Best board games 2024

The best board games aren't just good for Thanksgiving or Christmas when you've got nothing else to do; it's grown into a vibrant and colorful industry that's overflowing with new ideas that'll suit any mood. Want something for a party, or a team game you can play with your (very) competitive family? It isn't an exaggeration to say that there's something for everyone. Long gone are the days when Monopoly was the most interesting thing on the menu.

To help you get started, our experts and I have put our heads together to build this list of suggestions that should be in every collection. (If you ask us, they're the best board games on shelves right now.) These run the gamut of old favorites like Catan to fresh-off-the-press trendsetters including Life in Reterra, and I'll update this page each month with any new additions that our team's fallen in love with. Oh, and if you're not sure what you're in the mood for, don't worry – 12DOVE still has you covered. Just check in with our advice on how to choose board games further down this page.

Wondering how we settled on which products to feature, on the other hand? Our team reviews the best board games all year 'round, and we've been rolling dice for decades before that. Basically, we won't ever recommend a product we don't truly believe in. As mentioned throughout this page's 'how we test' section, but rest assured that we've had extensive hands-on time with all of the entries listed below. If we don't think it deserves a place amongst the best of the best, it's not getting into the guide.

Curated by

Curated by

Benjamin Abbott

Benjamin's covered board games professionally for six five years, but has been playing them ever since he was old enough to move meeples. That means he knows what makes the best board games tick. He's currently thinking about grabbing Sky Team and Arcs in the Black Friday sale because they've been causing such a stir.

Quick list

Best board game overall

Catan is a big deal in the tabletop community. For one thing, most agree that it's the perfect 'gateway' into more sophisticated board games. If you're ready to graduate from the likes of Risk or Clue, it eases you in whilst still providing enough complexity for players to sink their teeth into.

Secondly, it might be one of the most influential games on this list. First published in 1995, it revolutionized the tabletop space and gained global recognition as a result. It also spawned an entirely new genre – 'Eurogames' – which now dominates the industry. With this in mind, it's hard to argue that Catan doesn't deserve a spot here as one of the best board games overall.

Features & design: At face value, this is a resource-management game where players try to settle the eponymous island of Catan. Because space is limited, you'll all rush to secure resources (from stone to wood) which are used to build settlements and roads. These earn you Victory Points. As you might be able to guess, you'll need them to win.

Setting up shop next to the hottest goods doesn't guarantee success, though. Resources are given out each turn based on dice rolls, and these values are assigned randomly to an already random board at the beginning of a match. As such, you've got to weigh up probability and how likely something is to pay up ahead of time… or trade with rivals if you can't get what you need. Because feathers could be ruffled as you all dash to secure the most lucrative spots, this opens an amusing can of worms.

In terms of how it looks, Catan is equally forthright. Opting for classic wooden tokens and a realistic, birds-eye-view art style, it doesn't muddy the water with unnecessary pomp.

Gameplay: Even though it's easy to understand, Catan requires cunning if you want to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. You can only get resources if you have a settlement next door, and these can't be placed if someone else owns a town nearby. That makes clever placement crucial, especially because you must build roads to reach certain board spaces. It's all about the bigger picture, so even though produce is given out randomly, foresight is rewarded.

You can try to edge a win by building the biggest military, constructing the longest road, or using well-timed cards too. This choose-your-own approach is Catan's biggest contribution to modern board game design; there's no 'right' way to go about things, so you're more in control.

Social interaction is encouraged as well, so it's not the kind of board game where you'll be checking your phone between turns. If a resource's number is rolled at the beginning of someone's turn, everyone with a settlement there gets produce. The floor then opens up to trade, which is its own twisty conundrum. Haggling for items may help you in the short term, but it could also bring your opponents closer to victory.

Similarly, hoarding resources won't do you any good. If you roll a seven at the start of a turn, the Robber is activated. This little pickle then steals half of every player's cards if they have over seven in their hand. They're then placed onto a tile to stop resource production there. Seeing as the person who rolled that seven gets to choose where the Robber goes, it's your chance to be mean.

This has the potential to cause friction if you have an argumentative table, but even that feeds into Catan's metagame. Annoying your rivals will guarantee that they won't trade with you, so even though there are ways around this (you can secure spaces which let players swap one kind of resource for another), it's a wrinkle worth considering. I've been sunk by this particular chestnut in the past, for example; I thought I was being clever by handicapping my biggest opponent's resources, but then I needed something only they had. Understandably, they told me to get stuffed when I approached them like Oliver Twist with an empty bowl.

