Modern Board Games: and why you should play them (2022)
by maayank on 4/20/2026, 4:41:19 PM
https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/10755/blogpost/124992/modern-board-games-and-why-you-should-play-them
Comments
by: thom
I think you should play modern board games, but can we agree that there are both good and also heinously bad lessons to learn from them? Far too many board games want to be computer games, and seem to think it's trivial to have 20 different piles of crap to set up at the start, and then a dozen different pieces of state to track in your little corner of the table during what will inevitably be a complicated five-phased turn. If your board game takes hours to learn and set up, and then half an hour to put away again at the end, I am just going to invest my time in a proper TTRPG that better repays the investment.
4/23/2026, 3:04:56 PM
by: Taikonerd
I'm thinking of breaking up with my local board game Meetup.<p>The reason why is: everybody there has board game ADD! I've been coming for 2 years, but we never play the same game twice; someone always brings the Hot New Game of the moment.<p>But I find that the first playthough is the least-fun one. That's the one where you're trying to remember what the grey cubes do, and whether they're worth victory points or not. And the game takes twice as long as it says on the box, because everyone needs to reason out their strategy from scratch.<p>I wish that I could convince my group to pick some set of N games to focus on!
4/23/2026, 3:10:58 PM
by: snarf21
We are living in a board game and card game Renaissance. For those outside of "the hobby", there are thousands of new titles being released every year. Some challenge the notion of what it even means to be a game. Even in the party game space, there is a lot of innovation. It doesn't matter what kind of game you like, there is one from the last 10 years that is your "perfect" game. If you hop on to BGG or the right Discords, you can find it fairly quickly. There is also <i>LOTS</i> of online playtesting happening with groups like Break My Game where you can play games still being designed. Additionally, I'll mention Board Game Arena which has digital implementations for over 1200 games.<p>[Source: I've been designing games as a hobby for the last 10 years)
4/23/2026, 3:06:36 PM
by: zug_zug
I recommend Wingspan for a wide range of gamers. If you don't have anyone to play with there is a very nice app you can play (steam, ios) with great music, AI, relaxing vibe.
4/23/2026, 2:50:53 PM
by: kqr
If only playing board games didn't require colocating several friends for a non-trivial span of time... Everyone around me (including myself!) is busy with work, children, partner, running their household, and exercising.<p>How do people do it?
4/23/2026, 3:01:24 PM
by: davidee
If anyone's looking for a good, quick, 2 player game, Sky Team was a lot of fun. My partner and I are always on the lookout for quick, but strategic 2 player games and this hit the spot.<p>It's cooperative and has enough variety to keep it at exactly the right balance of fun/challenging.<p>Similarly, if you're looking for a wild 8 player game -> captain sonar. It sounds confusing until you start playing and then the light bulb goes on and you can't get enough.
4/23/2026, 3:33:13 PM
by: faizshah
I tried a few, the only one that really meshed with me in terms of competitiveness, strategy, constant pivoting and wide decision space is Dune Imperium Uprising. My group started with wingspan which was fun but we ended up hating how much it became just pure chance.<p>Dune was basically the opposite you have an element of RNG from deckbuilding, you have multi-step planning and if someone else takes your move you have to recalibrate your plan, you can pull off crazy combos and hidden plans with intrigues.<p>I highly recommend Dune Imperium Uprising for engineers.<p>Would love if anyone can recommend any game of similar depth. We tried Arcs, root, and some others but couldn’t find anything similarly competitive and deep while not being one of those way too complicated games like twilight imperium or something.
4/23/2026, 3:21:20 PM
by: nogha
When I was a team lead I used to play board games as fun activity after releases.<p>I find it’s a great activity for people that aren’t that social. You get to participate in a group activity where your focus is on the game. Choosing the right game for the group is important though.
4/23/2026, 3:23:29 PM
by: gtr
Good article and I was shocked to see a picture from my old office at the top of the page!
4/23/2026, 2:33:58 PM
by: vunderba
Our circle of friends tends to gravitate toward games (such as Balderdash [1]) that don’t necessarily give an asymmetric advantage to the people who own them and likely have a lot more hours of experience.<p>[1] - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balderdash" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balderdash</a>
4/23/2026, 3:30:14 PM
by: lelanthran
Does there have to be a board? Spyfall is no different to Imposter, except that there is no board, nor cards.<p>D&D is mentioned as a board game, but you don't really need a board.<p>Maybe we should call them "tabletop games" instead, in which case I think card games should make it (bridge, for example, means reading both your partner and your opponent).
