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

It’s the typical day in the village where One Night Ultimate Werewolf takes place.  People are tending crops, tanning leather what have you.

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

Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game is a zombies post-apocalyptic game.  Did I mention that I adore zombies?  They are possibly the most versatile villain in the horror universe.  I could probably write an entire article about them, but let’s stick with the 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

One of the most enigmatic creatures of mythology is the genie or djinn. 

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

This past Halloween, I sat down and played the game Pandemic.  I realized two things that night, first, it isn’t a good thing if you are the first player and opt not to move.  I was playing the role of the scientist, so I wanted to stay at the lab.  This was a big to do.

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

When I was a kid, there was a video game called Rampage.  In this game, you played a wolf or a dinosaur whose primary goal is to destroy buildings.  Flowerpots fell, and chaos ensued.  With the King of New York, this game takes on Rampage with a splash of King Kong.

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!

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

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

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:

Never Have I Ever: The Game of Poor Life Decisions is a take on a classic drinking game.  When I played it in college, there wasn’t a card system like there is now.  This was one of the best ways to get blackmail material people, not that I would use it, but still…  If you’ve gathered a group of people who you know from various branches of your life (for example your work friends and your high school friends) this could help get them to know one another.

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: 

Loaded Kings is one of the Nation’s most popular card drinking games.  This game is fun and easy, which makes it climb to the top of my list of drunken debauchery games.  I played a game similar to this game in college called 3-Man.  Although I can’t remember exactly how to play 3-Man, it would certainly attest to it being fun!

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!

Running your fingers over the edges of the box and pulling the lid up and off, you see several mystery pieces and a big board.  Unfolding it, you look at it joyously, colorful squares illuminating your eyes.

If you remember this very moment in your life, you were as we are at bestboardgameslist; a board game lover.

There are many obstacles that parents run into when choosing a game for their toddler: choking hazards with some of the small pieces that games come with; easy to understand directions for both parents to teach their children; educational value; and whether the child is at the stage where they will understand the game.

As always we’ve broken down our list followed by our recommendations for the best board games for toddlers into 3 subcategories

Best Board Games for 3 year olds
Best Board Games for 4 year olds
Best Board Games for 5 year olds

Best Board Games for Toddlers List

Best Board Games for Toddlers	Age	Players	Playtime	Rating
Richard Scarry Busy Town	3+	2-4	15min	5
Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel	3+	2-4	15min	4.5
Chutes and Ladders Super Hero Squad	3+	2-6	15min	4.5
Candy Land 65th Anniversary Game	3+	2-4	15min	4
Hi Ho Cherry-O	3+	2-4	10min	4.5
Jumping Jack Game	4+	2-4	10min	4.5
Let's Potty! Potty Training Board Game! No More Diapers, Toilet Train Toddlers Early!	2+	2-4	15min	4.5
Spot It Junior Animals	4+	2-6	15min	4.5
Blokus Game	5+	2-4	20min	5
Hoot Owl Hoot!	4+	2-4	15min	5

Our Favorite Board Games for Toddlers!

Best Board Game for 3 Year Olds – Candy Land:

This is by far one of my favorite games that I played as a child.  The title and box lid alone hooked me as well as making me wish it were Halloween right then and there.  As a colored gingerbread man (I always chose red), you took a journey through Candy Land to get to the castle at the end by matching colors and symbols.

There were some areas that were tricky: licorice traps were the worst, having to have a double of the color that the trap occupied in order to advance was something that kept me in suspense for a few turns; there were also times when I’d be close to the end of the game and ended up going backwards in the game because I drew a symbol card that placed me farther back on the track (when I played with my sister, this was an optional rule, but still…not cool!)

Between myself and my family, it was always an anxious race to the top.  There were times when my sister and I wanted to further challenge ourselves.  We’d make up variances along the way; no shortcuts (removing gumdrop pass and rainbow trail), extra sticky licorice (it took 3 color cards to get out), no pinks (we’d remove all the pink cards from the deck, using only the colored cards to journey with).

I, being the older sibling (I have 3 ½ years on my sister), would create the variances, and she’d happily play along with me.   As a game developer, if you have children holding onto a years beyond the age range of a game it has to mean something.  And parents agree why its one of the best board games for 3 year olds by rating this game a 4 star rating with over 400 reviews on amazon.

Click for more Candy Land info, reviews and pricing!

