Best Board Games of 2017 | Top 20

These are the best board games of 2017. You remember that year, La La Land did not win best picture, Kendal Jenner made a questionable Pepsi commercial, Salt Bae is a thing, Ed Sheeran was on Game Of Thrones for some reason, Get Out blows everyone away at the box office, people can’t get enough of fidget spinners and villian Harvey Weinstein gets taken down. With all this poetic justice, it’s only right that some amazing games came into the world as well. Below please find our list of the best board games of 2017.

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#20 | This War of Mine: The Board Game

Just making the list of the best board games of 2017 is This War of Mine. This War Of Mine: The Board Game is the tabletop adaptation of the award-winning video game that pictures the drama of civilians trapped in a war-torn city. You will enter this experience as a group of civilians trapped in a besieged and conflict-ridden city, enduring many hardships that often test the essence of humanity. This adventure game is for 1 – 6 players and will last about 45 – 120 minutes.

FOR MORE: Buy This War Of Mine on Amazon

#19 | Charterstone

Another just making game on the list of the best board games of 2017 is the construction driven Charterstone. In Charterstone, a competitive legacy game, you construct buildings and populate a shared village. Building stickers are permanently added to the game board and become action spaces for any player to use. Thus, you start off with simple choices and few workers, but soon you have a bustling village with dozens of possible actions. A city-building strategy game for 1 – 6 players that will run 45 – 75 minutes.

FOR MORE: Buy Charterstone on Amazon

#18 | Bunny Kingdom

Peace has come at last to the great Bunny Kingdom! Lead your clan of rabbits to glory by gathering resources and building new cities across the land! Draft cards and pick the right ones to position your warrens on the 100 squares of the board, provide resources to your colonies, build new cities to increase your influence, and plan your strategy to score big at the end of the game. A territory building game for 2 – 4 players and will last about 40 – 60 minutes. The great Richard Garfield designed this entry on the list of the best board games of 2017.

FOR MORE: Buy Bunny Kingdom on Amazon

#17 | Pulsar 2849

The most futuristic game on the list of best board games of 2017 goes to Pulsar 2849. It is the year 2849, and humanity has harnessed the power of the pulsars. In this Euro-style game, players explore space, claim pulsars, and discover technologies that will help them build energy-distribution infrastructure on a cosmic scale. Dice are used to purchase actions, and players choose their dice from a communal pool. There are many paths to victory so you can blaze your own trail to a bright future. For 2 – 4 players, games will run about 60 – 90 minutes.

FOR MORE: Buy Pulsar 2849 on Amazon

#16 | The Quest for El Dorado

In The Quest for El Dorado, players take the roles of expedition leaders who have embarked on a search for the legendary land of gold in the dense jungles of South America. Each player assembles and equips their own team, hiring various helpers from the scout to the scientist to the aborigine. All of them have one goal in mind: Reaching the golden border first. A racing adventure, the game is for 2 – 4 and will last about 30 – 60 minutes.

FOR MORE: Buy The Quest For El Dorado on Amazon

#15 | Dice Forge

One of the most dice driven games ever is the number fifteen entry on the list of the best board games of 2017 is Dice Forge. Your divine dice are exceptional, with removable faces! Customize your dice to make them more powerful as the game progresses. Sacrifice gold to the gods to obtain enhanced die faces. Upgrade your dice to produce the resources you need. Overcome ordeals concocted by the gods to grow in glory and earn rewards. Skillfully manage the luck of the dice and take charge of your destiny. Only the greatest will ascend to the heavens!m For 2 – 4 players, games will run about 45 minutes.

FOR MORE: Buy Dice Forge on Amazon

#14 | Magic Maze

Magic Maze is a real-time, cooperative game. Each player can control any hero in order to make that hero perform a very specific action, to which the other players do not have access: Move north, explore a new area, ride an escalator… All this requires rigorous cooperation between the players in order to succeed at moving the heroes prudently. This exploration fantasy game is for 1 – 8 players and will last about 15 minutes.

FOR MORE: Magic Maze Page | Games Like Magic Maze | Buy Magic Maze on Amazon

#13 | Sagrada

Draft dice and use the tools-of-the-trade in Sagrada to carefully construct your stained glass window masterpiece. In more detail, each player builds a stained glass window by building up a grid of dice on their player board. Each board has some restrictions on which color or shade (value) of die can be placed there.

Dice of the same shade or color may never be placed next to each other. This puzzle strategy game is for 1 – 4 players and will run about 30 – 45 minutes. Even though it is in the bottom half, the unique and fun gameplay made this one a slam dunk for the list of the best board games of 2017, there just happen to be some better ones.

FOR MORE: Sagrada Page | How To Play Sagrada | Games Like Sagrada | Buy Sagrada

#12 | Werewords

In Werewords, players guess a secret word by asking “yes” or “no” questions. Figure out the magic word before time is up, and you win! However, one of the players is secretly a werewolf who is not only working against you, but also knows the word. If you don’t guess the word in time, you can still win by identifying the werewolf! A party game for 4 – 10 players that lasts about 10 minutes.

FOR MORE: Buy Werewords on Amazon

#11 | Downforce

Downforce is a card-driven bidding, racing, and betting game for 2-6 players based on Top Race, the award-winning design by the legendary Wolfgang Kramer. Players first bid to own the six cars in the race, then they play cards from their hand to speed them around the track. However, most cards will also move their opponents’ cars. Games last about 20 – 40 minutes. This is the top racing game on our list of the best board games of 2017.

