Best Board Games For Your Game Night in 2022

Board games are a great way to improve bonds and lighten up the mood at a party with good friends. Therefore, games that key into relatable topics are even more popular, and that might go some way in explaining why the ‘What Do You Meme? Party Game’ is such a huge hit. With millions of units sold, What Do You Meme? Is a game that tests your knowledge of meme culture and helps to unveil who the meme king/queen in your circle is. It is a game for adults, and the themes are definitely for kids; so, you must know what you’re signing on for when you play this game as there are some things you can’t un-hear or un-see. What’s more, Playing the game is pretty easy, and you only need to caption the picture card in each round with one of the caption cards you’re dealt with. Each round is decided by a rotating judge who will choose the individual with the most relatable caption. Friends will fall away and in the end, a new meme deity will emerge from the ashes.

Additionally, if you are seeking to play this game to win, it is advised that you pick captions based on the sense of humor of the judge, this, of course, means that you need to have an understanding of what the judge likes. Strategies such as this are what makes this game such an excellent bonding technique for a group of friends or teammates. Besides, it’s a giant game with a total of 435 cards, which is broken down further into 75 picture cards and 360 caption cards. What’s more, the cards are stylishly designed and will draw anybody in. If you are worried that the game could get stale after a while, don’t worry as there are expansion packs with even more memes for you and your friends to enjoy. You may also be interested in some of these fun solo games from our list, so check them out.

With plenty of awards and accolades to its name it’s been heralded as the “Perfect Social Game” and is certainly a classic. Catan is all about a voyage of exploration and the race for settlement on a far-flung island that has had the intrepid seafarers overcome great challenges and encounter extreme deprivation to finally arrive at. You need to work to strategically build roads and infrastructure, creating settlements and using all of the natural resources that the island of Catan has to offer. Luckily the island is plentiful boasting mountains, pastures, hills, fields, forests and surrounded by sea. Will you turn your settlements into cities? Employ cunning and intellect to strategically buy and acquire the resources you need to expand and be careful that one of your opponents isn’t working against you to cut off access to your road or steal your hard earned gains. A real battle of intellect and strategy. Be the first player to reach 10 victory points and you’ll be declared the game’s winner! Be sure to also check out our list of the top solo board games for more great items like this.

‘A party game for horrible people,’ that is what the manufacturers themselves describe the game as. With such a description, you can get an idea of what you’re in for and Cards Against Humanity is not a game for sensitive or overly politically correct people. It is an adult game with a sense of humor for degenerates. Playing the game is very easy and uncomplicated to understand. One hundred black cards ask a question and 500 white cards that ‘provide an answer.’ As the player, you are tasked with providing the white card which best answers the question on the black card.

Once all the players play a white card with an answer, the person with the best answer wins the round and the game continues. With so many cards, you have a game that can be played multiple times without having to repeat cards often. What’s more, the game can be played from between four to 20 people meaning that more people can join in the game, and it is uniquely suited for parties that have a large number of people. Besides, the game comes with a booklet that lists out the rules of the game, but if you want to go a little crazy, there are a set of alternate rules that cater to the more ‘adventurous.’ An ideal gift for board game lovers.

Based on Phileas Fogg and his “Around the World in 80 Days”- Ticket to Ride is a real game of adventure where the stakes are high. $ 1 million prize money is up for grabs in the competition if you can successfully travel by rail throughout the US within seven days. The objective is to try and visit as many cities as possible, collecting cards along the way that allow you to access the railway routes connecting you to the cities. It’s a fun and fast passed cross-country game that will increase your knowledge of the USA too!  Pick the longest railway routes to earn more points and to try and win the game. If you finish the game with the longest continuous railway track you will be crowned the winner. If you need a gift for nerds in your life, this might be a good idea.

There are 7 great cities of the Ancient World and you are one of its leaders. You need to use skill and strategy to gather all the resources you need to conquer and affirm your military supremacy, working to erect an architectural wonder that will transcend the future. 7 Wonders is a developmental card game where some cards have immediate effect and use and others are to be saved and utilized later in the game as bonuses and upgrades. So play your hand carefully and with plenty of skill and expertise. Make sure you are keeping a careful eye on what your opponents are up to and how they are playing their cards. The game continues for 3 rounds only after which it concludes. Make sure that you come out on top as the all-powerful and conquering leader of the Ancient World.

