There were plenty of great games released last year.  Unfortunately, we here at BBGL know that it is often difficult (even for the biggest board game fan) to play each and every game released.  Not to mention the cost involved to add another 2 or 3 games to your library, only to find you didn’t really enjoy them.

It’s often quite difficult choosing a “new” board game simply because there isn’t much information to make an educated guess on if you’d like the game or not.

So we have done our best to provide you with a list of the best games to help narrow down your options when selecting the latest game to add to your collection.  We’ve had lots of fun playing these great games and have also spent lots of time scouring the internet in order to provide you with a comprehensive list of the best of the best in each genre.

Don’t agree with our list? Don’t see a game on our list you would like us to add?  Please don’t hesitate to let us know your thoughts and we will do our research and add (or delete) always with the goal of helping others like you find and play the best games available.

As always we’ve separated our list by category in order to help you find one that meets your needs.

Best Board Games 2014	Category	Age	Players	Playtime	Rating (1-5) Stars
Dead of Winter Crossroads Game	Fantasy/Thematic	13+	2-5	100 min	4.5
Splendor Board Game	Family	10+	2-4	30 min	5
King of New York	Family	8+	2-6	40 min	4.5
One Night Ultimate Werewolf	Party	8+	3-10	10 min	4.5
Five Tribes	Strategy	13+	2-4	60 min	4.5
Star Wars - Imperial Assault	Fantasy/Thematic	12+	2-5	90 min	4.5
Legendary Villains: A Marvel Deck-Building Game	Card Game	14+	1-5	45 min	4.5
Pandemic: The Cure	Family	8+	2-5	30 min	4.5
Sheriff of Nottingham	Family/Party	13+	3-5	60 min	4.5
Star Realms Deckbuilding Game	2 player/Card	8+	2	20 min	5
Abyss Board Game	Strategy	13+	2-4	30-60 min	4.5
Camel Up	Family	8+	2-8	30 min	5
Cash N Guns Second Edition	Party	10+	4-8	30 min	4.5
Marvel Dice Masters: The Uncanny X-Men	2 Player/Dice	14+	2	15 min	4.5
Arcadia Quest	Fantasy/Thematic	13+	2-4	60 min	5
Castles of Mad King Ludwig	Strategy	13+	1-4	90 min	5
Thunder Alley	Thematic/Racing	10+	2-7	90 min	5

Best Party Game of 2014: One Night Ultimate Werewolf

Suddenly something happens to trigger paranoia in the masses.  Instead of jumping to the logical conclusion that perhaps there’s a criminal in town, it’s obviously a werewolf.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a fast paced game for up to twelve players.  Each player takes a card, each with a different role, leaving three cards in the middle.  When game play starts, everyone looks at their card, identifying their role.  There are two teams:  Team Werewolf and Team Villager.  Team Werewolf consists of two possible werewolves and a minion.  Team Villager consists of the remaining players that are neither werewolves nor minions.  Everyone closes their eyes.

There is an optional phone app that designates turns as well as keeping time for discussions.  After all of the roles that occur during the night take their turn, then everyone “wakes up” and discusses who they think the werewolves (if any are).

Players only have eight minutes to decide.  At the end of that time, everyone reveals who they want to kill.  If it is a villager, then team werewolf wins, if it is a werewolf, then the villagers win.  There are a couple of wild cards:  The Hunter and The Tanner.  The Tanner hates his job and is suicidal.  If people select him, then he wins and everyone else loses.

The Hunter card is interesting as well.  If the Hunter is selected, then not only does he die, but the person across from him dies as well, giving either team an additional shot to slaying a werewolf.

Click for more Werewolf Info, Reviews and Pricing!

Best Fantasy/Thematic Game of 2014: Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game

In a lot of zombie media, you want to make sure you have a trustworthy team.  In this game, you are given a mix of different characters with different talents and motives.  The overall goal varies and each player receives an individual goal as well.

Ultimately, this is a game of survival.  Every round brings a different crisis to the colony, where players are encouraged to collaborate and assist others (unless you get a card that identifies you as a betrayer, then all bets are off).  If you have a player who becomes a detriment, you can banish them, where they end up getting their own goals.

As if this weren’t enough, your group will be faced with frostbite (it is winter after all), starvation, disease, as well as crossroads cards where the group makes a choice and has to suck up its consequences or reap its rewards.  This game has fully-immersive storytelling, which makes it truly unique.

