One player takes the role of the United States, and the other plays as the USSR as you struggle for presence, domination or complete control of various battleground regions around the world. Both sides race to put a man on the moon, degrade the DEFCON status through military operations, while carefully avoiding the devastation of nuclear war an instant loss and spread their influence across the globe in a tug of war for global power.
Twilight Struggle won't be for everyone -- it's a time investment and your brain may feel like mush after playing it the first time. But few games on this list feel as satisfying to play, win or lose. Agricola is one of the best board games ever designed, and it's one of the best examples of worker placement mechanics, too.
The concept is simple: players each use their farmer and wife both called "workers" to complete various actions as the seasons progress, such as gathering wood or vegetables, upgrading their farm house, building pens, buying animals, having children and much more. Over time, players have children more workers to use and expand their farm. The problem during all this, though, is scarcity: Agricola is a harsh game. Even without an opponent blocking you from certain actions, it often feels like you're just scraping by -- getting just enough food to feed your family for the winter.
Players often end up very few or negative points in their first game, but when you start to learn, it feels incredibly satisfying. Many of the best strategy games take a couple of hours to play, but satisfying strategy need not take all day: The Castles of Burgundy is a perfect example of a great game that usually only takes about an hour to play -- often less, once you know how to play -- and is surprisingly replayable.
Each turn, players role dice, the numbers on which allow them to pick up certain land tiles from a central board or place them on certain spaces on your player board as you expand your kingdom. The central rules can be learned in a matter of minutes, compared to some of the larger Eurogames above, but Castles of Burgundy will keep you making tough choices about how to respond to a dice roll that's out of your control.
If you have a full day and want to play a long, rewarding game, you can't do better than Food Chain Magnate -- an incredibly deep game of building and staffing restaurants, designing menus, paying for advertisements and collecting money. What makes Food Chain Magnate so enjoyable is the sheer scope of it: you can hire dozens of different kinds of employees, sell dozens of different kinds of food and use half a dozen types of ads, all with unique effects on your franchise, the customers in the city and your opponents.
This fun game is an investment, especially if you get the expansions, but it's one of the most enjoyable and unique takes on the strategy board game format in years. Star Wars: Imperial Assault largely avoids the role-playing elements of dungeon crawlers like Gloomhaven, opting instead for solid combat mechanics that pit the imperial player against the rebel players. While different missions have different setups -- the modular board keeps things fresh -- players will get better as they understand the bonuses of certain groups, the ways they can play off their allies and the decisions of when to find cover and when to charge into battle.
While the above games are my picks for the best games for their type, your favorites for game night will often come down to your particular taste.
I've played dozens of other great games in these categories, and if you're looking for something a little different, there are options. Some of the games above, like Gaia Project and Rising Sun, represent iterations on previous classics from the same developers -- Terra Mystica and Blood Rage , respectively.
Terra Mystica is fantasy themed, rather than sci-fi themed, and has a slightly less demanding learning curve, too. While I prefer Gaia Project because of how its increased mechanics add depth to the game, Terra Mystica might be a slightly more accessible first Eurogame. Rising Sun is a little further removed from its predecessor, the excellent Viking-themed Blood Rage.
Rising Sun has slightly more chaotic conflict, between betrayals and a bluff-heavy combat system. If you prefer less direct conflict, and fewer social elements, Blood Rage might be the better game for you. If you're looking for a two-player strategy game with a little less heft to it, 7 Wonders: Duel is a great alternative to Twilight Struggle. The gameplay integrates more creative gameplay mechanisms, so the learning curve is slightly steeper for newcomers, but once you're familiar, it's a perfect, short strategy game for two.
For good introductions into modern strategy games, I would be remiss not to mention Settlers of Catan and Carcassonne. While most people who catch the board game bug quickly move past these more basic economy and tile-laying games, they are great ways for people to be introduced to the genre.
Finally, one of the most interesting board game mechanics in modern games is "worker placement. Lots of games have took its position since it was published, but it earned its keep. The board game Rococo is a deck building and area control number with a great theme within the medium range of complexity for players that are into their game mechanics a bit.
Robinson Crusoe: Adventures of the Cursed Island, a game of adventure and challenge for survival against the elements the game. It is a complex game and has a high complexity rating. Scythe the board game is a top of the charts strategy tabletop that gaming enthusiasts have embraced after reaching a whopping Kickstarter crowd source contribution. Since the Shogun board game has been challenging gamers around the globe to bring their building and planning skills to the tabletop.
First Published in , the board game Small World quickly became popular among casual and experienced gamers. Imagine a world full of mysterious creatures with strange abilities, eager to control a limited free space.
Take your race to the top, conquering and crushing your rivals! Create a unique sorcerer and battle for control of Old London in Sorcerer. This is a dark fantasy strategy card game with deck building, shufflebuilding and duelling mechanics. Starcraft the board game is designed for those enthusiastic strategy gamers that enjoy some complexity to a game to challenge their skills, and have a fair few hours to spare. Since — the Twilight Struggle board game has fought its way on to the tabletop rankings for one of the best 2 player games.
Try this game out on the Orient Express. Train travel lovers and many families, and others really enjoy playing a Ticket to Ride board game. It gets the thumbs up here. Cooper Island leans on the heavy side of strategy board games that has a great nautical theme.
A worker placement and tile placement game with quality components and artwork to with its gameplay. Merv with its medieval and ancient theme is a city building game. This is another fairly heavy weight board game.
Pendulum is a worker placement game that was published in This is a game where real time gameplay and worker placement have to work together this was a surprise for the board gaming community. Strategy Board Games. Batavia Batavia is a card drafting type of board game where players buy Asian spices to send to Europe in the hope of becoming wealthy merchants. A twist on Connect Four, this strategy game asks players to place five of their chips in a row, column, or diagonal.
Best Two-Player:. The game is portable, making it perfect for kids in the backseat on long road trips—though adults love it, too. Best for Families:. Praised for its addicting gameplay, this game can be played over and over again without feeling repetitive. Best Cooperative:. This challenging game can be played with two to four players, all of whom will win or lose together as a team at the end. Best for Kids:. Similar to dominos, this colorful game uses matching to help you win, and it easy enough for children as young as 6 to play.
Best for Adults:. Requiring both luck and skill to win, this spooky game is a great pick for anyone looking for a fun narrative for game night. Best for Disney Fans:. Disney fans will love playing as their favorite villains Maleficent, Jafar, Ursula, and more in this well-designed game. Best Long Playing Game:. This game—which can now be integrated with Amazon Alexa for more surprises and excitement—has the potential to go all night long.
In This Article Expand. Our Picks. Why Trust The Spruce? Best Overall: Jax Sequence. Jax Sequence Game Review. Best for Families: Catan Studio Catan. Catan Review. The 11 Best Family Board Games of Pandemic Review. The 8 Best Board Games for Kids in The 8 Best Party Games for Adults in View On Amazon. The 9 Best Board Games of Playing Time Maybe you have an hour to play, maybe more like five minutes. Interesting Concept What is the board game about?
How do you play strategy board games? Are strategy board games good for kids? Related Topics. Updated by Megan McCarty. Megan McCarty. Megan is a writer, editor, etc. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for TheSpruce. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page.
These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data.
0コメント