Best Board Game for 4 Year Olds – Spot It Jr:

I had gone to a games store to purchase games for a party.  Being the sucker for packaging that I am, I overlooked the adult version of Spot It mostly because it was so simply packaged.  The store associate managed to sweet talk me into purchasing the adult version of Spot It.  He provided a demonstration of the game, where you simply draw two cards, set them face up, then choose what is common on both of them.

It is so simple, but as you get more people, you are racing to see who would recognize the similarities first. I had no idea what was in store until I saw my friends (all of us are in our mid-30s) jumping and pointing and making up new creatures was a blast.

While I played, I wondered what other versions of the game there were.  I was thrilled to see that there was a children’s version of this game, mostly because it is so easy and fun to play.   In the children’s version, they use various themes: animals, ABCs, and the movie Frozen for example.  The tricky part of this game is that not only do you have to identify what the similarity on each card combination is, but the sizes of the item will be different sizes.

This is an ideal game for 4 year olds because it offers a different combination of results with each game but it also helps with visual perception.  This game has won over so many fans both young and old (4 ½ star review and over 450 reviews for the Spot It Jr. Animals version alone on amazon that it could easily be considered a future classic game.

Click for more Spot It Junior info, reviews and pricing!

Best Board Game for 5 Year Olds – Hoot Owl Hoot!:

With cooperative games on the rise, Hoot Owl Hoot! is an award winning board game where a group of players strategize on how to get a group of owls from their night adventures to their nest before the sun rises.  Unlike Candy Land where you are on a race, each player receives cards and plays with the group to determine what the best route for each of the owls to take.  On top of which, this game implements a time – with every sun card drawn, a sun token is moved from the moon side of the board to the sun side, indicating that the sun is rising and the team may run out of time.

There are so many benefits to this game, that it is hard to pinpoint one aspect that is the best.  There is the fact that it is cooperative, where there isn’t one winner or one loser, either everyone loses or everyone wins.  This makes the sting of losing a little easier to swallow.

Believe it or not, this game also creates brainstorming sessions, which be utilized many times in adulthood.  Each player contributes their ideas on how to move their owls on a path and when someone else’s idea is chosen, the player can take solace in that their ideas will either be used in the future or have been used already.  By empowering the players to decide the fate of these little birds, their self-esteem is bolstered and everyone feels better at the end of the game, win or lose.

In addition to the awards mentioned above, Hoot Owl Hoot! has received one of the best awards of all, a 5 star rating on Amazon by over 200 parents who have bought this game for their child.

Sometimes the best board games for toddlers are old favorites, but it is fun to see what else there is to offer.  Don’t get too nostalgic, your kids may look at you funny!

Click for more Hoot Owl Hoot! Award Winning Cooperative Game Info, reviews and pricing!

It is hard in today’s busy world to know which way to turn for your best options to play a quick game online. That’s why we have done all the searching for you! You might be familiar with these board games and you might not, but either way, they are fun to play, often don’t take very long and the best part is you don’t have to put anything back into a box after you’re done!

The games we are going to cover are:
Cards Against Humanity Online
The Settlers of Catan Online
Dominion Online
Ticket to Ride Online

Cards Against Humanity Online

Cards Against Humanity is one of the funniest adult games anywhere. It started out on Kickstarter and is now one of the most popular games. If you aren’t familiar with Cards Against Humanity, see our review here.  But basically, it is a party game for adults similar to Apples to Apples, where you get to choose a card or judge a round . The cards range anywhere from “My Little Pony” to “Undulating Member.”

Cards Against Humanity Online is a great way to get introduced to the game for the first time to get an idea if it is right for you.  It is also great for those who have played the game and are just looking for a quick fix and a good laugh.  The rounds are quick and games only take 20 or 30 minutes at most.  If you don’t know how to play, don’t worry, you will catch on pretty quick!

There are a few options to choose from when looking to play Cards Against Humanity Online.  Here are the best sites to try it out (in no particular order), keep in mind however that none of these are “officially licensed” and are more or less copycats, but essentially play the exact same way.

www.playinperson.com/cardtrocity; allows you to use Video chat so it is almost like playing in real life.

http://pyz.socialgamer.net/index.php has three separate servers so that if your friends are playing, you can all play together on the same server.

