Best Party Board Games – Our Top 10 Picks

1. Best Overall – Codenames

Players are split into two teams with one spymaster and a number of field operatives in each. Twenty-five codename tiles are randomly picked and placed face down in a five-by-five grid.

The gameplay is relatively straightforward as most of the game is summarised on a small keycard. Blue squares are for the blue agents to guess, and red squares are for the red agents to guess. The pale squares represent innocent bystanders, and the black square is the assassin, someone you never want to pick.

The spymaster’s job is coming up with a one-word clue and a number to help their team guess where their agent on the grid is. The word represents a theme and the number represents how many cards on the grid are relevant to the clue. Based on the clue field operatives must discuss to figure out the cards to flip over.

You want to guess cards with your team’s agent and eventually uncover all of them to win. Flipping innocent bystanders end the turn whereas flipping the assassin tile ends the game immediately in epic failure.

Codenames represent a straightforward, easy to learn the concept which lends itself well to hours of fun and an interesting game to keep your party entertained. It can offer a unique insight into players thought processes and offers a chance to be creative and daring in a way that many other games cannot offer. The risk of the assassin adds an edge throughout the play, and the ability for either team to equally win heightens the excitement!

2. Best Team Vs. Team – Decrypto

Each team in Decrypto has its own screen that contains four cards in pockets numbered 1-4. The team members can see the words on these cards while keeping them hidden from the opposition.

There are two rounds, in the first one, a team member takes a code card, which shows three of the digits 1-4 in random order – e.g., 1-3-2. The player has to deliver a coded message to their teammates to help them guess this code. The team will have pre-agreed code words for each digit, for example, ‘pig,’ ‘fish,’ ‘dog’ and ‘house.’ If the player then says ‘house,’ ‘pig,’ ‘fish,’ the team will have to work out that this means ‘4-1-2.’

In the second round, team members give clues about their words, to match a numbered code. It is the job of the other team to guess this numbered code. If correct, they receive a white mark of success. If they fail, the original team must guess the number correctly or receive a black mark themselves. When one team has two white marks, they are declared the winners.

The basic goal is to intercept the enemy codes, and this makes for a creative and exciting game that keeps players guessing and highly engaged. The need to work as part of a team offers a collaborative element to the process, and it is genuinely satisfying to see your team reach success.

Anyone who enjoys a team vs. team board games will find Decrypto delivering a fun, collaborative, and rewarding experience. Despite relatively straightforward rules, there is enough depth to remain strategic, entertaining, and engaging throughout.

3. Best For Family – When I Dream

The game could go either way and playing good and not so good spirits is both fun and exciting.

Each round, a player takes on the role of the Dreamer. They ‘fall asleep’ wearing a night mask while other players are secretly dealt with their role cards. This helps to determine whether they are good or evil spirits, or whether they are ‘tricksters’ who change roles as the game progresses.

Round lasts two minutes where spirits draw Dream Cards, showing a specific element of the dream. They try to describe the vision to the dreamer using a single word. If the dreamer guesses the element of the dream, the good spirits team side is awarded a point card. Alternatively, the card goes to the naughty spirits.

The Dreamer and good spirits receive one point for every card in the good spirits pile, and the same applies to the evil spirits for each card in their collection. Tricksters earn points depending on how well balanced the two teams were. If the piles are equally balanced, they get extra points.

Before the dreamer opens their eyes at the end of the round, they must use the words they guessed to tell the dream to gain extra points.

When I Dream is a game that is quick to pick up and play, making it suitable for players of all ages and abilities. From the first moment, there are plenty of laughs as players try to guess the elements of the dream correctly, and each round is different as they come directly from the imagination.

The roles are well balanced in terms of participation, giving everyone an equal chance to play. The game is highly accessible, a pleasure to look at, and is straightforward to learn which makes it one of the top family party board games out there that can be enjoyed in around 20 minutes.

4. Best Charades Alternative – Monikers

The idea behind Monikers is simple: you select a card which has on it the name of a celebrity, historical figure, internet meme, or other well-known personality.

The goal is to play as many cards as possible in sixty seconds, and the levels move from acting and using words to describe the person, to a charades-style silent movement, to the final round: get your team to guess the card with just one single word. The only rule? At no point can you mention the name on the card – everything else is fair game!

A point is awarded for each correct guess, and at the end of the game, the team with the most points wins: it really is that simple!

It is a fast-paced and fun game that will leave you howling with laughter at your teammate’s impressions! You will have to think outside the box and be as creative as possible in order to win and help your team guess, and the guessers will have to be prepared to broaden their minds and ideas to win the point. Hours of fun from one of the most simple card games ever made!

5. Best for Dinner Party – Love Letter Premium Edition

With competition at every turn, will yours be the one to reach her first, or will a rival thwart you?

Love Letter Premium Edition is a game about taking risks, much like love itself. The game is divided into rounds, each representing one day. At the end of each round, one letter reaches the Princess for her to read. When she receives enough letters from one suitor, she falls in love, and grants the player permission to court her, naming them the winner in the game and love!

A round starts with each player drawing the top card from a deck and adding it to their existing hand. The player then discards one card face up in front of them and applies any effect of the card – even if it doesn’t help you. Keep all discarded cards visible this helps the other players to figure out which cards other players may have.

When the deck is empty, a round ends. The person closest to the princess delivers the letter, and Princess Annette retreats to read it. All those still playing reveal their hands, and the player with the highest-ranking wins the round and receives a token of affection. They also begin the next round, having received a favorable review from the princess at breakfast. The game continues until the princess has chosen a suitable suitor for her affections.

The game presents a fast-paced challenge that is easy to pick up and play. It keeps players guessing and competing for the love of the princess until the very last minute. It is a fun, light game designed to entertain, and has the bonus of being beautifully presented and carefully crafted to enhance the whole playing experience.

Despite having a theme, the game is abstract at heart. There is a very little feel of chasing the princess to win her heart, but rather solid, straightforward guessing of the roles other players have in the current round. This is not necessarily a bad thing at all, though.

If you are planning a great evening with your friends and need a quick, simple, fun, and abstract game to play – bring Love Letter, it is one of the best dinner party board games for the job.

6. Best Group Investigation – Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

How Do I Play?

Each player is randomly assigned a secret identity/role before starting the game. The basic roles are:

Forensic Scientist
The key to the crime, the Forensic Scientist assists the Investigators in providing Key Evidence and Means of Murder. It is important that this player gives no indication as to the solution.

Murderer
When the crime occurs, the Murderer takes one clue card and one means card – this is the solution to the crime, and provide the key evidence and means of murder. They must then do everything in their power to hide their role and point the finger elsewhere! Even if they are identified, the means and evidence must also be recognized for them to lose the game.

Investigators
The players responsible for solving the crime, They must examine hints provided by the Forensic Scientist and must identify the key evidence and means of murder. This fact allows the murderer to be arrested, and the investigators to win. Don’t forget that the murderer may be an investigator – trust no-one!

Accomplice
They know the murderer and the solution to the crime and win alongside the murderer if the evidence is not identified.

Witness
An Investigator who saw the culprits fleeing the scene. They do not know the identities of the murderer or accomplice and do not see the solution to the crime. If the murderer is arrested, but successfully identifies the witness, the latter is killed. This means the murderer and accomplice get away with their offense and emerge victoriously!

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong is an exciting game that pits friends against friends and leaves anything possible. The murderer could be hiding in the ranks of the Investigators, and it is necessary to second guess every clue and statement in order to get to the bottom of what is happening.

At the same time, the game is highly accommodating which means that the whole family can play and take on different roles. The diverse characters are also excellent as they ensure every party session is unique and fun.

7. Best For Adult parties – Cards Against Humanity

Not one for the faint-hearted, this is a card game that pushes the limits further than you have previously dared. You’ll need to hold your nerve to play all the way through!

The party card game immerses players in situations that range from hilarious laughter to things that are just dead wrong. In other words, all the things you should not say or think – you get to do it this time around!

The rules are as simple as it can ever get. The game takes only a couple of minutes to set up and you are ready to go. It begins with each player drawing ten white cards and selecting one player – a ‘Card Czar’ to play a black card. This player reads the card out loud, and everyone else answers the question or fills in the blank by passing the Card Czar one white card. The Czar then shuffles all the cards and reads out all possible phrases combinations; the funniest wins an Awesome point. After each round, a new player becomes the Card Czar, and everyone draws ten new white cards.

Cards Against Humanity is one of the best party card games for adults and has easily earned its place in our top ten. It is genuinely funny, easy to play, and is guaranteed to add a spark to any party. It can be played with any number of players, and should appeal to most senses of humor.

At the same time, this party card game is not for everyone; I’d keep it away from your super-religious grandma or an uptight conservative neighbor as it walks the fine line for some cards.