The rules are simple and Codenames is lots of fun. Two rival spymasters pitted against each other each who know the secret identities of 25 secret agents. The teammates have to work together to try and uncover the real identities of the secret agents with only their code names and go on to make contact with them first. Each of the Spymasters gives on-word clues that point towards words on the table. You need to try and avoid the assassin as well as your oppositions words in order to uncover the identities. Play with at least 4 of you per team to open up lively and at sometimes quite ridiculous debate! Whether you end up on the winning team or not, you’re sure to have plenty of laughs, heated discussions and a fair amount of frustration. Our handy guide to the best poker sets features more great products like this.

Pandemic- a game of strategy and skill that relies upon group participation and co-operation to successfully win. Four deadly diseases have broken out and it’s up to a team of highly skilled specialists to try and overwhelm them before they destroy humanity! That might involve building research stations to uncover a cure or vaccine but one thing is for sure, you need to act together and fast to stem the tide of deadly infection. Cure the four diseases and you win the game but if you can’t do, try and minimize damage to humanity by containing the outbreaks as best you can. If you enjoying working as a team rather than being overly competitive then this is a great board game to try out. Our handy guide to the best family board games features more great products like this.

A brand new refresh of a favorite board game, this brings extra suspense and intrigue to the table. Explore the creepy house on the hill but be warned, strange and unexpected things could happen that have you cowering under the cushions! Play it with the lights down low if you dare! If you’re a fan of the horror genre, then you’ll love Avalon Hill Betrayal At House on the Hill. Which character will you choose to play as you explore the haunted house, deathly basement or creepy graveyard? Watch out as you enter different rooms for unexpected and mystic happenings! Who will turn out to the traitor amongst your set of players? It is extremely fun, which is one of the reasons you should play board games every night.

Splendor is a beautiful economic-themed board game that will teach you the value of building riches through amassing a lucrative trade in gems and jewelry. With the dawn of the Renaissance new ways to acquire wealth were opened up as global trade routes became a reality. Reimagine yourself as a wealthy nobleman as you work to collect raw gems which you then need to transport to a specialist artisan to carve, polish and shape so that you can eventually open up a lucrative storefront to sell your glittering collection of diamonds and sapphires. The game features plenty of interesting historical references and encourages you to build up a successful business plying your jewels to the highest and most noble of patrons. Who knows, you might even be successful enough to sell yours to a King. A great game for all the family to play together and to appreciate the value of commerce and patronage. The first player to win 15 prestige points is the lucky winner of this popular board game. Make sure you also check our guide to the best Trivia board games for more great items like this.

In this adventure-style game you need to build up the area surrounding the impressive city of Carcassone one tile at a time. Strategically place your “followers” onto fields, cites, roads and monasteries to acquire as many points as possible then try and turn your followers into knights, monks, farmers or thieves depending upon which tiles they end up on. The player who is able to most strategically and intelligently use their followers will end up ultimately winning the game. This is a classic game which has been updated to now include a river and abbot expansion. It’s in the same style as Catan but slightly easier to play and doesn’t take as long to complete. This also makes a great Christmas gift for your loved ones.

A game where every picture can tell a thousand words and it’s your role to eloquently describe it. It’s a fantastic game to play with friend, family or anyone who enjoys spinning a good story. The idea of the game is that you select cards that are represented by pictures and come up with your own interesting and articulate way of representing that picture. The rest of the players then have to choose their own picture card to best depict the story or sentence they’ve just heard. Points get awarded for imagination and intellect. This is a game intended to forge and develop creativity and invention and to really but your descriptive powers to the test. Amongst the cards you will also discover rarities from the world of art that depict fantasy and dream scenarios, really challenging your mind to come up with appropriate descriptive analogies. Dixit is at the same time both challenging and beautiful, simple yet imaginative. The game concludes when all the cards have been revealed and used and the winner is the contestant who has gained the highest score. Make sure you also check our guide to the best two-player board games.

