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35+ OF THE BEST STRATEGY BOARD GAMES

When you think about board games, your mind probably doesn’t doesn’t think about the best strategy board games.

Your mind probably jumps right to thinking about Monopoly or Candy Land during family game nights with your family.

But a new trend has teens getting together after school and Friday nights to play the best strategy board games.

As parents, it can be difficult to keep up with the new board game trends, especially if you don’t enjoy strategy board games yourself.

WHAT ARE THE BEST BOARD GAMES OF ALL TIME?

While many board games can be touted as the best board games of all time, it truly is a preference thing.

Do you like games that make you think? Games that are cooperative? Competitive?

No matter what your game preference is, there will be a game on this list that you will enjoy!

A new trend has teens getting together after school and Friday nights to play the best strategy board games.

BEST STRATEGY BOARD GAMES

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7 WONDERS

In this game, players represent ancient civilizations competing to develop their cities into important cultural centers. Players receive points by building landmarks, making scientific discoveries, establishing an army or hosting professional guilds. There’s no one “right” path to winning. Everyone will have a different strategy — which keeps things interesting when playing the game over and over.

ARCHITECTS OF THE WEST KINGDOM

In Architects of the West Kingdom, you and up to four friends will take the reins as Charlemagne’s royal architects. You’ll send your goons to buy up blueprints, collect money, secure building materials, and construct fantastic wonders.

AZUL

This fast-paced game is perfect for two to five players. To play, you’ll take lightning-quick turns drafting tiles from a central market. Your goal is to collect sets of identical tiles, which you’ll use to fill in your personal boards for points at the end of each round. If you’re playing the game right, you’re often just as concerned about thwarting your opponent’s plans are you are grabbing the tiles that will work best for you.

BANG

The game BANG! recreates an old-fashioned western shoot-out, with each player randomly receiving a character card (players’ characters are kept secret, except for the Sheriff) to determine special abilities, and a secret Role card to determine their goal.

BETRAYAL AT HOUSE ON THE HILL

If you love horror, role-playing, strategy, and immersive storytelling, this game is for you. Each player makes their way through the creepy mansion, finding new rooms and discovering secrets. With 50 possible scenarios and a traitor among you in every game, this game will have everyone on the edge of their seats.

BRASS

You and your opponents will take turns laying cards to found ironworks, coal mines, breweries, manufacturing depots and more across England’s sprawling West Midlands. Founding and selling these new industries require coal, cash, iron and plenty of dealmaking beer—and each of these resources has its own subtle and unique rules for creation and delivery.

CARCASSONNE

In this strategy game, players lay tiles to develop the area around the town of Carcassonne. You then use their population to work on the roads, cities, cloisters and fields. The player who develops his territory best will win the game. Carcassonne is a very easy board game to learn and games are quick.

CATAN

Explore, craft and build to settle a new land called Catan. This game has been known to ruin friendships and family relationships, but it is because of that intensity and level of gameplay that has produced many awards!

CLANS OF CALEDONIA

This is a strategy game of mercantile expansion set in 19th-century Scotland. In this 4 player game, you expand your clans’ business empires across Scottish lowlands—buying, selling, and developing markets for goods like mutton, cheese, bread, and of course whiskey.

CODE NAMES

This spy-themed strategy game is addicting and simple enough that anyone can learn. Split into teams, each team will designate a spymaster — the only person on your team who knows the identity of your secret agents. Your spymaster gives one-word clues to help you figure out where your agents are located on the grid, and the first team to make contact with all of them wins.

COLT EXPRESS

This game has you and up to five friends climb up and around a 3D model train, punching, shooting and stealing from one another, all in Wild West style. This is a game that understands that aesthetics facilitate fun as much as any clever game mechanic.

DOMINION

While you don’t actually need a “board” to play this game, it has all the elements of the perfect board game. In this game, you play the role of a king, and your aim is to try to increase the size of your kingdom by acquiring as much land as possible. A turn has two phases: playing action cards and buying action cards and victory points. It’s the timing of these two phases that can win or lose you the game.

ETHNOS

This is one game that is rich in strategy and light on rules, meaning it is an excellent game to introduce newcomers into the world of modern board games. The game basically revolves around collecting and playing cards in simple sets: either sets of one color or sets of one type of fantasy creature.

EVERDELL

In Everdell, you compete with up to three opponents to create the greatest woodland-critter city — a board of 15 curious constructions and creatures, such as the Barge Toad or the Resin Factory.

GALAXY TRUCKER

Galaxy Trucker is a tile-laying game that plays out over two phases: building and flying. The goal is to have the most credits at the end of the game. You can earn credits by delivering goods, defeating pirates, building an efficient ship, and being the furthest along the track at the end of the flying phase.