That's why Catan has endured for 30 years in a nutshell – it makes memories. This isn't the kind of board game you sleepwalk through.

Honorable mentions

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Best co-op board game

The odds are against you from the start in Pandemic, but that's the beauty of it. This team-based epic is never less than thrilling, and it doesn't feel hopeless either. Despite being tasked with curing a clutch of super-diseases, good communication (not to mention the ability to think on your feet) will see you through. Want satisfying cooperative board games for your collection? This should be at the top of the pile.

Features & design: You're racing against the clock in Pandemic - you've got to contain and cure four deadly diseases that are sweeping across the globe. Naturally, this is far from a walk in the park. For starters, new infections (represented by dinky cubes) are placed on random cities each turn. If enough cases gather in one place, they'll spill into neighboring areas in a devastating domino effect. To make matters worse, the number of infections deployed each turn increases over the course of the game. Spin your wheels and you'll get overwhelmed.

This leaves you with a difficult choice: research a cure by collecting cards (at which point the game stops placing infections for that particular disease), or remove infections at a local level so you can keep things under control.

The game's visuals amp up this tension with a style taken from the CSI playbook. Although the movers are basic, single-color pawns, everything else feels flashy. It's the sort of thing you'd expect to see displayed on a massive screen while someone says something dramatic, like "my god - San Francisco has fallen."

Well, apart from the disease cubes. I've always thought that those could pass for sweets, which is pretty distracting on the whole. (Ah, forbidden jellies - how delicious you seem.)

Gameplay: Pandemic's balance of risk and reward secures its throne as one of the best board games overall. Is it better to keep disease levels down so that they don't spread from city to city in the short term, or should you play the long game and go all-in on developing cures? There's no right answer, and this puts the power into your hands. Random chance dictates which cards get drawn from turn turn, of course, but everything else is all down to your strategy.

More importantly, that question will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. I've rarely seen our board group more invested than when they're playing Pandemic, and the need to constantly change your battleplan on the fly means that communication is vital - a must for co-op games.

It's true that all this can be stressful. But it's also gripping. As mentioned in our review, such white-knuckle decision-making "shows off everything tabletop gaming is capable of."

Honorable mentions

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Best board game for 2 players

Never has a game been more on-brand than Villainous. It delights in letting you be as mean as possible, and you're encouraged to scupper a foe's plans in search of your character's happy ending. This isn't a cash-in for kids; it's ruthless, surprisingly tactical, and deliciously wicked.

If you ask me, that intricacy makes Villainous better when played as a duel. While duking it out with lots of other people is fun, reducing the head-count makes things less chaotic and gives you more time to strategize. It's a great choice in terms of must-have board games for 2 players. In fact, this is my go-to when my wife and I want to settle in for a cozy games night.

Features & design: As the name would suggest, Villainous revolves around classic baddies getting their way. Jafar wants to control Genie, Prince John is trying to amass a fortune, and so on. Think of it like a 'what if' scenario, where the antagonists finally won.

What follows is a nostalgic romp through classic Disney films, reimagined here with original artwork. There's complexity hidden beneath all those gorgeous paintings, though. You'll navigate a personal board in search of allies, effects, or items that can help you complete your unique objective, and because each character has their own play-style, the experience is surprisingly deep. (As our review points out, "there's so much to get your teeth into.")

What's more, you can delay your rivals by sending heroes to harass them. Seeing as these do-gooders block certain actions or introduce obstacles until they're removed, it adds a whole new dimension to proceedings.

Speaking of a whole new dimension, the art design of this game goes above and beyond. Alongside those atmospheric paintings I've already mentioned (there are no phoned-in screenshots here), its components feel far more premium than they have a right to be. As a case in point, those abstract movers are utterly, utterly gorgeous. I'd be happy with those on a shelf, to be honest, and they always get cooed over whenever I play Villainous with someone new.

Gameplay: Once you've gotten your head around your villain's special rules, you'll be cooking with gas. Despite being complex, Villainous is a masterclass in how to make a compelling, endlessly replayable strategy game. Genuine skill is rewarded here; coming out on top isn't due to luck, and knowing when to use certain abilities (or saddle your opponent with a well-timed hero) is essential.

