Put down that Monopoly money, cease your Trivial Pursuing. Here are the alternative board games you should really have in your life. We asked for your favourite board game, and you told us.
Thank you. From ancient classics like Chess and Go to more modern staples like Scrabble and Monopoly, we heard all your stories and heeded all your words. Risk was always my favourite board game. I decided to send it into orbit with a home-made space expansion. Accordingly, we have put together a list of twenty of excellent but slightly lesser-known games suggested by our readers that we either have played and can vouch for their awesomeness, or frankly sound amazing and you should seek out henceforth.
But remember: not everyone is on the same square. Some people out there are more like the person writing this sentence, who only recently discovered all the magic :the gathering he was missing.
Please pity the man who only got wood a few short years ago. So here we are then. Maybe start this weekend? Perfect in front of a fire on a winter's night in a pub in the middle of nowhere.
We know. The game has loads of add-on packs to increase the complexity. Not, sadly, a game based on the main bad guys in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, this card related kingdom-building and ambition-thwarting game was one of the picks of our readers.
DarkGlen, who provided the picture above excellent poster , really likes Dead of Winter, as did many of our respondents. It sounds ace. He explains:. Each player has a secret agenda, that may be nice and safe and just a bit selfish or may be to cause all of your friends to fail by reducing their morale to 0 before the main objective is complete. Come to think of it, it probably feels a bit like being a superpower engaged in a tense standoff with a similarly powerful but ideologically opposing hegemon.
Still, brilliant. Do card games count as board games? The eternal dilemma. For the purpose of this exercise, they do. Netrunner is the cyberpunky card game our tech desk seem to play a lot of their time playing. The majority of games in my list below suffer from lack of exposure.
As an example, my own Witless Wizards has an average rating of 6. The games are purely in order of BGG ranking. I also note that the majority of these titles come from my previous five visits to Essen Spiel. I so hope to get back there this year! All links below go to my full reviews on the Go Play Listen website. It died on the vine under the weight of similar games released when Magic started booming.
But I really liked it. You can probably get a bunch of cards cheap as chips, if you do some digging. Roll dice to move the invading hoards, then deal with them. It works well solo or with two, especially. But what makes Orbital stand out is the clever tile-buying system that seems to make every choice strategic and agonising.
If tile-laying games with a really tight economy are your bag, you owe it to yourself to check this one out. And sadly, this ended up being their last. But these are nicely muffled by having a single dice roll affect all players, sharing out the misery pretty much equally.
Then this is the game for you! Get what you need, and get out, before the zombies get you. A really inventive experience that looks brilliant on the table. If column inches on my blog meant anything, this game would be massive. You fools! A must-try for T-T fans.
You start by adding new territory to your realm with a variety of resources, ranging from boats and highland cows to lochs. Your goal? Gather as many of a certain type as possible. And because that particular item is randomised, each game is slightly different.
Replayability is always a big plus in our books, so Isle of Skye hits all the right notes where we're concerned. The way new land tiles are distributed is where things get really interesting, though. You'll earn money depending on how much whiskey you've produced, and that allows you to set a price on the tiles you want to place. If someone fancies that tile, they've got to pay you.
But if nobody's fussed, you have to pay up instead. It's a cool idea with a lot at stake, and one that quickly gets its claws into you. If you want a deep roleplaying experience where your actions have consequences, nothing can beat Gloomhaven. It's easily one of the top board games for adults, and the franchise has only grown in popularity since its debut. In fact, it's now getting a sequel Frosthaven and has had a clear influence on everything from the Divinity: Original Sin board game to Bardsung.
That's because it's arguably the most engrossing entry on this list. Players take control of adventurers who quest in and around the eponymous city, and they'll plunder dungeons or defeat monsters in a grand, branching story that can take months to complete.
Seriously, we're not kidding about longevity. Gloomhaven comes in an enormous box full to the brim with components and secret elements that you'll open as your journey progresses. Better still, it doesn't rely on random dice rolls to resolve combat. It's meaningful and memorable as a result - especially when you add character progression systems.
In short? If you want a persistent RPG without the effort needed for the best Dungeons and Dragons books , this is the perfect choice. There's even a cheaper option for those who'd rather dip in a toe before taking the plunge; you can now opt for the more accessible Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion instead. That one offers the same great gameplay on a smaller scale, so it serves as a good introduction to what has become a beloved series.
Catan whisks you back to the days of settling a frontier; there's an uninhabited island to claim and kingdoms to build on it.
Your job? Civilise this wild expanse with towns, roads, and trade. You'll need to keep your wits about you when deciding where to put down roots, though. The landscape is different each time you play, and this means you'll have to pay close attention to where you settle. That's because resources are driven by probability and dice rolls - certain locations will yield goods more often, so everyone ends up racing to claim the 'best' spots.
