These are the best board games of 2010. You remember that year, the TV show Lost ends, the world’s largest building the Burj Khalifa (2,722 ft) officially opened, Mel Gibson went off on an angry rant, J Bieber becomes a bonafide heartthrob, Lebron commanded a media circus over his “decision” to go to Miami, the Iceland volcano tragedy occurred, Canada took the overall gold count in the winter Olympics in Vancouver and people discovered the iPad for the first time. Somewhere in there, a few creative folks made some great board games. Below please find the best board games of 2010.
SEE BEST BOARD GAMES OF OTHER YEARS:
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010
OR SEE THE: Best Board Games Of The Decade 2010 – 2020
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#20 | Lords of Vegas
Just making the cut of best board games of 2010 is Lords of Vegas. You and all the players on entrepreneurs trying to build an empire in Nevada. Your goal is to earn money and prestige by building the biggest and most profitable casinos in Vegas. You build, claim your area and gamble your way to victory. This thematic strategy game is for 2 – 4 players and will take around 60 minutes.
FOR MORE: Games Like Lords of Vegas | Buy Lords of Vegas on Amazon
#19 | Luna
Another game just making the list of the best board games of 2010 is Luna. “LUNA” is the title of the Moon Priestess. The four Orders (players) are all fighting for her and want to convince her they are the right person to name her successor. Over six rounds, Orders need to collect as many influence points as possible by moving their “novices” around. This strategy game is for 1 – 4 players and will run about 60 – 90 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Luna on Amazon
#18 | Troyes
Troyes makes the list of the best board games of 2010 because it is a top notch worker placement game. Each player represents the population of a medieval French city. The religion, military and civil with their horde dice and cards in hand. Make your underlings: work on the cathedral, combat misfortune, bustle about the city or a family stature task. This strategy game is for 2 – 4 players and will run about 60 minutes long.
FOR MORE: Buy Troyes on Amazon
#17 | Vinhos
Vinhos is the Portuguese word for “wines”, the game is a trading and economic game about winemaking. Harvests, cultivate your vines, choose the best varieties, hire the best oenologists, take part in trade fairs, and show your opponents you are the best. The players, winemakers in Portugal, will develop their vineyards and produce wine to make big cash. This strategy game is for 2 – 4 players and will run about 60 minutes. As far as games on this list of the best games of 2010, if you like wine, this game is for you.
FOR MORE: Vinhos Page | Games Like Vinhos | Buy Vinhos on Amazon
#16 | Earth Reborn
After 500 years, two factions emerge from their underground cities into a new world, an Earth reborn from nuclear disaster. Nine scenarios take your miniatures through missions of rescue, retrieval, and escort through areas of labs, mansions, towns, and more. This thematic adventure is for 2 – 4 players and going to take you two hours a game. An easy choice for the list of the best board games of 2010.
FORE MORE: Buy Earth Reborn on Amazon
#15 | Wok Star
Wok Star is a cooperative real-time game where players take on different roles to help grow a Chinese restaurant in a tycoon style game. The customers are represented by a deck of cards with various Chinese dishes on them. Customers are served one at a time while a 20-second sand timer is running. If they are not served in time, they eat free. This fun family game is for 1 – 4 players and will take about 60 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Wok Star on Amazon
#14 | London
In London, players pick cards with varying powers of cashflow, victory points, and poverty penalties, and compete to manage them most efficiently. It is all about scoring the most VPs. Players manage their hand, selecting cards to play into their building display by laying them out in a line. At some point, a player will choose to run his city and it all goes down. This Strategy game is for 2 – 4 players and will run about 90 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy London on Amazon
#13 | Catacombs
Catacombs is an action/dexterity-based adventure board game. One player controls the Overseer, controlling the monsters of the catacombs; the other player(s) control the four heroes who cooperatively try to defeat the monsters and eventually the Catacomb Lord. Each of the heroes has special abilities that must also be used effectively if they are to prevail. This thematic role-playing game is for 2 – 5 players and will run about 50 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Catacombs on Amazon
#12 | Innovation
A journey through innovations from the stone age through modern times. Each player builds a civilization based on various technologies, ideas, and cultural advancements, all represented by cards. Each of these cards has a unique power that will allow further advancement, point scoring, or even attacking other civilizations. Every player benefits from others and to win you must score achievements. This strategy game is for 2 – 4 players and will run about 45 – 60 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Innovation on Amazon
#11 | Fresco
In Fresco players are master painters working to restore a fresco in a Renaissance church. You manage your team from start to finish. What time workers should wake up, what paint to buy, going off to do activities that increase happiness, what of the fresco to paint, these are the types of decisions you have to make. An easy choice for best board games of 2010. This time and resource management game is a strategy game for families that is for 2 – 4 players and will run 60 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Fresco on Amazon
#10 | Survive: Escape from Atlantis
This is technically a reprint from 1982 but new enough to make the list of best board games of 2010. Survive is a cutthroat game where players seek to evacuate their pieces from an island that is breaking up, while remembering where their highest-valued pieces are located to maximize their score. This family strategy game is for 2 – 4 players and will run about 45 – 60 minutes.