FOR MORE: Games Like Downforce | Buy Down Force on Amazon

#10 | Photosynthesis

The sun shines brightly on the canopy of the forest, and the trees use this wonderful energy to grow and develop their beautiful foliage. Sow your crops wisely and the shadows of your growing trees could slow your opponents down, but don’t forget that the sun revolves around the forest. Welcome to the world of Photosynthesis, the green strategy board game! This abstract strategy game is for 2 – 4 players and will last about 30 – 60 minutes. Photosynthesis is definitely the highest-ranking nature-driven game on our list of the best board games of 2017.

FOR MORE: Photosynthesis Page | How To Play Photosynthesis | Photosynthesis Review | Games Like Photosynthesis | Buy Photosynthesis on Amazon

#09 | Dinosaur Island

Coming around the turn on the best board games of 2017 is the robust and stylish Dinosaur Island. In Dinosaur Island, players will have to collect DNA, research the DNA sequences of extinct dinosaur species, and then combine the ancient DNA in the correct sequence to bring these prehistoric creatures back to life. Dino cooking! All players will compete to build the most thrilling park each season, and then work to attract (and keep alive!) the most visitors each season that the park opens. For 1 – 4 players, games last about 1.5 – 2 hours.

FOR MORE: Buy Dinosaur Island on Amazon

#08 | Clank! In! Space!

A follow up would normally not make the list of the best board games of 2017 but this was special enough to include. Clank! In! Space! is built on the same game system as Clank!: A Deck-Building Adventure, with players building a personal deck of cards throughout the course of the game, with the cards allowing them to move through the spaceship, attack things, acquire new cards, and — oh yeah — make noise to attract Lord Eradikus and potentially seal their own doom. This deck-building adventure game is for 2 – 4 players and will run about 60 minutes.

FOR MORE: Games Like Clank! | Buy Clank! In! Space! on Amazon

#07 | Century: Spice Road

Century: Spice Road is the first in a series of games that explores the history of each century with spice-trading as the theme for the first installment. In Century: Spice Road, players are caravan leaders who travel the famed silk road to deliver spices to the far reaches of the continent for fame and glory. This strategy game is for 2 – 5 players and will last about 30 – 45 minutes.

FOR MORE: Games Like Century Spice Road | Buy Century Spice Road on Amazon

#06 | Anachrony

Anachrony features a unique two-tiered worker placement system. To travel to the Capital or venture out to the devastated areas for resources, players need not only various Specialists (Engineers, Scientists, Administrators, and Geniuses) but also Exosuits to protect and enhance them — and both are in short supply. This strategy game is for 1 – 4 players and will run about 30 – 120 minutes. Easily one of the best worker placement games on our list of the best board games of 2017.

FOR MORE: Games Like Anachrony | Buy Anachrony on Amazon

#05 | Clans of Caledonia

Players represent historic clans with unique abilities and compete to produce, trade and export agricultural goods and of course whisky! Clans of Caledonia is a mid-to-heavy economic game set in 19th-century Scotland. At this time, Scotland made the transition from an agricultural to an industrialized country that heavily relied on trade and export. In the following years, food production increased significantly to feed population growth. For 1 – 4 players, games last about 30 – 120 minutes.

FOR MORE: Buy Clans of Caledonia on Amazon

#04 | Spirit Island

Spirit Island is a complex and thematic cooperative game about defending your island home from colonizing Invaders. Players are different spirits of the land, each with its own unique elemental powers. Every turn, players simultaneously choose which of their power cards to play, paying energy to do so. Using combinations of power cards that match a spirit’s elemental affinities can grant free bonus effects. A strategy game for 1 – 4 players and will take about 90 – 120 minutes.

FOR MORE: Spirit Island Page | Games Like Spirit Island | Buy Spirit Island on Amazon

#03 | Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition

The bronze medal on the list of the best board games of 2017 goes to an epic one. Twilight Imperium (Fourth Edition) is a game of galactic conquest in which players take on the role of one of seventeen factions vying for galactic domination through military might, political maneuvering, and economic bargaining. Every faction offers a completely different play experience, from the wormhole-hopping Ghosts of Creuss to the Emirates of Hacan, masters of trade and economics. For 3 – 6, games are around 4 – 8 hours.

FOR MORE: Twilight Imperium Page | Games Like Twilight Imperium | Buy Twilight Imperium on Amazon

#02 | Azul

In the game Azul, players take turns drafting colored tiles from suppliers to their player board. Later in the round, players score points based on how they’ve placed their tiles to decorate the palace. Extra points are scored for specific patterns and completing sets; wasted supplies harm the player’s score. This puzzle strategy game is for 2 – 4 players and will run about 40 minutes. This entry on the list of the best board games of 2017 has won the Spiel des Jahres for the year, the most prestigious board game award in the world.

FOR MORE: Azul Page | How To Play Azul | Azul Review | Games Like Azul | Buy Azul on Amazon

#01 | Gloomhaven

The top spot on the list of the best board games of 2017 goes to the amazing and intense dungeon crawler Gloomhavem. This top game is a game of Euro-inspired tactical combat in a persistent world of shifting motives. Players will take on the role of a wandering adventurer with their own special set of skills and their own reasons for traveling to this dark corner of the world. Players must work together out of necessity to clear out menacing dungeons and forgotten ruins. This massive campaigner is 1 – 4 with games taking 1 – 2 hours.

FOR MORE: Gloomhaven Page | Games Like Gloomhaven | Buy Gloomhaven on Amazon