The Best Board Games of All Time: 12 Proven Favorites
Lists of "the best board games" have a familiar problem: they are often topped by games that only a small group of early players has tried. A handful of early fans rate a new release very highly, the average score shoots up, and a few months later it settles down.
So for this list we set a high bar before looking at a single score. We only considered established games from the Hobbli database, and every one of the twelve below has been on the shelves for at least three years. That gives the community time to play them, argue about them and settle on an opinion.
From that pool we picked twelve games, one for each kind of table: heavy strategy, campaigns, two players, big groups, families and so on. They are listed from most to least appreciated by the community. The best-rated game is not always the best one for your group, so read the "Pick it if" and "Skip it if" lines before you buy.
The best board games of all time at a glance
- Best strategy game: Brass: Birmingham
- Best campaign game: Pandemic Legacy: Season 1
- Best mix of deck building and worker placement: Dune: Imperium
- Best engine-building game: Terraforming Mars
- Best quick cooperative game for two: Sky Team
- Best game for two players: 7 Wonders Duel
- Best game for beginners who love nature: Wingspan
- Best abstract game: Azul
- Best party game: Codenames
- Best classic tile game: Carcassonne
- Best family game: Ticket to Ride
- Best trading game: Catan
The twelve picks
1. Brass: Birmingham
The favorite of experienced strategy players, and the best-appreciated game on this list. You run competing industrial businesses during the Industrial Revolution, building canals and railways, developing industries and selling goods across two eras. Every decision connects to the others, so careful timing counts for more than luck.
It plays 2–4 players, is best with 4, and takes about two hours. It is a heavy game, with far more to learn than most board games, and it is not forgiving of early mistakes.
Pick it if you enjoy deep economic puzzles and planning several turns ahead. Skip it if you want a relaxed game for newcomers, because there is real downtime between turns and the first game can be overwhelming.
2. Pandemic Legacy: Season 1
A cooperative campaign in which your team of disease-fighting specialists races to cure four plagues. It starts from familiar Pandemic rules, but the game changes as you play. Stickers get applied, cards get destroyed and your choices permanently alter the board, the cards and even the characters, while the story branches depending on how you do.
It plays 2–4 players, is best with 4, and takes about an hour per session over a full campaign of 12 to 24 sessions. The rules are friendly for a game of this depth.
Pick it if you have a regular group who will commit to a season of play. Skip it if you want a game you can replay, because the components are permanently changed and the campaign can only be played through once.
3. Dune: Imperium
Deck building meets worker placement in the world of Frank Herbert's Dune. You send agents to contested spaces on the board while building a deck that fuels your military and political power. Combat and alliances give the game real interaction, and the different leaders make every game feel fresh.
It plays 1–4 players, is best with 3, and takes about two hours. It sits in the middle to heavy range: easier to learn than the heaviest strategy games, but not a good first game for complete newcomers.
Pick it if you like strategy games with a strong theme and clever card play. Skip it if card luck bothers you, or if you play mostly with four people and prefer shorter evenings.
4. Terraforming Mars
You lead a corporation racing to make Mars habitable by raising its temperature, oxygen and ocean coverage. Hundreds of project cards let you build an engine that grows stronger each generation, and watching your plan snowball is the heart of the game.
It plays 1–5 players, is best with 3, and takes about two hours. It is moderately heavy, with a solo mode that is well regarded.
Pick it if you love building a machine that gets bigger every turn. Skip it if you dislike a slow start or if you want lots of direct interaction. Some cards are also clearly stronger than others, and games run longer with more players.
5. Sky Team
A tense cooperative game where one of you flies the plane and the other co-pilots. You secretly assign dice to the cockpit controls, without talking about the numbers, and try to land safely at airports around the world. When a landing works, the shared celebration is real.
It is for exactly 2 players and takes about 20 minutes. It is very easy to learn, with harder airports waiting once you have mastered the basics. It is the newest game on this list (2023).
Pick it if you want a short, memorable game for two that you can play on a trip. Skip it if you dislike dice luck, which can occasionally undo careful planning.