4/23/2026, 2:31:20 PM
by: drrob
I got back into board games in about 2013, then when the pandemic came around and in-person wasn't viable we hit Board Game Arena big time for about 18 months.<p>Online isn't as nice as in-person, but it sufficed.
4/23/2026, 3:03:31 PM
by: amoshebb
Are there any good low-stakes games for a regular game night?<p>I'd love to try to host something like a poker night, but without the sour taste of gambling. Poker has lots of great qualities: people can drop in and drop out of, pick up quickly, not require so much focus that it precludes whitty bantz or idle side conversation. Are there some modern games that fit this shape?
4/23/2026, 3:12:41 PM
by: cammasmith
Are there actually people out there who have never played “modern board games”? Maybe I’m just surrounded by nerds, but I don’t think these games are very niche. If someone I know hasn’t played board games like these, then it’s usually because they don’t have the attention span or don’t enjoy the strategy, not because they don’t realize board games exist.
4/23/2026, 3:07:14 PM
by: fsiefken
Games I currently play:<p>- Race for the Galaxy<p>A fast paced SF card game. Players build galactic civilizations by simultaneously selecting roles (like Explore, Develop, or Settle), which dictates the phases that occur that round.<p>- New Frontiers<p>Often described as "Race for the Galaxy: The Board Game." It takes the core role-selection mechanisms of Race for the Galaxy but implements them into a more spatial and resource-driven board game format.<p>- Imperial Settlers<p>A deceptively cute but highly competitive engine-building card game. Players take on the role of asymmetrical historical factions (Romans, Barbarians, Egyptians, etc.) to gather resources, build locations, and occasionally raze their opponents' buildings to score the most victory points.<p>- Kyoto Shogi<p>A fast-paced micro-variant of traditional Japanese Shogi played on a tiny 5x5 board. Its defining twist is that pieces alternate between their promoted and demoted states every time they move, requiring serious forward-thinking and tactical planning.<p>- Seirawan Chess<p>A chess variant by grandmaster Yasser Seirawan. It is played on a standard 8x8 board but introduces two fairy pieces: the Elephant (combines movement of Knight & Rook) and the Hawk (combines movement of Knight & Bishop), which are dropped onto the board as the starting pieces move.<p>- Star Trek: Captain's Chair<p>An asymmetrical deck-building game where players take control of iconic captains and factions from the Star Trek universe (like the Federation, Klingons, or Romulans). It also has a strategic combat and resource management system.<p>- Gaia Project<p>An SF successor to Terra Mystica. You control one of 14 asymmetric alien factions, expanding across the galaxy by terraforming planets to match environmental needs. An economic eurogame with a tech tree.<p>- Cry Havoc<p>A card-driven, asymmetrical area control game set in a sci-fi universe. Four different factions (including native aliens and invading humans) fight for supremacy.<p>- AuZtralia / TaZmania (Expansion)<p>Set in an alternate-reality 1930s where humanity fled to Australia only to find it populated by Lovecraftian Old Ones. It blends economic route-building (railways and farming) with tower-defense combat. The TaZmania expansion has a dual-sided map specifically designed for solo or 2-player games, including a randomized terrain side.<p>- Lancaster<p>A 15th-century worker placement and area-majority game. Your "workers" are knights of varying strengths. Stronger knights can physically bump weaker knights out of locations. Players manage their forces to gain resources, vote on shifting game laws, and fight alongside the King in France.<p>- Calico<p>A cozy but brain-burning puzzle game. You draft different colored and patterned hex tiles to sew a patchwork quilt. Score points by completing design goals, sewing on buttons, and attract specific cats to sleep on their fav patterns.
4/23/2026, 4:18:37 PM
by: tromp
> ‘Euro’, or German style, games and what is affectionately called ‘Ameritrash’.<p>Trash sounds more derogatory than affectionate to me?!
4/23/2026, 3:32:43 PM
by: The_Blade
Twilight Struggle is my all-time fave<p>although have to mention Diplomacy for its capacity to end relationships and practice war time negotiations and cheating is part of the game (IIRC it was a favorite of Kissinger and JFK)
4/23/2026, 3:03:46 PM
by: marklar423
> Alongside these games there have always been small groups of men moving around groups of small men in a basement somewhere re-enacting some battle or other.<p>Amazing line.
