For over 7,000 years and counting, people worldwide have found time on quiet, snowy evenings to play board games.
While games in ancient times were not made of cardboard, but rather stone or wood, the central appeal of board games — finding fun indoors when going outdoors isn’t an option — has not changed. Many of the games that are popular today are ancient. Chess is more than 1,500 years old, while backgammon dates back over four millenia.
What has changed in recent years is the sheer volume of choices available on board game night. While a couple of decades ago, most families were presented with a dozen or so games among the usual suspects — Monopoly, Clue, Battleship, etc. — the options are now virtually limitless. In 2017, more than 5,000 new board games were introduced in the U.S. The growth in choice has coincided with interest in board games unlike anything that has been seen before. The industry has seen double digit sales growth for years.
On the whole, experts and gamers alike consider the last decade or so to be kind of a renaissance for tabletop gaming. Publishers are shipping games every month that push the boundaries of what a board game can be. Large and independent developers alike have come up with games that allow the players to remix music. Several “legacy” versions of classic games have been introduced, taking classic games and tweaking them to allow for multiple playthroughs.
One of the most well-reviewed games of the past few years, Pandemic: Legacy, takes the classic game Pandemic and tasks players with playing through the game many times, with the decisions they made in previous playthroughs affecting each subsequent session.
There are games set in space, the Wild West, medieval Europe, in the ocean, or a combination of those scenarios. There are board games for the whole family and adult games for when the kids are at the sitter. There are adventure game, logic game, strategic games, and money games — in short, there is something for everyone. Some board game enthusiasts are looking for a new, challenging experience. Others want a trip down memory lane with a classic game like Monopoly.
24/7 Wall St. considered user reviews on sites like Amazon and best of lists user reviews on sites like BoardGameGeek to identify the best board games of all time. These games either have earned near-universal accolades, or have had a widespread impact on gaming and culture as a whole.
Click here to see the 25 best board games for a snowy day.
As the scope of available board games has expanded, there are now truly dozens of games suited to every taste and age group. There are games for those with less than an hour to spare, and games for those who are willing to have a day-long, immersive experience.
In this list of the 25 best board games ever, there is something for a fan of every genre, every age group, two players to an entire party, and from easy to brutally challenging. There are plenty of traditional games as well as new ones that many of our readers will not have heard of, but won’t be able to put away once they take the game out of the box.
What exactly constitutes a board game has been the subject of debate. Is Dungeons and Dragons, which can be played almost entirely in the imagination but requires some notes and information cards, a board game? What about the card game cribbage, which traditionally uses a board and pegs to keep score. 24/7 Wall St. editors decided not to consider board games in which the game is frequently played without a board, or for which the board is often replaced with paper (as is the case with cribbage).
Source: Esdevium Games / amazon.com
1. 7 Wonders
> Year released: 2010
> Price: $39.99
> Suggested # of players: 3-7
> Age group: 10 and up
Though it’s one of the newer games on this list, 7 Wonders has the potential to turn into a classic. In the game, players compete to build the greatest empire of the ancient world, even though the game itself typically lasts less than an hour.
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Source: Avalon Hill / amazon.com
2. Axis & Allies
> Year released: 1981
> Price: $50.21
> Suggested # of players: 2-5
> Age group: 12 and up
Many of the games on this list are inspired by military action, and Axis & Allies, a game of conflict that takes place during World War II, is one of the most famous. The game is rather complicated, and for many, the first session is dedicated just to learning the rules. But once grasped, the game is thrilling for war history enthusiasts and moderate to advanced gamers alike.
Source: Amazon.com
3. Backgammon
> Year released: C. 3,000 BC
> Price: $24.99
> Suggested # of players: 2
> Age group: 8 and up
Backgammon is one of the rare games that has stood the test of time. The game, in which players try to move their pieces around the board based on the roll of their dice, may be the first game ever written about in human history. Backgammon’s roots stretch back 5,000 years, all the way to Mesopotamia.
Source: Hasbro / amazon.com
4. Battleship
> Year released: 1967
> Price: $20.27
> Suggested # of players: 2
> Age group: 8 and up
When a game spawns its own major motion picture, you know it is a big deal. Battleship has many influences and precursors dating back decades, but most people know the game’s 3-D setup, featuring red pins for when you correctly guess where your opponent’s ships are and white pins for when you miss.
