10 Of The Best Board Games To Level-Up Your Next Games Night
At this point, iso’s got us all desperate for a fun evening activity that doesn’t involve puzzles, baking, or crying (just me?). Luckily, there are hundreds of board games just waiting to provide you with hours of entertainment.
Board games are truly one of the MVPs of this chaotic self-isolation era. Whenever you reach the end of your Netflix queue or get sad you don’t have a Switch to play Animal Crossing, there’s a board game you can turn to.
They’re more popular than ever, meaning there’s a bigger and better selection to choose from than ever before. Whether you’re in the mood for a strategy epic, a high-thrills adventure for the squad or something totally silly, we’ve rounded up some of the best card and board games to level up your next games night.
(And no, we haven’t included Pandemic. It’s a great game but it’s so 2000-and-obvious-in-a-global-pandemic.)
Here are 10 of the best board games for adults:
#1. Betrayal at House on the Hill
The best board game for: ooky spooky nights
As if 2020 wasn’t already enough of a horror show, Betrayal at House on the Hill lets you play out your very own horror story as you and your friends explore a haunted mansion full of monsters and ghouls.
The game unfolds differently each time, meaning it’s got endless replayability. There’s also the extra challenge of figuring out which player is secretly plotting to betray their friends.
#2. Flick ’em Up
The best board game for: a party pre-game.
In this delightfully silly Wild West shoot-em-up, you control either a team of Sheriffs or outlaws in a fierce duel to the death. Flick tokens at the enemy team to wipe them out while moving your players around the board to keep them safe and pick up goodies like rifles and TNT.
Plus it has the added bonus of making a great drinking game.
#3. A Game of Thrones: The Board Game
The best board game for: bold strategists.
Even people who aren’t fans of the show will get something out of this strategy epic. Take control over one of the great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms and march your armies across Westeros to accomplish your goals. Forge alliances and betray your friends to be the one sitting on the Iron Throne when the dust settles.
The best board game for: a casual games night.
To play this game, split into teams and nominate a spymaster in each. They have to give one-word clues that help the rest of their team identify their cards in a grid of possible codenames. The best clues will relate to multiple codenames at once, but be careful you don’t pick wrong and accidentally solve one of the other team’s clues for them.
You can get themed versions of the game that transform the codenames into clues related to The Simpsons, Harry Potter, Marvel superheroes and more. There’s even a NSFW edition.
#5. Articulate
The best board game for: intellectuals.
Team up and take it in turns to describe as many words from a category as possible in thirty seconds. The rest of your team has to guess the words from categories like nature, world, person and action.
You need a minimum of four players for Articulate, but there’s no upper limit as long as you can split everyone into even teams. So go ahead and invite your two friends over to play with everyone else in your sharehouse.
#6. Coup
The best board game for: tricksters.
To win at Coup, you’ll need to lie, cheat, and have nerves of steel. Sounds fun!
Each player is randomly dealt two cards and can end up with any combination of five characters. Each character has special abilities that let you earn coin, protect yourself, and eliminate your opponents. You can play the cards you’re dealt, or straight-up lie and pretend you have another card.
The game ends when only one player is left standing, so you’ll have to be brutal to keep your characters alive.
#7. Gloomhaven
The best board game for: long roleplaying adventures.
If you want a game that’ll last you through iso, Gloomhaven‘s your best bet. Campaigns are split into multiple play sessions, and the consequences of each game carry over into the next.
Working with the other players, you’ll level up your character, explore a sprawling world of dungeons and ruins, and make decisions to expand a branching story that’s like the board game version of a Choose Your Own Adventure novel.
The one downside? It’s extremely exxy. But it’s one of the best board games your money can buy, with a huge box, lots of secret compartments to open as you play, and tonnes of play time.
#8. Exploding Kittens
The best board game for: thrill seekers.
Think of Exploding Kittens as a feline-powered version of Russian Roulette. Players take turns drawing cards until someone draws an exploding kitten and loses the game.
Avoid exploding by using your other cards to do sneaky things like peek at the deck, force your opponent to draw multiple cards, or shuffle the deck.
#9. Wingspan
The best board game for: a relaxing night in.
Oh, to be a birdwatcher attracting rare birds to your wildlife preserve.
That’s the basic premise of Wingspan, a fun game that’s easy to learn and soothing to play. The more birds you have in your preserve, the more you’ll be able to attract — easy — but you’ll also have food and nests to help you build your numbers. There’s even a dice tower shaped like a wooden birdhouse. Super cute.
#10. Throw Throw Burrito
The best board game for: fitting in some iso cardio.
Throw Throw Burrito is officially the world’s first dodgeball card game.
The aim is to collect matching sets of cards, but some cards will call for a duel or an all-out burrito war. Grab one of the plush burritos from the middle of the table and yeet it at your friends without getting hit to win.
(Lead image: Betrayal at House on the Hill / Avalon Hill)
