It doesn’t matter what the weather 𝕴is like outside; there’s never a bad time to get together with friends, curl up, and play a good board game. While we all have our favorites, there are som🅰e that many would consider essential in every collection.
Whether you want something strategy based to ponder over, to work with friends to solve a board-based issue, or to go head-to-head with family, th𒈔ere’s a board game out there for everybody to get sucked into. If you’re just beginning to build up a collection, here are 10 that 🐻you should have in the cupboard.
Catan
Catan is one of many board games that focus on building your land and territory, but it is less aggressive than a lot of other titles. Catan focuses on trading and resources, and you’ll need to work strategically to build up your supplies and work with other players to trade for those that you can’t find. You’ll also need to build up settlements in strategic locations, en🦂suri💖ng further trade and growth.
You can play Catan with up to six people, and a game will last anywhe𒐪re from one hour to multiple, depending on how quickly turns are made and decisions are reached. It’s great for stretching your mind and making you thin🗹k a few steps ahead, and you’ll definitely have fun while playing.
Risk
You might be thinking that Risk and Catan are too similar to each other to take up separate spots on this list, but I’d argue that you’re wrong. While Catan focuses on the most leisurely trading and building aspects, Risk is all about military power and conquest, building up your territory by force b💙y 🎃going head to head with others who play against you.
Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from forming an alliance with one or more other players to try and take someone down, but these alliances are fragile and can be broken at a moment’s notice. Backstabbing and treachery are both pretty common during a game, but it’s all in good fun. Risk is de🍨signed for 2 to 6 players, and games can last up to eight hours if you really get into it.
Dorfromantik: The Board Game
If you want something more relaxing than Risk or Catan, then Dorfromantik might b𒊎e just the thing for you. It’s based on an adorable video ga꧑me of the same name, which has you placing hexagonal tiles to grow your land, trying to build up large forests and settlements by being careful about where exactly you put your tiles.
Like the video game, Dorfromantik: The Board Game utilizes these hexagonal tiles and has players working together to build up the biggest continuous piece of land possible while scoring the most points with clever placement. It’s easy to kill time playing Dorfromantik in either of its forms, but the🔯 multiplayer aspect of the board game is particularly enjoyable.
Clue
From relaxing strolls through the countryside to the tense and stressful murder mystery that is Clue, you definitely need this absolute classic in your board𓆉 game arsenal. It’s all about deduction, figuring out who killed who, where, and with what, and it never gets old or less fun to play with family or friends.
Clue was first released in 1949 and has undergone many redesigns and transformations in the years since then. However, the murder remains the same, and figuring out who did it will leave you feeling like Hercule Poirot after a particularly puzzling case. Plus, with games lasting as little as 10 minutes (if you’re particularly good at figuring out whodunit), Clue is a quick game to play if you’re short on time.
Chess
There are those who would argue that chess isn’t technically a board game, but I’m not one of them, and I think everyone should have a chess set in their house. Chess is a skill that needs to be learned over time, and ♕not only will it have you thinking multiple steps ahead as you try to figure out what your opponent plans to do, but chess is also proven to reduce the risk of memory-relate🍌d illnesses like Dementia.
Chess seems like a simple game at first until you realize that you’ve got multiple different mo🎃ves to memorize for each piece, and remembering what you can and can’t do can be a nightmare if you’re new to it. But once you figure out those moves💟 and you win your first game? The self-confidence boost is impressive.
Pandemic
If you’ve ever played Plague Inc., then you’ll love Pandemic. The premise of Pandemic is that four viruses have broken out and threaten to consume the world, with players working together to figure out the cures before everyone succumbs to illness. Each player takes on one of a few🌳 roles, including Medics, Scientists, and Contingency Planners, and you’ll only win if you can figure out the cures.
There’s something special about board games that truly force players to work together, and Pandemic does this incredibly well. It’s considered one of the most succ🦄eཧssful cooperative board games to have ever been released, and it’s easy to see why. There are multiple expansions adding new diseases and roles to play, so there’s always something new to experience.
Trivial Pursuit
There is nothing not to love about Trivial Pursuit, but maybe that’s just me, as I’m a sucker for a general knowledge quiz. However, there’s something really fun about knowing more than those you’re playing against, and Trivial Pursuit combines not only the earning of bragging rights for simply knowing more🦩, but a race to the finish line while you collect little pie pieces.
Trivial Pursuit isn’t just limited to general knowledge, either. There are multiple different versions, including decade-specific ones or those focused on individual things like Harry Potter or sports. The concept is basic, but there’s something so fun about simply answering questions and getting them r📖ight or wrong, depending on what you know.
Horrified
Another cooperative board game, Horrified pits players agai𝓰nst well-known old-school horror icons such as Frankenstein, Dracula, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, and many others, each with their own stats and skills that must be combated. Players must work together to survive while trying to rid the town of the horror that waits around every corner.
The monsters in Horrified come in the form of 3D-sculpted miniatures, which is amazing if you’re a fan of mini painting, as it allows you to customize your game.😼 But even if you’re not, they’re easil🍸y recognizable at a glance, and any horror fan will rejoice if you pull Horrified out of the cupboard on game night.
Monopoly
Does Monopoly even need explaining at this point? If you’re building up a collection of board games, then Monopoly is one of the most basic must-haves out there, and there are almost endless sℱpecific versions if you’re part of a particular fandom. Of course, the classic version is still one of the most popular board games in the world, and for good rea꧑son.
Monopoly is all fun and games until one player becomes a greedy property tycoon, hikes up the rent, and causes the rest of the players to beg for a bank loan to even keep going for another round. You can end up in jai🐓l, own all of the energy companies, or take over the railroad, all in the name of one thing — making money.
The Isle of Cats
As a self-described crazy cat lady, I’m a sucker for anything feline, and The Isle of Cats definitely ticks that box. There’s more to it than that, though, and it’s endlessly fun to play, with each game going entirely different from the last and a hefty amount of backstabbing between player🅘s in the name of winning. It’s surprisingly complicated but easy to get the han༒g of after a couple of tries.
Played over five ‘days’, each with five phases, the aim of the game is to rescue as many cats as possible before night falls. You can take part ඣin ‘lessons’ to earn extra points, go fishing to gain fish that can later be used to rescue cats, and all while you figure out how to organize your cats so that they all fit on the board.
Published: Jan 26, 2025 09:38 am