There is even one version that donates all of its proceeds to The Make a Wish Foundation at http://cfh.io/#!/

You can even download this game onto your Iphone and the App is rated 4.5 stars. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/evil-apples-filthy-adult-card/id645705454?mt=8

You really can’t go wrong with Cards Against Humanity Online, it’s full of hilarious combinations and dreadful possibilities.  I love the fact that I can now play Cards Against Humanity online during a quick lunch break or at the end of a hard day of work. Cards Against Humanity is not for the goody two-shoes of the world, but for the rest of us, it’s horribly amusing!

Settlers Of Catan Online

If you love to play The Settlers of Catan, then you should definitely check out their game client! The game client is free to download and you can play both The Settlers of Catan and the 2 player version Rivals without ever spending a nickel.

If you decide you want to try out the other games, you can get a day pass for less than $2! if you enjoy playing The Settlers of Catan and are trying to decide which expansion to get, the day pass is the perfect option! It will let you play all the different games and find which one you like. You can also buy a monthly subscription if you want and the most you will ever pay is $6 a month. Paying members can dress their Settlers in Disco gear or give them hand puppets and you always have full access to all the games.

If you haven’t played The Settlers of Catan, you might struggle on this site. The tutorials are sometimes hard to understand and the graphics are admittedly a little hokey. The good news is that the other players on the site are usually quite helpful and will help you out!

You can get the Game Client at www.playcatanonline.com You can also play settlers for free with this game client: Brettspiele. www.brettspielwelt.de This one’s primary language is German however, and I much prefer the playcatan version. The Settlers of Catan is also available on Android for less than $5 (one time purchase).

Dominion Online

Dominion is the grandfather of all the deck-building games out there. It has sold millions of copies and tournaments have even sprouted up featuring this game. Two years ago, there were several versions of this game available to play online, but Rio Grande has (as far as I know) the only available Online option for this game. It’s located at www.playdominion.com

Dominion is free to play online and you can play through the tutorial or against other players right off the bat, so it’s very accessible to both novice and experienced players. The adventure mode is pretty fun because you can jinx your opponent’s deck or enhance your own, but experienced players will find the adventure mode a little redundant as you have to go through various levels before getting to something of a challenge.

If you want to know if a certain expansion is something you want to invest in, playdominion.com isn’t a good way to go about finding out that information. It would be better to check out ratings and reviews on www.boardgamegeek.com because you have to purchase the online expansions if you want to play them. Although the online expansions are much less expensive! For $11 you can get a Combo pack with several expansions or try out just one or two for $7.

Alternatively, Play Store for android still has Androminion available for free which has most, but not all of the expansions within it. This site is great for people who simply want to play a quick game of Dominion online or learn the rules. If you have a facebook account, you don’t even need to bother with registration, you can simply connect right from facebook! Game-play is smooth and the graphics are great. All in all, this site is worth checking out! Go get ye’ some Provinces!

Ticket To Ride Online

Ticket to Ride has sold millions of copies all over the world. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t love to play this fast and fun train building game every once in a while? If you weren’t already aware, you can play Ticket to Ride online as well! If you’ve never tried this game, the rules are super simple (I think there might be 4 of them!) The best place to go for Ticket to Ride is right to the source at http://www.daysofwonder.com/ You will have to register with an email, but that takes all of 1 minute.

The tutorial is a 5 minute video that explains all the rules and then launches you into a solo play version against some robot opponents. If you have never played Ticket to Ride, this will certainly help you understand the game. After that, the world is open to you. You can play against other people or keep playing the robots until you feel comfortable. I highly suggest putting in some back ground music while you play because the online version only has the occasional sound effect.

The downside to this site is that it tends heavily toward 2 player games, which are quick but can be fairly repetitive. I’d much rather play against multiple players. Other than that, the game is an exact copy of the board game. If you want to spend a little money, you can download other maps like Europe ($6) or download the full version onto your computer ($20). Ticket to Ride is available on I-Pad and Android in the Play store for less than 10 dollars each.
Ticket to Ride online is a great way to end your day. The games go very quickly and the people are generally pretty friendly. Whether you enjoy the board game or haven’t tried it, it is worth checking out. All Aboard!

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

It requires a little bit of suspended disbelief and some letting go of your insecurities of sounding like a total dork every time you explain an action you’ve taken in the game. But, as people seem to warm up more and more to nerd culture, fantasy board games are an outstanding way to connect with your inner-dork.

