Updated January 14th, 2024 – new games swapped and added.
We review hundreds of board games, and with so many coming out, it’s hard to tell which the best of the best are. To help out with this, we’ve created Big Boss Battle’s Best 50 Board Games We’ve Ever Reviewed list. It may not be as definitive an opinion as suggesting that these games are the best we’ve ever played, but it is a list of the best games that we’ve played through in detail, more than four or five times and, in most cases, still return to when the fancy takes us.
Board games come in all shapes and sizes (and we don’t just mean the boxes) and that’s part of the charm of board games. That makes a task like pulling together the top fifty of them an incredibly ambitious task. And, as with video games, there are some people who prefer to play certain types of games; party gaming, wargaming, and euro games are all vastly different.
So, considering that we have several groups of board gaming reviewers, who each have their own speciality, we’ve made an extra effort to try and highlight our shared favourites, and to weigh up each board game’s position here not just by individual reviewer’s opinion but by the actual stickiness of the game — the likelihood we are to recommend these games to friends just so that we can pull it down from the shelf and give it another go again.
If you’re in the market for a new game, you could do a lot worse than scan through this list for something that really takes your fancy; these are some of the best games to hold our attention over our many years of reviewing games.
Here’s rank 50 through to 46 in our countdown. You can find buttons to navigate to other pages at the bottom of the article.
50: Tyrants of the Underdark
In brief: Tyrants of the Underdark has the honour being perhaps the most well-know area control game based entirely on the Dungeons & Dragons universe. In this fairly unassuming but extremely well crafted game from Gale Force Nine, each player takes on the role of a dastardly Dark Elf who wishes to wrestle control of the Underdark from their rivals. Using two of six decks of included monster factions, you will recruit new creatures, play cards and expand your influence. A real hidden gem. You can read more about it, in our review.
Tyrants of the Underdark on Amazon.
49: Inbetween
In brief: Where Inbetween is concerned, fans of Netflix series Stranger Things will feel immediately at home. This small box, two-player game pitches the forces of good and evil against each other for control of a small town that centres on the portal between two worlds. You can read more about it in our review.
48: The Quest for El Dorado
In brief: In the Quest for El Dorado, players build a modular map from various tiles, then they shuffle and draw from a standard deck of cards. From there, each player must hack, swim, climb and negotiate their way through a thick jungle to find the fabled lost city. Buy purchasing additional cards as they go, players expand their options and develop a unique strategy. Here’s what we had to say about it.
Buy The Quest for El Dorado on Amazon.
47: The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game
In brief: With its beautiful artwork and solid game mechanics, The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is an incredibly evocative way to explore Tolkien’s wider universe. The most recent core set (review below) now includes all the cards you need for a four player game, and there are more than enough expansions available to keep you busy for months. You can read more in our review.
Buy The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game on Amazon.
46: Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest
In brief: The original Libertalia has long awaited an update due to certain historic references that aren’t welcome these days, but when Stonemaier Games decided to reboot it, the chances amount to more than just a visual update. With unique card play and gorgeous visuals, Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest is a real treat. Here’s our review.
Buy Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest on Amazon.
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