Click for more Dead of Winter Info, Reviews and Pricing!

Best Strategy Game of 2014:  Five Tribes

Are they good or bad?  What’s the deal with the wishes?  Could you trick the genie into giving you more wishes by wishing for more wishes?  What do they look like?  Are they harem girls?  Are they big plumes of smoke, erupting from their lamp looking like over inflated balloons?

In Five Tribes, you take a trip back in time to Arabia, where gold is plentiful, oases are shady, and the king is dead.  Well, yes, the king died and now it is up to you to conquer over all your friends by playing this Mancala spin-off on crack.

There are sacrifices!  There are djinn!  And most importantly, there are multicolored meeples!

Here’s how to play.  Before each turn, players can bid on play order, which when used effectively, can get you ahead in the game.  The first action is to take the meeples off of one of the tiles and redistributing them, always making sure that the last meeple has a matching meeple on the tile.

Then, the player removes the meeples of the same color off the board.  Depending on the role, each color has a different benefit as well as point value.  When a tile gets cleared, the winning player puts a camel on it.  After a player distributes all their camels, the game is over and the points are scored.

Click for more Five Tribes Info, Reviews and Pricing!

Best Family Game of 2014:  Pandemic: The Cure

The second thing wasn’t a new realization but it came back and bit me:  I am not good at cooperative games.  I had the phrase “not a team player” a lot on my report cards as a kid, so it makes sense, I suppose.  I later played another installation of the Pandemic Series: Contagion.

Similarly to the adult version of Pandemic, Pandemic: the Cure places three to five players in a race to cure the world of four diseases.  In addition, there are role cards with different abilities.  Outbreaks and epidemics are abound as well.  That’s where the similarity ends.

Unlike the adult version of Pandemic, actions are determined by dice rolls.  There are event cards which benefit the players by removing dice from the pool on a given region.  With three difficulty levels, I know that I’m planning on hunting this game out and adding it to my Pandemic repertoire.

Click for more Pandemic The Cure Info, Reviews and Pricing!

Best Kids Game of 2014:  King of New York

Just like Pandemic: The Cure, King of New York relies on dice.  This game is for two to six players and each game piece features a different monster.  With a board depicting the five boroughs of New York City, players start in all the boroughs except for Manhattan.

Each monster comes with ten hearts.  Naturally, monsters take damage (after all, being a destructive monster could be a little painful) from their own actions or military attacks.  When a monster loses all their hearts, they are eliminated.  But there are plenty of options to keep your monster healthy.

Another aspect in the game is the fame factor.  Each turn comes with three dice rolls.  When you collect three stars, you get the superstar card, where your monster becomes famous.  If you roll three ouch cards, the entire military population turns against your monster, but never fear!

As the defender of New York, you and the Statue of Liberty become teammates in saving New York.  With all this excitement, it is sure to become a family favorite.

Click for more King of New York Info, Reviews and Pricing! ]]> /best-board-games-2014/feed/ 0 /fun-drinking-games-with-cards-and-without/ /fun-drinking-games-with-cards-and-without/#respond Mon, 02 Feb 2015 23:19:18 +0000 /?p=991 You are throwing your first adult party.  With your nerves set to high, there are two fears; that people will be so bored that they will leave or they will be so bored that they stay making sure that they remember never to attend one of your parties again.

The positive side is that you know your guests, well almost all of them, so making sure they are entertained shouldn’t be a problem.  There are so many different things you could do to liven up the party, get designer plates/glasses, cater the event, or personalized items.  The best bet for a truly memorable event is to bust out some fun drinking games.

Whether it be card drinking games or drinking games without cards, the best drinking games will liven up any party. Depending on the group of people that you have, you’ll learn more about your friends (some stuff you may not ever need to know or get out of your head) and it will draw you closer together.

As always, we’ve scoured the internet to find the absolute best of the best to help finding the game that’s right for you EASY! We’ve compiled a comprehensive list (below) with lots of choices followed by our favorite picks.

If you aren’t a drinker, which there are plenty of us out there, you can always substitute the liquor for something non-alcoholic.  Either way, you’re bound to get closer to one another with the silliness that playing drinking board games brings.

With all the drinking games mentioned here, we at bestboardgameslist.com always encourage that if a player is too intoxicated to continue, please don’t push yourself or them.  Swap out your/their alcoholic beverage for water, or just give them an option to quit.

