The Top 10 Board Games of 2025

This feels strange. I’m usually late with my yearly list, taking my sweet time until January or February to catch up on all of the noteworthy releases. This was a quieter year. Some would say weaker than most. There are still several standout titles, and it did prove a bit of a struggle to narrow it down to 10.

Moon Colony Bloodbath and Eternal Decks are the only two games that really come to mind which I haven’t played yet, and which may have appeared here. As always, I don’t include games which have been reprinted with few design changes. Age of Galaxy being ineligible is an example of this. Sometimes this line is very hard to draw, and you can certainly quibble with some of my selections. But it’s my list, so let’s kick it.

10. Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game

Read my full review here.

Why it Matters – No one’s talking about this game. Maybe that’s because it’s a CMON publication and that company is desperately gasping for air. Maybe it’s because none of you Muppets appreciate one of the best video games ever developed. Regardless, Emerson Matsuuchi’s stealth action board game is suitably epic, capturing the story beats, nuance, and enthralling gameplay of its source. This is a legitimately compelling tabletop design that takes players through the various high notes of MGS2, including a magical confrontation with Psycho Mantis that is award worthy. Here’s your award Emerson. It means nothing. Congrats.

Why it’s not Higher – This is somewhat niche. The subject matter will limit the audience, but also the format of play. The idea is to play through the scenarios in order, but the gameplay defers to the framework of the video game at all times. This means some scenarios are solitaire endeavors, some are two-player, and some support a larger group. There are no options to modify this or brute force your group into it. One-off VR Missions allow for a taste of the game, but they’re not the reason someone would buy a ticket to the ride. I also don’t think many will want to re-experience this game once they’re done with the storyline. Maybe after a few years, but that necessarily limits its significance. Finally, the retail edition does not include the comic panel interludes between scenarios, which is a significant loss in terms of storytelling.

9. Nature

I wrote about this at IGN.

Why it Matters – What a turnaround. North Star Games’ Evolution series never really grabbed ahold of me, only drawing my interest momentarily with Oceans. There’s something about Nature though. To be clear, I’m not particularly enthralled with the no-frills base game experience. It’s approachable and caters to a wide splay of participants, but it’s not very interesting. This game was designed with the intention to integrate modules. These include things like Flight, The Amazon, and the violent Jurassic.

With a module or two integrated, Nature shifts into a dynamic and nuanced tableau builder steeped in conflict. You have to evolve your creatures in response to their environment, perfectly capturing the game’s scientific themes. This mechanical variety and the way in which the tableau space is altered with each of the various expansions adds a tremendous amount of variety. My interest spikes, and the game takes on new life. Tinkering with various combinations – such as melding heavy carnivore Jurassic play with the bluffing of The Amazon – is fruitful exploration which provides a great deal of texture. There is a lot going on with this product line, but when taken as individual segments and actually put to use on the table, it’s a smooth and straightforward Euro-style tableau builder with heads up tactical card play.

Why it’s not Higher – I really want to see this thing open up. Something akin to the wild late-game evolutions in Oceans. Currently, it buts right up against something really special, but it hasn’t quite got there for me. I also have concerns about storing this game long-term, and about the fatigue associated with setting up a game when you have shelves full of expansion boxes to sort through. It’s in danger of becoming something that doesn’t see the table, and that would be a shame.

8. Origin Story

Here’s my recent review of this one.

Why it Matters – The wild tableau building and event deck establish this design’s turbulent spirit. This is the closest thing I’ve experienced to an Ameritrash trick-taker, and it speaks to me. There are times when it feels broken, times when it’s difficult to fully grasp the game state and what players are capable of, and it’s continually full of surprises. It’s a dramatic game that bucks tradition to go for the throat. If you’re looking for something contemplative, this isn’t it. It’s empowering and joyful. It’s seductive.

Why it’s not Higher – For all its dynamism, I sometimes wish it was even more unhinged. All of the character powers, while significant, tend to produce a roughly equal effect with competent play. I suspect this is a minority opinion, but I wish the game had even less guardrails. I wish there was something as bananas as the Forum in Glory to Rome, or rare instances where someone built a combination so powerful it actually did break the game. It would fit the setting and themes of the game so well.

