Best board games: must-play tabletop titles

The best board games are staggering feats of design that players celebrate even though hundreds of new board games release every year. In this list, we show you some of the absolute classics and explain why they have endured, and who they are most suited to.

This is not a list that talks about the enduring appeal of a game like Monopoly – most people know what that one is about already. Instead, we try to engage you more deeply with board gaming. You may have enjoyed some board games already, but seeing how big this hobby is and how expensive it can get, we want to show you the potential next step in your board gaming journey. These games are suitable for players of many ages and interests, whether you play with or against your friends.

If you’re looking for more games that require a table (or a set of hands) instead of a screen, visit our lists of best board games for two players and the best card games for adults.

Best board games

It’s time to go on a great rail adventure! But don’t worry, you don’t have to leave the comfort of your home for this trip. Ticket to Ride is easy to pick up and fun for the whole family. The aim of the game is to collect various types of train cars in order to claim railway routes across the country – or continent. The original edition is set in North America, but there’s other versions set in different world regions to choose from, such as Europe.

The game's tension comes when you have to decide whether to expand your rail empire or add more train cars to your collection – while you’re building your collection, your competitor may be claiming all the most valuable routes. Ticket to Ride may be simple but it packs in hours of fun, just as the best board games should.

Hands down the best party game ever created, Herd Mentality is guaranteed to have you in stitches. It’s straightforward and can be learned in minutes, making it a fabulous game to play with families, or any time you don’t fancy wasting time scrutinizing a rulebook. Herd Mentality is essentially a quiz game, but with a major twist. Instead of trying to guess the correct answer to a series of opinionated questions, you’re challenged to write down what the majority of people around you think the correct answer is. It’s no use swatting up on your general knowledge beforehand, or diving into a pocket encyclopedia for an advantage. The game tests your understanding of your fellow players as you try to fit in with the herd.

What really makes it is the game’s ludicrously wacky questions: what’s your favorite finger? Which of Jesus’s miracles do you wish you could perform? Name a vegetable beginning with the letter C. Things can get out of hand pretty quickly as you desperately try to predict the other players’ answers. Very light-hearted and quick to play, Herd Mentality is a game that just keeps on giving.

Sushi Go Party is a super speedy card-drafting game. Rounds are simple and games can be completed in as little as 15 minutes. Each player starts with a set of cards hidden in their hand, with each one showing some form of sushi. Nigiri, sashimi, maki rolls – you’ll find it all here. But you don’t want it all; you want the most valuable, and must try to combine sushi to form score-boosting sets. Unfortunately, the sushi doesn’t stay put. Mimicking a conveyor belt, each hand of cards rotates around the table, as players pass around their cards while choosing which they want to keep for themselves. The trick is to try and remember what cards are coming your way, so you can stack big point-scoring sets. Or, if you’re feeling particularly devilish, steal the card that your neighbor desperately needs for yourself, leaving them hungry.

Sushi Go Party is one of the best board games for families. Its fast pace means there’s no boring downtime, and the card-switching system makes sure everyone’s involved. A treat as fun as its sushi looks tasty. 

Carcassonne is a great entry-level game for people who are bored of endless Monopoly games, and want something a little more thoughtful but not too complex. 

In Carcassonne you take turns drawing tiles to expand an ever-growing map, while earning as many points from the locations as possible. that may sound a bit dry, but Carcassone has options to randomise the map you play on each time, thanks to the board consisting of tiles. there are also expansion options and different themes available if simple landowning sounds boring to you. It’s really easy to learn but every time you play you work out new strategies and ways to win – or, more realistically, ways to screw over your competition.

You and your belligerent partner will take the role of the US and German forces, skirmishing for control of gallic fields and villages. You’ll use an action deck to issue commands to your troops, moving them into enemy lines to capture objectives across modular maps, and fend off opposing forces. Scenario objectives are varied and units diverse, but the game really shines through its sleek, on-the-go deck optimization, as you reinforce your squad with more units while avoiding the troublesome fog of war.

World War II board games are ten a penny, but none are quite as effortlessly captivating as Undaunted: Normandy. Combining light deck-building with squad-focused tactics, it’s a simple but effective take on what is usually a dry, complex genre – and one of the best two-player board games to boot. Better yet, Undaunted: Normandy is not a complex game. Its slim rulebook and pre-generated scenarios will have you playing in minutes. Between its tactical scope, soft visual palette, and precise dollop of luck, this board game will have even the most historical- and strategy-averse tabletoppers coming back for more.

Easily one of the best board games you can buy for families, Articulate is a true trivia classic that is pretty accessible for all ages since it covers a broad range of subjects. These include Word, Action and Nature, although you don't need to know loads about those topics to win. Instead, the game is all about communicating with your teammates to guide them to choose the correct words.

The premise is pretty simple. Players get a card with words on it. Then they must describe one (or all) of the words without saying the word itself or what it sounds like or rhymes with. Articulate can be played with as few as four players but then works with 20 or more as well. That means it's a great idea for big gatherings or if you're hosting a Zoom party with lots of family members and colleagues. 

If you’re after a crunchy strategy board game, look no further than Root. What might appear to be a cutesy game of woodland critters is actually a vicious wargame of territorial conquest and conniving betrayals. You’ll be fighting tooth and claw for control of the forest floor.

Root isn’t your standard strategy fare, but an asymmetric board game. A very, very asymmetric board game at that. Each of its four factions – the Woodland Alliance, the Eyrie, Marquise de Cat, and the Vagabond – are controlled through unique turn actions and face distinct win conditions. The game’s rulebook is long and dense, demanding a lot of first-time players. But if you can spare the time to learn Root’s strategic depth, you’ll find a game that offers endless replayability as one of the best board games around. Between its distinct faction playstyles and open-ended strategy system, you’ll find something new each time you play.

Can I trade wood for sheep, please? Catan (officially called Settlers of Catan) is one of the very best board games of all time, and it adorns millions of tabletop collections across the world. It’s simple to get your head around – you want as many resources as possible to build as much as you can, and therefore score points – plus it’s somehow highly tactical at the same time as you rush to claim resources before the other players. 

Catan will appeal to those who like a longer game, and it's also more enjoyable in a bigger group, so it's not for impatient players. it is however a very strategic game with a lot of variety from session to session, and a classic for those looking to take their next step from the likes of Monopoly.

You might think you’re the biggest, baddest giant monster around, but so do all your friends. King of Tokyo puts you in the shoes/feet/tentacles of a colossal beast rampaging around a metropolis, growing stronger as you fend off both your monster friends and pesky humans fighting back with tanks and planes.  You need to carefully consider your actions. Your monster may need healing, investing in its skills may cause more damage. It's not a complicated setup, but lots of fun, especially in bigger groups.

It’s a delightfully silly game with bright colors, easy-to-learn gameplay, and a cast of inventive monsters straight from the 1950s Sci-Fi B-movie backlog. Simply one of the best board games out there for kaiju fans.

We know this one is a bit tongue-in-cheek given the global health climate, but Pandemic has always been considered one of the best board games when it comes to applying strategy to an imagined scenario.

In Pandemic, you play as a disease-fighting specialist on a mission to stop the spread of several virulent diseases which have broken out simultaneously all over the globe. You need to band together to fight the diseases in global hotspots while also researching the cure, lest governments fall to the increased pressure on healthcsre systems. There are lots of versions available, as well as expansion packs, including one where you must engineer a virus to wipe out humanity. What better thing to do on the heels of an actual pandemic than to play a game about a pandemic? Ironic humor at its finest.

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