You can't beat the greatest of all time, and the best classic board games have earned their hard-won place in the board game pantheon. In fact, some have become a cultural phenomenon – they've taken charge of their lives and show no signs of slowing down, especially with special releases like the Monopoly and Jenga editions of Super Mario. But which ones do you think are the best classic board games? After much debate, we've put together a list of what we think are the best games of yesteryear. This includes Monopoly, Risk, Catan… well, you'll see. Although they are decades old, our recommendations still manage to impress.
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1. Catan
The players : 3 – 4 | Difficulty : Moderate | Setup time : 5 minutes | Game time : 60 minutes | Age : 10 years and over
Catan is a fresher addition to the best classic board games – it was first released in 1995 – but it absolutely deserves to be at the top of the pack. It's a resource management game where you have to build a civilization, where players trade and build to gain the upper hand. It may seem simple, but you'll need a lot of cunning to achieve victory. Players earn points by building settlements, and you'll need a variety of resources to do so. As the board (and the locations that give you these resources) is random and subject to probability-based dice rolls, being clever with placement is essential. And if these dice introduce an element of luck, foresight or intuition are rewarded.
You will also never have all the resources you need, so bartering becomes essential. This makes Catan an intriguing balancing act; Exchanging resources can help you in the short term, but it can also bring your opponent closer to victory. Add an expansion pack that expands the game to six players and things get even spicier. A must.
2. Cluedo
Players : 2 – 6 | Difficulty : Moderate | Setup time : 5 minutes | Game time : 45 minutes | Age : 8 years and over
Everyone loves being an armchair detective, and Clue – or Cluedo, if you're from the UK – puts those skills to the test. In fact, it's one of the best murder mystery games out there, although it's been around since 1943, and it hasn't been beaten yet. As you might expect, it's all about finding clues to the identity of the victim, where they committed the crime and the weapon they used. Players then rush to a stately mansion in their quest to uncover the truth, and it's a race against time to gather evidence before their opponents do. It's a race against time to gather evidence before their opponents do. It's all about cross-checking and eliminating (no pun intended), and this methodical game helps you feel like a Poirot-esque investigator.
What's really fun is spying on what your opponents are doing. Seeing which clues they favor allows you to connect the dots based on their answers, which can give crafty detectives a head start. It's even better if you have more players; you have to be much more vigilant, which makes it one of the best classic board games if many people want to participate in it.
3. Monopoly
Players : 2 – 6 | Difficulty : Moderate | Setup time : 5 minutes | Game time : 60 – 90 minutes | Age : 8 years and over
It's impossible to have a list of the best classic board games without mentioning Monopoly. It's one of the greatest of all time, having thrived through numerous updates, revisions, adaptations, and spin-offs since its inception in the early 1900s. And frankly, there's no stopping it: it There's a special themed edition for almost every pop culture hit you can think of. Friends ? Check. The Avengers? Absolutely. Fortnite? Of course. There's even a version featuring Super Mario and company, with toad houses, iconic tokens inspired by in-game items, and a mystery block that promises to shake up the formula. As for Monopoly gameplay, you know the principle: it involves buying properties and building houses or hotels that you can then rent. It's very simple and Monopoly has lasted for over a century because it is so easy to learn. Even though the newer versions feature updates like brand new tokens (including a T-Rex), the game never loses that sense of accessibility.
It then embeds itself in our collective consciousness thanks to a mechanism that can be oh-so punishing. Who hasn't already experienced a tour de force where he keeps landing on his opponents' hotels before being sent to prison? There are as many stories of Monopoly games today as there were in the 1950s. It's a rare feat, and a good indication of why the game is still going strong today .
4. Trivial Pursuit
Players : 2 – 6 | Difficulty : Difficult | Setup time : 5 minutes | Game time : 30 – 60 minutes | Age : 16 years and over
For those who love quizzes and knowledge tests, there's nothing better than Trivial Pursuit. It's undoubtedly one of the best classic board games for exercising your brainpower, and it's just as good today as it was when it first appeared in the early 1980s. Add to that a variety of licensed adaptations ranging from Harry Potter to Star Wars and you get a winner. The original version presented here includes six main categories: Entertainment, Sports & Leisure, Geography, Arts & Literature, Science & Nature, and History. This is a comprehensive program that everyone can participate in, making it ideal for parties or large family gatherings. By focusing on general knowledge rather than niche topics, no one will feel left behind.
But how exactly does it work? Players answer any questions they have as they move around the game board, and they must collect “wedges” to fill their wheel. Once that's done, they put it all on the line with one final question. It's reminiscent of the best quizzes, and Trivial Pursuit is the result.
5.Risk
Players : 2 – 5 | Difficulty : Moderate | Setup time : 5 minutes | Game time : 60 minutes | Age : 10 years and over
Much like Monopoly, Risk is a classic board game that has seen more iterations than we can count. However, it remains the excellent strategy epic that it was way back when it was launched in 1957. This game, which aims to conquer regions of the world to create an empire, revolves around armies and dice rolls that simulate combat. As the name suggests, you won't get anywhere by being a pacifist; the winners are those who take risks to wrest territory from their opponents. The greater the risk, the greater the reward (see what they did there?).
