When I was first getting into tabletop gaming, I was pretty confused by all of the different types of board games that were out there. It actually took me over a year to get a good grasp on the differences between all of the board game categories. I’m hoping this page makes learning the different board game types a much quicker process for others!
My ultimate goal with this guide is to help gamers know the types of games they’re getting into before they buy board games for their groups.
25 Types of Board Games
Rather than going through every type of board game, which would take me ages to do, I decided to include 25 of the most common types of board games you’ll run into. Keep in mind that a lot of board games–most, actually–fall under more than one board game category.
I’m focusing on cooperative board game types, but the majority are used in both competitive and co-op games.
I’m going to do the best I can to make each description make as much sense as possible. If you have a better understanding of each type’s meaning when you leave, I’ve done my job!
Table of Contents
Cooperative Games
It makes sense to start here! (Don’t worry, the rest of this list is in alphabetical order)
In cooperative board games, players are on the same team and they’re attempting to beat the game together. You can have different roles to play, but at the end of the game, you’ll either win or lose as a team.
Examples: Well, all of the board game reviews and board game rankings on this site cover cooperative board games!
See the Top 40 Cooperative Board Games
Abstract Strategy Games
Abstract strategy games are games with little or no theme. These games are known for having simple mechanisms, but they’re usually very tough to master because they’re skill-based (little or no luck involved).
Chess and Go are the most popular competitive abstract strategy games. There really aren’t a lot of abstract co-op games yet, which is a shame.
Example: Team Up!
Area Control Games
In most area control games, you’re trying to have more power than your opponents in as many parts of the map as you can. In some area control games, you just have to have more pieces. In others, it’s the strength of each piece that matters.
You wouldn’t expect to find area control in co-op games, but in recent years some creative designers have found a way to make it work!
Examples: CO₂: Second Chance | Spirit Island
Campaign Games
Campaign games have you play through multiple missions or scenarios before you reach the end of the game. Your characters will usually get better as you move through the campaign, and the scenarios themselves get tougher.
Campaign games are typically much longer than other board games, often requiring many sessions to get through.
Examples: Adventure Tactics | Dawn of Peacemakers
City-Building Games
This is a pretty simple one! In city-building games, you attempt to build and manage a city.
You’ll usually get points at the end of the game based on how well your city was built.
Examples: Cities: Skylines | Sprawlopolis
Deck Building Games
In most deck building games, you start with a basic deck of cards and you make your deck better as you play through the game. You usually do that by acquiring new cards and by getting rid of some of those basic cards.
For example, you might start with a Weapon card that gives you a low amount of power, you later acquire a Weapon card that gives you more power, and then you use some game action to remove the weaker weapon from your deck to improve your odds of drawing that better weapon.
Examples: Aeon’s End | Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle
See the Best Deck Building Games
Deduction Games
In deduction games, you have to solve problems by using the information you’ve gathered during the game.
Popular types of board games that can sometimes fall under the “Deduction” umbrella include detective games, murder mystery games, and puzzle games.
Examples: Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective | Chronicles of Crime
See the Best Deduction Games
Dexterity Games
In dexterity games, you have to use physical skills to accomplish your goals. These games often have players standing up to perform the main actions of the game. At the very least, you’ll be moving more than you do while playing other types of board games.
Flicking games and balancing games are two of the main types of dexterity games.
Examples: Slide Quest | Menara
Dungeon Crawler Games
A dungeon crawler is a type of game that has players move through an environment (sometimes a dungeon, but not always), search for items, deal with a bunch of dangers, and ultimately fight some type of boss.
These games have a ton of exploration and there are usually many “dungeons” that you have to get through to beat them.
Examples: Cthulhu: Death May Die | D&D: Castle Ravenloft
See the Best Dungeon Crawlers
Economic Games
In economic games, you usually have to efficiently manage one or more resources to do well.
Economic games are often engine-building games in which you need to make whatever produces a resource run smoother/quicker as the game moves along.
Examples: Freedom: The Underground Railroad | Debtzilla
Family Games
I like to think of family games as games that can be enjoyed (not just played) by gamers of all ages.