8. Best Intimidating – Cash ‘n Guns

The game takes place over eight rounds, and a boss gets selected for each round. This player controls the pace of play. The gameplay is simple and easy to follow with the below simple steps:

1. Loot cards are revealed on the table – this helps everyone see what is up for grabs and motivates them to win!
2. Players load their guns – they select either a ‘Bang’ or ‘Click! Click!’ card from the hand they are dealt with.
3. The Boss counts to three, and then each player points his gun at someone. The Boss has the right to tell whoever points at them to aim it in another person.
4. The Boss counts to three again giving players a chance to chicken out
5. The ones that stayed have to reveal their cards. Anyone who has been targeted by a ‘Bang’ is now wounded and misses out on getting any loot.
6. Those who are eligible for loot take one loot card at a time from the table. This includes benefits such as the Boss position, medical care, a new bullet, money, or diamonds.

Once the loot has been split, the new round begins with a new boss. The game goes for eight rounds, after which the gangster with the most valuable stash wins.

Cash n Guns is a simple and easy to play game that works perfectly for anywhere between 4 and 8 players. Rules are simple to follow, and the limit of eight rounds means that you can fit in a game even in a short time.

The boss of the gang is randomly allocated, allowing everyone to have a fair turn, and this results in a fair and fast-paced game that everyone is free to enjoy. Not to be taken too seriously, this is a fun and fluffy experience that anyone should expect a great party board game to deliver.

9. Best Picture Guessing – Dixit: Odyssey

Each player is given six cards, and draw another one after each round. In each turn, one player is given the role of the storyteller. This player then secretly chooses one of the cards in his hand and must find a way to describe this card. This description can be a sound, expression, song, word, or any other gesture, but should not be too obvious. This card is placed face down in the center of the table.

The other players choose a card within their own hand which matches this word or sentence, and this card is given to the storyteller who then lays out all the cards. The storyteller shuffles the cards and reveals them to the group. Players then vote on which card belongs to the storyteller. Conversely, the storyteller does not vote, and no-one is permitted to vote for their card.

The player’s place numbered tiles face down on the table, and once they have seen everyone cards try to guess which is the storytellers. Once the tiles are placed, the answers are revealed to see who voted for which card.

If everyone or no one guesses the card correctly, the storyteller gets no points, and the other players receive two. Otherwise, the storyteller and each of the correct guessers get three points each. Players will get one point for each vote their image receives.

Players then refill their hands, and the next player becomes the storyteller. The game ends when the decks run out, and the player who has the most points wins.

Overall, the game represents a simple concept, and one which allows creativity and imagination to run riot – the more you play, the more dramatic and creative the descriptions will be. This game offers an ideal way to stretch your brain and use the most unique, imaginative ways to describe simple concepts.

The key is clarity; the storyteller cannot be so clear that the game is immediately given away, nor must they be so vague that no one has a chance to guess correctly. This balance can be a challenge to achieve and means that the game is kept engaging and players are forced to think on their feet and push the limits of the imaginations even further.

Dixit is a series of games and most of them are not only a great choice for large groups. So, if you need a board game for a smaller group and a family, you can have one game that fits both occasions perfectly.  Alternatively, If you are after trivia party games, check out our latest top 10 trivia games review.

10. Best Traitor – The Resistance: Avalon

Prepare to navigate yourself through this game of hidden and dubious loyalties, bluffing, deduction, and skill!

Players are randomly allocated to a team at the start of each game by dealing out secret identity cards specifying their character and loyalty to evil Mordred or the noble King Arthur. Some characters have special powers that could yield great advantage over opponents but have to be kept secret as it could give players away.

Straight after you get immersed in passionate conversations that aim to identify the minions of Mordred within our ranks. The players on the dark side will try to defeat the servants of Arthur, completing quests and missions without ever revealing their true identities.

If a minion manages to get themselves onto a mission, they can sabotage it and cause it to fail. Failing three missions will typically end the game with the evil side emerging victorious. Completing three missions would similarly grant the servants of Arthur a win.

Hence, the ‘good guys’ must use discussion, deduction, and, where needed, accusation, to help them identify just who each player really is. There are sure to be some nasty surprises in store!

The latest incarnation of the Resistance series, Avalon is the ultimate social deduction game, the real challenge of which is figuring out who the good and bad guys are. With bluffing, double-bluffing, ruses and false truths, and the potential to be tripped up at any moment, this is a game which brings out the different side in each player.

We have noticed that shy people may become very vocal, whereas the typical active talkers get outspoken. In fact, the board game is perfect for team bonding exercises, or some may say ‘team breaking’ since you may struggle to easily switch between the tense bluffing full of lies and conspiracy to genuine and truthful day-to-day life.

The game has close to endless replayability as no two sessions are ever the same. Some gaming sessions can get overrun by emotions that are positive and result in hilarious fun that we are yet to see beaten by any other party-friendly board game we’ve played.

Moreover, despite bluffing and lying – we recommend this party game for team building activities. I do not know why it works, but we kept talking about it for days with the team at work.

How to Choose The Party Board Game For Your Gaming Group?

Before we recommend a party game, let’s first agree on what it actually means.

Party is a place for fun and frivolity, and you don’t want to risk wasting time with a game which isn’t quite right, or leaves half the players yawning in boredom! Instead, make sure your gathering gets off on the great note by picking from the top-rated party board games guaranteed to get the whole crowd involved.

Best party board games are addictive and fast-paced that are also accessible to all people despite their experience with board games. Simple rules, punchy twists, loads of fun, and high drama are just perfect for your awesome party. The outcome should be satisfying and a challenge to reach and of course, keep you guessing right up to the last roll of the dice.

Our review has considered games that are excellent fun, have a hint of strategy, and are tailored for large and small groups.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you are a fellow strategy board games aficionado, you would have gone through the elaborate and time-consuming process of searching for the best strategy board games without perhaps even finding one. Or maybe, everything sounds great to you and you just want to buy everything.

We get it. It is an exciting but overwhelming time for strategy board games as they have come a long way since Battleship. Nowadays, the market offers much more – immersive themes and art, innovative gameplay, brain-burning puzzles, and gritty battles of wits. Especially with Kickstarter churning out more and more quality board games every year, it is a struggle to decide which are the best ones to buy.

In this article, we have compiled a list of the 10 best strategy board games that add some top bang for the buck to your games collection. Regardless of what you are looking for, we’ve got your back!

Best Rated Strategy Board Games – Top 10

1. Best Selling Strategy Board Game – Catan

At the beginning of the game, you build your board with hexagon pieces with a resource type on them and ‘claim’ the resource with your starting settlements. Then, you assign a number token to every hexagon on the board.

With every dice roll, you get raw materials on the corresponding hexes if you have a settlement on them. Catan incorporates bartering and trading, so plan to negotiate with your neighbors for the top deals. It also doesn’t restrict your card limit, so you can hoard as many cards as you want.

The thief is another layer of strategic depth ingrained in the game. Instead of a number, the sandy desert tile on the board is assigned a thief. The thief steals half your hand if you have more than 7 cards when you roll a 7. Not only that, but you can also make any resource tile a wasteland by moving the thief there. So if you don’t like to play nice, you can find yourself royally screwed over by your neighbors’ strategic thief placements.

There are tons of decisions in Catan that will make or break your game. It is a fun entry game for beginners, but also an awesome game for experienced players to sharpen their wits. It can be slow when people are taking their sweet time making decisions. Although originally made for 2-4 players, you can expand it to include up to 2 more players with their expansion packs.

2. Best Light Strategy Board Game – Wingspan

With so many different bird cards, you might struggle to draw the rare bird you need if Lady Luck frowns upon you. However, the easy-to-play but hard-to-master philosophy is exactly why we love it.

Between balancing your food source, growing your habitat, using bird abilities, laying eggs, it is a solid engine-builder game that needs you to crack your head for the most mind-blowing combos. There are many ways to nullify bad draws in the game if you look carefully enough.

In addition, the game can be great learning fun for your kids as well. Asides from the strategic aspect of the game, each bird card comes with an interesting bird fact, which makes it a great educational piece. Besides, if you are into a solo learning session, you can play the game by yourself too!

The Wingspan game is an unexpected but refreshing twist on typical strategy games where game designers have nailed the theme and the gameplay. Every round is tight – you have to pay attention to all the details to maximize your chances of winning. The theme of the game is further elevated by the thick stack of beautifully-designed cards. All in all, it is hands down one of the best strategy board games for families, and don’t let the theme turn you off.

3. Best Engine Building Strategy – Scythe

It is a bit of a worker placement game as you control and place workers on the map to acquire land riches and take actions.

Everything you can do is listed on your action board: constructing buildings, make enlistments, and so on.

The difficulty in Scythe lies in its many components and levels. Just to mention a few, you have your action board, faction board, mechs, faction-specific skills, character abilities. Besides that, everyone starts with different stats. With so many things on your plate, you have to balance each component to do what’s best for your faction while keeping a wary eye at your enemies.

