The Meeple Journal
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Deep dives, guides and top tens.
What is worker placement?
One rule — the space you wanted is now closed — turns the calmest turn in board gaming into the tensest decision on the table.
The 10 best abstract strategy games
No theme to hide behind and no dice to blame.
The 10 best card and dice games
The whole game fits in a box you can carry in a coat pocket.
The 10 best kids' board games
A good children's game is not simply an easy one.
The 10 best family board games
The hardest brief in board games: rules a newcomer can hold after one explanation.
The 10 best family board games with Tile Placement
Tile placement is a gift to a mixed table.
The 10 best party board games
A party game has one job: work in a loud room.
The 10 best strategy board games
This is the deep end of the shelf — games where the plan you make in the first round is still paying off.
The 10 best thematic board games
Thematic games want you to forget you are pushing cardboard around.
The 10 best war board games
Wargames ask for more than most: more setup, more rules, more of your evening.
The 10 best Area Control board games
Everyone wants the same patch of board and there is not enough of it to go around.
The 10 best Deck Building board games
You start with a deck of almost nothing and spend the game making it worth something.
The 10 best Dice Rolling board games
Dice get blamed for a lot.
The 10 best Hand Management board games
Every card in your hand is worth something and you cannot keep all of it.
The 10 best Tile Placement board games
Draw a piece, find it a home, watch the picture grow.
The 10 best Worker Placement board games
You never have enough workers, and the space you wanted is gone the moment somebody else spots it.
The 10 best solo board games
Playing alone stopped being a compromise a while ago.
The 10 best board games for 2 players
Two players is where board games actually get played most of the time.
The 10 best abstract strategy games for 2 players
Two people, no theme, and no luck to appeal to.
The 10 best strategy board games for 2 players
Plenty of strategy games are built for four and merely endured at two.
The 10 best Deck Building board games for 2 players
Deck building at two is a race with a knife in it.
The 10 best Worker Placement board games for 2 players
Worker placement can go slack at two — half the board, half the competition.
The 10 best board games for 3 players
Three is the awkward count: too many for a duel, too few for the alliances a big table makes.
The 10 best board games for 4 players
Four is the count most boxes are designed around, and the one most groups actually manage to assemble.
The 10 best family board games for 4 players
Four seats, mixed ages, and one evening to get right.
The 10 best strategy board games for 4 players
A full table changes a strategy game.
The 10 best Area Control board games for 4 players
Area control needs a crowd.
The 10 best board games for 5+ players
Five or more, and most of the shelf quietly rules itself out.
The 10 best party board games for 5+ players
A big group is where party games belong: enough people for the room to get loud.
The 10 best board games that last a full evening
Some games want the entire evening, and they earn it.
The 10 best board games under 30 minutes
Half an hour is a real constraint, and it has produced some of the sharpest design around.
The 10 best party board games under 30 minutes
Short and loud: the games you open when there are twenty minutes before dinner and six people already sitting at the table.
The 10 best board games that run over an hour
Past the hour mark a game gets room to have a middle.
The 10 best board games you can play in an hour
An hour is the sweet spot.
The 10 best easy board games
Easy does not mean thin.
The 10 best easy family board games
Light rules, whole table, nobody left behind.
The 10 best easy strategy board games
Strategy without the homework.
The 10 best easy Worker Placement board games
Worker placement has a reputation for heavy going.
The 10 best easy board games under 30 minutes
Light rules and a short clock — probably the most useful shelf in the house.
The 10 best heavy board games
Heavy games ask for a clear table and a clear head.
The 10 best heavy strategy board games
The deep end of the deep end: long rulebooks.
The 10 best medium-weight board games
Medium weight is where most groups live: enough rules to chew on.
Not sure where to start?
Tell us who is playing and how long you have. Six questions, one shortlist.