7. The Old King’s Crown

I believe I was the first person to formally review the final production copy of this game. You can read that piece here.

Why it Matters – I almost feel guilt-stricken by not placing this higher on the list. It’s a wonderful game whose surface beauty matches the intensity of its underlying systems. First time auteur Pablo Clark fulfilled this design’s promise with stunning alacrity, and I’m continually impressed with the amount of drama and tension packed into this experience.

There are so many elements this game touches on, and it does so without falling back on well-established mechanisms or an expected framework. It has some of that indie spirit of a Jenna Felli or Nate Hayden design, one where the author seems uninterested in trends. That’s why descriptions of this game are hard to really come to terms with. It’s sort of like Citadels but not really. The battle system is kind of an auction kind of an area control thing, but neither of those descriptions really paint the picture. It’s an asymmetric game with some of the fire of Root, but it doesn’t really do anything like Root.

Unsurprisingly, The Wild Kingdom expansion is fascinating. I will be reviewing that very soon.

Why it’s not Higher – As I mentioned at the outset of this entry, I feel like this game should be placed higher. Sure, it struggles a bit at four players due to a high propensity for chaos, and it can go a little too long at times when it clocks in at three or more hours, but those bruises don’t amount to much on the whole. Frankly, the top half of this list is quite strong, and those titles just narrowly inch out this one by the smallest of margins. I would go so far as to say the seven through four positions are virtually interchangeable here.

6. Purple Haze

You may have forgot I reviewed this one. It was many months ago, and it was one of my favorite pieces of the year. Check out that article here.

Why it Matters – Purple Haze is a modernization of Ambush!, not only improving on that prior-games’ system, but also buttressing it in the Vietnam War. That ethical quagmire is the perfect setting for this style of game, presenting not only difficult tactical challenges via ambushes and isolation, but also agonizing moral quandaries through civilian interaction and war crimes. This game is personal and contemplative, not shying away from the horrors of war.

While an expensive product, it does offer a substantial amount of content with 10 missions. There are expansions of various size that have proven somewhat difficult to track down at retail, but there is hope for a future reprint. This game needs to continue to exist and breath life into the wargame genre. It needs to influence future designers and re-establish the CONSIM paragraph format as a legitimate tool for storytelling on the tabletop.

Why it’s not Higher – Even after all this time since I’ve reviewed the game, I’m still not fully settled on the firefight system. It’s a nice change of pace as the game zooms in to a turn-based skirmish, but it adds such a significant rules bulk onto the design that I can’t help but question it. This is the primary reason why this game may struggle to return to the table after a long hiatus, as re-learning the dice and combat system will take some time.

The writing is also solid, but it’s not equivalent to the upper echelon of Tainted Grail or Aeon Trespass: Odyssey. If it was just a hair sharper the game would greatly benefit.

5. Vantage

I’ve written about Vantage twice. My initial review was at IGN, but I also wrote a follow-up piece here.

Why it Matters – There was an extended moment of a couple of months where Vantage was my game of the year. It is deserving of that level of praise, offering an open-world exploration system that fixes many of the issues present in its peers. I think it’s a much stronger game structurally than 7th Continent or Sleeping Gods, for instance. Its permissive philosophy means everything within reach is accomplishable, and this fuels an engine that can spin the story off in a multitude of bizarre and fascinating directions.

As I discussed in my follow-up article, one of the most alluring qualities of this design is how it can present little vignettes of storytelling with almost no fuss or difficulties. The ruleset is simple, setup is immediate, and it gets you right into the narrative immediately. What’s crucial to the experience is that the payoff is often worthwhile, with truly wild stuff waiting to be discovered.

Why it’s not Higher – That payoff is not guaranteed. Sometimes Vantage fizzles out, sputtering along and never really going anywhere. It’s part of the personality here, as the whole escapade is unpredictable. It’s also often unclear in its action system, as the keywords on each card can be opaque. Stumbling into a situation which you didn’t intend doesn’t feel right, as if you and the game are not understanding each other. Enough milquetoast encounters and the magic of the game begins to dissipate.

4. Hot Streak

Check out my review of this ridiculous betting game here.