6. 7 Wonders Duel
The best-appreciated two-player game on this list, and a quick one. Over three ages you build a civilization from a pyramid of cards, and you can win through military power, scientific progress or the highest score. That choice of paths keeps both players tense until the very last turn.
It is for exactly 2 players and takes about 30 minutes. It is easy to teach and sits comfortably between light and medium on difficulty.
Pick it if you play mostly as a couple or with one friend and want a smart game that fits into an evening. Skip it if you often play with three or more people, since it does not scale, and a sudden military or science victory can end a game early.
7. Wingspan
A calm engine-building card game about attracting birds to your wildlife preserves. Each bird you play adds a power that chains with the others, and the illustrations and flavor text make it a pleasure to look at.
It plays 1–5 players, is best with 3, and takes about 70 minutes. It is easier than most strategy games, which makes it a good first step into the hobby, and its solo mode is popular.
Pick it if you want a relaxed, beautiful game that suits families and casual players. Skip it if you want players to fight over the board: there is little direct interaction, and it can feel like everyone is playing their own game side by side.
8. Azul
An elegant tile-drafting game inspired by Portuguese tilework. You pick colored tiles from shared suppliers and place them on your wall to score points. The rules take minutes to explain, but deciding what to take, and what to leave for your opponent, gives it real bite.
It plays 2–4 players, is best with 2, and takes about 45 minutes. It is easy to learn, with enough thinking to keep strategy fans interested.
Pick it if you want a short, good-looking game that works for children and adults alike. Skip it if you want a lot of variety over many plays, since it can start to feel repetitive.
9. Codenames
Two teams, each guided by a spymaster, try to find their secret agents among 25 word cards. The spymaster gives a one-word clue that links several words at once, and the fun lies in what your teammates make of it. The grid changes every game, so it never feels the same twice.
It plays 2–8 players, is best with 6, and takes about 15 minutes. It is very easy to teach, one of the simplest games here.
Pick it if you host groups and want something that makes everyone laugh. Skip it if your group has players of very different word skills, or if you hate waiting while teammates debate a clue.
10. Carcassonne
A classic of tile laying. You draw a tile, place it to grow the French countryside of cities, roads and monasteries, and place a follower on it to score. It is easy to see why it lasts: you can teach it in a few minutes, and the fun comes from deciding where to place a piece.
It plays 2–5 players, is best with 2, and takes about 45 minutes. It has a huge range of expansions if you want more depth later.
Pick it if you want a gentle, timeless game for families or mixed groups. Skip it if you want deep strategy from the base game, which can feel light for experienced players, and the luck of the tile draw can disrupt careful plans.
11. Ticket to Ride
A classic gateway game, and one of the most popular board games ever published. You collect train cards and claim routes across a map to connect cities, while secret destination tickets decide how many points you score. It is tense without being unfriendly, and easy to teach in about fifteen minutes.
It plays 2–5 players, is best with 4, and takes about an hour. It is one of the most accessible games here.
Pick it if you are playing with children or friends who are new to modern board games. Skip it if you want fresh surprises on every play, since card draws influence your options and experienced players tend to see the same best routes.
12. Catan
A well-known trading game and the oldest on this list (1995). You build settlements, cities and roads on an island that is arranged differently every time, collecting resources from dice rolls and trading with the other players. The negotiation is what people remember.
It plays 3–4 players, is best with 4, and takes between one and two hours. It is easy to learn and a little more involved than a pure party game.
It comes last on our list because the community rates it lower than the other eleven. The dice can create early luck imbalances, and a leader can run away with the game.
Pick it if you like trading and bargaining with friends, or you want a game that almost everyone has heard of. Skip it if you dislike luck or being blocked by the robber.
Which one should you buy?
If you are choosing a first game, start from your table instead of the ranking: Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne or Azul for families, Wingspan for a calm evening, Codenames for a crowd, and 7 Wonders Duel or Sky Team for two players.
If you already play and want something deeper, Brass: Birmingham, Dune: Imperium and Terraforming Mars are the most appreciated strategy games on this list. If you have a regular group, Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 gives you a story you will remember.
Want to compare more options by player count, play time or price at different retailers? Browse the full Hobbli catalog and filter by what you need.
