The Best Board Games of 2025

It’s increasingly challenging to carve out a distinct niche in the crowded scene of friendly communication-based party games. Chit Chat manages the feat, with an unusual twist on trivia; it’s not about knowing the exact numerical answer, but how that numerical answer sits amid other numbered answers from other cards. In other words, it’s not knowing “how many taste buds do dogs have?” or “how many hot dogs are eaten every second in the USA?,” it's about which of those numbers is larger or smaller. Players work together to maximize their score, so it mostly comes down to absurd conversations breaking down hard-to-fathom topics. In short, it’s an amusing and ice-breaking good time.

Jungo is one of those fascinating and quick-playing card games that feels like it must have been around forever. In truth, this novel hand-building play structure is unique to the game; it’s this year’s go-to choice for a palette cleanser between rounds of something more complex, or simply for a quick play when time is limited. Players must play down their whole hand to win but can’t rearrange the cards in their hand. Groups of cards can only be played if they have the same numerical value, and if the resulting play is a higher value or a larger set of cards than what has already been laid down. Rounds are fast, each turn makes you think carefully, and the vibrant (jungle monkey-themed) cards are adorable.

If the interminable wait for a new video game installment of The Elder Scrolls has you down (head here for slightly more), Betrayal of the Second Era might be just the game to perk you back up. Chip Theory’s massive release sees a team of players working together to roam freely across Tamriel's regions, engage in combat, complete objectives, and build a hero. It’s that final feature that emerges as the most compelling; much like the video games, the board game encourages wild and creative build-crafting of your character, mixing skills and equipment to create impressive synergies that let you dominate and uncover the secrets in one of gaming’s most beloved settings.

It’s safe to consider the two as an ideal match; the long-running cooperative play formula established by the Pandemic board games finds an excellent home in Tolkien’s legendarium. The cooperative adventure invites one to five players to save Middle-earth, all while armies of orcs and the dreaded ringwraiths threaten to overwhelm and control the various regions. You’ll always need to get Frodo to Mount Doom with the One Ring, but the other objectives that preface that climactic moment change with each session. Tension is high, the pressure of impending loss is ever-present, and the thematic and artistic presentation is top-notch. This is the most sophisticated reworking of the now-familiar Pandemic game loop, and one not to miss.

The artisanal musical instrument-crafting scene at the height of classical music in Europe isn't something you’d describe as a familiar thematic setting for games. The distinct conceit should bring you in the door to this beautifully crafted and complex strategy game. It’s the intriguing approach to player interaction, the tightly balanced worker-placement mechanics, and gorgeous presentation that are likely to keep you coming back. Players compete to attract patrons, develop apprenticeships, perform music by acclaimed composers, and ultimately take first-chair. It’s a surprisingly competitive and challenging game, with plenty of opportunities to observe what other players are doing and outwit their plans to become the toast of the musical scene. For dedicated and experienced players, it’s a visual and tactical symphony.

Immensely creative and challenging to corner into a single genre or playstyle, The Old King’s Crown is a triumph of visual presentation and interlocking strategic mechanics. Players are potential heirs to the titular old king, vying for control after his death. Card-based battles include a strong element of bluffing as you aim to claim control over distinct locations of the kingdom. As the game continues, you gradually build a figurative engine to fuel your efforts at conquest. Each player also leads a faction with subtly distinct play options, such as the haughty Nobility or the rebellious Uprising. Turn play then unfolds over seasons and years of the conflict, lending a heady sense of unfolding epic narrative. Wrapped as it is around breathtaking art and gorgeous components, it’s a singular strategy game quite unlike anything else.

If you recall the board games you grew up playing, you’re likely thinking of roll-and-move games – probably not the most fun after you see past the window dressing. But what if all that rolling and racing along a track was accompanied by totally insane and overpowered character abilities? Maybe one character eats another? Or maybe you get bonus moves when someone else’s move turns out poorly. Perhaps you’re a banana, and you just trip everyone who passes you. The silliness and lack of strategy are sort of the point. This is a rework of a long-celebrated cult game originally designed by Takashi Ishida in 2003, and it's been rebalanced and tweaked by Magic: The Gathering designer Richard Garfield. Expect to uncover a recipe for laughter and light-hearted play that most anyone can enjoy.

Along the idyllic Amalfi coast in Italy, the town of Positano perches over the Mediterranean with buildings cascading down the cliffsides. In this equally idyllic game, players are the builders competing to build along that shoreline, bidding for plots of varying quality upon which to stack their colorful 3D structures. Beautiful resorts help you win big, but only with a good view of the sea. Positano is a lighter strategy game that invites even newcomers to the board game scene, thanks to the enchanting three-dimensional town tableaus that emerge during play. The drafting gameplay is straightforward but deeply satisfying, and complete games clock in well under an hour, making this one of the easiest games in recent memory to teach, enjoy, and replay again and again.

The original MicroMacro game has a lot to attract the younger set; scouring crowded pictures for secret clues and visuals is a ton of fun. Yet earlier incarnations often focused on adult crimes that might not be a good fit for the whole squad. This new installment removes that impediment by offering family-friendly “cases” to solve, as each player pores over the included black-and-white pictures to uncover secret happenings. The included challenges come in a spiral-bound book; the challenges to find and track are easy to grasp, and there are next to no rules to get in the way of the fun. It’s simply one of the best kid-targeted games of the year.

You are spacefaring explorers who crash on an alien planet. Separating from your fellow travelers (the other players), you can only communicate over the radio to work together and accomplish shared goals across mysterious and surprising vistas. Vantage is an open-world cooperative game of discovery, leveraging hundreds of included cards to tell fascinating and emergent stories each time you play. The game feels purposefully freeform in many ways; while there are clear paths to victory for a given session, the real fun is returning again and again to uncover new secrets, puzzles, mini-games, narrative surprises, and other secrets hidden away within the experience. Lean into the mystery and thrill of not knowing, and Vantage is an utter delight.