Why it Matters – CMYK has quickly ascended to one of the most consistent publishers in the last few years. Hot Streak was a revelation of sorts, completely ousting multiple titles from my collection, including Ready Set Bet and Camel Cup. This game is sillier, more direct, and more satisfying than its peers. There’s a magic in this game that’s impossible to grasp or form into words. As long as you’re hitting the turf with a rowdy crowd that’s committed, this thing just slaps. And it’s all so simple. Grab a hold of some bets and start cheering.

Why it’s not Higher – With a mellow crowd it’s abysmal. The race isn’t very exciting without the context of the audience, and it will play as lifeless as it appears with a bunch of curmudgeons. It’s also a little one-note, harming its ability to impress when thrown down in back-to-back-to-back sessions. It needs some time to breathe between plays, some time to recuperate after all those twisted ankles and turf burns.

3. The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship

This thing came out of nowhere and floored me. Read all about it here.

Why it Matters – I spell it out pretty clearly in my review, but this game captures fragments of other Lord of the Rings tabletop experiences and melds them together to craft one of the best literary experiences to be had in board gaming. It has the grand conquest of War of the Ring, the hardship of the ringbearer in Reiner Knizia’s cooperative design, and the intimate questing and narrative flourishes of Middle Earth Quest. It may not be as strong as War of the Ring or MEQ, but it’s shorter and offers an experience that sits between them both, balancing the personal with the epic. This accomplishment in scope in magnificent, and it all sits atop a gripping system that bears only traces of its Pandemic lineage.

I appreciate this game’s difficulty. When configured properly, it elicits that epic struggle inherent in the literature. Tossing the ring into Mount Doom feels earned. It’s spectacular.

Why it’s not Higher – There are a significant number of legitimate nitpicks in this design. The Nazgul flight stands are obnoxious. The necessity for someone to play Frodo as one of their two characters is underwhelming. The seemingly random difficulty spikes can result in poor experiences. And the otherwise excellent end game can be a dud if you roll into Mordor with a ton of Hope. Look, none of these wounds can pull this thing out of my top three board games of the year, but they’re real and they may result in you enjoying this game much less than I have.

2. Molly House

My review of this entrancing game can be read here.

Why it Matters – Molly House is a bold design from Jo Kelly and Cole Wehrle that explores identity, revelry, and joy. It also features hardship, anguish, and betrayal. This is a biting game about gender-defying mollies in 18th century London risking their lives in order to flourish. It features a centralized card mechanism which is distinct and opaque. The whole game is sort of uncomfortable, challenging your instincts and undercutting expectations. But that discomfort shifts to wonder and then to bliss as understanding expands.

This is a wonderful game, one which I grew fonder of with each session. Like Wehrle’s other work, it flirts with restricting agency which establishes an unflinching vision for players wanting to immerse themselves into the world on offer. I would only recommend this title to those who want to engage the work across multiple plays, for it demands a certain level of extended inquiry to wring the most from its existence.

Why it’s not Higher – This is a best of the year title. I struggled with whether my top choice was even eligible for this list and went back and forth numerous times. Eventually I capitulated and decided it needed to be here. Molly House is the primary casualty, getting pushed back into second chair. That’s not to say it’s flawless. I wish it was just a touch more intuitive. I wish it took us closer to two-hours than three to play. I wish I fared better and recalling the rules between plays.

1. Magical Athlete

Catch my extremely enthusiastic review right here.

Why it Matters – I declared CMYK’s version of Magical Athlete perfect. I stand by that. I can’t imagine the game receiving a more grandiose treatment. Is this edition altered enough from the 2003 release to satisfy my arbitrary list requirements? I’m not sure. I erred on the side of celebrating Magical Athlete. It’s worthy of top recognition.

This is maximal absurdity. Roll and move with dumb powers that cascade and spark off each other. Unpredictable outcomes are enhanced with a new track, tweaked racers, and even new competitors. The game offers laughs and memories, with just a trace of interesting mechanical flare. It’s what board gaming is all about at its very core. It’s a call back to childhood with a connection through spirit and verve as opposed to intellectualism or deep strategy. This is the kind of game that many feel as though they’ve outgrown, but in leaving behind such youthful mirth, they’ve lost the meaning of games and play. Give it up for Magical Athlete.

 

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