100 Best Board Games – What’s your vote?


Dominion card game
Dominion is my most played card game. Tons of fun.

“What’s your favorite board game?”

When people find out that we review family board games, this is the first question they ask.

If not that question exactly, then something along those lines.

And I usually answer back with a question.
Not because I’m being rude, but because the answer to my favorite board game depends on the setting – how many are playing? what ages? how long? how much strategy? etc.

Or I may cut to the chase and rattle off 5 or 6 games that I love.

Power Grid board game
Power Grid is a longer game that totally pulls me in.

But this time around, I’m not going to stop with 5 or 6. And I won’t even stop at my Top 14 (like I did with our favorite games lists 2 years ago.)

This time around, I’ve made my list of my favorite 100 board games!

What finally got me to make my Top 100 Board Games list was voting in The Dice Tower 100 Best Board Games – People’s Choice list. Every year, The Dice Tower publishes the Best Board Games of All Time list. And it’s open to anyone who wants to participate.

And you can participate too!

You don’t have to list 100 games though. The tool lets you submit your top 20 games. But if you only want to give a shout out to 5 games that you think are the tops, then just vote for those 5.

My Favorite 100 Board Games

With my list I’m not claiming that these are the 100 best board games ever invented. Of the 100’s of different board games I’ve played, these are simply the ones that I enjoy the most. Click on the board game name to see our full review.

Memoir '44 board game
Memoir ’44 tops my 2-player board game list.

  1. Dominion
  2. Memoir ’44
  3. Power Grid
  4. Kingdom Builder
  5. RoboRally
  6. 7 Wonders
  7. Yinsh
  8. Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation
  9. Alien Frontiers
  10. Scotland Yard
  11. Carcassonne
  12. Hive
  13. K2
  14. Code 777
  15. Ticket to Ride: Europe
  16. Telestrations
  17. Castle Panic
  18. King of Tokyo
  19. Gravwell
  20. Battlestar Galactica
  21. Stone Age
  22. Small World
  23. Pandemic
  24. Blokus
  25. Sequence
  26. Wits and Wagers Family
  27. Monkey Lab
  28. Lemming Mafia
  29. Settlers of Catan
  30. Roll Through the Ages
  31. BANG!
  32. Abandon Ship
  33. Shadows Over Camelot
  34. Forbidden Desert
  35. Catch Phrase
  36. Inkognito: The Card Game
  37. Big Boggle
  38. Mastermind
  39. Risk Legacy
  40. Ingenious
  41. Escape: The Curse of the Temple
  42. Sounds Like a Plan
  43. Say Anything Family Edition
  44. Descent: Journeys in the Dark 2nd Edition
  45. The Resistance
  46. Spot It
  47. Incan Gold
  48. Word on the Street
  49. Wits and Wagers Party
  50. Tsuro
  51. Mamma Mia
  52. Fast Flowing Forest Fellers
  53. Rattus
  54. Forbidden Island
  55. Chess
  56. Tobago
  57. Rollick / Reverse Charades
  58. Fastrack
  59. Thunderstone Advance: Towers of Ruin
  60. Martian Dice
  61. Clue
  62. Dixit Odyssey
  63. Flash Point: Fire Rescue
  64. Time’s Up: Title Recall
  65. Gloom
  66. Survive: Escape from Atlantis
  67. Can’t Stop
  68. Set
  69. Timeline
  70. Quarto
  71. Careers
  72. Lord of the Rings
  73. Scattergories
  74. Pizza Theory
  75. Hey! That’s My Fish
  76. Takenoko
  77. Pony Express
  78. Guesstures
  79. Ninja: Legend of the Scorpion Clan
  80. Taboo
  81. Bubble Talk
  82. Ligretto Dice
  83. City Square Off
  84. Quoridor
  85. Fortune and Glory
  86. Rummikub
  87. Risk Star Wars
  88. Mystery of the Abbey
  89. Defenders of the Realm
  90. Snake Oil
  91. Pentago
  92. Confusion: Espionage and Deception in the Cold War
  93. Flip Out
  94. FITS
  95. Jungle Ascent
  96. Wits and Wagers
  97. Pirate versus Pirate
  98. Rack-O
  99. Qin
  100. For Sale

Kingdom Builder board game
I love the simplicity, variability, and puzzle-like game of Kingdom Builder.
The Process
And the process wasn’t easy. I took my first stab simply based on the games I have a desire to play most often. Then I compared it to the list of games I’ve actually played the most. Then I looked at my ratings for games we’ve reviewed and those I’ve rated on BoardGameGeek.

Once that was sorted, I went line by line moving things around based on this simple question: “Given the choice (and in the ideal setting for each), which of these two games would I want to play the most?” Then I’d move a game up or down based on my answer.

Party games were the toughest to fit in and sort out because they’re hard to compare side-by-side with strategy games. But they definitely deserve their spots.

RoboRally board game box
Robot racing chaos is always a hoot.
Inevitably, I’d see a game listed in the 30’s or so and I’d think. “I REALLY love that game – it should definitely be closer to the top of the list.” But, I just couldn’t bump the ones before it that I also really love.

It took a few hours, but it’s safe to say that the Top 60 on this list are very solid. I’ll happily play them anytime.
(It also means I need to adjust some of my ratings on BoardGameGeek now.)

Will my list change next year?

Most likely – because I plan to play many new games every year. For example, there are plenty of board games ranked in the top 100 on BoardGameGeek that I have yet to play. And when I get the chance to play them, who knows, they may very well jump into some top spots on this list.

7 Wonders card game
7 Wonders packs a great, civilization game into 30 minutes.
There’s always so many great board games still to explore…

If you need some additional ideas, here’s some other resources to get your juices flowing:

Now, go cast your own vote.




5 thoughts on “100 Best Board Games – What’s your vote?

  • What… no… Monopoly!?

    I’ll have to cast my top 20 vote. 1. Monopoly 2. Monopoly: Deluxe Edition 3. Monopoly: Star Wars 4. Monopoly: Pokemon … 12. Monopoly: Star Wars Episode II … 20. Monopoly: I Love Lucy “California Here We Come!”

    Last year I was a little surprised that Pandemic was #1. That’s one game that didn’t click as much with me as it seems to have clicked with the general public. Most of the other games that I played in the top 40 or so I like a lot actually.

    (just kidding about the Monopoly by the way, Dominion really is the best game)

    Reply
    • Aaron – nice disclaimer at the end. I got a good laugh when I started reading because I could tell from your prior comments on our reviews that Monopoly really wouldn’t be on your top 20 list. (but other readers wouldn’t make that catch.)

      Reply
  • Here’s mine: 1.Quelf 2.Quelf 3.Quelf 4.Quelf…….18.Quelf19.Quelf20.Quelf Can you guys do a review on Quelf please?

    Reply
    • Derek – We have played Quelf (years ago), but didn’t post a review on it. However, we have posted a review on a Quelf derivative called FURT.

      Reply

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