FOR MORE: Buy Survive Escape From Atlantis on Amazon
#09 | Wits & Wagers: Family
This is the family version of the award-wining game from 2005, but new enough to justify attention on the list of best board games of 2010. A question is asked, everyone writes down a guess, the guesses are placed face-up on the table and ordered smallest to largest and finally meeples are placed on the guess that you think is closest to the right answer. Feel you are confident or think someone else knows better, choose your wager accordingly. This family game is for 3 – 10 players and will run about 20 minutes a game.
FORE MORE: Buy Wits & Wagers Family on Amazon
#08 | Forbidden Island
Forbidden Island makes the list of the best board games of 2010 because it is a visually stunning cooperative board game. Players take turns moving their pawns around the ‘island’, which is built by arranging the many beautifully screen-printed tiles before play begins. As the game progresses, more and more island tiles sink, becoming unavailable, and the pace increases. Players use strategies to keep the island from sinking while trying to collect treasures and items. This strategy game is for 2 – 4 players and will last about 30 minutes.
FORE MORE: Forbidden Island Page | How To Play Forbidden Island | Forbidden Island Review | Games Like Forbidden Island | Buy Forbidden Island on Amazon
#07 | Sid Meier’s Civilization: The Board Game
Forge an empire to stand the test of time using innovative game mechanics with multiple paths to victory. Players are tasked with guiding an entire civilization throughout the ages, taking ownership of your people’s technology, economy, culture, and military, as well as all the choices that go along with them. This strategy resource management game based on a video game is for 2 – 4 players and will run about 1 – 2 hours a game.
FORE MORE: Buy Civilization The Board Game on Amazon
#06 | Navegador
Players take actions such as contracting men, acquiring ships and buildings, sailing the seas, establishing colonies in discovered lands, trading goods on the market and getting privileges. Each player starts with only two ships and three workers and tries to expand their wealth. This strategy game is for 2 – 5 players and will last about 60 – 90 minutes a game.
FOR MORE: Buy Navegador on Amazon
#05 | Alien Frontiers
Alien Frontiers is a game of resource management and planetary development. During the game, you will utilize orbital facilities and alien technology to build colony domes in strategic locations to control the newly discovered world. This dice driven strategy game is for 2 – 4 players and will last about 90 minutes a game. Coming around the turn on this list of the best board games of 2010, Alien Frontiers is probably the highest-ranked worker placement game left.
FOR MORE: Buy Alien Frontiers on Amazon
#04 | 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. The wars for the dragon runes are beginning, and only one faction will emerge victoriously. This thematic strategy game is for 2 – 4 players and will take an impressive 3 – 4 hours.
FOR MORE: Buy Runewars on Amazon
#03 | Merchants & Marauders
The best board games of 2010 list would not be complete without some pirates. Merchants & Marauders lets you live the life of an influential merchant or a dreaded pirate in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy. Seek your fortune through trade, rumor hunting, missions, and of course, plundering. Modify your ship, buy impressive vessels, load deadly special ammunition, and hire specialist crew members. This thematic strategy game is for 2 – 4 players and will take about 3 hours per game.
FOR MORE: Buy Merchants & Marauders on Amazon
#02 | Dominant Species
Dominant Species is a great choice for the list of the best board games of 2010 because it is a game that abstractly recreates a tiny portion of ancient history. Each player will assume the role of one of six major animal classes. Each begins the game more or less in a state of natural balance in relation to one another. Through wily action pawn placement, players will strive to become dominant on as many different terrain tiles as possible in order to claim powerful card effects. This strategy game is for 2 – 6 players and will last about 2 – 4 hours.
FOR MORE: Buy Dominant Species on Amazon
#01 | 7 Wonders
The top spot on the list of the best board games of 2010 goes to the iconic 7 Wonders. You are the leader of one of the 7 great cities of the Ancient World. Gather resources, develop commercial routes, and affirm your military supremacy. Build your city and erect an architectural wonder which will transcend future times. Each age draft cards with other players to build structures to get to better victory points. This strategy game is for 2 – 7 players and games will last about 30 minutes.
FOR MORE: 7 Wonders Page | How To Play 7 Wonders | 7 Wonders Review | Games Like 7 Wonders | Buy 7 Wonders on Amazon
SEE BEST BOARD GAMES OF OTHER YEARS:
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010
OR SEE THE: Best Board Games Of The Decade 2010 – 2020