Tabletop games have been a cornerstone of nerd culture since the days of Dungeons & Dragons, but I can’t expect you to go quite that deep on your first venture into fantasy board games. What I would like to do is make your decision easier when looking to buy one of the many great fantasy board games available to you. There are a few different categories that make up the best fantasy board games list: two player, strategy, dungeon crawl, and cooperative.

Best Fantasy Board Games List

Best Fantasy Board Games	Age	Players	Best For	Playtime	Rating (1-5) Stars
Small World	8+	2~5	Strategy	80 min	4.5
Claustrophobia	14+	2	2 player	45 min	4.5
Munchkin Deluxe	10+	3~6	Dungeon Crawl	90 min	4.5
Pandemic Board Game	12+	2~4	Cooperative	60 min	4.5
Talisman: The Magical Quest Game, 4th edition	9+	2~6	Dungeon Crawl	90 min	4.5
Descent: Journeys in The Dark Second Edition	14+	2~5	Dungeon Crawl	120 min	4.5
Shadows Over Camelot	10+	3~7	Cooperative	90 min	4.5
Wrath of Ashardalon: A D&D Boardgame	12+	1~5	Cooperative	45 min	4.5
Hasbro Heroscape Master Set: Rise of the Valkyrie	8+	2	2 Player	45 min	4.5
Dust Tactics Revised Core Set	12+	2	2 player	45 min	4.5
King of Tokyo	8+	2~6	Party	30 min	5
Betrayal At House On The Hill - 2nd Edition	12+	3~6	Dungeon Crawl	60 min	4.5
Fantasy Flight Games Runewars Revised Edition	12+	2~4	Strategy	180 min	4.5
Mage Knight Board Game	14+	1~4	Strategy	150 min	4.5
Eclipse Board Game	14+	2~6	Strategy	120 min	4.5

I’ll give you a recommendation from each of these categories so that you can enjoy some incredible fantasy gaming no matter your particular situation or preference.

Two player- Claustrophobia

This not only is one of the best fantasy board games, it is also a fantastic game for people that love intense head-to-head strategy. In Claustrophobia, one player plays as the humans and the other takes on the roll of the demons. What I like most about Claustrophobia is the variety of scenarios in which players can use in their play. Different scenarios have different win conditions, board layouts, and other variables that make replaying the game a joy because you’re not very often making the same decisions.

The decisions are a huge part of what make Claustrophobia so fun; every single one you make feels vital to the success of your overall strategy. This game wholeheartedly commits to its theme of humans vs. demons in an all out battle for survival, and that is a big part of the draw, but it also means that the game will be quite dense for non-gamers. The atmosphere this game creates is tense and thrilling, so I’d recommend to anyone that enjoys a brutal and complicated strategy game.

Click for more CLAUSTROPHOBIA Info, Pricing and Reviews!

Strategy- Small World

Small World is a territory control game that has a brief learning curve with a fast and engaging pace of play that is great for players a bit scared off by the depth of some strategy games. The game works a bit like Risk, in that you are constantly managing the distribution of your armies on a large map, but Small World doesn’t have the huge, epic feel of Risk. That’s a good thing, as Risk is a fun game, but it can be a commitment of several days for some play sessions. Small World works on a much smaller scale, but many of the decisions you make are very similar to that of Risk.

The fantasy theme, in the case of Small World, is most visible in the race/ability cards. The first thing every player does on their first turn is choose a race to use as their first army, this race is assigned a random ability that comes along with whatever makes that particular race unique. But, at some point your army is going to get thin, and you’re going to want to switch to a different race in order to bolster your numbers, which puts your previously used race in a state of “decline,” where all their abilities are null and void. The seemingly simple decision on when to time your switching from one race to the next seems to often decide the winner of the game.

Click for more SMALL WORLD Info, Pricing and Reviews!

Dungeon Crawl- Munchkin

Remember when I said I wouldn’t expect you to try and conquer the depth and nerdiness that is D&D? Well, Munchkin might be a perfect gateway game to get you down the path that leads to serious role playing in your gaming. Munchkin, when you really break it down, is D&D without the roleplaying and player-generated storytelling.

The cards take care of all the role playing and they generate all of the storytelling. But if you’re looking for the dungeon crawl experience, that’s what this game is built on. As one of up to six munchkins, you work with your party to plunge the depths of a monster-infested dungeon to loot its many rooms and build up the prowess of your character.

