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If you only play the occasional game of Catan or Cards Against Humanity, or are even still stuck in the five-card stud days, you’re missing out on the current board game renaissance. We have access to more creative, engaging, niche games than ever before. And if you’re tempted to call them nerdy, take a look in the mirror: you already have tickets to Avengers: Endgame.
Until midnight tonight (Pacific Time), Amazon is offering big discounts on hundreds of these games. [Ed. note: Amazon removed the link early, but you can find the sale until midnight here and many of the deals may last beyond then.] I have multiple friends who are board game obsessives so I’ve played more than I’d like to admit, but today it comes in handy because I’ve picked out the six you need to add to your game closet.
Below, they’re ranked by how easy they are to learn, starting with a couple minutes and going up to half an hour. These aren’t for kids or grandma’s card club, either. All of these are adult-friendly, from the most underrated party game to one that raised $4.4 million on Kickstarter.
Zombie Dice
- The game: A chance dice game like Yahtzee, but with brains and shotguns.
- Time to learn: A couple minutes
- How many players: Two or more
Concept
- The game: Basically a more creative guessing game, and the most underrated party game at the moment (pairs better with wine than whiskey).
- Time to learn: A few minutes
- How many players: Four to twelve
Coup
- The game: It’s the future. The government is run by multinational CEOs (sounds about right) but there’s opposition. You must out-bluff your friends to win power.
- Time to learn: A few minutes
- How many players: Two to six
Splendor
- The game: It’s the European Renaissance and you’re all greedy gem merchants trying to outmaneuver each other.
- Time to learn: Five minutes
- How many players: Two to four
King of New York
- The game: Akin to arcade game Rampage, you’re monsters duking it out in the five boroughs.
- Time to learn: Five to ten minutes
- How many players: Two to six
Gloomhaven
- The game: This raised a total of $4.4 million on Kickstarter and, despite being released back in 2017, is still ranked number one on BoardGameGeek. Yes, it’s a little nerdy, but if you’re looking to upgrade your game closet, this is the one.
- Time to learn: 20 to 30 minutes
- How many players: One to four
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