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Source: Z-Man Games / amazon.com
5. Carcassonne
> Year released: 2000
> Price: $27.99
> Suggested # of players: 2-5
> Age group: 8 and up
In Carcassonne, players build out their own empires one tile at a time. They score points by populating their areas with monks, farmers, knights, and other subjects once they finish building their kingdom.
Source: Kangaroo / amazon.com
6. Checkers
> Year released: C. 3,000 BC
> Price: $8.99
> Suggested # of players: 2
> Age group: 6 and up
For many, checkers was their first experience with board games. People have played versions of the simple strategy game for thousands of years. While it is frequently seen as the younger, simpler version of chess, it can be a fun game for anyone of any age.
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Source: aGreatLife / amazon.com
7. Chess
> Year released: C. 6th Century, A.D.
> Price: $12.47
> Suggested # of players: 2
> Age group: All ages
One of the most famous and popular games of all time, chess has been a game of dignitaries and royalty. It’s played worldwide in massive formal tournaments and by anonymous seasoned competitors in public parks. When the IBM computer Deep Blue beat chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov in a widely-covered tournament in 1997, it was considered one of the most important milestones in the development of artificial intelligence.
Source: Winning Moves Games / amazon.com
8. Clue
> Year released: 1949
> Price: $8.77
> Suggested # of players: 3-6
> Age group: 8 and up
Clue is the classic board game that proved solving a murder can be a fun family activity. Players travel around a mansion, picking up clues in an attempt to be the first one to find the killer, the murder weapon, and the room in which the murder took place.
Source: Avalon Hill / amazon.com
9. Diplomacy
> Year released: 1959
> Price:$23.49
> Suggested # of players: 2-7
> Age group: 12 and up
Diplomacy is one of the most brutally cutthroat board games of global domination. There is no rolling of dice, as there is in games like Risk. All players move at the same time to attempt to control a territory. The uncertainty comes from the players themselves, as competitors can deceive their allies and work with their supposed enemies. The game has been known to end friendships, but if you are interested in developing your powers of persuasion, and you can handle lying or being lied to by the people you care about, this might be the game for you.
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Source: Yellow Mountain Imports / amazon.com
10. Go
> Year released: C. 1,000 BC
> Price: $23.50
> Suggested # of players: 2
> Age group: all ages
While Go might be relatively unknown in the United States, it’s one of the most popular games in Asia, China in particular. According to the American Go Association, the game — which involves placing small white and black tiles on a board with the goal of controlling the majority of the board by the end of the game — is the oldest game to be still played in its original form. While it’s in some aspects simpler than chess, it is by many accounts more complicated. Only last year, an artificial intelligence beat a Go world champion, two decades after the feat had been accomplished in chess.
Source: Rio Grande Games / amazon.com
11. Puerto Rico
> Year released: 2002
> Price: $29.25
> Suggested # of players: 3-5
> Age group: 12 and up
If there are any board game enthusiasts who always wanted to live out the life of a colonial governor, Puerto Rico is the game for them. In Puerto Rico, players try to amass currency and resources to build up their economy. Players who are the most successful at constructing buildings and exporting goods win the game.
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Source: Hasbro / amazon.com
12. Monopoly
> Year released: 1935
> Price: $14.82
> Suggested # of players: 2-8
> Age group: 8 and up
Proving it’s never too soon to show children the cutthroat nature of capitalism, Monopoly has been inducing temper tantrums in people of all ages since 1935. In the game, players go around in circles, buying property and accumulating wealth in an attempt to bankrupt their fellow players.
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Source: Fantasy Flight Games / amazon.com
13. Twilight Imperium
> Year released: 1997
> Price: $119.95
> Suggested # of players: 3+
> Age group: 14 and up
Twilight Imperium is a space opera-themed game in which players compete to control the galaxy. The game also incorporates storytelling and randomizing features intended to make each playthrough as unique as possible.
Source: Z-Man Games / amazon.com
14. Pandemic/ Pandemic: Legacy
> Year released: 2008, 2015
> Price: $31.99
> Suggested # of players: 2-4 players
> Age group: 8 and up
This entry is really two games. The first is the original Pandemic, a 2008 game in which players work cooperatively to cure global contagions. The second, the 2015 game Pandemic: Legacy, takes the original concept and builds a much more complicated game on a brilliant core concept: what if the decisions, successes, and failures that took place in one game carried over to the next. The result is an increasingly chaotic and extremely fun game, which received critical acclaim.