The game has a great humorous touch throughout the game, much of which pokes fun at old school pen-and-paper role playing games. The cartoony artwork fits the games goofy them perfectly, and some of the cards have some hilarious explanations to go along with the comical illustrations. This is a great way introduce non-gamers to the fantasy game style without bogging them down with things like character lore and a complex dice-based combat system.

Click for more MUNCHKIN Info, Pricing and Reviews!

Cooperative- Pandemic

I am absolutely in love with the theme of this game. Pandemic simulates a sudden outbreak of a disease that threatens to wipe out the human race, while you and your team take on the role of disease control officers that are in charge of containing and eliminating the illness from the planet. Players will play as one of up to four different characters that have slightly different roles and nuances that make playing each of them a little bit unique. The different characters are one of the many features that make this game so fun to keep playing over and over again.

Each turn, players can take four different actions in the containment effort. The board is a map of the globe, where players will travel about in response to the many and variable crises that arise throughout the game. Pandemic has a brilliant way of rallying players against a faceless opposition, and does a terrific job of making you strategically work as a team. Every decision is stressful and important, with little mistakes often being the difference between a cure and the doom of all human existence. This game is tons of fun, but is not for the feint hearted gamer.  This is by far one of the best fantasy board games that appeals to most audiences.

Click for more PANDEMIC Info, Pricing and Reviews!

That’s why I think this list might be one of my favorites, because this list would probably be about the same even if I wrote it ten years ago. These games have withstood the test of time and remain some of the best games you can find out there. To help you narrow down your options of which of the best classic board games to pick from, we’ve put together our list of games that you’ve probably heard of but perhaps have not tried. There’s a reason these games have been around and so popular for so long. Everyone should play these games at least once in their lifetime.

Classic Board Games	Age	Players	Best With	Playtime	Rating (1-5) Stars
No Stress Chess	7+	2	2 players	~	4.5
Balderdash Game	12+	2~6	5~6 plyrs	60 min	5
Clue The Classic Edition	8+	3~6	4+ plyrs	45 min	5
The Game of Life	10+	2~6	4+ plyrs	45 min	4.5
Risk Game	10+	2~5	4 plyrs	120 min	4.5
Sorry Classic Edition Board Game	6+	1~4	2+ plyrs	20 min	4.5
Monopoly - The Classic Edition	8+	2~8	4+ plyrs	45 min	4.5
Scrabble Diamond Anniversary Edition	8+	2~4	4 plyrs	90 min	4.5
Candy Land - The Kingdom of Sweets Board Game	3+	2~4	2+ plyrs	30 min	4.5
Parcheesi Royal Edition	8+	2~4	4 plyrs	30 min	4.5
Hi Ho Cherry-O	3+	2~4	2+ plyrs	15 min	4.5
Classic Yahtzee	8+	2+	4 plyrs	35 min	4.5
UNO Attack!	7+	2~10	4+ plyrs	30 min	4.5
Pictionary - The Game Of Quick Draw	12+	3+	4+ plyrs	30 min	4.5

For two players- Chess

This one might be a bit of a given. Chess is the quintessential head-to-head battle of the minds. I can’t honestly say that I play that much Chess, but every time I go back and play, I’m astounded by the complexity and amount of thought that must be put into every individual move. If you’ve never played before, it won’t take very long to memorize all the different movements that are available to each piece.

But, learning how things move is only about 4% of what makes up the learning curve in the game of Chess. People commonly hear about the concept of having to think several moves ahead with every turn that a player takes, and that is absolutely true. Chess requires a level of foresight that takes time to acquire, and that may also be its biggest turnoff for people. The learning curve is a bit steep and intimidating, but Chess is not for the weak-minded. If you want to commit yourself to getting good at Chess, you should probably accept that you will be bad at Chess for a while before that actually happens.

Party- Balderdash

Balderdash is a great party game because the gameplay is generally rather fast, and players can be good at it without actually knowing any of the answers. In fact, if you know most of the answers in Balderdash, you should probably pick up an application with NASA. This game favors people that are better at sounding like they know what they’re talking about more than it favors players that actually know what they’re talking about.