It's a similar story when you're taking on different villains as well, particularly if you throw Disney Villainous expansions into the mix. These add-ons encourage you to adopt all-new strategies, and they're a good way of injecting life back into the game if you think you've mastered it. Because new ones hit shelves every year, you're not going to run out of challenges anytime soon.

The downside? All this complexity makes Villainous tricky to explain. It's not the easiest to learn either. But if you can stick with it, you won't be disappointed.

Honorable mentions

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Best board game for adults

The world is over in this quirky board game for adults, but you won't mind. It's way too much fun.

Humanity is rebuilding after society collapsed, and it's your job to construct the best settlement whilst taking advantage of relics like the mysterious AA battery. (What could it be for? Who knows.) This results in a tongue-in-cheek rush to the finish that's incredibly moreish.

Features & design: Unlike most post-apocalypses, there isn't a zombie or viking-themed gang anywhere in sight here. Instead, everyone's recycling remnants of civilization into something new – and better. That old plane, for instance? It'd make a good school. What about that massive radar dish? The perfect soccer pitch, I'd say. You'll place these buildings on an ever-expanding board in a quest to construct the perfect village.

In a fitting twist, Life in Reterra recycles old ideas as well. It takes the ideas laid down by games like Carcassonne and molds them into an entirely fresh experience. What follows may seem like a tile-laying exercise, but you've got to think hard about where you place those pieces. Buildings that earn you points or bonuses have to be put on cog symbols, and you're only allowed to construct something if it's at least partially on a tile you just laid down. Whoever gets the highest score at the end will win, so you better think ahead. Particularly because the game finishes once you've put down 16 tiles…

That means you can't spend too long admiring the scenery, even if you'll want to. With the exception of a weirdly dull beige board where buildings are stored, this is a beautiful game; it opts for a vibrant cartoon aesthetic instead of dreary realism. It comes with excellent plastic tubs to put your pieces into as well, ensuring those tokens won't be flying everywhere when packed away in the box.

Gameplay: You'll often find yourself wishing you had more time during Life in Reterra. That's how it gets its claws into you – there's always a "what if." Due to short rounds which wrap up faster than you might expect, you'll be eager to reset and try something new you only thought of at the end of a match. I certainly am, and as someone who reviews the best board games for a living, this is a rarity.

There's a compelling risk/reward element at play here as well. You can only place buildings if they're partially on a tile you've just put down, and there are never enough cogs on a single piece. This leads to the quandary of whether you slap buildings down whenever you can, or hold off in the hope you can connect tiles for something bigger and more lucrative later on. That kind of mental Tetris is why Life in Reterra excels as a board game for adults; it exercises your gray matter and rewards repeat play with a regular group.

Each of the game's (many) buildings provide different and increasingly tempting rewards, you see, so they're worth messing with. Seeing as you can also mix and match these to create entirely new building sets with unique interplay, there's months of gameplay here to grapple with if you're willing to dive down the rabbit hole.

I'll admit that matches can end just as you're getting into them. Yet this is precisely why it works; you're always left wanting more. And yes, it doesn't have as much depth as other hobby games. But it's a superb middle-ground between the likes of Catan and Scythe, so I think it'll serve most people well.

Honorable mentions

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Best RPG board game

If you have a soft spot for fantasy and love nothing more than poring over ye-olde maps while dreaming of adventure, Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion should be on your radar. This dungeon-crawling epic taps into all that with branching storylines more commonly seen in the best tabletop RPGs, and it makes skilful use of 'Legacy' mechanics where the consequences of your actions carry across from one session to the next.

Features & design: Jaws of the Lion casts you as a mercenary looking for work in the grungy metropolis of Gloomhaven (imagine the world of The Witcher and you won't be far off). As is only right for fantasy RPGs, said 'work' involves swords and/or sorcery. These jobs lead you through a grand narrative where your choices matter, so tread carefully. Decisions can, and will, have consequences.

While that sounds intense, the game has been designed with accessibility in mind. Unlike the full Gloomhaven or its sequel, Frosthaven, this one is smaller in scale and drip-feeds everything you need to know piece by piece. That includes a novel combat system which gets rid of random dice rolls. Rather than leaving success up to luck, all of your movement or attack actions are divvied up onto cards instead. The challenge lies in deciding which ones to use - and when.

The same handsome tokens and components have made their way across from Gloomhaven, though. Actually, I'd argue that its map board (upon you which you slap stickers to represent the missions you've completed) is better-looking than its predecessor.