GLASS ROADS

Glass Road is a game that commemorates the 700-year-old tradition of glass-making in the Bavarian Forest. You must skillfully manage your glass and brick production in order to keep your business flowing. Cut the forest to keep the fires burning in the ovens, and spread and remove ponds, pits, and groves to supply yourself with the items you need.

KINGDOMINO

In Kingdomino, you are a Lord seeking new lands in which to expand your kingdom. The game uses tiles with two sections, similar to Dominoes. Each turn, each player will select a new domino to connect to their existing kingdom. The order of who picks first depends on which tile was previously chosen

LABYRINTH

Strategy board games CAN be fun for the entire family! This board game can be played with two to four people, and each game takes 20 to 30 minutes. It’s recommended for kids ages 8 and up. To play, you race around the maze-shaped board, trying to locate all your particular objects and characters.

LA STRADA

In this game, everything – from the rules to the gameplay – is super simple. The game lets players claim successes throughout the game, and turn-by-turn one reaches one or even multiple goals. But in the end, someone else wins? How did that happen? The game features a variable game board, built up out of hex tiles.

PANDEMIC

Rather than competitive, this strategy game is cooperative and requires that all players work together to find a cure to the pandemic before humanity is wiped out. While it is easy enough to learn, the game is difficult to beat.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

This beautiful board and 3D game pieces compliment Photosynthesis’s life cycles. Players cultivate a grove of trees, harnessing the sun’s energy as it revolves around the board and blocking competitor’s leaves from soaking up the rays.

POWER GRID

Players must acquire the raw materials, like coal, oil, garbage, or uranium, to supply the most cities with power. Try and upgrade your plants for maximum efficiency while still being wealthy enough to quickly expand your network to get the cheapest routes.

QUEENDOMINO

Queendomino, can be played completely independent from Kingdomino, with 2-4 players. However, in connection with Kingdomino, you can play games with 7×7 grids for four players, or for up to six players if you stick to 5×5 grids.

RISK

Risk is probably the most well-known strategy board game of all time! Each player is assigned territories of the world on the board. Then you battle your way across the world map, fighting your enemies and taking control of their territories.

RUNEWARS

Runewars pits players against each other in a strategic game of battles and area control, where they must gather resources, raise armies, and lay siege to heavily fortified cities. This strategy board game is meant for 2-4 players.

SCYTHE

In this wartime game, players control warring groups attempting to gain control of post-WW1 Europe’s rural population. The strategy in dense, with 25 possible player combinations, each requiring slightly different tactics.

SHERRIF OF NOTTINGHAM

In Sheriff of Nottingham, you and up to four others play as merchants trying to get through Nottingham’s city gate. Each round, one player takes on the role of the sheriff, opening merchants’ pouches if he suspects smuggling—but paying a high price if he guesses wrong.

SID MEIER’S CIVILIZATION: THE BOARD GAME

Based on the Civilization video game franchise designed by Sid Meier, Civilization: The Board Game puts players in control of an expanding empire. Through strategic planning and precise execution, players can mold the civilization of their dreams.

SMALL WORLD

Players control different mix-and-match fantasy races (like Mountain Trolls or Wealthy Ratmen) who attempt to capture as much territory as possible and protect it from takeover by other clans.

STAR WARS REBELLION

Do you have an infinite amount of time on your hands? Just learning the rules to Star Wars Rebellion can take up to two hours, and play can easily spill into the five-hour territory!! This game contains 2 massive game boards, hundreds of plastic figurines, and more dice and game tokens than you can keep track of.

STEAM

In this beautiful board game, you build railroads and deliver goods along an ever-changing network of tracks and stations. You build the tracks, upgrade towns, improve your train, and grab the right goods to make the longest, most profitable deliveries. Score your deliveries and add to your income or victory points.

STONE AGE

In Stone Age, players represent Stone Age-era tribes such as hunters, gatherers, farmers, and trade workers. Players compete for resources in this game set in the early days of society. It’s a classic European-style worker placement game.

TERRA MYSTICA

This strategy game has a simple game principle and very little luck involved. The 14 artfully designed factions, each having unique and special abilities, as well as the exchangeable bonus cards allowing for a large number of possible game plays that constantly keep this game entertaining.

TICKET TO RIDE

Ticket to Ride is another classic strategy board game. Claim as many railroads as possible and create the longest route and win the game!

VILLAINOUS

This board game for ages 10 and up, features your favorite iconic Disney Villains. Each villain has their own sinister objectives & goals. Disney Villainous comes with Captain Hook, Maleficent, Jafar, Ursula, Queen of Hearts, and Prince John.

WAR OF THE RING

The War of the Ring board game is a simulation of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. While the Fellowship of the Ring advances towards Mordor, the Dark Lord Sauron tries to find the location of the Ring-bearer and unleashes his armies against the last strongholds of the Free Peoples.

Which is your favorite strategy board game? Which one of the ones above are you wanting to play next?

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