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Source: Mattel / amazon.com
15. Pictionary
> Year released: 1985
> Price: Mattel
> Suggested # of players: 8 and up
> Age group: 8 and up
Designed as an updated version of charades, Pictionary tests a person’s ability to draw a recognizable version of various people, places, animals, objects, and actions. The game has been sold in dozens of different countries and languages, and it even became a television show.
Source: Rio Grande Games / amazon.com
16. Power Grid
> Year released: 2004
> Price: $35.99
> Suggested # of players: 2-6
> Age group: 12 and up
Power Grid pits between two and six players against one another in a race to see who can power the most places most efficiently. Much like the real life energy industry, the competition is fierce and the technology is always improving.
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Source: Hasbro / amazon.com
17. Risk
> Year released: 1959
> Price: $24.99
> Suggested # of players: 2-6
> Age group:10 and up
For those with delusions of grandeur, Risk may be the best way to act out fantasies of achieving world domination. The massively popular strategy game lets players take over the globe by building up their army and conquering nearby opponents.
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Source: Hasbro / amazon.com
18. Scrabble
> Year released: 1933
> Price: $10.67
> Suggested # of players: 2-4
> Age group: 8 and up
Scrabble, the exceedingly popular competitive crossword game, has been expanding vocabularies the world over for decades. But the game was nearly lost in obscurity. Initially invented in 1933, the game was played by few people until the president of Macy’s played it on vacation in the early 1950s and decided to stock it in his stores.
Source: Catan Studios / amazon.com
19. Settlers of Catan
> Year released: 1995
> Price: $39.20
> Suggested # of players: 3-4 (more with expansions)
> Age group:
In Settlers of Catan, three to four players compete to build roads and settlements, trade building materials, and hope their crops yield. While those activities might sound rather boring in real life, they can entertain for hours in Catan. The game, now simply called “Catan” originated in Germany and became wildly popular in the United States and other parts of the world. The game has spawned many expansions and has been published in over 30 languages.
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Source: Hasbro / amazon.com
20. Sorry!
> Year released: 1929
> Price: $11.99
> Suggested # of players: 2-4
> Age group: 6 and up
Moving colorful pieces around a board has never been so difficult. Sorry! can break your heart and allow you to get revenge with lots of different options to bump your opponents back to the start.
Source: PlayMonster / amazon.com
21. Stratego
> Year released: 1944
> Price: $21.95
> Suggested # of players: 2
> Age group: 8 and up
With more than 20 million copies sold worldwide, Stratego is one of the most iconic board games on the market. Two players pit their armies against one another in an attempt to get their opponent’s flag with a combination of strategy and brute strength.
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Source: USAopoly / amazon.com
22. Telestrations
> Year released: 2009
> Price: $29.99
> Suggested # of players: 4-8
> Age group: 12 and up
Telestrations calls for the ability to sketch, and while you certainly don’t have to be the next Picasso, you do have to be able to draw quickly and legibly. Players are only allotted 90 seconds to read their word, make a drawing of it, and then pass it to the next player who has to guess what the word was.
Source: Hasbro / amazon.com
23. The Game of Life
> Year released: 1960
> Price: $26.32
> Suggested # of players: 2-6
> Age group: 8 and up
You don’t necessarily have to have your life together to play this board game. Evidently, The Game of Life was conceived around 1860, but it wasn’t until an entire century later that the classic, modernized version we all know and love today was born. The game offers players an opportunity to escape their reality and create a new one with all of life’s major events such as going to college, buying a house, and raising a family.
Source: Days of Wonder / amazon.com
24. Ticket to Ride
> Year released: 2004
> Price: $39.98
> Suggested # of players: 2-5
> Age group: 8-12
Ever heard of this simulated cross-country train adventure game? The American-made Ticket to Ride has won the hearts of many abroad, having accumulated many international awards over the years. Today, over 6 million copies of the game have been sold. In this train adventure, players collect cards of several kinds of train cars, which gives them the ability to claim railway routes so they can connect various parts of the world.
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Source: Hasbro / amazon.com
25. Trivial Pursuit
> Year released: 1981
> Price: $18.79
> Suggested # of players: 2-6
> Age group: 16 and up
The idea of Trivial Pursuit came to be on December 1979 inside the imaginations of a photo editor and a sports journalist from Canada. Chris Haney and Scott Abbott decided to create their own board game after playing a round of Scrabble, which was accompanied by a few beers. The game requires players to put their thinking caps on, with 400 cards containing hundreds of general knowledge questions divided among six categories.
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