Best Drinking Games List

Best Drinking Games	Players	Best For	Playtime	Rating (1-5) Stars
Cards Against Humanity	4-8	Large/Small Group	30min	5
Shot Glass Roulette	2-16	Large Group	15min	4
Sobriety Test	3-12	Large/Small Group	20min	4.5
I've Never Board Game	2-8	Small Group	60min	4.5
Loaded Kings (Waterproof Playing Cards)	4-12	Large/Small Group	15min	4.5
Pass out game	2-4	Small Group	20min	4.5
Corked - The Party Game for the Entertaining Connoisseur	4+	Large/Small Group	20min	4.5
Lightning Reaction Reloaded - Shocking Game	2-4	Small Group	10min	4
Never Have I Ever - the Card Game of Poor Life Decisions	2-16	Large/Small Group	10min	4.5
SEXXXtions - Adult Party Game	2-8	Small Group	15min	4.5
Battleshots	2	Just for 2	20min	4
Red Dragon Inn	2-4	Small Group	30-60min	4.5
We Didn't Playtest This at All - With Chaos Pack	2-15	Large/Small Group	1-5min	4

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Our Favorite Drinking Games!

For Parties – Large Groups/College  

Cards Against Humanity:

See our previous review of Cards Against Humanity Here

Never Have I Ever:

Of course when you play this game, you may find out things you may not want to know, like ever.  Before you start the game, make sure that everyone knows that it is okay to be open in this environment, that no one will use the information against one another (yeah, right…see the point about blackmail???).  By sharing experiences that are common to one another could forge bonds.  So here is how it works:  Everyone playing sits in a circle and receives 10 cards.

There are two types of cards in this game: Rules Cards and Play Cards.  With each player’s turn, a rule card is played, adding variance to the game.  Then one of the players plays a Play Card.  Some of these play cards say something like, “Rocked a Muffin Top” or “Took a Naked Selfie”.  When a player plays the card and you HAVE done it, you take a drink.  If the player has done the action as well, they get to take the card back and keep it.

The first person who reaches 10 cards of things they HAVE done, wins.  With 500 cards and an almost 5 star rating on Amazon.com (with over 250 reviews), this is a must have.  You’ll laugh, cry, blush and cringe at the same time!

Click for more Never Have I Ever Info, Reviews and Pricing!

For Parties – Small Groups 4 to 8 – Loaded Kings Drinking Game: 

In the case of Loaded Kings, you take all of the waterproof (Loaded Kings means business – spilling will be involved) cards and spread them all out on the table.  There are some strict rules involved with this game.  Every time each of these rules are disobeyed you take a drink.  This game is one of the only games that indicates that a drink is equal to a sip.  This makes the game last a lot longer, and even though shooting beer is easy, it’s messy!  So kudos to Drunken Kings.

Back to the Rules:  Contractions can’t be used (see, I’d be a sip behind already…rather two); you cannot use anyone’s name; similar to fortune cookie reading, you must say “…in bed” after each sentence.  Simple sentences become sillier then.  “I have to go to the bathroom” becomes “I have to go to the bathroom…IN BED.”

The last rule is rather simple.  No swearing or cursing.  If you swear or curse, introduce your chin to the table.  Keep your chin there until someone else swears (which shouldn’t be too long given everyone is drinking).   After all the basic rules are discussed, the next thing that happens is that one player draws a card and follows the instructions on it.  There’s no actual end to this game, so you can keep going until the alcohol takes its toll.  With 100 reviews of almost 5 star on Amazon.com, this is definitely one of the best drinking games with cards available. Loaded Kings drinking game is sure to be a party hit.

Click for more Loaded Kings – The Drinking Card Game Info, Reviews and Pricing!

Drinking Games For Two – Shot Glass Checkers

I’ll admit it, when I was a kid, checkers stymied me.  Chinese checkers I was really good at, but make it a board with red and black squares and I had no idea what I was doing.  When I stumbled across the Shotglass Checkers set, I realized if I ever were to meet this game, I’d probably be hospitalized for alcohol poisoning.

However, I probably wouldn’t be as bad as the people who were good at what they were doing!  The rules are simple, set up the board like you would any other time you would play checkers.  Each of the pieces are shot glasses, which you would fill with your drink of choice.  This is the same for your opponent.

Start the game, and as every piece gets jumped or taken off the board, you take the shot inside the glass.  If you somehow manage to get kinged, you take the shot, refill and repeat.  If you do a chain jumping, all of the shots that were involved get drunk.  If you get double kinged (I think that’s a thing, my friends when I was a kid played with double kinging – because when they were playing against me, you probably get away with such things.) then you take three shots and so on.

