate goal. This solution can be achieved by listening carefully to the scenario’s prologue and intricately examining hints when discovered.

The objective will be revealed well into the game, and Investigators will have one final task to complete. If they take too long, the scenario’s aim may change or become too complicated making the victory unlikely. Ultimately, Investigators need to work together as a team to ensure their actions are efficient and can complete the required objective before the time runs out.

The rules to Mansions of Madness can be slightly complex, but it is well worth taking the time to puzzle them out.

This is a detailed, fast-paced, and immersive game that requires quick thinking and teamwork to survive. Taking too long can cost you the game, and the decisions you make can totally change the outcome. For a challenging combination of roleplay, card game, and teamwork, this is the best Lovecraft horror board game we’ve played.

Mysterium tells a story about Mr. McDowell, a gifted astrologer. When he entered his new house in Scotland in the 1920s, he became instantly aware of a supernatural being who had moved in with him.

Gathering together eminent mediums of the time, he embarked on a seance.

The team now have seven hours to make contact with the ghost, and unlock an ancient mystery.

It is down to you, in your role as a medium, to communicate with the ghosts and find out the truth. The ghost is unable to talk, and communicates through visions – represented by illustrated cards.

The mediums must decipher the images to help the ghost remember how he was murdered and solve the mystery.

You will need to uncover critical details, such as who committed the crime? Where did it occur? What was the weapon? By working together, you can discover clues and secrets to put the puzzle together. If you’ve played Clue before, you know what’s it about.

In Mysterium, one player takes on the role of the ghost, and everyone else acts as a medium. With their help, the ghost first recalls the presence of the suspects on the night of the murder. There are different suspect, location, and weapon cards, which the ghost randomly assigns to a medium in secret.

Each game turn represents one hour, and the ghost turns one or more vision cards face up. They refill their hand to a total of seven each time. The medium’s job is to deduce the suspect which corresponds to the vision card, and they have two minutes from the time the ghost hands the cards to the final medium.

Mediums place their token on a suspect, and put clairvoyance tokens on those suspected by other mediums, to show whether they agree or disagree.

At the end of the two minutes, the ghost reveals which guesses were correct. Mediums who guessed right move on to working out the location of the crime. Those who failed to receive new vision cards, and continue to guess the suspect.

Once a medium has a correct guess for the suspect, murder weapon, and location, they move their token to the epilogue board. At least one medium must identify all three aspects correctly before the end of the seventh hour, or the ghost dissipates, leaving players wondering and the mystery unsolved.

Alternatively, If they all succeed, the spirit recovers enough of its memory to identify the culprit.

If most of the mediums have identified the correct suspect, the killer is identified, and the ghost rests in peace. If not, Mr. MacDowell will be having a few sleepless nights…

The mediums must decipher the images to help the ghost remember how he was murdered and solve the mystery.

You will need to uncover critical details, such as who committed the crime? Where did it occur? What was the weapon? By working together, you can discover clues and secrets to put the puzzle together. If you’ve played Clue before, you know what’s it about.

In Mysterium, one player takes on the role of the ghost, and everyone else acts as a medium. With their help, the ghost first recalls the presence of the suspects on the night of the murder. There are different suspect, location, and weapon cards, which the ghost randomly assigns to a medium in secret.

Each game turn represents one hour, and the ghost turns one or more vision cards face up. They refill their hand to a total of seven each time. The medium’s job is to deduce the suspect which corresponds to the vision card, and they have two minutes from the time the ghost hands the cards to the final medium.

Mediums place their token on a suspect, and put clairvoyance tokens on those suspected by other mediums, to show whether they agree or disagree.

At the end of the two minutes, the ghost reveals which guesses were correct. Mediums who guessed right move on to working out the location of the crime. Those who failed to receive new vision cards, and continue to guess the suspect.

Once a medium has a correct guess for the suspect, murder weapon, and location, they move their token to the epilogue board. At least one medium must identify all three aspects correctly before the end of the seventh hour, or the ghost dissipates, leaving players wondering and the mystery unsolved.

Alternatively, If they all succeed, the spirit recovers enough of its memory to identify the culprit.

If most of the mediums have identified the correct suspect, the killer is identified, and the ghost rests in peace. If not, Mr. MacDowell will be having a few sleepless nights…

Mysterium is an exciting and unique board game which leads to a lot of fun guessing and deducing the final suspect. The puzzle comes together in pieces, making the overall reveal satisfying and worth the wait. The key aspect of helping the ghost find the killer and receive justice is teamwork, and the better you are at collaborating, the more chances you have of winning the board game.

Betrayal at House on the Hill is a board game where players build and explore the haunted mansion of their own design.

Players get to create a unique house every time they play by using tiles to build rooms, floors and create the house layout.

Throughout the game, players get to encounter creepy spirits and omens that can foretell their fate, which adds a unique twist to the experience.

Although the board game is cooperative, it comes with an element of a secret identity where where one of your team members is a traitor.

In Betrayal at House on the Hill, every player, including the traitor, has their own victory goals. If anyone reaches their goals, the game is over, and if any player reaches zero on any of their ‘life energy’ levels, they die. The last ‘living’ player wins unless the traitor gets them first.