You’ll be up and running in next to no time with One Night Ultimate Werewolf – fun party game. Each of the players picks a card which gives them their own special secret power which will assist with the Villager or the Werewolf team. Who will you choose to be: werewolf, seer, mason, villager, troublemaker or tanner? What might your secret power be? Play and all will be revealed. The game can also be linked to a free app for more detailed walk-through explanations of the rules and to get you up to speed more quickly. All you have to do is figure out who are the werewolves are and you’ve won the game. Each game round should last for around 10 minutes only and there’s no need for a moderator either so it makes the perfect quick-fire party game that everyone can have a go at. A manly man in your life will love this game!

If you like your games to be in the spirit of cooperation rather than competition, then Forbidden Island is the one for you. You and your team will be required to work together, navigating around the island on a bid to stop it from sinking. Whilst deploying strategies to stop the island from sinking you’ll also need to uncover and collect valuable treasures and items. Work quickly and act together though because as the water rises and the island begins to disappear, so too do your chances of reclaiming the treasure. This has multiple levels of difficulty so will continue to challenge and reward you. There are also different characters to choose from and optional island formats too so plenty of scope for continued game playing adventure. You can play this game with just two people up to four and the more players you have, the faster you should be able to successfully conclude the game. Strategize together for the ultimately rewarding end result. You’ll really need to work together and collaborate in order to retrieve the sunken treasure and breach the borders of the Archean’s ancient mystical empire.

Chances are if you are already a fan of board games and especially strategic ones then you will be familiar with Risk, the military style game where you get a chance to take over the world. This version is new and improved with updated figures and compelling board art. You are basically involved in a series of tactical style operations to build an army, deploy your troops and successfully engage in battles. On the Risk battlefield just about anything goes so make sure that you are fully prepared. You need to have your wits about you and plan out carefully where to place your troops to ensure they can defeat their opponents and not the other way round. There are actually 4 different ways you can play this latest version of Risk. Secret Mission, Classic, Risk for 2 Players or in Capital mode. Everything you need to get playing is included; the gameboard, 5 armies with 40 infantry, 12 cavalries and 8 artillery. You also get 56 risk cards your dice, war crates and game guide. All you need is to bring some serious strategic thinking to the table and your Game face! Take this as a housewarming gift to your friends, you won’t regret it and you’ll have a night to remember.

Wizards of the Coast Lords of the Deep- a truly interactive and fully immersive board game that requires strategy and problem-solving in order to be ultimately successful. A kind of Dungeons and Dragons style theme there are endless creative ways you can try to thwart your opponent and totally screw their game-play. You take on the role of one of the powerful secret lord in an attempt to gain control of Waterdeep, the City of Splendor and all its valuable and resplendent jewels. If you have a remotely devious or conniving nature, then you can really let lose! Send your opposition on pointless missions, steal their valuable resources for yourself or set up cunning blocks to halt their strategies in their tracks. Be on your tactical toes to get ahead in this cut-throat game and be prepared to lose your friends as you use every dirty trick in the book to win the game! Don’t forget to also check our guide to the best puzzles for adults. 

Like Pandemic 1 before it, Pandemic Legacy Season 2 is all about cooperation over competition. Working together in order to save the world from the ravages of a series of hideous life-threatening diseases. A plague has ravaged most of the world apart from a small network of cities where there are still resources and people alive. Your job is to work collaboratively and strategically to ensure that it stays that way to ensure the future survival of humanity. All in a day’s work then! Based around environmental, exploration and medical themes this game will certainly give you plenty to think about.

If you love to chat and negotiate whilst you are playing your board games, then this is the one for you. First published back in 1977, Cosmic Encounter still remains just as popular today. Each player is assigned their own unique alien power from a huge deck of choices meaning that no two games will ever be played out the same. The aim of the game is to establish your colony on a rival planet which might involve plenty of negotiating and the formation of temporary strategic alliances to get ahead of the game. This is a game of alien politics, featuring 50 different races and the chance to build your own impressive galactic empire. Use your special alien powers to help you win the game.