Strategy gets thrown out the window as soon as the third or fourth shot hits.  With a ranking of 4.5 stars from over 20 reviewers on amazon.com, others agree this is one of best drinking games for two.  Also one of the easiest drinking games without cards (except for the checkers challenged people like me) to pick up and play.

Click for more Checkers Shot Glass Bar Game Set Info, Reviews and Pricing!

Now that you have some ideas for drinking games during a party, go off and eat, drink ( DON’T DRIVE ) and be merry!

Now, back to the list.  As you know we like to diversify our lists because we understand board gamers come from all walks of life and have their personal preferences.

That being said, we found this list to be slightly more difficult to diversify because of the lack of reviews and or information on games recently produced.  We found most of the games receiving a lot of praise were typically for more advanced board gamers.  And quite frankly, we here at bestboardgameslist.com have not had enough time to play them all.

As always, we separated our list of the Best Board Games 2013 into the following most popular categories;

• Family
• Party
• Strategy
• Fantasy
• Kids

BEST BOARD GAMES 2013 List

Best Board Games 2013	Category	Age	Players	Playtime	Rating (1-5) Stars
Forbidden Desert Board Game	Family	10+	2~5	45 min	4.5
Eldritch Horror	Fantasy	14+	1~8	2~4 hrs	5
Rampage Board Game	Family/Kids	8+	2~4	30 min	4.5
Caverna: The Cave Farmers	Strategy	12+	1~7	120 min	4.5
DrunkQuest	Party/Adult	21+	3~6	20 min	4.5
Duel of Ages II Basic Set	Fantasy	12+	2~8	60 min	5
Jungle Ascent	Family	8+	2~4	30 min	5
Zombicide Season 2: Prison Outbreak	Fantasy	13+	1~6	60 min	4.5
Star Trek Attack Wing: Starter Set	Strategy	14+	2+	30 min	4.5
Bang!: The Dice Game	Party	8+	3~8	15 min	4.5
Ghooost Card Game	Family	8+	2~6	20 min	4
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise of the Runelords Base Set	Fantasy	13+	1~4	90 min	4.5
Nations Board Game	Strategy	13+	1~5	2 hrs	5
Corporate America	Party	13+	3~6	90~120 min	5
Firefly: the Game	Strategy	12+	1~4	2 hrs+	4.5
Warhammer 40k Relic Boardgame	Fantasy	14+	2~4	2 hrs+	5
Space Cadets: Dice Duel	Party	14+	4~8	30 min	4
Blood Bound Game	Party	14+	6~12	30 min	4.5
Carcassonne: South Seas	Family	8+	3~5	30 min	4.5
Level 7 [Omega Protocol]	Fantasy	14+	2~6	60 min	4.5
HeroClix DC - Batman Gotham City Strategy Game	Strategy	14+	2~4	60 min	5

As always, were here to help you make the best choice for your needs.  We’ve broken down our list followed by our recommendations for the best 2 player board games into 3 subcategories.

2 player board games for

• Couples
• Strategy
• 1 on 1 battle

Best 2 Player Board Games List

Best 2 Player Games	Age	Best For	Playtime	Rating 1-5 (stars)
Forbidden Desert Board Game	10+	Couples	45 min	4.5
Dust Tactics Revised Core Set	12+	1on1/Strategy	45 min	4.5
Pandemic Board Game	13+	Couples	45 min	4.5
NFL Game Day Football Board Game	9+	1 on 1	30 min	5
Lost Cities	10+	Strategy	25 min	4.5
Ninja Versus Ninja Game	8+	1on1/Strategy	20 min	4.5
Twilight Struggle Deluxe Edition	13+	Strategy	3 hrs	4.5
Rivals for Catan	10+	Couples	45 min	4.5
Agricola	12+	1 on 1	2 hrs	4.5
Qwirkle Board Game	6+	Couples	45 min	4.5
Marvel Heroclix Avx X-men Starter Set	12+	1 on 1	45 min	5
Descent: Journeys in The Dark Second Edition	12+	1 on 1	45 min	4.5
Dominion	12+	1on1/Couples	30 min	5
Carcassonne Basic Game	8+	Couples	45 min	5
Blokus Duo Game	5+	Couples	20 min	4.5

For couples- Forbidden Island

Forbidden Island is a cooperative game that can be played with up to four players, but is still great with just two.  The idea of the game is rather simple, you and your team are trying to get onto an island and plunder for treasure, but the island is rapidly sinking. You work together to move your characters around the island with the ultimate goal of collecting all four of the treasure tokens. Once the treasure is in your possession, players must find their way back to a helicopter pad to be flown away.