To start the board game, each player gets to pick one of six character plates that illustrate the character’s stats. Once you’ve chosen your avatar, you get preset ‘life energy’ levels, namely Sanity, Might, Knowledge, and Speed. You can increase or decrease your levels as you advance in the game.

Initially, the upper and lower floors are joined by a staircase while the basement is isolated. Each floor is positioned on a different part of the table to make sure the floors are visually separated. There are tokens for different ghosts and monsters, tiles for each room, and cards that represent Items, Omens, and Events.

As you progress exploring the haunted mansion, the players get to find and reveal the haunted scenario. The scenario identifies the story as well as the traitor to side with the ghosts. At this point, traitor or hero players need to physically leave the room to read their new haunting rules and strategize on the plan going forward. Once everyone is back, the game continues, with the traitor trying to kill fellow players while they attack him/her (and their creatures).

On your turn, you use your Speed levels to move around the house, opening doors to explore various rooms. If you open an ‘empty room’, then you pick a room tile and use it to ‘build’ the room. The tile might have an Omen, Event, or Item on it, so follow instructions by picking a card from the right pile.

Items offer equipment you can use to explore or defend yourself. Events use dice to add or reduce your ‘life energy levels’ (i.e. your might, speed, knowledge, or sanity). Omens offer ‘numbered gifts’ so you have to roll the dice to keep your omen.

If your dice score is less than the omen, the haunting begins. During the haunting phase of the game, the traitor and other players take turns attacking each other.

Monsters in the game include ghosts, zombies, cannibals, dragons, vampires and others. The great thing about them is that as you play along, you get to know each monster’s backstory making the gaming experience more thematic.

Lastly, the latest re-print of the board game adds 20 new room tiles, one extra floor, 30 new cards, and 50 new haunts. Fans of the game also get two limited edition promo cards : Betrayal and Bardul’s Gate and Betrayal at House on the Hill (Green Devil Face Card and Snake Card). All the good reasons to start building and exploring the hauned house!

Dead of Winter: A Crossroads is the first board game in the Dead of Winter series. Its innovative design has scored the board game over 10 awards and nominations across the board gaming industry.

The board game puts two to five players in a weakened colony of survivors where the majority of humanity is either diseased or turned into flesh-craving beasts.

Each player takes on a role of a faction leader to guide a bunch of survivors who are required to work together to make it through the winter.

Since Dead of Winter is cooperative, it comes with 20 different scenarios and a shared objective the team cumulatively needs to achieve to win the game. Every scenario has the main objective, which controls how the game is played. It specifies the number of rounds you’ll play, the team’s joint goal, and a preset morale level.

On top of the shared objective, each player gets also dealt an identity card with a secret objective. Most of the time, the objective is related to helping the colony get through challenges (if you are a good guy/gal) and become most helpful. Other times, the card may suggest that you are a traitor with a personal objective directly opposite of the one other players have.

At the same time, having a traitor in the game is not guaranteed as more cards are mixed into the deck than there are players. I have passionately accused other player of being traitors only to find out at the end of the game that we did not have any. At the same time, if you get enough support from other team members, you can exile the traitor player to constrain what he/she can do.

Nevertheless, the idea of having a traitor in the team is enough to add an element of suspense and even paranoia into the gameplay.

The game is played in a series of rounds. Each round players can pick one of the 12 base actions or use the character’s special ability. The most common actions are scavenging for useful things like weapons, food, supplies, medicine, or fuel, attacking zombies, and moving between locations. In addition, you can also build barricades, clean waste, and attack other players.

The game keeps going until your colony runs out of morale or rounds in which case it ends in defeat. Alternatively, one or more players can come out victorious if the game’s main objective is achieved.

Dead of Winter is a great, fresh, and modern take on a zombie theme that combines psychological mettle with contagious, flesh-eating monsters. It has both co-operative and individual elements, and players have to balance them out to be efficient and eventually win the game. Victory isn’t clear-cut as everyone as well as individual players can both win and lose.

If you prefer the zombie side of horror board gaming, make sure you check our best zombie board games we’ve just finished writing.

Protect the village from the lord of hell and his legions of ghosts before they return to life!

Ghost Stories turns players into Taoist monks, working together to fight off the waves of ghosts. You need to prevent Wu-Feng and his minions from haunting the town and retrieving the ashes before it is too late.

At the start of a turn, a player brings a ghost into play, placing it on a free spot. More than one spirit may come in at the same time.

The ghosts have their own set of powers, and some can affect the Taoists or the gameplay in general. Ghost effects are detrimental, so you need to make sure you are ready for them.

Each village tile allows the players to benefit from a unique bonus. For example, Taoist can bring a dead Taoist back to life in the cemetery, or recover spent Tao tokens from a herbalist. Players can also gain traps, unhaunt other village tiles and even move ghosts as desired.

When it is his turn, a Taoist can move onto a tile to benefit from the action of a villager living on the tile – providing it is not haunted – or even exorcize the ghost which haunts adjacent tiles!

To successfully exorcize a ghost in Ghost Stories, three Tao dice must be rolled with different colors – yellow, green, black, white, red and blue. If the roll matches the colors of the ghosts or the incarnation of Wu-Feng, the exorcism is successful.