OK, so the models may still be clunky in comparison to rivals like Descent: Legends of the Dark and Bardsung. Yet everything else sings, especially that moody artwork for your foes.

Gameplay: Few board games can match the sense of agency in OG Gloomhaven, and it's no different for Jaws of the Lion. Along with upgrades for your character that'll provide a more personal connection with them, battles being so skill-based makes victory all the sweeter. Your clever tactics saw you through, not luck of the dice. And while there is still a steep learning curve, it's far less intimidating than its predecessors.

It's also worth persevering with. Honestly, there's nothing quite like the combat of this series. Trying to figure out the best combination of actions to use at any one time is a compelling mini-game in itself, and juggling your limited resources (you'll lose cards as you progress) makes for a challenging puzzle.

Seeing as you'll have to balance helping your allies with hunting loot that can improve your hero, there's also a sizzling unease to keep you on the edge of your seat. Can your friends be trusted in a pinch, or are they more interested in helping themselves?

Honorable mentions

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Best strategy board games

Looks can be deceiving, and Root is the perfect example. Despite an inviting art-style, this is about as hardcore a strategy game as it gets. Alright, so the action takes place in a quiet woodland realm. However, all is not well beneath those trees. The animals living there want to kick the stuffing out of each other, and you'll need to hatch schemes that'll put your faction on top.

Features & design: Much like the Redwall novels, each player commands a tribe of anthropomorphic creatures that must fight to control the forest's clearings. (In practical terms, that means collecting 30 'Victory Points.') The base game gives you control of four factions: the 'Marquise de Cat' that must cement their rule by putting down rebellion, feudal birds who operate via espionage, an insurgency of 'peasant' animals (mice and hedgehogs) called the Woodland Alliance, and an adventuring racoon who sneaks around the board. Each one has its own unique playstyle, and although there's a lot to take in, it encourages you to think creatively.

Fortunately, the nuts and bolts of battle are much more straightforward. Players simply roll dice and compare results to see how a fight turns out, with more meeples being able to deal greater damage. That allows you to get a sense of how combat will turn out just by looking at the pieces you've got on the board. Throw crafting and special abilities into the mix (found on a deck of special cards that you'll draw on throughout the game) for a heady tactical cocktail.

Not that you'd be able to tell from how Root looks. It carries a charming aesthetic by the hugely talented Kyle Ferrin that is reminiscent of Mouse Guard, and few board games in this guide can match the personality he brings to bear.

While you'd expect his work to be found across cards and the board itself, it's neat that his design extends to Root's playing pieces too. Rather than being plain wooden meeples in the shape of animals, these ones have expressive eyes that bring them to life.

Gameplay: First things first - be aware that there is a learning curve here. While our review called it "the most accessible complex wargame," Root is still a complicated beast that requires some investment. There's a payoff, though. Persevere and you'll wind up with one hell of a strategy board game.

I've never seen two games go the same way, for instance. Each factions' quirks (and the cards that can influence them) provide a wealth of options each turn, and while this is overwhelming at first, such flexibility makes Root truly compelling in the long-term. It's incredibly replayable.

Similarly, the simplicity of its combat isn't a drawback. The fact that meeples can only move into spaces their faction controls (or where they have a numerical advantage) allows clever generals to squeeze opponents into a corner. Well-timed bonuses also add texture to this elegant yet rich system.

Honorable mentions

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Best classic board game

This sci-fi favorite was first published in 1977 and has been through numerous editions since then, but all of them have something in common - they're brilliant. Few classic board games have aged as well as this; its blend of strategy and quick-talking was peerless at the time, not to mention now. In truth, I bet it'll still be going strong in another 40 years.

Features & design: Cosmic Encounter enjoys breaking its own rules. It's like a pedantic teenager that does the opposite of what you ask; this is a fiercely creative game. which prides itself on individuality.

Each player takes the reins of an alien race, and their aim is to establish colonies on planets owned by rivals. They can do so through force (by playing a larger number from the cards in their hand) or negotiation. But the process isn't as simple as it sounds. To begin with, every 'encounter' allows players to make alliances that can tip the balance in their favor. What's more, all species have a special power that breaks the game's own rules in some novel way. Examples include winning by losing or reversing attack card numbers so 17 becomes 71.