Military engagements are won by making the right choices and having a strategic skill. You can use combat cards to give you an edge when you have to battle your enemies. Albeit challenging, you can also incorporate military encounters into your winning approach so that you get to control what happens.

Once you get the hang of the gameplay, you can link up efficient and deadly combos for your faction. However, it takes at least 2 hours to play for experienced players despite having streamlined action mechanics.

Scythe is an imaginative but hardcore engine-building strategy board game that has lots of components and space for you to flex your strategic capabilities with. You can either play it solo or with up to four other players. It is a long game, but with streamlined action mechanisms, time flies by. Especially if you are having fun annihilating other factions.

4. Best Cooperative Strategy – Pandemic

Teamwork is at the core of the game and it is crucial to get it right if you want to win the game and cure four diseases characterized by neon color cubes.

Pandemic features 7 characters with unique abilities that make sense with the story, like the ability to travel further or use fewer cards to cure diseases. That being said, they are not obscenely powerful, so no worries of anyone sitting idly while you play. You can also get more characters from expansions to add more variety to your game.

The ability to share knowledge is also a great mechanic that elevates teamwork and makes players think collectively on the best ways to collaborate. It opens up a deeper layer of planning since you can only share cards under certain circumstances. You have to think carefully or else you might tank your team’s approach.

Urgency and tension are ever-present in Pandemic. Diseases are constantly spreading while you are working around the clock to eradicate it. After every turn, you draw 3 city cards to infect cities. When you add the 4th same-colored cube to a city, an outbreak spreads the disease to adjacent cities.

Synergizing your approach with your teammates and making the best calls are essential since drawn city cards get reshuffled into the deck and will come back to haunt you again.

Ultimately, Pandemic is one of the best cooperative strategy board games because it encourages a lot of precise planning. The winner is the team and so is the looser, hence the ability for a group of people to effectively collaborate is crucial to winning the game.

Despite its challenges, it is a very accessible game that works with everyone, no matter how experienced you are. The game can be punishing and brutal, but with enough communication, you can alleviate some of the constant tension and urgency in the game.

5. Best Family Strategic Fun – Carcassonne

The way to win Carcasonne lies in claiming tiles. You can claim any area to score points unless somebody claimed it first. However, you can’t always predict what your rivals will do, and vice versa.

Sometimes you claim a city with great potential, only to have your rivals thwart you by putting down borders that end your growing city. Sometimes you snub your opponent’s winding roads. The possibilities are endless!

Competition isn’t treated as seriously in Carcasonne as other competitive strategy board games. You can almost always catch up, so you don’t have to make many loaded with thinking decisions upfront.

Ultimately, Carcassone is about fun while putting together a beautiful landscape from small mosaic pieces with your friends. The game can be played in a mere 30 minutes, making it a staple for quick game nights.

Carcassonne is a great casual strategy game for beginners. It is a board game built on simple board gaming elements and has simple rules, yet it ripes with opportunities to sabotage other players with a very surprising strategic depth.

It is one of the best strategy board games for 2 players as this speeds up the turns and creates a more competitive atmosphere for two people to have a healthy head to head rivalry. Beautiful game board landscapes are the icing on the cake that really adds to the overall enjoyment the game manages to deliver.

6. Best War Strategy – Axis & Allies Pacific 1940

No matter which country and which side you take, there are tons of things to keep track of, like kamikaze attacks, neutral nations, and military formations. The new anti-aircraft artillery also adds depth to the game, since there are many rules imposed on the use of these effective machines.

Japan feels overpowered early in the game, hence the game may feel punishing at first. Thematically, this design is intentional, it does so to reflect the real historical events of the time and it does it well. Later, the entry of the USA in the third round is a major game-changer. With a wartime economy, the USA can generate a lot more income, which means the game can tilt heavily towards the Allies’ favor if you are not careful.

At the same time, the perceived lead doesn’t guarantee your win since the game has enough potential for surprising twists. As Japan, you have lots of opportunities to retaliate, especially since you know what is coming. We love the constant back and forth between players on the board as it creates a tense and stressful war-like atmosphere.

For a global scale world war 2 theatre, you can combine Axis & Allies Pacific 1940 with Axis & Allies Europe 1940 boards. With the world at your control, get ready to play through tons of grand drama, story, and strategic play.

With improved mechanics and high-quality miniatures, a huge board, as well as immersive storylines, Axis & Allies 1940 2nd edition is easily one of the best military strategy games of all time. It requires thinking through, concentration and time to play, but its attention to history is impeccable. You and up to 4 of your friends are sure to enjoy the game night if you are into WW2 strategy games.

7. Best Adventure Strategy – The Voyages of Marco Polo

The dice determines how many actions you can take. Two of your dice are used to determine how far you can travel while others are used to determine things like raw materials to buy.

The spirit of The Voyages of Marco Polo lies within how you allocate dice for your actions. It is played over 5 quick rounds. So, you have a lot to do in a very short amount of time. Without proper planning, your journey is doomed to fail.

Like true traveling merchants, you have to complete contracts for specific rewards or Victory Points. Contracts are integral to the game since they give you an extra 5 VPs for the most contracts completed. You have to deliver goods from bazaars or set-up trading posts to people you meet in your journey.

Doing anything requires funds and/or camels, which is why built trading posts are such important commodities. It generates extra income for you to fund your travels or give you extra physical materials needed for your contracts.

Thankfully, if you are stuck in a rough spot, you can sometimes turn the tables with your character ability, like getting an extra Meeple to move or choosing a dice number. With so much to do in so little time, The Voyages of Marco Polo can bring out the indecisiveness in all of us. But with seasoned players, this game promises a world of fun and adventure.

The Voyages of Marco Polo is essentially a worker placement game with a couple of well-executed and streamlined mechanics thrown in. Coupled with great thematic and character design, it creates an immersive world filled to the brim with complex strategies and competitive spirit.

8. Best Colt War Strategy – Twilight Struggle

The gameplay for Twilight Struggle is surprisingly simple for such a deep and complex board game.

Essentially, you try to defeat your enemy by drawing cards. But here’s the catch, both the US and USSR’s cards are shuffled into the same pile, so it is possible for you to draw your opponent’s cards. How would you negate the effects of these draws becomes a crucial part of your strategy.

In practice, the game is much more complicated and challenging than throwing cards at each other. The main elements of the game are controlled but ripe with opportunities for planning and sabotage. Take advantage of knowing each side’s strengths and weaknesses as well as when to exploit them.

Moreover, there are always things you have to look out for. How close to DEFCON 1 are you? Is your enemy planning to stage a coup? Are you falling behind in the space race? One wrong decision and you can kiss your victory goodbye. So what will you do, comrade? The choice is yours.

Twilight Struggle is an exceptional 2-player military strategy board game that recreates the ever-present tension of the Cold War. The tight and precise gameplay leaves no room for mistakes, which adds to the thrill of matching your strategic wit to your opponent’s. It will be a long and grueling game night, but the results are well worth the time and brainpower.

9. Best Economic Strategy Game – Brass: Birmingham

When you build your network, you will inevitably link yours with your competition, whether you like it or not. Instead of a disadvantage, you can make it work by tapping into your competition’s resources and accessing their market. This increases the interaction between players, which adds an element of tactics into the game.

Brass: Birmingham brilliantly injects information into the game in a way that leaves you both informed and uninformed at the same time. For example, you don’t know how much your industries are worth until you can flip them over after exhausting them.

But how would you keep generating income when they are depleted? By coyly reserving information from you, the game creates a lot of tension that encourages good strategy and smart decision making.

Because of this tendency to reserve information, it can be confusing to deal with the transition between two eras. At the end of the canal era, all the canals are removed from the board. It could be pivotal for some players, especially less experienced ones, as they may have no idea what to do or how the canal placements affect the next, rail era.

Brass: Birmingham is one of the best strategy board games for adult gamers interested in economy or business. The game deliberately leaves you in the dark sometimes, forcing you to think hard and work smart. Once you get over the steep learning curve, expect a huge payout in satisfaction from great strategic decisions and interactive plays.

10. Best Civilization Strategy – Through the Ages

The civilian and military cards consist of leaders, military tactics, and events that will make your civilization thrive. Leadership is an important part of history and it shows in your civilization. Leaders in every age help grow your civilization with a special skill, the benefits of which you need to assess and choose wisely. Events drawn could be brutal and could potentially throw your chances in the bin as they are often unpredictable.

The military tactics system in the previous game is often abused to get the most overpowered military. But, in this game, tactics cards are shared and can be bought with military points. Besides that, you also build your army through military units, which complicates the decision-making process as points are scarce. Thankfully, since there isn’t actually a map, you can’t ever lose territory.