For example, to exorcize a green ghost which has a resistance of three, three green dice must be rolled. If your die roll lacks a needed color, you can also use Tao tokens to match the color – these can also be used after the turn. These tokens can be found using certain village tiles, or by exercising ghosts. One player will also have a power, allowing them to receive a token once a turn.

White is a ‘wild color’ and can be used as any color – if you only roll two red and a white, that white transforms into a red, allowing the successful exorcism.

To win in Ghost Stories, the incarnation of Wu-Feng must be defeated. Harder levels of difficulty can be added which increase the number of incarnations, and to win, and all must be overcome.

Losing is easy! If three of the villages tiles are haunted, the draw pile is emptied while the Wu-Feng incarnation is in play, or all the priests are dead, it is game over, and the ghosts can take over the village!

Ghost Stories is a cooperative, team-based game which draws players together in their battle to save the village. It offers a tense and exciting game which leaves you desperate to save the village!

Humanity has doomed itself, and zombies overrun the earth. As a leader of the Resistance, you get to summon the troops, lead the survivors and defeat the zombie hordes.

Not many have survived, and the ones that did are in your team. Zombicide Season 3: Rue Morgue leaves the fate of the world in your hands and sets itself in the action-movie universe!

This game is suitable for one to twelve players. Each player controls one to six survivors fighting off zombie infection throughout the game.

The goal is straightforward: to complete the mission objectives, and survive to see the sunrise!

Seems simple right? After all, the zombies are pretty stupid, slow and predictable. The bad news? There are a lot of them!

Survivors can use anything they can get their hands on to eliminate the zombie threat; the bigger the weapon, the more zombies can be killed. Trade equipment, give, receive and ignore advice, and even perform the Ultimate Sacrifice to save the world.

In Zombicide Season 3: Rue Morgue you need to work together to achieve the mission objectives and survive. You also need to clean out infested areas, find food and weapons, and rescue survivors.

The player with the first token takes his turn and activates his survivors one at a time in the order of his choice. At the tart, each survivor can perform three actions per turn, though this can change as the game progresses.

Survivors use their actions to move around the map and perform crucial tasks to accomplish the mission objectives. Be aware, some actions make noise: and this attracts zombies!

Once all survivors are activated, the player to his left takes a turn, and so on until all players have completed their turns. This action ends the Players phase.

After this, the Zombie phase begins. All zombies on the board are activated, and wither attack a survivor next to them, or move towards survivors or noisy zones. Some zombies get two actions that allow them to move twice, attack twice, or attack and move.

The game is over when all Survivors have been gruesomely killed or won when all the mission objectives have been achieved.

A simple gameplay style allows players to immerse themselves in the story, which is carried out against a backdrop of detailed miniatures and top quality board and miniatures.

In a quiet New England town, something evil is stirring…and you and your friends are the only things standing between the town and its destruction at the hands of all sorts of evil beings!

With a unique blend of roleplay and card game, Arkham Horror: The Card Game allows you to team up with your friend and enjoy a fast-paced and immersive narrative.

Before you can play, you will need to decide whether you are playing a single scenario or a campaign. The latter is a sequential narrative which lets you play through multiple scenarios in a specific order, and allows your investigators to level up and grow as the game goes on – this is the recommended way to play if you want the full thematic narrative experience.

Once you have chosen your starting point, the campaign rulesheet will provide instructions for the first scenario. These help to set up the narrative, and inject a suitably spooky atmosphere into the proceedings. Following this, the ‘Campaign Setup’ section will provide you with the instructions to set up your adventure.

During a scenario, the aim is to complete all of the Act cards within the scene, before the Agenda cards are resolved. The Act cards advance the story towards success and victory, while the Agenda cards move closer to doom.

Act cards are completed by finding and cashing in clues and investigating locations. Remember that Agenda cards sneak closer to completion, no matter what you do!

To increase the challenge, the Encounter Deck will throw random encounters and challenges at you in every turn, introducing curses, monsters, and obstacles.

There are four main phases to Arkham Horror: The Card Game

Mythos Phase

Your enemies agenda advances, and each player is required to take a card from the Encounter Deck and resolve it. This phase is bad, so keep an eye at it as you don’t want it to advance too quickly!

Investigation Phase

During the Investigation phase you can pause and catch your breath. Each player takes three actions, such as fighting a monster, investigating a location, gaining resources or moving to a new location.

Every time you face a challenge, however, your Investigators skill will be tested against a random value. This value is generated by a token drawn from the Chaos Bag. Things can change in the blink of an eye!

You will need to work together to overcome and minimize problems, as well as making your way through the Act Deck – strategy is critical.

Enemy Phase

Things are bad again! Any enemies on the board are activated, and relevant effects restored. They can attack investigators, sneak away, or generate Doom to advance the Agenda.

Upkeep Phase

Each player gains a resource and a card, and everyone prepares to go again. This cycle continues until the Agenda deck reaches completion – and the world ends – or you advance the Act deck enough to escape the current scenario.

Once the scenario has ended, the Campaign Guide will tell you your fate, and you can begin the next scenario – if you dare.best-arkham-horror-card-game-arkham-horror-the-card-game

Arkham Horror: The Card Game offers a fast-paced, intense role-playing experience for two players. It puts the fate of the world in your hands and you together with your gaming partner need to find a way to win the forces of evil through collaborative effort. The board game can be adapted to your preferred style of gameplay and is a great opportunity to socialize and work as a team against the darkness.