The visuals are suitably outlandish to match this energy. There's a tremendous originality behind each of the species you can control, even if their spaceships are all represented by the same UFO tokens on the board. This is then brought together by sci-fi trappings I wouldn't be surprised to see in Mass Effect.

Gameplay: All those special powers make the game delightfully unpredictable. Seeing as 51 alien species are included in the base set, there's almost always something new to see, learn, or overcome. You never get a chance to rest on your laurels as a result, and different matchups require different strategies. Simply put, it's energizing.

I missed this one during my childhood, and I'm gutted about that. I fell in love with Cosmic Encounter as soon as I started playing it thanks to novel gameplay that's like a breath of fresh air, even 40ish after it first came out. It combines a lot of my favorite things about tabletop gaming; you'll spend each match trying to convince others to join your cause (or not blow you up), thinking up devious tactics, and immersing yourself in a bizarre new world full of weird creatures.

Like many of the best board games, Cosmic Encounter creaks beneath the weight of expansion packs as well. More than half a dozen add-ons are available if you want to shake things up, so there's plenty to keep you busy here should you grow tired of the base game.

More classic recommendations

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Best board game for families

Ticket to Ride is one of the most laid-back entries on this list, and that makes it the perfect choice if you want family board games that aren't going to start a civil war around the table. Thoughtful and relaxing, it's a delight for all ages.

Features & design: Picture the scene - it's the early 1900s, top hats are in, and trains are still of the steam variety. In this quaint landscape of frilly frocks and tail-coats, you've got to plot railway routes from one city to another. Whoever completes the most lucrative lines will win.

Sounds easy so far, right? And to an extent, it is; you couldn't call Ticket to Ride an overly competitive game. That's why it's such a good board game for families. There isn't as much opportunity for squabbling, which is something I think we can all appreciate after Christmas sessions of Monopoly gone wrong.

You shouldn't expect to coast, though. You need sets of differently-colored train cards to lay down routes, and because these are taken from either a face-up market available to everyone or drawn blind, others might work out what you need and beat you to the punch by taking those cards first. Plus, not completing routes will dock your score at the end of the game. This adds a push-your-luck element to proceedings.

With Ticket to Ride's turn-of-the-century vibe, that's fitting; it's couched in a time when the world was your oyster. There's an appealing steampunk tinge to everything as a result, and even the tokens have gone the extra mile thanks to being fully 3D carriages.

Gameplay: The railway theme may not light your world on fire, but there's an undercurrent of strategy holding everything together that allows it to hit the perfect balance of family-friendliness without losing any tactical complexity. That makes Ticket to Ride one of the best board games even if its players haven't ventured much beyond Scrabble.

It's not overly aggressive, either. Unlike so many entries on this list, there's less emphasis on screwing each other over. Although it is possible to ruin someone's day by building across their route, there's usually an alternative with which you can salvage all that time and effort. As such, Ticket to Ride is something I'm more than happy to break out if things typically get heated at family gatherings. Like our review mentions, it's "the perfect option for newcomers and tabletop veterans alike."

Honorable mentions

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Best board game for kids

This light-hearted game is perfect if you want something quick but fun; it's got the secret sauce of being fast-paced with easy-to-understand rules. More specifically, you can learn and complete it in under 15 minutes. That means you won't mind playing round after round (which is always handy when it comes to board games for kids), especially because Sushi Go's gameplay is so moreish.

Features & design: Sushi Go is different every time you pick it up. It works in a very similar way to Exploding Kittens, with players taking a card and passing the rest on… except here you need to build a selection of dishes that earn points over the course of three rounds. Whoever racks up the biggest score wins.

Some of these cards are worth a lot right away, others provide multipliers, and yet more require you to collect a set for bigger payouts. This means that there are multiple approaches you can take on your path to victory. (Just don't forgot about Puddings, which are only scored at the end of the game and may tip your score over the edge.)

The art accompanying all this is delightful. Each dish has been given a cartoon makeover, which makes even me - someone who is notorious for avoiding seafood - want sushi.

Gameplay: The elevator pitch for Sushi Go is simple, but don't think it's shallow as a result. Because you'll be looking through your hand of cards before passing it to the next player (and can obviously tell what others have picked), smart cookies can sabotage their rivals by taking the cards someone else needs. It's deliciously devilish, and most will pick it up quickly.

The game's rapid-fire nature makes it a winner with little ones that don't have much patience, too. Matches don't take long and are easy to set up, so you can happily run an encore without much trouble.