4/23/2026, 3:10:37 PM
by: GodelNumbering
The peak board game experience to me is Blood on the Clocktower.
4/23/2026, 2:38:20 PM
by: almostdeadguy
If you are not yet a player of modern hobby board games and are interested to try some I recommend this method for picking some to try out:<p><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/search/boardgame?sort=rank&advsearch=1&range%5Byearpublished%5D%5Bmin%5D=1990&range%5Byearpublished%5D%5Bmax%5D=2007&B1=Submit" rel="nofollow">https://boardgamegeek.com/search/boardgame?sort=rank&advsear...</a><p>These are the top ranked games on BGG from 1990 - 2007. Pick a few of these, try to pick games that are highly differentiated from each other by category and mechanisms on their BGG pages (also I recommend you pick ones with under ~2hrs expected play time to start). Read the rules for one, go to your local board game cafe with some friends and play it. Try to recruit friends willing to play a game more than once, even if they initially dislike it (hard ask, I know, but sometimes games only reveal themselves after repeated plays). If you are enjoying this, repeat this with a couple picks and try to determine what are the features of these games that you enjoy (may be shared mechanisms, but eventually I think you will come to a more philosophical understanding of what you enjoy about board games, if you enjoy them!). You may find out early in this, that you don't really enjoy games except for the social experience. That's extremely common.<p>I do not recommend looking at kickstarters or the current top ranked games on BGG, or looking at recent youtube reviews.
4/23/2026, 4:10:57 PM
by: arjie
Board games are great fun and also provide an excuse to hang out with your friends on a schedule. Some of my favourites are:<p>Power Grid: An ancient one. You compete to connect cities to your power network by buying resources on a market with a fixed replenishment cycle (so the book depletes as each player goes) and buying plants in auction.<p>Forbidden Stars: WH40k game. The interesting device in this game is that you commit to your actions ahead of time and others stack their actions on top of yours so yours will happen last but you can activate each map section available at your convenience. Combat with card draws and figurines.<p>Twilight Struggle: The US and the USSR struggle for control of the world. You play cards that represent various pivotal moments in history to give you influence in various parts of the world. You're allowed to coup and realign countries. Dice rolls are significant. An amusing self-confession is that I can't bring myself to play the USSRs. Nuclear Subs as a headline just makes me flush with pride <a href="https://twilightstrategy.com/2012/09/10/nuclear-subs/" rel="nofollow">https://twilightstrategy.com/2012/09/10/nuclear-subs/</a><p>I haven't played the latter two in recent times but ones I have played recently are:<p>Mahjong: An old classic. Trick taking with tiles. We most enjoy playing with the Chinese Official scoring rules <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250219225547/http://mahjong.wikidot.com/rules:chinese-official-scoring" rel="nofollow">https://web.archive.org/web/20250219225547/http://mahjong.wi...</a><p>But the Taiwanese style are easier to start with<p>Terraforming Mars: Tableau-building game (you have points based on the cards you've played) with an economy and map placement. I like the Venus and Colonies expansions. Best played with 3d printed parts to keep your nezos in place.<p>These are all great fun!
4/23/2026, 3:17:05 PM
by: wellthisisgreat
Any particularly complex or sophisticated board games HN likes to play?<p>Curious what kind of games appeal to the HN mindset
4/23/2026, 2:24:45 PM
by: u8080
Those people playing board games must lose their mind if someone shows them video games with nice UI.
4/23/2026, 3:22:09 PM
by: stevetron
There's also Clue, Combat, stratego, Life, Parcheesi
4/23/2026, 2:37:35 PM
by: anthk
Not just board based but Phutball it's interesting; and there was another one called Racetrack or something like that moving on vectors where you speed can just change on one unit around -+ x and/or y axis (9 directions).<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phutball" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phutball</a><p>Race Track<p><a href="http://ideaexplore.net/racetrack.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://ideaexplore.net/racetrack.pdf</a><p>There are a fre more great 'realistic' pen and paper games like Tennis.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_(paper-and-pencil_game)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_(paper-and-pencil_game)</a>
4/23/2026, 2:54:20 PM
by: ModernMech
My friends and I graduated from playing video games as teens to now we play almost exclusively board games together in our 30s. If you’re new to the scene, you may not be aware of the different styles of game design, here’s a video to get you started on the basics: <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nyYexTcyY2A" rel="nofollow">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nyYexTcyY2A</a>
4/23/2026, 3:10:12 PM