If you are looking for scary board games then it could be a challenge as although most of board games in our top ten are brilliant in their own way, not all of them are truly scary. Arkham Horror: The Card Game on the other hand can top the ranks of scariest board games quite easily.

The year is 1898. London is finally at peace. Eight long years after defeating the legendary vampire Count Dracula, and humans are trying to rebuild their lives. But it appears that the story is not yet over.

In Fury of Dracula, one player steps into the shoes of the mythical Count. You get to secretly travel across European countries and transform humans to vampires by biting them and laying deadly traps for all those who hunt you.

Conversely, up to four other players take on roles of hunters. They are tasked with finding and defeating Dracula and his kin before the undead rise to take over the night!

Each hunter in Fury of Dracula has a day and a night move and moves across the 1890’s Europe, traveling from city to city using rail or roads.

Hunters can perform actions and travel by day, but they must not travel by night; this is when the vampires are strongest. There are multiple actions to choose from on their turns:

• Gaining items and event cards in cities. During the day, any event card obtained must come from the top of the deck if it is theirs and discard Dracula cards. At night, however, they must draw from the bottom of the pack, and give any Dracula cards to him, strengthening his hand.
• Get a train ticket
• Rest to heal wounds
• Exchange items
• Take an individual action (unique to each character)

When it is Dracula’s turn, he places a new location card on his track. This card indicates to the hunters where he is, and the last six locations he is known to have visited. He must also lay an Encounter card at each site.

If a Hunter lands on one of these locations, the card must be revealed, giving them an idea of where he is. If they find him, or he shows himself, combat ensues.

During combat, Dracula gains his combat cards, and Hunters their item and weapon cards. With each round of combat, each side must reveal a chosen card. Some beat others, some render the other void, and some have other consequences. Conflict can go on until one of the party escapes.

The Encounter cards held by Dracula can also contain fledgling vampires who may engage in combat with hunters, in addition to other traps.

If the Hunters can defeat Dracula in combat, they win. Achieve victory by knocking down all of his health points before the allocated time elapses.

If Dracula can gain enough points before he is defeated, he wins the game. Points are earned by defeating Hunters and maturing his fledgling vampires.

Fury of Dracula is an immersive experience with high replay value – playing as Dracula offers a new, asymmetric experience compared to playing as a Hunter. Hunters are pitted against the nightmares of the night in a battle for victory, and there is a sense that Dracula creeps closer with every turn.

The Others is a horror board game that got funded through the Kickstarter campaign.

Society is corrupted. The world stands on the brink of apocalypse.

The Seven Deadly Sins are destroying humanity, one person at a time. The earth is bleak, and all hope seems lost as The Others continue their relentless march to consume all of mankind forever.

The only thing that can stop them is you.

The Others is a maze of plot twists and turns, victories and defeats, and life and death. You and your team stand between the world and its destruction if you dare to play.

Player either play as Sins or Heroes. Heroes are divided into different classes, and each specializes in different aspects:

● Leaders are good at helping teammates
● Bruisers are top melee fighters
● Snipers are experts at shooting from a distance
● Fixers have knowledge of the occult and can remove supernatural entities

In addition, each hero has their stats, abilities, and strengths – bringing in the right hero at the right time can win you the battle.

Corruption is a crucial element. It allows Sin to consume heroes, but also enables heroes to accomplish amazing feats if they take corruption. This perk grants them powerful bonuses but has a dark side: when they are entirely corrupted, their demons come back to haunt them, destroying the team from within. Ultimately, their flesh may succumb to sinful influences.

The Sins player can access the different monsters held by each Sin and can either destroy the Heroes or hinder their progress. Each Sin Player has a deck of cards specific to their Sin, and these can be played at different times to surprise players. Each Sin taints the game with an overriding mechanic.

For example, Heroes who wander the streets alone will be punished by Pride, while Sloth will capture those who try to move quickly. It is up to the Heroes to deal with the different influences of each Sin, and this stands between them and their mission.

Acolytes also aid Sins. These are corrupted servants of darkness, and stand in the way of heroes. They also have one unique ability which reflects their previous lives – e.g., the corrupted doctors prevent heroes from healing.

Each session of The Others contains seven different stories, each with their own rules, dynamics, and missions. The three main types are Terror stories – more focused on action and combat, Corruption stories – focusing on the corruption spreading through the city, and Redemption stories – these focus on saving the town and the innocents.

The board has several tiles, which represent different city districts and street configurations. The city still belongs to humans, and so they can get benefits from different areas – the museum gets rid of corruption, and the hospital heals wounds, the regions which are available help to change the whole game.

As the game progresses, the Apocalypse Track advances, and this makes the Sins stronger. If the Track isn’t kept back and defeated, the Sins win, and humanity goes to hell.

With twists and turns, narrative red herrings, and the Sins growing ever stronger, this is a game that doesn’t let you pause for breath. The choices you make determine the course of the narrative, and it is hard not to get sucked into the terror of the encroaching Apocalypse!

A cherry on top is the best miniature in board games we’ve seen. Wait until you hold a 5″ monster in your hands as it would totally justify the slightly premium price tag the board game carries.