In Balderdash, all players except for the judge are given a word/phrase/acronym/etc., and are required to provide a definition of that word/phrase/acronym/ etc. The judge is responsible for reading everyone’s answers and deciding which one they think is correct. If the judge guesses the correct answer, they get to roll the dice to advance on the board. If a player has their answer chosen, they get a roll of the dice.

This game can be tame and stimulating, or at times raucous and silly. It’s great for hosting a group of friends that you know has an interest in wordplay. English majors tend to be great at this game, which, as a writer, is fine by me.

Family- Clue

Clue is looked on as a piece of pop culture now. It has been turned into a movie and has been referenced in the media an uncountable number of times. It caught on with so many people so quickly that it makes you wonder how it’s even possible that you don’t hear anyone actually talking about the game itself anymore.

Clue is a great time for those that like a heavy dose of mystery with their tabletop gaming. That strong thread of “who dunnit” that runs throughout the game makes for a terrific climax at the end of every play session. Laughter and finger-pointing are a staple of Clue, and it has just the right amount of goofiness to it that people are reminded to not take the game too seriously. After all, has anyone ever really been murdered with a candlestick? I’m sure the answer to that is yes, but that’s besides the point. Play Clue, it’s really fun.

Kids- Life

The game of Life actually has a surprising amount of life lessons contained within its gameplay. The most important thing I learned when playing Life was that things are not going to go according to plan. But also that things will probably work for the best, even if it doesn’t look anything like you had expected.

The game contains a wheel to spin at the beginning of every turn, which every kid will love. And the game is constantly changing because of the different circumstances that Life will thrust onto you like having another child or having your house foreclosed on. Life is entertaining enough for adults, and is interesting for kids because they get to feel like adults for a little while by making adult decisions. Life was a regular during my childhood, and I think every kid should play it at one point or another.

Strategy- Risk

The way I like to think about Risk is that it is a global chess match between several different parties. Of course, the game can also be played with just two people, which can create some very interesting stare-downs (literally and metaphorically). This was another game that I played with my brothers all the time growing up, and I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I saw that this game was built from the ground up for groups of siblings to sit around a board and get mad at each other.

Few games can bring on such an immediate and powerful urge to flip over a game board, especially for something as inconsequential as losing the Ukraine. By the middle of your first game you will understand both why this game can be so fun and why this game can be so difficult. You have to constantly be thinking about the distribution of your troops and where the next threat is coming from. Risk is the very definition of a classic board game, and should be experience by everyone that calls themselves a gamer at least once. Just remember, someone you are playing with will stab you in the back and it will make you want to scream. The joy comes later when you’re able to get them back, hopefully.

I love playing against my friends and finding ways to beat them as much as the next guy, but I really enjoy playing with my friends towards a common goal.

The games we’re discussing here fill just that need. Cooperative games are a great way to get people involved in games because they don’t feel as left out on an island to figure things out for themselves and other players are more likely to help because everyone’s success is linked to one another.

Here is our list of the best cooperative board games followed by the games I would recommend to anyone looking for that non-competitive, board game that you and your friends can play together.

Best Cooperative Board Games List

Best Cooperative Games	Age	Players	Best For	Playtime	Rating (1-5) Stars
Pandemic Board Game	13+	2~4	Party	45 min	4.5
Forbidden Desert Board Game	13+	2~5	2 player/Party	45 min	4.5
Eldritch Horror	14+	1~8	2player/Party	2 ~4hrs	5
Zombicide Base Game	14+	1~6	Party	20min ~2hrs	5
Battlestar Galactica	10+	3~6	Strategy	2~3hrs	5
Space Alert	12+	1~5	2player/Party	20 min	5
Resistance The 2nd Edition	13+	5~10	Party	30 min	5
Shadows Over Camelot	10+	3~7	Party	90 min	4.5
Ghost Stories	12+	1~4	2player/Party	60 min	4.5
Lord Of The Rings: The Card Game	12+	1~2	2 Players	60 min	4.5
Duel of Ages II Basic Set	12+	2~8	Strategy	60 min	5
Wizards of The Coast Legend of Drizzt: A Dungeons and Dragons Board Game	12+	1~5	Dungeon Crawl	45 min	4.5
Castle Panic	10+	1~6	Strategy	60 min	4.5
Gears Of War	12+	1~4	2 Players	60 min	4.5

Strategy- Battlestar Galactica

If you’re not familiar with the popular sci-fi show, Battlestar Galactica is built on the relationship between humans and cylons. Cylons are a mechanized alien race that has declared war on humans and has also recently found a way to look identical to human beings. So, in the game everyone plays a crew member aboard the human spaceship that is trying to flee the pursuing cylon fleet. But, here’s the twist, there are people in the game that are cylons, but you don’t know who.