Choosing wisely can make or break your chances of winning; foresight and intuition are rewarded. Being able to sweet-talk your rivals is essential, too. It's inevitable that you won't get all the materials you need right away, so you'll have to trade with other players to advance your plans. What follows is an intriguing balancing act. Swapping resources could help you in the short-term, but it may bring your opponent one step closer to victory as well. This leaves us with something fantastic for those who love tactical board games for adults.
Sure, Catan is somewhat reliant on chance. But there's plenty of strategy to go along with it, not to mention unorthodox ways of winning such as creating the largest army and tricksy robbers that'll steal your opponents' items.
And with so many versions of the game out there - including a ton of expansions , Star Trek and Game of Thrones -themed sets, a spinoff called Catan: Starfarers , and a handsome 25th Anniversary Edition - there are cool alternatives to try if you ever get bored of the original.
If you loved the Redwall novels when growing up, Root should definitely be on your radar. It's an asymmetric strategy game featuring bucolic woodland creatures eager to take over the forest, and that includes everything from mice villagers to raccoon adventurers. When combined with eye-catching artwork, it's a delight from the start.
Just don't be fooled by those friendly designs. This is a layered experience with plenty of depth. As an example, all factions come with their own mechanics and goals for victory.
That puts Root amongst the best tactical board games for adults. Even though it's a lot to take in at first the rules need some getting used to , your patience will be rewarded. Interplay between factions like the Marquise de Cat - which aims to put down rebellion - and the Eyrie's bird nobility provides plenty to explore.
Additionally, this is a game that encourages players to think creatively. It's an example of what makes modern board gaming so special, to be honest; although it's not for everyone, Root is the poster-child of what this hobby is capable of.
If friends or family are descending upon your home en-masse, Articulate! A team-based trivia game with questions drawn from nature, pop-culture, and beyond, it can be played with over 20 people - or as few as four.
What's more, it's easy to pick up. Players take turns to describe words from a category, and their team has to guess as many of them as they can within 30 seconds. This advances your marker across the board, and the first team to reach the finish line wins. Throw in wildcard rounds where anyone can answer or spaces that allow you to rush ahead and you'll start to understand why this is one of those board games for families that's been going strong for decades since , to be precise.
Those questions aren't obscure, either. Everyone stands a chance of earning points for their team, no matter who they are or what interests they've got. Unlike so many alternatives, you don't need to be a font of random knowledge to get ahead.
That means Articulate! It's an essential purchase and a fair choice in terms of excellent board games for adults. Ticket to Ride is delightful in its own right, but its also perfect for an evening of entertaining your parents. Gentle and easy-going but strategic enough to keep you invested. Your goal is to score points by creating train routes across the world, and certain lines offer greater rewards. However, there's a limited number of spaces - dawdle and you'll miss out.
This exposes a tactical undercurrent running beneath the surface of this laid-back experience. A subtle mix of risk and reward, the fun lies in deciding whether to pursue quick wins or go after longer but more rewarding objectives. Those who pay attention can also cut off their rivals. If Ticket to Ride goes down well, you can always try out other entries in the series as well.
There's even a 15th Anniversary special edition with an updated map and premium tins in which to keep unique train tokens. Want a good present for a loved one? That's a great place to start. In terms of board games for adults that deserved their mature rating, Scrawl takes the cake. A filthy-minded road trip through the weirder parts of your brain, it's a delight at parties.
Scrawl is best described as a cross between Telephone and Pictionary; you get a ridiculous prompt card and have to draw what it tells you, be it "photocopying your balls" or "licking people's shoes". Your doodle then gets passed with no explanation to the person beside you, and they've got to write down what they think it is.
After that, the player beside them draws whatever it is their neighbour's written, and so on. Inevitably, it won't end well. Which is good news for us - the results are hysterical. Your original picture will get bent so far out of shape that it becomes unrecognisable.
This leads to no end of in-jokes for you and your friends, making it a superb ice-breaker. That's Scrawl in a nutshell - funny and memorable. In fact, the game's closest relatives would be Cards Against Humanity or Joking Hazard due to the fact that it thrives on the same dark humor. Essentially, it's very NSFW and utterly brilliant. Although Cosmic Encounter has been kicking around since the s, it's lost none of its edge. This is an operative sci-fi classic that's charmed audiences with its unusual gameplay for decades, and it's rarely been matched.
If you're a fan of negotiating your way out of sticky situations in board games, this will be your jam. On the face of it, everyone's goal is the same; set up five colonies on rival planets. That's where any common ground ends, though. Players will take command of one of 50 possible alien species, and they all boast unique abilities that upend the rules in creative ways.
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