The post Best Horror Board Games of 2025 – Review and Comparison appeared first on Board Games Land.

Ever since The Walking Dead took comic and television world by storm, there seems to have been a horde or zombie board games finding their way to the market on almost a monthly basis. 

From quick mini-games to full scope strategic zombie board game experience, there is something for everyone to enjoy. In fact, according to BGG, there are over a thousand zombie board games out there. Most of them are old and are out of print, but a healthy bunch is still available for purchase.

To help you navigate the zombie board game maze, we have hand-picked the top 10 zombie board games. We have considered time, types of board game mechanics, difficulty and age, so rest assured – we have a pick for you. So whether you are planning a family or friends night out, get ready for the best zombie board games available on the market today.

Best Overall – Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game

The most refined zombie survival board game on the market. If you like team work, collaboration and run a chance of having a traitor in your team, Dead of Winter is best zombie board game for the job.

2-5

60-120 Min

12+

Medium

Check Price

Best Cooperative – Zombicide: Black Plague

With 20+ board games and expansions in the series, you can’t go wrong with Zombicide. Epic zombie killing and second to none teamwork!

1-6

60-180 Min

10+

Easy

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Best Tower Defence – Zpocalypse 2: Defend the Burbs

If you like holding positions and defending the tower from hordes of zombies Zpocalypse is the best zombie deal out there.

2-5

90+ Min

14+

Hard

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Best Classic – Dawn of the Zeds (Third edition)

A long time tower defence classic that goes back 7 years. With the third edition out now, the game is more refined than ever.

1-4

90-120 Min

12+

Hard

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Best Competitive – Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game

A fast paced zombie brain eating experience based on the cinematic zombie genre. One of not many games where you can play as zombies!

2-6

90 Min

12+

Medium

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Best Betrayal – City of Horror

Great semi-cooperative classic zombie board game. To win, you need to negotiate, make alliances and also betray your fellow players.

3-6

90 Min

14+

Easy

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Best Quick Zombie Board Game – Zombie 15′

Beautiful artwork, simple rules and loads of tension packed into a 15 minute game. One of the best zombie apocalypse board games to have for a getaway!

2-4

15 Min

12+

Easy

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Best Zombie Card Game – After The Virus

The smallest zombie card game in our review. It features a classic deck building approach with a twist. Amazing solo zombie experience too!

1-3

30-90 Min

10+

Easy

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Best Fun – Tiny Epic Zombies

With 5 different ways to play the game, it offers amazing replay value. It can be cooperative, competitive and something in between. Amazing fun, easy rules and great components deliver loads of entertainment.

1-5

30 Min

14+

Medium

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Best Zombie War Game – The Walking Dead: All Out War

If one vs. one war encounter is what you are after, then The Walking Dead: All out War is the best zombie board game you can find.

1-2

30-120 Min

12+

Medium

Check Price

Best Zombie Board Games – Top 10 Review

Dead of Winter is the first board game in the series. Its innovative design has scored the board game around 12 awards and nominations.

It puts two to five players in a small and weakened colony of survivors where a majority of humanity is either diseased or turned into zombies.

Each player takes on a leading role to guide a bunch of survivors working together to achieve an objective and make it through the winter.

Dead of Winter can either be a fully or semi-cooperative. The trick is that one of the players may be a traitor with his own hidden agenda achieving which, scores him a win.  Alternatively, if all players are good guys and gals their objective is to work together as efficiently as possible towards a collective victory.

Each player, good or bad, has a personal secret objective. Mostly, secret objectives are secondary to the primary objective shared by the team, which means you need to win the teams objective to fulfill the individual one. If you are a traitor, however, your secondary goal may well be to sabotage the mission and make other players fail.

Teamwork is at heard of Dead of Winter as players need to coordinate action to make sure that action points are spent wisely. There are always more things that are required to be done than you can, so being good at working out trade-offs is an essential skill to master.

On their turns, players can choose to attack a zombie, search a location, put up a barricade, attract zombies, clean waste or use a special ability. Getting actions coordinated and timed efficiently should provide you a good chance of successes. At the same time, ad-hoc events and the possibility of having a traitor in the team add a unique twist to the winning strategy the team needs to come up with.

Expect to be faced with challenging situations where you will be compelled to make difficult, frequent, and varying decisions that will require all of you to decide what options are best for you and which ones are the best for the colony.

Zombicide: Black Plague is a standalone cooperative board game that takes the zombie apocalypse into a beautiful medieval setting.

The board game packs loads of fun and supports one to six players. It brings out the relentless zombie-killing action into a new fantasy world we have not experienced before.

It features multiple fantasy races such as elves, dwarfs, humans, paladins, magicians and other straggling survivors from different walks of life.

I was not initially sure how medieval, fantasy and zombies could possibly blend together, but let me tell you that the mix works brilliantly!

The objective of Zombicide: Black Plague is to punish the evil Necromancer overlords for bringing the world to an end, but to get there you have to go through the hordes of zombies first.

To help you survive dark times, your characters can wield crossbows, make powerful swords, and cast magic spells. To improve your defense rating, you can arm your survivor with shields and chain mail armor. Additionally, you can pick up spell books to carry out fantastic enchantments, or light up a dragon pool to come up with an all-consuming dragon fire!