As you build your civilization, more factors come into play. Worker placement is important since they build buildings that produce raw materials. But at the same time, you have to take care of your urban and military development so that your population stays happy and you’re safe from foreign attacks. A balanced run is key here since if you lag too far behind, you might never catch up.

Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization is an exceptionally-designed civilization-building strategy game. It simulates many decisions a pioneer have to make when creating a new society, which makes decision making a lengthy but fun process. Long playtime aside, you might also find it hard to catch up if you fall behind.

Conclusion

Playing strategy board games are naturally harder since you need some brainpower to play them well and usually plenty of time on your game night. At the same time, there are some strategic entry-level options that can be enjoyed in around 30 minutes. So if you’ve managed to get things organized and have the right group of people – spending time with a top pick strategy tabletop game can make a remarkable and memorable game night.

Before you dash out buying and making difficult purchase decisions, we would like to quickly recap the games featured in our top 10 review to help you choose the right one.

If your group is into WW2 movies, we would recommend Axis & Allies Pacific 1940 2nd edition for being dramatic and historically accurate. By that extension, Twilight Struggle is great for history buffs since it is based on true events of the Cold War tension between the two world superpowers.

Alternatively, if you are into the business side of history, Brass: Birmingham can be a thrilling ride as you build your business network across Birmingham during an industrial boom. On a side note, Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization is also a great worker placement and civ-builder board game to recreate history with.

Wingspan and Carcasonne are some of the most recommended games for family fun. These games are easy to learn and quick compared to other strategy board games. Pandemic is also an awesome way to learn cooperation through board games for your kids.

Lastly, if you are looking for a strategic nirvana for a wider group of six players, make sure to check out Game of Thrones that made it to our top 10 six-player board game review.

Do you agree with our picks? Let us know what kind of strategy board games you like in the comments below and what you would have picked for your game night?

Without the constraints of the corporate world, some of the best Kickstarter board games are often passion projects that have innovative play styles and interesting themes that intrigue the masses.

This interest often translates to a massive amount of funding from backers. For instance, Exploding Kittens became the most funded Kickstarter board game in 2015 at $8,782,571 despite it being a very casual card game. Some heavier games like Massive Darkness, Gloomhaven, and Zombicide: Black Plague made upwards of $3,500,000 – not bad for tabletop games catered for real board gamers.

That being said, even the most successful Kickstarter board games can be hit or miss even if you get enough backers to help you achieve the project goal and bring the board game into the masses.

Bears vs. Babies – A Card Game project, delivered by the creators of the phenomenally successful Exploding Kittens, suffered a slew of bad reviews from multiple tabletop reviews sites despite getting $3,215,679 from crowdfunding.

In fact, the most funded Kickstarter board game to date, Kingdom Death: Monster 1.5, hasn’t even been released yet even though it had generated $12,393,193. No one knows if it will live up to the hype until it is actually released. It will also be the most expensive board game Kickstarter has ever seen. The project is loaded with challenges especially with board gamers’ expectations, component quality, and the overall thematic of the game. We hope that it does not happen, the project is a success and the expectations of the long wait are well worth it.

To help you make the wisest investment picking the top Kickstarter tabletop games, here is our top 10 list of Kickstarter projects that will live long and prosper on your gaming table.

Top 10 Kickstarter Board Games – Quick Comparison

1. Best Overall – Gloomhaven

If you are looking for a box you can barely carry and a tabletop game you can enjoy for months, this is as close as it gets.

In the game, players take on roles as one of the four heroes to complete quests on their adventure to explore the dark corners of the fantasy realms.

Gloomhaven is made with a lot of world-building in mind featuring exquisite details both in physical components and campaigns. With 95 scenarios to go through in the base game, Gloomhaven has epic stories upon stories to keep you occupied for a while.

Every character has a unique and compelling backstory and motivations. Even the miniatures designs fit into the beautifully complex world of Gloomhaven. Moreover, picking characters with complimenting skills brings the gameplay out to the whole new level. They support each other to create a balanced coop team and create a feeling of a joint dungeon crawler adventure.

Besides that, Gloomhaven also deviates from the manic dice-chucking combat system that is typical of dungeon crawlers. In Gloomhaven, players use cards to resolve battle encounters. Your adventure starts with a finite amount of cards determined by your character but you earn more as you progress throughout the campaigns, which makes it feel like character progress in a classic RPG tabletop game.

However, you win some, lose some. The cards you play might be discarded temporarily or removed from the game altogether. As a legacy board game, every change you make is permanent. We loved how this forces you to be tactical and strategic, as your future self might give you a side-eye if you make the wrong decisions now.

The tabletop game has also introduced an innovative concept of character exhaustion. As you level-up your characters throughout the campaigns, they become more experienced and skillful, yet there is a time when they get thematically old and you have to replace them with a different character starting its development from scratch.

Lastly, Gloomhaven is the most awarded tabletop game on our list. With dozens of international awards and nominations, extremely positive community reviews, and number one board game rating from BGG – this is a Kickstarter gem everyone should try.

2. Best Card Game for Small Party – Exploding Kittens

It is essentially a simple card game featuring a cat-themed Russian Roulette. With exploding kittens hidden in the deck, your job is to avoid them at all costs for as soon as possible.

The gameplay is simple: you play a card (or not) and draw a card. But as soon as a draw an exploding kitten, it’s game over for you unless you have a defuse card.

The defuse card is an absolute godsend. After you defuse an exploding kitten with the defuse card, you slot the kitten back into the deck and discard the defuse card permanently.

Power cards are also littered all over the drawing deck among other absurdly cute felines whose jobs are to look cute. These power cards give you powers to dodge the dreaded exploding kittens. You can look into the future, rearrange the top cards of the deck, or even force your opponents to draw cards.

With no limitations on your hand or the cards you can play, you can hoard power cards and defuse cards to guarantee your own safety, or sabotage your friends.

Our personal favorite is the ‘nope’ card, which is a huge game-changer. You can go in with a powerful hand of cards, only to be ‘noped’ out by other players. You can try to predict where the game goes. But with so many interesting cards, the only thing you can be sure of is that every round of Exploding Kittens can be a twist.

The exploding kittens always go back into the card deck unless they got someone in their Kamikaze suicide mission. This means that your chances of survival get slimmer when the deck does. You have to be quick on your feet, or risk dying a cat-astrophic death.

3. Best Sci-Fi – Nemesis

Two noises from the same spot mean your spaceship has been invaded by an alien.

Most of the aliens you encounter are tough to kill. You roll a die and hope your attack lands. Besides refusing to die, these aliens might infect you and clog your deck up with infection cards. If you are really sick, an alien might even burst out of your chest!

While you are getting to the escape pods, you might stumble across Exploration Tiles that cause special effects. We loved these special effects as they add so much tension to the already-tense atmosphere.

Speaking of the tense atmosphere, can’t your crew help you out? You won’t be completely alone since Nemesis is a semi-cooperative game. However, every character has to fulfill a secret objective to win. Let’s just say you should find the escape pod as soon as possible when you find your mechanic tinkering in the engine room.

At the same time, the survival adventure allows for backstabbing and bluff, so make sure you are fine with it and pick your company wisely. 

4. Best Kickstarter War Game – Rising Sun

You can move your army, recruit monsters, battle, or worship a Kami among some of the things you can do with your mandates. With 7 mandate spots on the board, some players can use two mandates in the season, which gives them a huge advantage.

The reason is that alliances are exceptionally important in the game since it can only be done at the beginning of the season. Having the advantage to use two mandates makes you a very favorable ally, so make that count for you! When you don’t get the mandate you want, you can also devise a mutually beneficial plan with your ally to progress.

Even though you can officially break an alliance with a “Betray” mandate, we all know real politics isn’t always played on the table. Throughout the game, you can get ahead by bluffing and making grand promises to other clans. Just make sure it doesn’t come back to bite you.

Rising Sun isn’t a typical war game that is based on ‘move your army on the map’ sort of mechanic. It is more about talking and utilizing all the components to become the most honorable clan in Japan, whatever it takes. You get to fine-tune your experience in becoming a skilled and successful negotiator, leader, and strategist.

5. Best Kickstarter Zombie Game – Zombicide: Invader

It takes on a tiny planet in the universe, where you have to fend off swarms of infected Xenos to escape death. You have to decide between slaughter and survival, often with minimal help from your teammates who have their own hidden agenda.

On your turn, you can move, attack, or search. Combat is dice-based, so be prepared for some randomness. You can’t defend against attacks though.

Searching is an interesting phase of the game since it nicely relates to the storyline. You have to look for resources like oxygen tanks to explore the map. You can also research weapons to make more powerful ones to win the war against the Xenos.

