Best Fantasy Board Games for 2023 – CNET
Best Fantasy Board Games for 2023 - CNET
Lots of us have been stuck at home over the last few weeks due to the coronavirus. After just a few days, I already started to feel stir-crazy, so an adventure in a far-off world sounded perfect. These fantasy board games offer a great means of escape, for your imagination at least.
A few of these qualify as “high fantasy” with knights and wizards and the like, but we’ve picked a variety of subgenres of the best fantasy board games, as well as a few different styles of gameplay. Some even work well for a solo game night. If you’re in need of some analog entertainment, gather round the table and dive into one of these fantastical worlds.
Read more: Best board games for 2022
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Gloomhaven is a big game with a big box. Here’s a banana for scale.
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Gloomhaven is a big game with a big box. Here’s a banana for scale.
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Gloomhaven is a big game with a big box. Here’s a banana for scale.
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Gloomhaven is a big game with a big box. Here’s a banana for scale.
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I love Gloomhaven so much that I tend to associate it with all of the good things in life. Sunshine, dessert, a good night’s sleep, Gloomhaven — these are the basic necessities of happy living. And seriously, I can’t think of a better activity if you’re stuck at home and in the mood for a cooperative fantasy board game adventure. You take on the role of mercenaries in Gloomhaven, a decrepit and dangerous town. In each game session, you and your friends traverse a dungeon and fight dangerous monsters. You’ll make decisions along the way that can help Gloomhaven thrive or drive it over the edge of destruction — yes, Gloomhaven is a legacy game, meaning the world changes as you play. Your characters will also level up and get more powerful as you go, and the scenarios get more interesting the further you venture into the story. I’ve invested literally hundreds of hours in this game and I’m still not sick of it. The basic combat balances simple mechanics with deep strategy. The story is engaging without feeling like a game-ified novel. Gloomhaven is my favorite board game. If you’re stuck at home, I recommend giving this great game a try. – Andrew
Read more: Best 2-player board games for 2022
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Before I found out about Gloomhaven, Legacy of Dragonholt helped fill my desire for a good story-driven fantasy game. Even though Gloomhaven exists, Legacy of Dragonholt deserves a place on your shelf, especially if you want more story and fewer components and combat mechanics. Dragonholt streamlines the legacy gameplay experience to be almost entirely about the story. The game includes a stack of storybooks, character sheets, maps and more to help you get immersed. You can play with up to six people and every one will be called on to make tough decisions both within combat and when trying to solve the problems of this fantasy world. As you progress, you check off certain boxes on a tracker, which lock and unlock more sections of story based on your choices. The game even accounts for the passage of time. You might miss your chance at a rescue mission if you don’t move fast enough. If you don’t want to deal with the setup of Gloomhaven, grab one of the storybooks of Legacy of Dragonholt and jump into an adventure. – Andrew
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There are a ton of different versions of this series of popular board games. Whether set in a prison, hospital or ruined city, they all have the same basic theme — an ever-growing bunch of zombies chase your crew around a map as you race for the exit. This version is the universal favorite, taking the action back to medieval times. There’s a handy app for iOS and Android that can handle all the card-shuffling and inventory, leaving you free to focus on strategic thinking and filling the game board with plastic zombies. If you want more of a Walking Dead vibe, there are also several excellent Zombicide games set in modern times, such as Prison Outbreak or Rue Morgue. There’s a brand-new standalone Zombicide game for iOS and Android, too, which is a fun game for subway rides where setting up a giant game board would be frowned upon. – Dan
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Small World is a simple conquest game with a playful sense of humor.
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Small World is a simple conquest game with a playful sense of humor.
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Small World is a simple conquest game with a playful sense of humor.
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Small World is a simple conquest game with a playful sense of humor.
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Small World is one of my favorite games of all time, simply because this tabletop game feels like a different type of game every time you play it. Essentially, players are vying for control of a Risk-like board with too few spaces to accommodate everyone: hence the name. You bid for one of dozens of fantastical creatures, which is randomly paired with an additional special ability — which can lead to hilarious combinations like Were-Will-o’-the-Wisps or Peace-loving Homunculi. Then you spread using your special abilities, collect coins based on the territory you control and leave that race behind for a new one. It’s an addictive gameplay loop, often equal parts funny and competitive, and you can learn and play it in under two hours. – Dave
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If you like detailed and inventive miniature-based games, Blood Rage might be for you. It’s a Norse mythology-themed conquest game, but unlike many others of the type — where you just want to control the board — Blood Rage encourages players try different play styles. You can win by conquering regions with the aid of giant monsters, for example, or by letting your warriors die with glory and ascend to Valhalla, or by completing special quests to please the gods. The result is a mind-expanding experience that forces you outside of the usual live-or-die dichotomy that dominates conquest games. Plus, the fantasy game world is just badass. – Dave