While the rules have been slightly revamped for this latest incarnation, the core principle has remained intact. The board game is still full of nonstop action, tense atmosphere and loads of fun!

The game incorporates some of the light RPG mechanics as it allows you to enhance your character and gain experience as you go. Experience allows you to up-skill your characters to become more powerful, however, the increased number of zombies over time seems to balance it out nicely.

Go ahead and take on the zombie invasion from secret vaults to medieval streets. Pursue the elusive Necromancers to prevent them from multiplying. Take a whole new set of missions whereby your group of survivors will emerge the heroes of the land or the last survivors of the zombie massacre.

Alternatively, if you prefer fighting orcs a little more, check out the sequel Zombicide: Green Horde in the series which we’ve reviewed as part of the best coop board games shootout.

Zpocalypse 2: Defend the Burbs is a Kickstarter funded exhilarating cooperative and competitive tower defense-game. It represents a sequel to the original Zpocalypse, a survival board game that’s set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

The premise of the board game is pretty exciting. When the city got heavily bombarded, some humans have run for their lives to survive the onslaught by escaping to the urban wasteland. Out in the suburbs, humans have built a shelter which is now regularly raided and assaulted by zombies and mutates.

To survive, players have to rely on almost anything from kitchen appliances to garden tools to fend off the never ending zombie hordes.

During setup, you and your friends randomly select two survivors in addition to two starting weapons. The cards are then attached to a special board with each player leading one of the heroes. Depending on the color chosen, players get one pointer that marks the starting point or position on the action board. Some scenarios contain additional rules that modify the course of the game slightly.

Just like the original game, the updated version has simple and straightforward rules. The game involves two to five players each controlling their squad of survivors that is equipped with food, weapons, and other items. As a squad leader, you get to choose the actions your survivors should concentrate on. You get to select and prioritize daily tasks and other duties on the action tracking board. Each action brings value to the squad, yet costs resources, so picking and timing the right choice is paramount.

Similar to other zombie board games, Zpocalypse 2 features a concept of day and night. During the day, you get to assign your squad various actions such as scavenging, crafting, guarding and resting. The objective is to prepare for the night phase where the new zombies get spawned and assault your shelter.

As you progress through the board game, your survivors level-up and gain new skills. Each time you kill a zombie you get to score victory points which are then used to unlock perk cards. Each card can provide a noticeable enhancement by improving the defense stats, dealing extra damage or healing the wounds.

The game also introduces a nice variety of zombies, so it does not feel too mechanical fighting them. In addition to regular zombies, the game introduces mutates which have different health, attack, movement, and special abilities.

As opposed to having your scenario path determined for you like it was in the original game, now you have the freedom to decide your own survival scenario. It is a great perk, especially for someone creative like me.

Dawn of the Zeds (Third edition) is a third iteration of the board game classic that was funded via a Kickstarter campaign.

It remains to be a go to game for those who are looking for a solidly changeling warfare against zombies. It features a cooperative gameplay in a zombie apocalypse.

In Dawn of the Zeds your heroes need to defend Farmingdale in addition to its five outlying villages from zombies that keep on encroaching.

These heroes are often supported by armed and heroic civilians with little outside help. There are mad scientists, biker gangs, and civilians fighting for zombie rights.

The rules are fairly simple. All you have to do is to ensure that you defend the town of Farmingdale and its neighboring towns from zombies’ onslaught.

The goal is to ensure that the Zeds do not reach the town center to cause chaos around Farmingdale, a town that has been abandoned by the government.

The gameplay is simple. Found at the center of the board is a docile hamlet of Farmingdale that’s under siege from hordes of zombies that travel along four roads leading to Farmingdale. However, you must be cautious here since even if one of them succeeds to enter the town, then it’s game over.

The new edition has completely raised the bar as far as the sheer number of options for playing the game and the presentation is concerned. With the latest offerings Dawn of the Zeds (Third edition) still packs a lot of action and fun.

Originally, Dawn of the Zeds (Third edition) was a solitaire game but in this third edition, the gameplay is just as much as on cooperative play. Now, 1-5 courageous individuals can spend more than 90 minutes fighting zombies and learning to come together as a group to fight a common and determined enemy.

Last Night On Earth is one of the most discussed classic zombie board games of all times. The game has been out for over ten years and has proven to be a favorite option for many zombie board game enthusiasts.

Now, with the 10th Anniversary edition out, the board game features welcome updates, refreshed components, and a couple of new additions.

The artwork is intentionally photographic as the game aspires to achieve a cinematic feel, which does seem to work.

Like with most zombie board games, the plot is somewhat predictable. The game pits small-town heroes against a horde of zombies.

Unlike, however, many other zombie board games, this one features a full competitive mode where some players can play as heroes that are working together to make it through the tough night or zombies that spread over the town like a plague.

In addition, each scenario has a different board layout, player starting positions and features different themes such as rescue, simple survival, or escape.

You start the board game by dividing up to six players into two teams. One team controls the zombies and the other team controls up to four heroes. Teams then alternate turns to advance with their respective agendas and defeat the other team.