Admittedly, this is a game that will take a bit of nerdiness from both parties to really get into.  But, I absolutely love the cooperative element of this game, and I think it makes Forbidden Island a perfect game for couples.  Gaming with a partner can be a risk just because people can get competitive and confrontational, which isn’t ideal for when you have to sleep in the same bed later that night.

Because the game is decently fast-paced, players are never bored and are always involved in the gameplay. This fast gameplay is broken up by moments of thought from players, which is another thing that makes this game so perfect for couples.

You don’t play games very often that force you to make such interesting team-based decisions.  Everything usually comes down to looking out for yourself, or how you can bring down someone else.  This, on the other hand, allows players to discuss a strategy and really do some interesting problem solving. It’s always better to work with your significant other rather than work against them, and Forbidden Island encourages just such an interaction.

Click for more Forbidden Island Info, Reviews and Pricing!

Strategy- Twilight Struggle

I know what you’re thinking, board games are cool and all, but none of them enable me to live my dream of being a key decision maker during the perilous times of the Cold War. Well, what you’re thinking is wrong. Twilight Struggle is a brilliant game made for just two players that puts the player in the role of the Soviet Union or the United States.

The board is a map of the globe as it was in 1945. By moving around your units and playing your cards correctly, each player is trying to gain influence over other countries. Once you’ve gained the alleigance of enough world powers, then you can start dictating the pace of the game. Twilight Struggle has several different ways for the game to end, and these endings are just as dark as the many other alternative outcomes to the real life Cold War. The most memorable ending, of course, is all out nuclear warfare.

What I believe drives the game along is the event cards. Every time an event card comes into play, there seems to be a dramatic shift in gameplay. You’ll find yourself not only having to respond to the actions of the opposing player, but now you’re also responsible for solving the Cuban Missile Crisis. All of your decisions in the game feel important and interesting.

Click for more Twilight Struggle Info, Reviews and Pricing!

1-on-1 battle- Agricola

The term “battle” in this case might be a bit of an overstatement. Agricola is a game based around the concept of having a family that lives on a farm, and having that family do farm work for you. Now, I know that sounds like the most riveting concept for a game you’ve ever heard, but let me be clear, Agricola is every flavor of fun.

Every game is made up of six stages that make up 14 rounds, and each round has four phases. I won’t get into the details of every round, phase, and stage, but the way they have things set up makes the game very evenly paced. Some games, like Glory to Rome for example, have a slow pace before reaching a breaking point where all of the sudden your turn consists of 13 actions and the game is wrapped up before you know it. Agricola is a bit more of a slow burn throughout the duration of the game.

Players have to gather resources and delegate duties to family members in order to expand their farm. At the end of every round, there is a harvest. If at this point you haven’t gathered enough resources that can be turned into food, your family goes hungry and the player must take a “beggar” card which detracts from your overall victory points.

What really sets this game apart is the amount of variability that comes with every individual play session. There are roughly 300 different occupation cards that just ever-so-slightly tweak your abilities in every game. So, every game has a new combination of skills. This adds a tremendous amount of replay value to the game and is going to have you and your opponent endlessly repeating the phrase “just one more game.”

Click for more Agricola Info, Reviews and Pricing!

Even if the game is just silly, it’s getting both people interested in what the other is doing, and can create a little friendly competition between the two of you. And, if it’s more than just the two of you that need to be entertained, we have you covered here too.  There seems to be one couple in every network of friends that is hosting a night for everyone else to see each other. Well, with the help of this list, maybe you can be that couple and get all your friends together for a game night.

I’ve broken down my recommendations for the best board games for couples into two different categories: games that are best in larger groups of couples, and games that are a bit more intimate and should be played between just you and your partner. To help you in your search for quality games for adult couples, I’ve provided my favorite game from each category.