Seeing mold appear in this game gives you the same skip in your heartbeat as the terrifying battle piano tinkle in Breath of the Wild. Mold not only obstruct your vision, but it also spawns Invaders. We loved how it creates urgency and speeds up the mission. If you go too slow on the mold, you are going to get overwhelmed.

As you grow stronger, you also gain power-ups and abilities. But how will you deal with the Xenos, who are also growing in strength and numbers? The way the Xenos scale with you is pleasantly frustrating and proves that nothing is easy in this game.

Compared to previous games in the franchise, Zombicide: Invader has much more streamlined rules and AI spawning. These rules and mechanics balance the game. More importantly, they focus your attention on the story and playing the game instead of a tedious piece moving.

6. Best Card Game For Large Groups – Secret Hitler

Nobody but the fascists know who anyone is. Trust is expensive in this twisted game of political chaos and distrust where anybody could topple your party.

As a liberal, you have to pass 6 liberal policies to win. If you can work out who the Secret Hitler is, you can assassinate him and end his reign of terror. As a fascist, you have to pass 5 fascist laws. Alternatively, you can elect Hitler as the chancellor once you have established political power with 3 fascist policies.

The catch is that the chancellor must be approved by everyone after the president’s nomination. If everyone votes ‘Nein’, the president loses their presidential powers to the person on their left. As president, you discard a policy card from three random policies and hands the rest over to the chancellor. The chancellor then enacts a policy after discarding one.

The seeds of distrust are sown by the randomness of the policy card deck. Is the chancellor a part of the fascists, or is it just dumb, bad luck? This opens up a lot of room for bluffing (“They were all fascist cards!”) and manipulation.

As more fascist laws are adopted, the government gains abilities like peeking into other players’ cards or even ‘making them disappear’. The card game is constantly shifting depending on who sits on the most powerful seat, which makes it interesting to play, especially with a large party group.

7. Best Dungeon Crawler – Massive Darkness

In fact, if you have ever experienced playing Zombicide, then Massive Darkness has borrowed its original gameplay system and introduced the dungeon crawl adventure and role-playing elements to it.

Unlike most dungeon crawlers, where one of the players takes on the role of the overlord, Massive Darkness features a mechanic that does not require a game master to control the enemies.

You start with your favorite hero class, get loot and XP points from defeating monsters in the dungeon, and upgrade your skill tree. We loved that you don’t need a game master for Massive Darkness. Everyone can play!

Besides that, the monsters in the game feature a tailored design that works perfectly with the overall feel of the game.

First of all, we can’t get over how diverse they are. You will find every kind of minions like orcs, human agents, and cockatrices featuring exuberant attention to details and build quality.

Secondly, the Guardians, who are a special monster type spawned by any monsters on the field, elevates the feeling of the game. These guardians use equipment that could be difficult to counter, but once you get there, you will get a piece of valuable loot as a well-deserved reward.

Moreover, we also liked how random the mob spawning AI is. The monsters seem to be everywhere. Sometimes they jump out from a room you were exploring. Sometimes you run into them as they patrolled the corridors of the dungeons. These surprise attacks seal in the feeling that you are trespassing on their home turf, which makes it super exciting to play.

8. Best Kickstarter Theme – Scythe

If driving giant mechs across the fields in 1920s Europe to steamroll your rivals appeals to you, you would love Scythe. It is a competitive 1-5 player puzzle game disguised as an area-control, resource management war game.

Scythe is a huge game. It comes with a seemingly unending number of tokens, stacks of cards, player boards, plastic miniatures, and more. There is a lot to take in, which means Scythe is not for the faint-hearted. You need to have a fair amount of experience with tabletop games to not be overwhelmed by Scythe.

That being said, it is surprising how much control you are given over the outcome by a game this huge and complex.

At its core, Scythe encourages strategic decisions from your HQ player boards. Spend too much on power and you will be defenseless against your enemies. Spend too little and you will not get anywhere in the power struggle between the nations.

You need to figure out what your opponents are doing and deliver fatal blows. Flailing around trying to get lucky is not going to cut it.

The aesthetics, component design, and build quality are sublime. Everything feels crafted, yet remains highly functional delivering the epic thematic and strategic feel not many other tabletop games could match.

If your regular gaming group is not into brain-burning puzzles, Scythe comes in a handy solo mode for you to explore at your leisure.

Overall, highly praised board gamers reviews, production quality, and how well the game manages to integrate the array of different mechanics with the theme make it one of the best Kickstarter board games of all time.

9. Best For 2 Players and Couples – Santorini

The idea is to build the tallest (level 3) house and win, right? Well, kind of.

The houses are built in three phases – the first, second, and the third floor. You can build any floor from any height. For example, you can build the third floor even if you are standing on the ground.

The catch is, you can’t jump to the third level from the ground floor. It is like taking the stairs. You have to work your way up to win.

But don’t worry if your opponent is getting close. You can also put the blue dome on the 3rd floor to effectively block your opponent from jumping onto it.

Besides that, you can also block your opponent from building anything to win.

So at first glance, it is a simple game that doesn’t require a lot of brainpower.

But when you delve deeper into it, you can sabotage your opponents to the brink of tears with the right play.

If you want to make it harder, you can also try the Advanced mode. This time, a Greek God bestows their powers upon you via powerful God cards, which makes it more interesting to play.

10. Best Complex Coop – Spirit Island

Spirit Island also scales quite nicely the longer you play the game. Over time, you can expand your presence on the island and get more potent powers. However, the invaders scale accordingly as well, making it harder to defeat them despite your improvements.

Even though the invaders’ movements are quite predictable, they are ruthless and merciless. In every turn, more of them will come. The longer you drag on the game, the more dangerous it gets.

It doesn’t help that there are so many ways to lose in Spirit Island. You lose when one of your fellow spirits are killed. You lose when your island is overrun by blight brought by invaders. You even lose when you run out of invaders!

The overwhelmingly unbalanced nature of the game puts you in a precarious position. But it all makes sense to the story, which makes it that much more satisfying.

Think about it. You have never had to use your powers to destroy as a spirit of an undisturbed island. So when you are faced with enemies, the only thing you can do is to grind, persevere, and fight back the hardest you could.

More than a themed strategy game, Spirit Island is a journey of endurance and personal growth. You would love it if you are a fan of underdog stories and strategy.

So Which Kickstarter Board Games Should You Buy?

Kickstarter board games are rising in popularity and now there is something for everyone starting with fun and quick card games and ending with complex strategy games projects. Every game we have reviewed here is great in its own way for its targeted audience. To summarize the above review, here is a quick recommendation on the top card games and the best board games Kickstarter has brought to life over the last couple of years:

Spirit Island and Gloomhaven are easily some of the best cooperative Kickstarter games ever released. There is really not much to nitpick – both games have beautiful themes and great game mechanics that work well for hardcore cooperative players. If you like campaigns and dungeon crawl, go with Gloomhaven for immersive narrative, otherwise Spirit Island.

Exploding Kittens is a great example of a card game everyone can play since it is so easy to learn. It also does exceptionally well in small parties up to five players, especially if you have fun-loving and easygoing guests.

Alternatively, if you are looking for a larger group of up to ten players, Secret Hitler is a card game of chaos, fun, and laughter. It can help you with exploring your scheming side on the tabletops.

If the blend of the legendary feudal Japan theme and an element of war and destruction raises your eyebrows, Rising Sun is one of the best Kickstarter games of strategy, politics, and warfare.

Lastly, if you are having a fun board game night with your partner, the latest version of Santorini is a great choice for quick and competitive fun. It is as simple or as complicated as you make it.

No matter what you are looking for, we hope amongst our list of the top Kickstarter board games, you found the one that ticks all the right boxes for you and you are ready to add it into your tabletop collection!

Frequently Asked Questions

Tired of going out? Bored with binge-watching? Perhaps too much time behind the table playing chess with your partner? Want some engaging and interactive time for just the two of you?

We’ve got a great way to spend an evening together with some of the best board games for couples out there. Get ready to have an interactive, engaging, and entertaining evening you are sure to enjoy.

Below we’ve reviewed ten of the top couples board games that let you and your partner become spies, build empires, design quilts, trade-in markets, and much more.

In our top 10 list, we’ll look at one vs. one games and cooperative games alike. We’ve covered card-driven games and role-playing games. We’ve also been time considerate with short and long play games.

Read on and discover ten of the best games for a couple’s game night. Just the two of you and a game to play.

Some time to laugh and learn together. And who knows, by the end of the evening one or both of you may conquer the world, save the day, or solve a murder mystery.

Top 10 Couples Board Games – Short Comparison

Best Board Games For Couples – Our Top 10 Picks

1. Best Relationship Building – Fog of Love – Passion Love

As you play through the synopsis of your first date, and for the rest of the game, you are faced with choices such as choosing your first date, when to first kiss, and many others. You and your partner get to reveal your decisions at the same time and points are awarded based on those choices. Making similar choices awards bonus points thematically suggesting a good match.