Not that this is only for kids, of course. It'll be a hit with all ages, and is a great warm-up game before moving on to something with more depth. I have many fond memories of playing this with friends or family at parties, so it usually gets thrown into my bag if a get-together is due.

Honorable mentions

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How to choose the best board games

If you can't decide what you're looking for, or are feeling lost at the sheer amount of choice (you've got many types of board games to pick from, after all), there are a few questions you can ask yourself to narrow things down. Whenever we're looking for the best board games, I ask:

How we test the best board games

The way we test products is incredibly important to the entire 12DOVE team, and we won't ever recommend anything unless we legitimately feel it's worth your time. If we don't think it is one of the best board games, it doesn't get onto this page.

You can find more details in our dedicated 'how we test board games' feature, but the 12DOVE process includes our reviewers spending as much time playing and living with game as possible. This helps them ascertain what it does well, what it fails at, and its overall longevity. We also run multiple sessions with different player counts, just to see how the experience differs.

When approaching the critique on this page, we use four distinct sections described below.

• Introduction: We discuss the 'elevator pitch' of a game (what does it do differently?) here, along with 'buy if/don't buy if' boxouts to help you decide if it's right for you at a glance.
• Features & design: A game's basic mechanics are discussed here. We also explore its art/components in this section.
• Gameplay: As the name would suggest, the majority of our review will focus on a game's mechanics. Is it fun? Is the core loop satisfying? Is the pacing off? We'll discuss everything we did and didn't like about gameplay here.
• Should you buy: The best board games aren't always cheap, so this section is about providing a balanced overview of our thoughts. Reasons to buy or not to buy appear here too.

We finish each recommendation with a simple ratings table that covers essential elements like setup, complexity, and whether gameplay is fun or not. It looks something like this, and features a star rating out of five for every category:

For a more in-depth examination of our process sitewide, be sure to see the 12DOVE review policy.

Best board games FAQ

Personally speaking, the city-builder Life in Reterra earns my 'something I think is awesome' vote. After talking with its legendary designer about the project, my anticipation was already high... and its accessible yet versatile gameplay lived up to that. This is one of the rare games I wanted to reset and try again the moment I finished playing, and its replayability is absurd. I don't know if it'll be the most popular board game of 2024, but it should be.

Of course, there's no way to discuss popular board games without addressing the elephant (or should that be pawn?) in the room - chess. This ancient pastime has been going strong for longer than anyone can remember, and such staying power is reflected in annual sales. To be precise, chess has a habit of shifting around 3 million units each and every year. That's more than most of the best board games combined.

Should you wait until Black Friday to buy board games?

• It depends on whether you want hobby or family games
• Record lows for expensive board games like Gloomhaven...
• ...But family-friendly games enjoy discounts all year round

Even though the year's biggest sale is better known for reductions on tech like laptops and TVs, it does offer some decent board game deals as well. Everything from family classics to modern favorites are included in these price cuts, and many of them hit record lows.

However, whether you should strike depends on what you want. While many of the best board games enjoy big discounts during Black Friday (Pandemic is a good example, as is Ticket to Ride), they often get solid reductions all year 'round. Meanwhile, more expensive 'hobby' games like Mansions of Madness never drop much in cost until the Black Friday board game deals. As a case in point, the enormous RPG adventure Gloomhaven hasn't ever been cheaper than it was during Black Friday 2021. Similarly, sci-fi conquest game Twilight Imperium hit its lowest ever price a few days later. More recently, co-op board games such as Spirit Island dropped to record lows in 2023's sale.

In essence, whether you should wait hinges on what you're looking for. If you're hoping to buy Nemesis, Root, or one of the other big-box titles, yes - it's worth waiting until November. Chances are, they'll be furnished with all-time low prices for Black Friday. When it comes to family-friendly board games, though, you don't gain much from holding fire. They don't always get record savings during the sale, so you're better off grabbing them as soon as you see a decent sticker price no matter the time of year.

Wondering how can you tell if a board game discount is worthwhile? Checking with comparison sites like CamelCamelCamel is always a solid bet. These can tell you when the best board games were at their cheapest, their price history, and when they historically get reductions. We've used this software for years, and it's how we bring you intel on on the most tempting deals.

Eager for more recommendations? If you want something to play at your next game night, definitely check out the best party board games. As for something more adventurous, don't miss these Dungeons and Dragons books.