This level of deception isn’t often found in board games, as cylon players try to secretly sabotage the efforts of everyone else playing. Cylons can, of course, be discovered and kicked off the ship. If you’re playing as a cylon, it can be nerve wracking to sit at the table with everyone else and be the only one that knows why everything is going so wrong.

This game is an absolute blast, especially if you’re a fan of the television show. But, if you’re someone that doesn’t enjoy backstabbing, collusion, and sabotage, Battlestar Galactica may not be for you. But, I am, so this game is for me.

 Click here for more Info, Pricing and Reviews!

Dungeon crawl- Zombicide

Zombicide is a perfect game for gamers out there that have been blasting away zombies on our computers and gaming consoles, but haven’t been able to scratch their tabletop zombie itch. This game started as a Kickstarter, so there is clear effort made towards satisfying the customer’s needs. In many ways, it means that this board game does a great job of simulating the video game experience in the same vein as Left 4 Dead.

Each player assumes the role of a survivor stuck out on the streets during a zombie outbreak, the game supports up to six total players, with each player taking on a character with a different set of skills. For example, the girl wearing roller skates gets a bonus to her movement capabilities. The point of the game is to work together to gather up loot and weapons, and then make it out of there alive, which doesn’t happen all that often for everyone in the game.

One thing you’ll notice when playing the game is the RPG elements. As players kill zombies, they will level up. Each character gains different bonuses the higher their level gets, but no matter who you are, when you level up you gain more attention for more difficult zombies.

There is all kinds of fun to be had in Zombicide. Working with the rest of your team to fight off hordes of zombies is a blast with your friends. One downfall of the game is that it does allow players to die. So, if someone makes a dumb mistake early on and gets eaten by zombies, they just became a spectator for the duration of the game’s 30-40 minute average play time.

 Click for more ZOMBICIDE Info, Pricing and Reviews!

Two player- Space Alert

Space Alert proves that board games can be just as hectic and tense as any other form of gaming. In Space Alert, you and up to four other people play as the crew of a spaceship that is facing an incredible amount of distress. You must navigate through space as asteroids, aliens, and spontaneous equipment malfunctions try to slow you down and get you killed.

What makes Space Alert so intense is that it is one of the few games that is played in real time. Every game lasts ten minutes and at the end of the game you have either escaped or been destroyed. This creates a remarkably fun atmosphere, and forces players to communicate efficiently and effectively. The fact that the game is so crazy may also be a bit of a turn off for some people. Inevitably, people will start shouting things at each other, not because they are mad at them, but because they really need those engines up and running so that they can escape this enemy ship that is firing lasers at them. That may not be an ideal experience for everyone.

This is one of the best cooperative games out there simply because it does such a great job of creating that tension that can only be created by the constant fear of imminent death (so to speak). The game can be played with or without the CD that it comes with, but for the sake of atmosphere I would recommend using it.

 Click for more SPACE ALERT! Info, Pricing and Reviews!

Party- Saboteur

Saboteur is a hidden role game, just like I mentioned earlier with Battlestar Galactica. The theme in this game, however, is a bit more cute. You play as either a gnome or saboteur. The gnomes are excavating for treasure and are getting very close. If you’re a saboteur, you are trying to make sure that the gnomes don’t touch the treasure.

The game starts with the goal of reaching one of three cards that are facing down. One of those three cards will have the treasure, and the gnomes are trying to build paths within the mine that will reach one of those cards while the saboteurs are taking actions to slow them down.

This game is much more simple than Battlestar Galactica, so I would definitely recommend it to a crowd of non-gamers. The concept is accessible and the strategies are rather straightforward. If you’re looking for an accessible hidden role game, Saboteur is probably the best option available.

Click for more SABATEUR Info, Pricing and Reviews!

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

These games are great examples of that unique experience. Pull out one of these games and you can have a great night of gaming with someone.  But, there are so many games to choose from, right?  Just to make your life a bit easier when making the choice of which are the best 2 player board games to buy, we’ve put together a few recommendations in the list below.

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.”

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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.
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Just for 2 Board Games– Table Topics: couples

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