You also get to play react cards as a response to your partner’s choices. They include things like walking out of a restaurant during an argument, apologize, and other responses to difficult situations. The choices and reactions progress in-depth as your relationship grows.

Ultimately, you are both trying to achieve your personal destiny cards by the game’s end and also fulfill your individual trait objectives some of which are opened to your partner. In addition, there are hidden objectives (secrets) that are only revealed at key moments and add interesting twists to the gameplay.

Fog of Love serves as a spot-on romantic comedy role-playing game filled with twists and turns. While it takes some time to get your head around it, it makes sense to go through the tutorial game first, it facilitates the learning process and makes it more comprehensible.

2. Best Abstract Fun for Couples – Azul

It sounds simple enough, but there is so much more. On each turn, you pick a selection of tiles that were previously and randomly selected and placed together on a coaster. Each coaster represents a factory.

The catch is you may only use tiles which are the same color from the factory. The unused tiles go to create a new factory in the center of the other factories. After the first round, you may choose the center factory as well, though there is a point penalty each time you do so.

After each round of choosing your factory and tiles, you move the tiles from the staging area to your design area and tally your score. The game ends once a player completes a row in the playing area. This typically happens in the 5th or 6th round.

Azul plays pretty simple, but as you play your ideas about the game grow in complexity. The rules are straightforward but allow for some serious thought and forward planning.

3. Best Classic Board Game For Couples – Imperial Settlers – Empires of the North

In Imperial Settlers each faction has its own deck of cards and a player board. Each round starts with drawing cards from your own faction deck as well as the common deck.

The game has three main phases of the game by playing your cards into the production, feature, or action portions of your playing board.

Each card you play may generate more resources, build bigger or better buildings, provide victory points, or a host of other possibilities. The two most important aspects of the cards are knowing which phase they belong to and whether they affect all players or if they are unique to your faction.

Keep an eye on the war possibilities and victory points. Each round increases in time, complexity, and fun.

Imperial Settlers is a great date night game for fun at home. Learning the rules and setting up the game board is straightforward. The individual decks and unique traits of each faction provide a different experience every time you play. And five succinct rounds of play keep the action going and push you to commit to an action and deal with the outcome.

The game also plays well with 3 players, hence you can keep it aside for a small group fun too. To learn more about 3 player games, we suggest you check our latest review on the best 3 player board games.

4. Best Couple Investigation – Jack the Ripper & West End Adventures

At the same time, I’d like to think of it as a ‘stretch’ objective for anyone looking for an additional challenge.

If you and your ‘Watson’ are up for an evening filled with a detective mystery, Jack the Ripper & West End Adventures is a great place to start.

The game features a London Directory, map of London, and newspaper archives filled with hints and thematic characters. Despite working best with couples or two players, the board game can scale up to 8 players.

As you read through the case book you get leads or clues and then you get to choose which ones you follow. The game plays a lot like a choose your own adventure, but this is not the ones from your childhood days.

In order to beat Holmes, you have to pay attention to every detail and make close to flawless decisions every turn. Having said that, it is also just a really good time solving the case with your partner whether you beat Holmes or not.

The quality and aesthetics of these game pieces really are remarkable. The news archives provide leads but also contain some comical relief.

The cases are difficult. I have never beaten Holmes, though we have solved most cases. There is literally no room for any errors or extra moves if you are apt to beat the master detective himself. At the same time, it provides a challenge that always adds a spark of motivation for the players to improve with every game.

In addition, having played the game a number of times, the game has a solid thematic character that works better than most expectations players familiar with the works might have. It walks a fine balance to remain original enough yet avoids the risk of over-familiarity at the same time.

5. Best Tetris Fun – Patchwork

On each turn, you have to consider the cost of the available patches, where the patch fits on your game board, and the amount of Time Tokens required for the most effective move.

As you manage those decisions, keep in mind that there are bonus button tokens for landing on or passing the button icons. And don’t forget about the free patches available on the Time Board.

While the name Patchwork may not conjure up fierce competitiveness, be careful. You and your partner may find yourselves calling rematch after rematch.

With a pretty simple gameplay and set up you’ll have all the time you want to think ahead and plan your next patch purchase. But don’t forget your partner is planning too.

All your plans dwindle when they buy your perfect patch, but do not worry you will find another option quickly. And it may be even better than your original idea.

6. Best Strategy Game for Couples – Twilight Struggle

Event cards is what makes the game unique and engaging as they add details and flavor to recreate the thematic atmosphere of the era. They cover the most historical events, such as the Arab-Israeli conflicts of 1948 and 1967, the Vietnam war, the Moon landing, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and other incidents that brought the world to the edge of nuclear annihilation.

In addition, you have to compete in the arms race and the space race, plus you’ll have to manage walking the fine line of provocative actions which may initiate nuclear war and make you lose the game immediately.

In addition to strategizing your own play, you must keep careful tabs on your partner’s play. Thinking about their perceived next move can be more important than knowing your own next move.

The game takes up to ten rounds with more historical events being added to the deck, drawn, and played. Furthermore, additional cards are added to the deck as time moves to the Mid War and Late War.

Twilight Struggle is a complex asymmetric strategy tabletop game that is incredibly well thought out to maintain a fine balance between the opposing sides. The game recreates true historical events that generate a feeling of enormous tension making it the best war game for couples I’ve ever played.

In fact, it was one of the first couples tabletop games I bought to play with my wife and it still regularly hits our table. I was at first concerned with the complexity that may turn my wife off, yet her fascination over the educational part of the game was sufficient to see her through.

It does take some time to learn, but it is definitely worth it as there is no other game on the market that can deliver anything quite like it as far as the thematic feel and the depth of the strategic experience. According to the most authoritative online board gaming resource Board Games Geek, Twilight Struggle currently takes the top spot amongst any other strategy games that are based on war or conflict.

7. Best Couples Card Game – Jaipur

Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan and has a thriving market. You and your partner are rival merchants with five cards each. There are another five cards (three camel cards and two random cards) face up in the center to complete the marketplace.

On your turn you may only do one of two things – buy a card from the market or sell the ones you already have in exchange for pogs. As the goods diminish and camels acquire in front of you so do your points grow. The round ends when three of the pog piles are gone.

Then you add up the points and award the ‘seal of excellence’ to the merchant with the most points.

Don’t be fooled by the simplistic concept of managing hands, buying and selling. You will quickly become a cutthroat trader in Jaipur if you make right choices at the right time. Once you get the knack for the marketplace and pick up on how the trading increases you will regularly gain at least one ‘seal of excellence.’ With persistence, you’ll soon be winning two and thus the game as well.

8. Best Light Civilization Building – 7 Wonders – Duel

There are three ways to win the game. You can win instantly through the military track or by completing six scientific breakthroughs. The most common way to win, however, is by having the most victory points by the end of the game.

The game plays through three ages where you draft cards that are visible to you and your partner. Each card provides a variety of options to build a wonder, advance your military, provide resources for other buildings, and a few other possibilities too.

As you move into the second and third ages, cards increase in costs, powers, and abilities because your empire is growing as well. Of course, this also means that game strategy becomes more important. And don’t forget that your military and science options increase making the instant win more likely.

While there are some similarities to other games in the series, Duel provides a unique experience for a couple. It is not just an add-on or a two-player version from the 7 Wonders franchise.

As such, the Duel is worth the addition to your couples game night collection. The game provides enough differences in each age that you are able to play through it time and time again.

Since the original release, the board game has seen multiple expansions to follow and other versions of the game. Video, app, online and other digital alternatives have also been released which proves a wide success and adoption of the game.

9. Best Light Strategy Fun – Santorini

The setup is gorgeous as it features a 3D playing board and pieces as well as unique builders color-coded with a follower.

Play starts by simply placing each of your workers on the board anywhere you chose. You then take turns until someone stands atop the third level of a tower.

Each turn starts with moving your worker or their follower followed by adding or building a piece of the tower.

The caveat is you may not move to any space occupied by your opponent.

Oh, and there is a fourth layer of the tower, a dome that serves to cap it. If you construct a dome, no player may stand atop a tower or build more levels. This is a great technique if you want to stop your opponent from advancing.

If that’s not enough to make simple rules tactical, some cards provide God powers and Hero abilities that give unique building or moving options to your worker.

Santorini is an abstract game that features an amazingly interactive gameplay competitive couples would love.

It is fun to set up and looks awesome while playing. It is really easy to learn but takes many tactical plays to master. Despite being quite competitive, it is one of those fun games for couples to play at home to get a swift and positive boost of laughter combined with healthy rivalry.

10. Best Couple Teamwork – Codenames: Duet

You and your partner give each other hints trying to find the fifteen different agents hidden on the card grid.