This leads to many political struggles with alliances, betrayals and victories snatched from the jaws of defeat. Rolling the dice in combat may not seem exciting, but when your lone unit has managed to hold off an overwhelming army for several turns in a row, it's one of the most satisfying feelings you can experience at the tabletop.
6. Carcassonne
Players : 2 – 5 | Difficulty : Moderate | Setup time : 2 minutes | Game time : 40 minutes | Age : 8 years and over
The newest classic board game on this list is also one of the best. Although it only saw the light of day in 2000, Carcassonne has already achieved a cult following, has seen numerous expansions and is now available in digital form almost everywhere.The game board, which is named after the French town of the same name, and is created as you play. Players lay down tiles to create towns, monasteries and farms. You obtain points by completing one of these tiles, provided you control them by placing the most little wooden men there. This leads to a fierce, competitive struggle where you try to outdo your enemies and keep them away from your investments. While there is an element of luck as tiles are drawn blindly, nothing can beat the satisfaction of planning ahead and stealing part of the board from under your opponent's nose.
Don't like the setting of the south of France in the 1500s? No problem – there are versions of the Carcassonne setting all over the world, including the Amazon and North America during the Wild West Gold Rush.
7. Boggle Classic
Players : 1+ | Difficulty : Moderate | Setup time : 1 minute | Time to play : 3+ minutes | Age : 8+
Word games are a big hit at the tabletops, and there's nothing better than Boggle. It has proven so popular since its debut in 1972 that Junior, Deluxe, Travel, math and Twister-esque versions have since been introduced. The beauty of this classic board game is that it is so simple. Players must invent as many words as possible from a board of 16 four-by-four letters… and to up the ante, you only have three minutes to complete your search. This adds a much-needed element of pressure to get the heart pumping, especially because words with more letters earn more points. Oh, what if someone asks the same word? He was immediately discredited. It's a shame.
Other word games like Scrabble, Upwords and Bananagrams are really great, but for our money? The Boggle is the winner thanks to its speed and portability.
PRODTITRE
Players : 2 | Difficulty : Easy | Setup time : 5 minutes | Game time : 15 minutes | Age : 7 years and over
Just like Monopoly or Clue, you can't have a list of the best classic board games without including naval battle. It's been around in one form or another since the 1930s, and it achieved worldwide success after being released in 1967. There's even a disappointing film adaptation that features the U.S. Navy versus aliens, among others. other things.In this film, the player begins by secretly placing his battleship on a grid hidden from his rival. They then use it to choose coordinates, launch a missile and see if it hits anything. It's a game of elimination in both senses of the word; you systematically track down your opponent's ship before they take yours.
Since Battleship has been around for so long, you can also get plenty of alternative versions to spice up the game. There are electronic aloud versions, digital games, travel games, and many more.
9. Gibsons 221B Baker Street: The Sherlock Holmes Master Detective Game
Players : 2 – 6 | Difficulty : Moderate | Setup time : 5 minutes | Game time : 30 – 60 minutes | Age : 10+
Designed in 1975 and based on the work of Sherlock Holmes, 221B Baker Street is an upgraded version of Cluedo. Its mechanics work pretty much the same, but it's all tied together in one brilliant story wrapper. Players fight their way through 75 unique murder cases, and each one begins with a detailed narrative for situate the scene (as you might expect from a decades-old game, there's an expansion pack of 50 new cases to keep you busy too). You will then have to discover who the killer is, his motive, the weapon he used, and more as you roam the streets of Victorian London. How to win? By rushing to 221B Baker Street and smugly reading your theory, like Mr. Holmes himself. And because everyone is investigating in secret, it's a race to the finish line.
Every spot on the board could hold a vital clue, but you'll have to work for them; Players must solve puzzles, word games or read between the lines to crack this case. Everyone can “lock” a place and hide the clue it contains, but this attracts attention. 221B then becomes a bluff game. Is the hidden information useful, or are your rivals sending you on a treasure hunt? has
10.Scrabble
Players : 2 – 4 | Difficulty : Moderate | Setup time : 2 minutes | Game time : 30 – 45 minutes | Age : 8 years and over
Scrabble has been around for over 80 years, and it's not hard to see why. It's a relaxing word game, perfect for unwinding on an afternoon of lazing around, meditating and relaxing. In addition, it allows you to exercise your brain. You know how it works: Scrabble asks you to create words from the random letters you have. Some combinations – and some tiles – offer more points, but you can only add points to words that already exist on the board. It's a perfectly simple concept, but it still requires flexibility and skill.
Best of all, it's different every time. Since you never know what combination of letters you're going to get, you always have to think about what you're going to do. It's truly one of the best classic board games, and it's perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon at home.