Best Board Games For Couples List

Best Couples Games	Age	Players	Best For	Playtime	Rating 1-5 (stars)
XXXopoly - Adult Board Games	18+	2	Just for 2	45 min	4
Loaded Questions	13+	3~6	Group	45 min	4.5
Battle Of The Sexes Board Game	16+	2~8	Just for 2/Group	45 min	4
SEXXXtions - The Hilarious NEW Adult Party Game that turns TMI into Too Much Fun!	18+	5~8	Group	30 min	4.5
Wackee Six Card Game	6+	2~6	Just for 2/Group	15 min	5
Monogamy A Hot Affair Game - EDO-6252-01	18+	2	Just for 2	30 min	4.5
'Table Topics - Couples, Blue'	18+	2	Just for 2	15 min	4.5
Blokus Duo Game	5+	2	Just for 2	20 min	4.5
Pocket Ungame Couples Version	16+	2	Just for 2	20 min	4.5
I've Never Board Game Adult Version	21+	2~8	Just for 2/Group	45 min	4.5

Board Games for Groups Of Couples – Loaded Questions

Loaded Questions is a very popular game and for good reason. It can be very revealing of who people really are deep down, and it’s just as good at showcasing how well you know your group of friends. And before I start in on the details, I would advise that this game be played between a group of friends that are at least acquaintances with everyone in the group. I will explain this further in a moment.

How the game works is there is a neutral question that is asked of all the players except the judge. Who gets to play the role of the judge changes every turn. The question is not trivia, it most often asks the opinion of the player, or puts out a hypothetical like “if your house was burning down, what would be the first thing you grabbed before running out?” That one is a bit generic, but the questions provided in the game can bring out some enlightening answers from players, and some are just so completely whacky, that there’s no way not to get a laugh out of your answer.

It’s for this reason that the game shouldn’t be played with unfamiliar people to the group. Because once all the answers have been turned in, the judge gets them read to him/her and they have to guess who said each answer. If the judge doesn’t know anyone in the group, then it will be difficult and uncomfortable for them to start assigning answers to people. So, if you’ve got a new girlfriend/boyfriend that you want to meet your friends, this game would not be ideal.

This is often the fault of the answers, because if you play like I do, I am the only one that should be held accountable for the terrible things that I say. And, trust me, terrible things will, and should be said in this game in order to maximize your fun. To me, no game is complete until at least half of the people in the room have gasped in shock. Loaded Questions provides ample opportunities for just such reactions.
Click for More Loaded Questions Info, Pricing and Reviews!

Just for 2 Board Games– Table Topics: couples

See our review of Best Just for 2 Adult Board Games here

Enough reminiscing, I’m here to help you pick from the multitude of the best strategy board games that are available to anyone that’s looking for more of a challenging experience from their tabletop gaming. I’ve broken these games down into three categories: hardcore, casual, and one-on-one. Strategy board games come in a huge variety of themes and play styles, and many have a huge learning curve that can make them inaccessible to those that haven’t played a few of the more foundational games beforehand. So, if you’re new to the concept of hardcore strategy board games, it may be a good idea to go back and find something simpler before trying out the more complicated strategy games.

But, if you’re feeling brave and want to jump right in, I don’t blame you, these games are a blast.

Best Strategy Board Games List

Top Strategy Games	Age yrs	Players	Best With	Playtime	Rating
Carcassonne Big Box Game	8+	2~6	2,4plyrs	30 min	4.5
Pandemic 2nd Edition Board Game	13+	2~4	4plyrs	60min	4.5
HeroClix DC - Batman Gotham City Strategy Game	14+	2~4	4plyrs	60 min	4.5
A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition	14+	3~6	6plyrs	180min	4.5
Mage Knight Board Game	14+	1~4	2plyrs	150min	4.5
Through The Ages	12+	2~4	3plyrs	240min	4.5
7 Wonders	10+	2~7	all	30min	5
Summoner Wars Master Set	9+	2~4	2plyrs	30min	4.5
Dominion Intrigue	10+	2~4	3plyrs	30min	5
Eclipse Board Game	14+	3~6	4~6plyrs	120min	4.5
Lords of Waterdeep: A Dungeons & Dragons Board Game	12+	2~5	4plyrs	60min	5
Android Netrunner: The Card Game	14+	2	2plyrs	45min	4.5
Fantasy Flight Games Runewars Revised Edition	12+	2~4	4plyrs	180min	4.5

In order to make your strategy board game choices a bit easier on the brain, here’s a brief list of some of my favorite strategy board games.