One thing that makes this Codenames version unique is the key card, as it is two-sided. Place the key card between the two of you so that you can each only see one side of the card. Each side of the key card contains nine green marked words, three of which are the same for each player. Each side also contains three assassins, guess any of the three and you lose immediately.

Your clues are given by stating a single word and a number. The word you chose should make some connection to other words printed on the cards and the number indicates how many cards correlate to the clue given.

The idea is for one player to come up with good enough clues so that the other player guesses the right cards containing agents and not bystanders or an assassin. You continue to exchange clues for up to nine rounds or until you’ve discovered all fifteen agents. Or of course, unless you guess the assassin.

The game makes a great association spy challenge for couples to collaboratively puzzle each other. It allows you to get creative by using the inside jokes when coming up with clues and having some laughter at the same time.

The game is truly cooperative as you make your own decisions but share the outcome with your partner every round. Codenames: Duet meets any couple’s desires for a quick and challenging game of wits. 

Best Rated Games For Couples – Recommendations

So there you have it, ten of the best board games for couples for you and your partner to spend an amazing evening together. Playing games on the board offer engagement, player interaction, and even some intimacy the online and digital counterparts are just not able to do. They provide couples with fun and laughter as well as positively strengthen and bond your relationship with the other half.

Whether you enjoy a sense of rivalry playing a competitive game or teamwork and shared objectives, we hope you found a perfect pick for you and your partner on our list.

You can play short games that are less intensive like Azul, Patchwork, or Santorini. They’re fun and lighthearted and are great for right after dinner or just before bed. If you prefer light card games, then Jaipur is a great option to consider.

Games like 7 Wonders Duel, Codenames: Duet, or Imperial Settlers: Empire of the North are perfect for a weekend night. They’re long enough to spend the evening together and you won’t worry when they take a bit longer than expected.

And if you’ve got a long weekend or cozy day at home and love strategy games, you can tackle something a bit more complex with Twilight Struggle or Sherlock Holmes Consulting Agency.

But to really learn what your soulmate is thinking, for better or worse, check out Fog of Love. It adds a perfect touch of love and romance into the relationship building.

At the end of the day, we believe it would be hard to go wrong with any of the top couple board games on our list. To start, we recommend you to just pick one in almost any category and go with it. Playing games is the only way to figure out what you like and what you don’t as well as what works for your couple. The evening is yours for just the two of you so enjoy it with some of the best games for 2 players out there!

As always, please share your thoughts on the relationship games for couples or romantic board games you’ve played and would recommend for others! Especially if some have improved your relationship or made positive impacts in your life.

It is only human to desire exploration. That is part of the reason dungeon crawler board games are becoming increasingly popular nowadays.

Not only are you able to wander through vast and dangerous wastelands, but you can also loot for riches and solve intriguing mysteries as you go further into your adventure.

Licensed dungeon crawlers with established universes, like Batman or Star Wars, take the experience up a notch: you can even play as familiar heroes that you have grown up watching!

With so many games available to choose from, how do you know which one is the best for you? It is time to end your hunt for the best dungeon crawler board games! Join us on a journey of delving into some of the most popular, engaging, and thematic dungeon, catacomb, underground, maze, and even surface crawlers today to find your perfect match!

Top 10 Dungeon Crawler Board Games – Quick Comparison

1. Best Dungeon Crawler Overall – Gloomhaven

Playing as these characters make you feel like you are living in Gloomhaven as them, which gives off a unique and immersive feel to the game.

In Gloomhaven, you fight with a finite amount of cards in your character’s deck. You play two cards every turn, which will then be discarded or even removed permanently from the game. To preserve your deck, you have to make smart, tactical decisions.

Gloomhaven is a legacy dungeon crawler game. Any changes made in the game are permanent, so your hero will only get stronger and stronger until they retire.

Retirement is a bittersweet affair, but we loved how realistic it feels. After all, even the most revered hero has to retire at one point. Sometimes, the game even surprises you with the return of these retired heroes to push the story forward.

2. Best All Time Classic – Descent: Journeys in the Dark

In Descent, you start with a meager 15 cards and earn the rest along the way. Don’t let the limited equipment and items stop you! Nothing feels redundant in this compact game. You will inevitably use all the cards in this game at one point or another. You just need to get a little creative.

You get fewer cards as the overlord, but the cards you do get are more than enough to bulldoze the heroes to oblivion. Because of this, we constantly struggled and we can’t move forward to our goals. The dice-rolling mechanism can also be frustrating since you might not be able to fulfill the true potential of your character build if you are unlucky.

3. Best For Casual Play – Arcadia Quest Inferno

The game also introduces Angels, which are allied characters you can rescue, escort, or assist. Dealing with Angels can affect the storyline and eventually let you recruit them and join your side in the fight with the evil.

Arcadia Quest is heavy on dice-rolling as you use custom die to attack and defend. However, because some monsters and heroes can counter your attack the same way, you need to be strategic to secure a win. It’s simple, yet challenging.

It can feel random sometimes because of how much the game relies on the dice and luck. Sometimes, all you need is an unlucky dice roll to put you in a bad spot. You might also get unlikely victories from lucky crits.

In addition, some scenarios are tougher than others, with fewer upgrades and more overpowered monsters. That being said, like most classic dungeon crawlers, the game is predominantly based on fun and story. Which you might find frustrating if you are a strategist at heart.

You will enjoy Arcadia Quest if you like screwing around with your real-life rivals. The game offers a unique blend of compulsory cooperative and competitive (i.e. PvP) quests as a winning condition. So in addition to slaying Lord Fang’s henchmen, you would also have to keep a close eye on your competition.

4. Best Cinematic Dungeon Crawl – Batman: Gotham City Chronicles

The amount of detail and love poured into Batman: Gotham City Chronicles is next to phenomenal. The turn limit gave us a sense of urgency and importance, which contributes to the overall feel of the game.

You have to weigh the pros and cons of beating up a thug versus infiltrating the secret hideout. Otherwise, you might end up accidentally helping Bane blow Gotham up. Besides that, the terrain and elevation details on the board improve the gaming experience. You will feel like Batman himself, jumping from rooftop to rooftop or skulking in the shadows.

We were surprised by how confusing the rule books are for such a huge game. It was difficult to navigate with lots of information to sift through. It was a pain trying to look up tiny details like terrain and special cases while playing. So, be prepared to spend some time getting things straight.

5. Best 2 Player Dungeon Crawler – Claustrophobia 1643

The game depends heavily on dice for combat and special circumstances, so don’t be surprised when your game thrown off by a stroke (or streak) of bad luck. Luckily, you can mitigate some of this with strategy. The battle is long and hard, but it feels super satisfying when you win.

The balance of the game is tilted towards the Infernal player in Claustrophobia 1643. Although you are weaker than Western Warriors, there are infinite ways to stomp out your opponent’s fire of hope with your heavy leather boots.

For starters, you have a home advantage playing as Infernal. Besides this, you can spawn more demons and troglodytes than the Western Warriors can kill or separate the Western Warriors by manipulating map tiles in the dungeon. It is a role that requires less grit and strategy but extremely overpowered.

6. Best Cooperative – Shadows of Brimstone: City of the Ancients

The dungeon is the interesting part. You draw a map tile and an encounter token every time you enter a room in the mine. The encounter tile tells you how many monsters you meet and their order of appearance. Every monster you defeat gives you experience, which is essential for your leveling up since it will only get harder from this point forth.

After you defeat all the monsters in the room, you can scavenge for treasures. Once scavenged, you claim the room so other explorers can’t lay their money-grubbing hands on it.

In between adventures, you can go to frontier towns to spend your wealth or simply to get a quick drink. However, towns are, by no means, safe havens. Your dark adversaries from the mines might follow and wreak havoc while you ransack a house for gold!

7. Best For Kids – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shadows of the Past

Unlike Raph – Leo, Mikey, and Donnie start with 3 dice each, giving you only 3 actions per round. But the spirit of brotherhood gives you 2 extra dice from each end of your arrangement, which potentially can bump your total up to 5 actions per round. To maximize your moves, you have to play efficiently as a team.

We loved the thematic touches in the game. Before you start any scenario, you can read the Adventure Comic to learn the background of the mission and the aftermath.

We especially loved Raph’s gameplay since it shows how much personality is in the game. As Raph, you start with 5 dice, so you don’t have to rely on other turtles as much. But we loved how well the game incorporates Raph’s I-don’t-need-you personality into the gameplay. Every turtle starts with a personal item and gains special abilities along the way. And get this, the game uses pizza tokens as health. How Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is that?

8. Best Deck Building Dungeon Crawler – Thunderstone Quest

You get different rooms in dungeons depending on the quest you got. Monsters in the dungeon are challenging to beat without proper resources, so be sure to stock up on torches and potions. You can’t sit around and hope for the best in Thunderstone Quest, so put on your strategist hat and soldier on!