Family games usually have simple rules and fun gameplay, which is why they are some of the most popular types of board games around.
Examples: Flash Point: Fire Rescue | Castle Panic
See the Best Board Games for Families list
Fighting Games
Fighting games are all about characters battling it out! These games could have a bunch of one-on-one fights or they could have a group of characters fighting one or more enemies.
I think it’s important to point out that there are a lot of games that have fighting mechanisms, but I consider fighting games to be the ones that focus on fighting.
Examples: 5-Minute Dungeon | Marvel Champions
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Hand Management Games
In hand management games, it’s all about using your cards in the most optimal way.
These games often have hand-size restrictions, so knowing what to hold and what to play can be the difference between winning and losing.
Examples: Champions of Hara | Maximum Apocalypse
Kids Games
Unlike board games for families, kids games are meant to be easy enough for younger kids to play. In many cases, kids can play them with or without adults.
Kids games usually have cute themes that children can enjoy. They also teach kids how to think strategically and, in the case of cooperative kids games, to work together.
Examples: Mole Rats in Space | Stuffed Fables
See the Best Board Games for Kids
Limited Communication Games
Limited communication games limit what you can say to the other players at the table in different ways.
For example, in some co-op limited communication games, you try to figure out what cards your teammates have by paying attention to the other cards they’ve played.
Party Games
Party games are light board games that usually have a lot of player interaction.
Board games in the party game genre often have short play times and can be played by five or more players, making them perfect for people who want to play a quick and fun game with their friends without having to learn and teach a lot of rules.
Examples: Just One | Cross Clues
See the Best Party Board Games
Pick-up and Deliver Games
Pick-up and deliver games have you doing what the name implies: picking things up and then delivering them somewhere else.
You’ll usually have to travel to pick stuff up, and you’ll often get rewarded in some way every time you make a delivery.
Examples: Horrified | Now Boarding
Check out our Top 10 Co-op Deck Building Games!
Programming Games
In programming games, everyone programs their movements and actions, and then you see how everything plays out.
In most of these games you don’t know what the other players have programmed, so you can’t be sure that what you planned will come to fruition.
Examples: Quirky Circuits | Mechs vs. Minions
Real-Time Games
In real-time board games, you’re on a clock and you need to complete objectives before time runs out.
Most real-time games use digital timers or sand timers to track time.
These games can be super chaotic!
Examples: 5-Minute Dungeon | Space Alert
See the Best Real-Time Board Games
Set Collection Games
In set collection games, putting groups of cards together in sets is a big part of how you succeed.
A classic example of a competitive set collection game is Rummy, which has players attempting to put sets of cards together based on their rank or suit.
Examples: Pandemic | Black Orchestra
Storytelling Games
Storytelling games, also sometimes called narrative games or storybook games, usually have you follow along in a storybook as you play.
Often you can change how the story plays out based on how you answer questions in a book.
Examples: Sleeping Gods | Aftermath
Tower Defense Games
Tower defense games typically have you defend one location from onrushing enemies.
You usually need to set up defenses around your “tower,” and fight any enemies that get close.
Examples: Last Bastion | Pavlov’s House
War Games
War games allow you to reenact past battles or fight in fictional wars. These games are usually thematic since the designers wanted to be as accurate as possible when creating them.
Most board games in the war games genre are competitive, but more publishers have released co-op war games in recent years.
Examples: D-Day Dice | Warfighter WWII
Word Games
Word games are all about spelling, unscrambling, defining, or finding links between words.
If you’ve played Scrabble, you’ve played a word game!
Examples: Letter Jam | Codenames Duet
See the Best Word Board Games
Worker Placement Games
In worker placement games, you send your characters (workers) to perform actions for you throughout the game.
There are usually a bunch of actions available in worker placement games, but you only have so many workers to send out. These games often only allow one worker to be in an action space each turn, which further limits what players can do.
Examples: Robinson Crusoe | Atlantis Rising
Thanks for taking a look at our Types of Board Games guide!
Be sure to check out our Best Co-op Board Games list and other board game rankings.
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