 Best Hardcore Strategy Board Game– Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is a very dynamic, fun game that might create a few blank stares from those that aren’t ready for a lot of rules, a lot of steps, and a lot of bits. A thorough explanation of the game’s rules would be a waste of time here, so I’ll just give you a basic rundown.
Each player is making decisions based on their family house in Westoros. If you’re familiar with the Game of Thrones story, all the families you want to see are there: the Starks, Lannisters, the Greyjoys, etc. Each have a different set of abilities at their disposal which are executed through their house cards. Every player’s turn will consist of three phases: the Westoros phase, planning phase, and action phase.

The Westoros phase is interesting because that can bring on an attack from the Wildlings, which is a neutral enemy to everyone in the game. This forces people to stop their squabbling for a bit and function as a unit to defend Westoros from the Wildlings.

Once that phase is over, it doesn’t take long to get into back-stabbing mode again. The planning phase can take a bit long for new players, so get ready for extended game times your first few playthroughs. Game of Thrones rewards the deviant, the treacherous, and the bold, just like the book series that the game is based off of.  Which is why this is one of the best strategy board games on the market.

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Best One on One Strategy Board Game – Android: Netrunner

This one is just as, if not more hardcore than Game of Thrones. So, be warned, this game will take some learning. Netrunner is a game designed by Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: The Gathering. And there are only a few similarities between the two games. Netrunner is identified as a living card game, which means that batches of cards are released in what they call “data packs,” so players can further customized their decks to meet their specific strategy.
What I love most about Netrunner is its asymmetric gameplay. There are two different ways to play, there is the Corporation (defense) and the Runner (offense). The setting is a cybernetic battleground where the Runner plays as a computer hacker trying to break into the Corporations servers, from which the Corporation is trying to push their “agendas.” When the Corporation scores seven agenda points, they win. If the Runner steals seven agenda points, they win.

Each turn is a new opportunity for the Runner to strike while the Corporation plots its defense. The best part of the game is the mystery. When the Corporation plays cards in a server, or to protect the server with what are called “ICE,” they play them face down. So, if the Runner wants to steal something from a server, he/she does not necessarily know what they’re getting into when they make a run at what they think is an agenda card. This creates a great amount of suspense in the game.

Like I said, this game is complex. But, this is about as much fun as I’ve had sitting at a table across from a friend. There are several factions on both sides, so the way you play can completely change from one game to the next. I can’t overstate how exciting this game is once you get past the dense rulebook.

Click for More Android Netrunner Info, Pricing and Reviews!

Best Casual Strategy Board Game – Glory to Rome

Glory to Rome is a game that you will fall in love with, but it may take a few games. Things don’t make much sense when you first start playing Glory to Rome, but play through a game or two and the process will start to slow down.
This game is for 2-5 players, with each player representing a politician in the Roman Forum deciding what is the best strategy to rebuild Rome after a devastating fire broke out. Glory to Rome is a card game, but the confusing part for new players is understanding that every card essentially has four different functions, all of which come into play depending on what action you’re taking.

Once that basic principle is understood, the game has an immense amount interesting decisions that are influenced not only by your current state of affairs as a player, but also by what other players have happening with their cards. The goal of the game is to build structures, and by doing so, gaining influence (victory points). But, that is not the only way to win. Some buildings have instant win conditions, and the Vault functions as a way for players to steal wins away from people that thought they had it wrapped up.

Click for more Glory to Rome Info, Pricing and Reviews!

That being said, when it comes to searching for the best adult board games on the webby web, like most categories you will get varied results.  Most often you will probably find games that are sexual in nature.  While these may be the type of adult games you are searching for, we here at bestboardgameslist.com realize that there are also other types of adult games people may want.

During our research we found that there are generally a few different categories of adult board games that people are looking for.  To help you find the right one for your needs, we’ve broken them down into three major subcategories,

Best Adult Board Games Subcategories

Games for couples, or rather, groups of couples. These games are great for small get togethers where everybody may not necessarily know each other.
Just for 2 adult games made just for an individual couple. These games can often be a bit sexual in nature, but not all of them (as you’ll see below).
Adult party games, these games are usually played by groups of friends that don’t mind getting a little rowdy. Some vulgarity may be involved, but that’s okay, it’s a party!

Our list of the best adult board games is  broken down by each subcategory and as always  we will be providing our personal favorites from each below.