Playing for zombies you get to destroy buildings, stumble about, groan, and make attempts to not only overwhelm, but decimate humans. Humans on the other hand search for crucial items, and try their best to fend off zombies with whatever weapons they have. Sometimes, it can be a gun or a knife, but other times bare hands is all you get to survive the night.

The objective for humans varies depending on the selected scenario. You may need to rescue bystanders, kill a certain number of zombies or find the gasoline or keys so that everybody can escape. For zombies it is all about eating brains, so your objective is to find and eat those tasty humans.

To determine the course of action, the board games features an awful lot of dice-rolling. And if perhaps it was a different type of game, I would consider it excessive, for a zombie-themed board game however it feels just about right. It mimics the sudden events and turns that may happen, such as zombie appearing from nowhere, tripping, losing things and so on.

City of Horror is another classic zombie board game in our review. It was originally released in 2012 and still remains one of the most played zombie board games on the market.

The game uses classic zombie movies as a theme where hordes of zombies assault and overrun the city.

Like with most zombie board games, it is about survival, unlike most, it introduces the concept of backstabbing which makes it semi-cooperative.

The objective of the game is to survive until the daybreak when some additional help should arrive. While you are waiting for help negotiation, charming and backstabbing take place.

Sometimes, you may need to sacrifice some for the be the greater good of others to ensure you can make it through the night. But who would that be?

Each player controls a number of characters he or she is trying to shepherd through the zombie apocalypse. Characters, however, are unique and feature special abilities that can be used only once per game. This makes strategy so intriguing as you need to balance between when to use the ability, when to sacrifice the survivor and how does your character fit into the overall winning strategy.

Deciding the character to sacrifice is done using voting, so people with good negotiation skills will have an advantage. At the same time, the game compels you to make difficult, tough and unwanted decisions, and there is no other way around it.

The game ends at 04:00 in the morning when the rescue helicopter comes to pick up the survivors. Yet, to get on the helicopter, your characters must possess an antidote serum to prove they are not infected. Alternatively, characters remain stranded and score no points.

At heart of City of Horror are voting and negotiation. It fills the game with interaction, collaboration, and tension. Making sacrifices is part of the winning strategy, but picking the right trade-offs and knowing how to negotiate is key to success.

Lastly, 3D component quality is great and manages to deliver a thematic feel. The board features a two-sided modular layout, which coupled with random event deck should provide you with plenty of replay value. Rules are not complex and the rulebook does a good job at walking you through them which makes it accessible to a wide range of players.

Zombie 15 is a unique and chaotic zombie apocalypse board game where everybody above the age of 18 has been infected.

You and other players represent a small team of teenager survivals that try to make it on their own.

To escape the relentless horde of undead you need to sprint across the city to find food, shelter, meet with the other teenager survivors and learn the truth behind the murky disease!

Since Zombie 15 features real-time fighting, it requires fast-paced collaboration and decision making. Take too long and you will get overwhelmed by bloodthirsty zombies!

Although the board game is cooperative, each player makes its own decision. The role of others is to help and come up with the most optimal decision in the shortest amount of time possible. When other players make bad decisions or take too long, you may find yourself changing your approach in an instant. And most of the time, due to time pressure, those would be decisions based on a gut feel only.

The board game comes with 15 different scenarios stitched into a single storytelling campaign. Although scenarios try to be different, most of them revolve around getting from point A to point B.

The rules or gameplay are quite simple and new player friendly. Firstly, the rulebook does an excellent job of explaining things quick and simple. Besides, each scenario introduces some new rules, making it easy for non-board gamers to get involved.

Actions, you get to choose from are limited to 5 actions – moving, fighting, searching, picking up and using.

Zombie 15 features beautiful artwork on 32 double-sided tiles. At the same time, the miniature quality leaves more to be desired.

The map takes around 15 minutes to setup and once done can take quite a space on your table. In fact, it may feature up to a hundred zombies on a map, depending on a scenario. Make sure you have enough space for it.

After the Virus is a highly-entertaining cooperative deck-building card game.

The story is driven by 15 different scenarios stitched together to provide a narrative experience.

Each scenario can be played on its own, yet if you want that extra bit of theme and story, playing them in order is the way to go.

According to the story, 90% of the population got wiped by a virus with only a handful making it through. The ones that did have transformed into murderous zombies, while the rest are left defenseless and weak searching for shelter.

It is now up to you to rescue as many as you can while preparing your arsenal of arms to hold off the brain-eating zombies.

Like most deck-building card games, in After the Virus you want your deck to host the best cards and little to no bad cards. In reality, this is not achievable, yet if you have enough quality cards in your deck to counter the zombie influx, you should be able to balance it out.

Characters are unique regarding their special abilities and cards that form the starting deck. It adds a nice flavor and a little bit of strategy variety into the gameplay.

Each round begins by drawing a total of five cards from your deck. You may draw weapons, equipment, traps, people or zombies. When you draw zombie cards, they are immediately placed in front of the player to deal with. The objective is to try and resolve all zombies that have been played with the cards you already have in your hands. Any unresolved zombies can cause injury and potentially kill you.

Disposing zombies can be done in two different ways, and the challenge is to balance them out. First, you can kill them, in which case they return to the pile of cards they came from. Alternatively, if you can only discard, they are placed into your discard deck, which pollutes your hand.

