Board games are so much fun! But, what we're talking about specifically are board games of a more complex nature, as the hobby itself has stepped into the public eye more in the past couple of decades. Nowadays, there are fantastic board games, tabletop campaigns, and even collectible card games homaging every little property. Movies, TV shows, comics, anime, even video games all have tabletop activities modeled after them. Now, our assumption would have been that these games were poorly made in terms of complexity and simply served as an easy cash grab off the popularity of the game. But most of them are pretty good! So, without further ado, let's talk about the best gaming-based board games out there.
10 Gears of War: The Board Game
Let's start things off with a fan favorite from board game fanatics that not many people know existed. Way back in 2011, Epic Game's own Gears of War franchise got its own board game. Surprisingly, it's cooperative, not competitive. Gears of War: The Board Game absolutely encapsulates the ideas of the game by making players' hand-of-cards also represent their health. That means that your offensive options also whittle down your own lifeline. It's a highly aggressive system that accurately represents charging in and getting torn to shreds by a shotgun up close. A must-buy for any fan of the series.
9 This War of Mine: The Board Game
This War of Mine was a critically acclaimed video game that won its fair share of awards and released back in 2014. In it, a group of survivors desperately attempts to make it day-by-day as war ravages around them. The board game version has much of the same desperate tone that has players performing mundane activities that end up crucial towards lasting through the night.
This is another cooperative game where a team of players works together to survive either through the day or night. But, does it work as a board game? Absolutely! Same as the game, this board game was nominated for a variety of awards back in 2017.
8 Dark Souls: The Board Game
This board game is so hard it might as well be Dark Souls! Oh...wait, it is Dark Souls. DS: The Board Game started on Kickstarter and surpassed its funding easily. It has since been released commercially for a hefty sum. Fans say this game can be very methodical, and we totally understand that sentiment. Still, there aren't many games like this out there, digitally or physically. Honestly, it's worth the price just for the number of counters, miniatures of our favorite bosses, and tokens people can either use for other board games or for their own display cases. Just keep in mind, if the board game version seems too pricey, there is a CCG variant.
7 Bloodborne: The Card Game
If it were purely up to us, Bloodborne: The Card Game would be way more popular. It's just so much fun! While the Dark Souls Board Game has been pretty divisive, anyone who has played this cheaper and simpler card game has been ecstatic with the results. Basically, the mechanics of this tabletop version of Yharnam do a fantastic job mimicking the in-universe gameplay. Whether it's the act of repetitive death, using the enemies' health as currency, the over-aggressive playstyle, or even the variability that's mean to channel the Chalice Dungeon system. If you want to introduce some beginners to its setting, this board game does the job.
6 The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls
The Bloodborne Card Game might channel the mechanics of its game well, but Binding of Isaac: Four Souls does it even better. Each player picks a character who comes with their own starting item and stats. The goal of the journey is to progress through the dungeon, collecting pennies, bombs, and items, with RNG playing a big part just like in the game.
Why? Well to collect the souls of course! Four of them, to be precise. Most of them require fighting enemies, be they normal mobs, mini-bosses, or bosses themselves. It's a great time that feels insanely different with each run.
5 Resident Evil Deck Building Game
Cryptozoic is a well known CCG/Deckbuilding game maker. They've got their core set of rules that many other game-makers take inspiration from. Our personal favorite is the Resident Evil variant of the classic deck-building formula. They always nail the feel of the game too. With the Attack on Titan: CCG, it was channeling the fear of facing the titans, and with the DC Deck Builder, it was the combo's you could exploit. While not made by Cryptozoic, in the Resident Evil: Deck Building Game, players can feel the same pressure for weapons and ammo they did in the classic RE titles. And, the rules even allow for a Story playthrough, Mercenary Mode, or Versus Mode!
4 Blood Bowl: Team Manager - The Card Game
We aren't entirely sure if Blood Bowl: Team Manager would count for this article, considering the series started as a board game back in 1986. But, it kept having new versions of the game release, and it garnered so much popularity that they made a series of video games to go alongside it, even one as current as Blood Bowl 2 coming out in 2015. In any case, Team Manager is a fantastic game all about building up your team of players (such as Orcs, Elves, and Dwarves). You build up your team, build fans, and play games. Yes, its about football and that might scare some people off, but we promise that this isn't some Fantasy Football version of monopoly or something.
3 DOOM: The Board Game (2016)
Here's the first game on our list that switches up the playstyle compared to everything else. Up until now, players have either fought in a free for all or worked together towards a common goal. But, in the 2016 release of DOOM: The Board Game, one invading player controls the demons that up to four other "marines" fight against. Now you may be wondering, isn't there another DOOM board game that came out in 2004? There was, and it was awesome!
The 2016 DOOM board game is a bit more rigid to allow for easy learning with new players. We won't say which is better, but in terms of overall craft and organization, the newer installment is definitely an improvement. Either one is well worth a look though.
2 Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game
Careful when looking up which Civilization we're talking about here. No, not the series of video games, and no, not the 2002 version with the exact same name, this is Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game. Just like the games, it's not simple or a quick one to play. We loved playing this game but it is not a recommendation for anyone not committing to learning all types of tabletop games or diehard fans of the digital game series. Honestly, this one is probably most like it's video game compatriot, as the video game itself plays mostly like a Board Game would. Players choose which leader they want to play as, and quickly decide what path to victory they want to take. Become a conqueror? Dominate the world through scientific advancement? The choice is yours.
1 World of Warcraft: The Boardgame
To cap things off, we're going to end with an absurdly expensive version of the king of MMORPG's World of Warcraft. The WoW Boardgame is currently selling on Amazon and other sites for about $500, so this absolutely isn't one we'd recommend for anything but collectors or board game fanatics. But, once you buy it, you'll find an insanely gigantic box on your doorstep, some truly well-made figurines, and a pretty uniquely fun game to play with a party of other tabletop-crazed friends. People love their classics, as shown by WoW classic's insane player count. The other unique thing about this game is that it's team-based, you'll work with 1-2 others against another equally sized party to see who can beat the final boss first. A massive price-tag, but a great game nonetheless.