Best Adult Games	Age yrs	Players	Best For	Playtime	Rating 1-5 (stars)
Cards Against Humanity	17+	4~30	Party	30 min	5
The Settlers of Catan	10+	3~4	Party	90 min	4.5
Smart Ass	12+	2~8	Couples/Party	30 min	4.5
Loaded Questions	13+	3~6	Party	45 min	4.5
Adult HedBanz Game	13+	2~6	Couples/Party	30 min	4.5
Wits & Wagers	10+	3~7	Party	25 min	4.5
Battle Of The Sexes Board Game	16+	2~8	Couples	45 min	4
SEXXXtions - The Hilarious NEW Adult Party Game that turns TMI into Too Much Fun!	18+	5~8	Couples, Party	30 min	4.5
WHAT'S THE LINK? Board Game	13+	2~10	Couples, Party	30 min	4.5
Cranium	16+	4~16	Couples/Party	60 min	4.5
What's Yours Like? - The Game That Tells it Like it Is	12+	4	Party	30min	4.5
5 Second Rule - Just Spit it Out!	10+	3~99	Party	15 min	4.5
XXXopoly - Adult Board Games	18+	2	Just for 2	45 min	4
'Table Topics - Couples, Blue'	18+	2	Just for 2	15 min	4.5
Adult Loaded Questions	18+	4~6	Party	45 min	4
Taboo	12+	4~10	Party	20 min	4.5
Shot Glass Roulette - Drinking Game Set (Comes With 2 Balls and 16 Shot Glasses)	21+	2~16	Couples, Party	15 min	4
Curses	12+	3~6	Couples, Party	30 min	4.5
I've Never Board Game Adult Version	21+	2~8	Couples, Party	45 min	4.5

Our Favorite Adult Board Games!

Best Adult Board Game For Couples – Wits and Wagers: Party Edition

This is a game based on numbers, which can be intimidating to some, but this game is much friendlier than it first appears. In Wits and Wagers, you are asked trivia questions that will always have an answer with a numeric value. So, the question will be something along the lines of “How long is the Great Wall of China?” Now, there are a handful of people in the world that will know the exact answer to that question. But, for most of us, we just know that the number is big.

Everyone writes their guess on a card which is then revealed. Players will then bet on which answer they believe is closest to correct. So, the game isn’t about who knows the answers to these questions, if anything it’s about who places the smartest bets and has the best instincts.

It’s for this reason that Wits and Wagers is completely non-exclusionary. Sure, you don’t know the answer to that trivia question, no one does. We’re all just guessing, betting, and making fun of everyone else’ guesses and bets. This game plays anywhere from 4-20 players, and is easily customized to be played in teams. So if you’ve got 10 couples, you may want to try and pair everybody up and play around of 10 teams.

This game is also extremely family friendly, so don’t be afraid to have it out at your next family get together. boardgamegeek.com rated 7 of 10.

Click Here To See Pricing, Ratings and Reviews of Wits and Wagers Party

Best Just for 2 Adult Board Game – Table Topics: couples

This is an interesting couples game in that it isn’t a game by traditional standards. Table Topics is non-competitive, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. The game is simple, but unique. Meant to be played just between partners, Table Topics is a stack of cards with questions on them. These questions revolve around trying to get a conversation started, with some of them being a bit more invasive than others. The questions can range from silly to interesting to surprisingly illuminating.

There is a bit of a caveot here: this game seems to be built primarily for established couples that are already in a very intimate relationship. With questions like “have you ever cheated on a lover” or “Which sexual activity would you like to try if there were no negative consequences” there is opportunity here for conflict if the couple is not extremely comfortable with each other. When playing this with my longtime girlfriend, I was able to avoid any frightening amount of tension from the questions, but the concern is there.

The most interesting thing I noticed happening when playing this game was that there were some cards that started us on a conversation that ends somewhere that looks nothing like the beginning. You’ll notice that one of you just ends up on a tangent, the other starts asking more questions, and soon enough you’ve forgotten that you’re playing a game at all. You’re just jabbering.

If you’re in a relationship that feels like it may be getting a bit stale, these questions ought to spark an interesting conversation. If you’ve just started dating someone and feel like this would be a great way to start an interrogation, then this game may not be for you, especially if you’re not ready for a few honest answers. I recommend this game to couples that feel like they’ve talked about everything and aren’t afraid of hearing about what may end up being some of the messier details of someone’s past.

See Pricing, Ratings and Reviews here

Best Board Game For Adult Parties – Cards Against Humanity

See our previous review of Cards Against Humanity Here.

Click Here For Ratings and Reviews at Amazon.com