As you progress in the game, zombies become more  powerful and harder to beat. This puts a great focus on building the deck with capable cards early on in the game.

Your characters can only take 2 wounds before they die, which is not a lot, especially in the second part of the game. This makes upfront planning and deck building paramount to surviving 20 rounds after which you make it through and win the game.

Tiny Epic Zombies continues the trend of successful board game campaigns funded through the Kickstarter attracting 40 times of the original pledged amount.

It is a fast-paced zombie survival board game that supports both cooperative and competitive modes of play.

In fact, there are five different ways to play the game as players can freely choose their side and whether they want to be part of the team or not.

The choices are: team vs. game controlled zombies, team vs.player controlled zombies, free for all vs. game controlled zombies, free for all vs. player controlled zombies or simply solo.

Tiny Epic Zombies takes place in a mall that’s been devastated by zombies. Lying in the middle is the courtyard that acts as your safe space; one which the zombies are attempting to attack. The courtyard is shielded by a barricade that you can slowly increase in strength as the game progresses.

The mall that surrounds the courtyard is made up of 8 double-sided tiles that are randomly placed, making each game’s layout different. While the sides have different art, the special events and abilities that you gain from the room in each store change slightly.

For humans to win, they require to complete three scenario objectives. Alternatively, for zombies, they must either kill all survivors or gain control of the Echo Ridge’s courtyard.

Playing as humans, you will find yourself always on the run scorching for weapons to fight zombies and progress towards achieving one of the objectives. Turns typically consist of three move actions and based on where you end up, additional actions may get triggered. For example, if you end up sharing a room with a zombie, you can fight it, if you end up in an adjacent room, you can shoot it.

After completing three movements, human players can search the room and find valuable items, such as weapons, to help them fight zombies. At times, you find more zombies, rather than weapons, so you never know.

Making your turns efficient and managing the zombie count is the key to winning the game. You eventually want to move and attack as efficiently as possible since the time before the supplies run out is limited.

Playing for zombies, you get to control all of them. Your objective is to place and move zombies around such that human players get overwhelmed or the courtyard gets overrun.

Whichever side you choose to play for, the rules are straightforward and easy to learn. It is also visually appealing as both the artworks and miniatures look great. In fact, the miniatures are actually called ITEMeeples (see below) which originated in another board game Tiny Epic Quest. They add a certain character and pop to the overall visual appeal of the game.

Walking Dead: All Out War is head-to-head survival miniature encounter set in Georgian countryside. The game is based on a highly popular The Walking Dead series.

The board game design is highly cinematic and features your favorite characters from the series such as Shane, Rick, Michonne, and others. Each character has unique attributes, starting items and abilities which, if are used wisely, can provide a great tactical advantage when needed.

The miniatures are highly expressive, detailed and are of a top notch quality. If you like painting, they are set to make your day.

Each player gets to represent a group of survivors that are pitted against each other in a bitter but entertaining fight for supplies.

In addition, the Walking Dead: All Out War features Walkers who are very noise sensitive, hence if you are not quiet enough in whatever you do, you could soon see them marching towards you. Zombies walk in a straight line, so if there is any obstacle on the way (e.g., barricade or a car), they sure to wander into it. At the same time, this brainless zombie instinct can be used as a tactical advantage by luring zombies into other survivor groups to initiate combat.

To recreate the authentic atmosphere of the series, the base game is set around Atlanta and the surrounding locations and comes with thematic items included in the box such as a gaming mat, supplies, barricades, and abandoned cars.

To help you move characters around, the board game comes with a measuring stick that allows you to calculate the travel distance. This is typical for most tabletop war games.

Combat is resolved using dice, hence there is an element of luck involved. Winning the combat knocks zombies down, yet they can still get up later in the process. If you do, however, want to eliminate zombies from the board game, a critical hit is required.

One of the highlights of the board is two different sets of rulebooks. One is intended for newcomers to learn the basic rules of the game and help them hit the ground running early. The other book is tailored for advanced audience and covers tricky areas, complex cases and mechanics.

Top Rated Zombie Tabletop Shootout – Conclusion

There are hundreds of zombie board games out there that are a perfect pass time with your friends. There’s is something special about ghosts, zombies, and other nightmares that promise to be a great fit for huddling with your group of friends.

If you are zombie board game enthusiast, gather your group of friends, dim the lights, and get ready to experience instances of terror that only a board game can deliver. As discussed above, there are many zombie board games for you to enjoy, though the ones mentioned above appear to be the best.

One of the reasons as to why the above –especially Tiny Epic Zombies, Last Night On Earth, Zombicide: Black Plague, and The Walking Dead: All Out War –  are the best are due to simple rules of play in addition to excellent graphic designs and ease-of-play that accompanies some of the above games.

All in all, the above board games are fit for a lazy afternoon with a group of friends or alone if you so wish. They can all be enjoyed either alone or with a group of friends. See what it feels like to escape while avoiding being eaten alive by bloodthirsty zombies.

The post Best Zombie Board Games of 2025 – Review and Comparison appeared first on Board Games Land.

Best Fantasy Board Games – Top 10 Comparison

Best Overall – Gloomhaven

The best fantasy adventure we could find. Role-playing, campaigns, character development, and 95 included scenarios to keep you busy.

1-4

60-120 Min

14+

Hard

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