Furthermore, we liked that you discard the monster cards in a different pile. This keeps your deck lean so you don’t have to worry about drawing monsters in your hand anymore. Having the wilderness that you can visit at any time is also great. Now, you can train in the wilderness even if you start with a lame hero and crappy gear.

That being said, it can get a bit stale when you are preparing to go into the dungeon. Pacing can be slow if you keep drawing unusable cards. Wounds decrease the number of cards you can draw as well so you would have to play smart to avoid the game getting drawn out.

9. Best Thematic – Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower

In essence, Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower is jam-packed with intricate storylines, miniatures, and fun minigames. For such a content-heavy game, the gameplay is surprisingly simple. You roll a certain amount of dice provided by your character to perform actions. You can also use a shared dice pool for more complicated strategies.

The minigames are one of the highlights of Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower. Instead of a simple upgrade or skill check, you play a minigame when you run into certain game components. For example, upon finding a trapped chest, you put two dice on top of a face-down treasure card and attempt to slide them off. This is a refreshing change from the run-of-the-mill dungeon crawler mechanics in many games.

Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower brings classic characters from the lore to the tabletops in pieces. You see your miniatures come to life by assembling them. We loved how personal this process feels. By the end of sticking together multiple parts of a dwarf’s beard together, you will feel a connection with the game unlike any other.

10. Best MIniatures – Darklight: Memento Mori

The game features a modular board game, which means all the grotesque monsters and deadly traps you face is randomly generated.

Every room leaves you wondering if you will leave unscathed this time. It is an entirely dice-based dungeon board game, so make sure you have Lady Luck by your side when you go into the dungeons.

The game can be exceptionally punishing and brutal. As an Accursed, you start the game wearing scraps and work your way up. You get 20 extra skill cards every level you gain. With the right calls and purchases, you can train your Accursed to become a celebrated hero once again.

The miniature designs in Darklight: Memento Mori is detailed and downright horrifying, in a good way. It is inspired by grimy, old school monster designs from the 80s and 90s, so expect to see disturbing designs filled with tentacles, or another torso growing from the pelvic area of a man. To add to the overall feel, this game has some of the most gorgeous miniatures we have ever seen in a dungeon crawler board game.

Final Words

You don’t want to invest in the wrong games, only to never touch it again. Board games are subjected to personal tastes, especially dungeon crawlers. To find your best fit, you have to ask yourself: what are you looking for?

Love watching your opponent(s) sob in defeat? Try playing Claustrophobia 1643 and Gloomhaven. Hate the dice-randomness that sometimes comes with dungeon crawler board games? Try Thunderstone Quest! Do you want to be legendary comic book heroes and bust crimes? Batman: Gotham City Chronicles and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shadows of the Past might be more up your speed.

Besides that, your experience with dungeon crawler board games matters too. Descent, Darklight: Memento Mori, and Shadows of Brimstones: City of Ancients can curb your appetite for something hardcore. Some games like Arcadia Quest, TMNT: Shadows of the Past, Claustrophobia 1643, and Warhammer Quest scales well with mixed groups.

Most dungeon crawler board games are designed around 4 players which seems to be a sweet spot for player collaboration and group decision making. In fact, we have just finished reviewing the best board games for 4 players if you are interested to have a peak.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are you stuck playing the same trivia board games over and over? It is becoming repetitive to the point at which you don’t want to play anymore? You are not the only one, and we are here to help.

Finding the best trivia board games can be tough. Given that there are so many out there and the new board games coming out regularly, choosing the right one for you and your party isn’t as straightforward as it may seem.

Below is a shortlist of what we think the top 10 trivia board games are today. From history trivia board games to group trivia games and much more – there is sure to be a variety for everyone.

Top Rated Trivia Games – Quick Summary

The Best Trivia Board Games – Our Top Picks

1. Best Overall – Trivial Pursuit Master Edition

To move in any direction around the circular, colored track, players must roll a die. The color of the space the player lands on relates to a category of the question to be asked. Six of these colored spaces allow the player to gain a pie piece to work towards winning. Once all six pieces are collected, the player may then begin to move towards the center via a number of questions, which when reached crowns the player the winner.

Trivial Pursuit offers plenty of variety. From the questions asked to the versions of the game out there, it’s sure to keep the player hooked and ready to go for round two straight after.

The timeless classic and the godfather of the trivia genre is always going to be a game for the family get-together, that’s why I had to include it on this list. Whether you’re a teen or an older individual, the concept of this game will draw you in and have you stuck playing for hours.

2. Best Logo and Brand – The Logo Board Game

The game, which is best played with a small group of friends is amazingly fun. With 1600 questions in total, you are set for hours of endless fun and good times.

Logo is a game for people who know and have an interest in brands and their logos. This board game is a cult classic and surely one for the collection.

3. Best Slogans & Analogies Trivia – Wit’s End

The game, playable with 2-6 people but best with 3, is in its essence a simple race to the center. But the questions, which can be related to anything from slogans to definitions, is where it can be challenging.

Each game, depending on the number of players, would take an average of 1 hour to complete.

I really enjoyed playing Wit’s End with a group of my friends for a few hours. Thanks to the relatively fast game time, there’s no need to fret about losing. And although the box says 6 people can play, it works best with 5 or less.

I would not recommend this game for kids, it’s far too complex. And although the rules are easy enough to understand, the game itself can certainly be challenging and is better for groups of similarly aged people.

4. Best Betting Trivia – Wits & Wagers

The answer closest to the correct one pays those who bet correctly depending on the odds shown on the board.

This does indeed mean that you can be terrible at trivia but still win, it’s all about placing your bets right.

The betting mechanic sets it apart from other board games, giving the game a unique twist. This game can be played in just 25 minutes, ideal for those in a rush.

There are multiple strategies you can employ to win the game. You can play the villain by purposely putting the wrong answer down and betting on the correct one, given you know the correct answer. Alternatively, you can give yourself full confidence by betting on yourself.

Wits & Wagers is a fantastic game for all the family, with a good mix of easy and hard questions it makes for great variety. A short and sweet ode to the trivia genre of board games with a casino twist.

5. Best Disney Trivia Game – Pictopia: Disney Edition

Pictures act as clues for questions and are designed to help players guess what the questions might be.

Players can also answer questions about their own opinions, these are called player answer cards. Other players need to guess, for example, which character is their favorite in order to progress. A competitive feature to show how much you know about your friends.

This version of the game is aimed at Disney fans, in fact, it sits amongst the best Disney trivia board games out there. The thing I love about Pictopia is the use of visual representation in answering questions. It makes the game easier for smaller children aged six and up, but older people may find this game too easy, or somewhat boring.

Another great product from Disney for the avid fans out there who want to test their knowledge in the Disney universe. It offers a unique visual trivia experience with fun, competitive features that are well suited for families and kids.

The game also comes wearing Harry Potter, Marvel, and Star Wars themes, see below.

6. Best Cooperative Trivia – The Game of Wolf

The game does not include a board to play on, or dice to roll with, it’s entirely based on question cards. Giving players the freedom to mix things up. The cards are a variety of pictures and worded cards consisting of multiple-choice questions relating to anything from TV to Landmarks.

The gameplay feels fluid and flows naturally around a group of friends. Players outwit, betray and work together, all in order to win the game.

The questions included in the game are not for younger kids, and would fit better anyone from 13 and up.

The Game of Wolf, is a competitive board game with a twist. Choose to team up or if you think you can win it alone, be the lone wolf. In this game, you’ll have to use wits, deceit, and trust to be crowned the winner.

7. Best TV & Movie Trivia Board Game – Scene It? Movie Second Edition

The board consists of three circular shaped boards put together to create a single track. There are no obstacles or out of place stages, so this game is fast-paced and easy to follow. Playing time is around 30 minutes but can certainly be finished faster, depending on the number of players.

This is a great board game for all the family to play, and given that there’s plenty of variety depending upon the version you are looking to buy, there’s definitely room for everyone.

The only thing that’s important to note is that you’ll need a DVD player in order to play the game to its full extent. If you do, you are all set to experience one of the best movie and TV show trivia board games out there.

Scene it, the game that pushes you to answer questions about your favorite, and least favorite movies. Fun for all ages, this fast and simple game is sure to have you hooked.

8. Best Party Trivia – Say Anything

The winner is the person with the most points at the end. To keep playtime under 30 minutes, there are limits (depending on the number of players) to the number of questions each player can ask.

This game is made for parties and is good fun around a group of friends. The uniqueness of this party game, given that it’s focussed on player answers and acting with the crowd, is extremely refreshing.

Say Anything is a game you’ll want to bring along to your next party and who knows, you might even learn a thing or two about a friend which you didn’t know before. Best played with a large group of friends, Say Anything puts you and your friends head to head to give the best answers possible.

9. Best History Trivia – Timeline 3: Events