We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about the most essential board games that everyone needs to play. Here are the game-changing responses.
1. Dead of Winter
What Is It: A cooperative zombie survival board game.
The Objective: Survive. Each player is the leader of a colony. While it's important to work together, keep in mind: Everyone is looking out for themselves.
Players: 2–5
Board Game Geek Rating: 7.99/10
—Emily Welch, Facebook
2. Betrayal at House on the Hill
What Is It: A haunted house exploration game in which the house's layout is redesigned at the start of every game.
The Objective: Beat the traitor. If you are the traitor, beat everyone else.
Players: 3–6
Board Game Geek Rating: 7.09/10
—Marie-Claude Bennett, Facebook
3. Carcassonne
What Is It: A medieval, tile-based territory expansion game.
The Objective: Earn points by building cities, roads, and cloisters. The player with the most points by the time the last tile is placed is the winner.
Players: 2–5
Board Game Geek Rating: 7.43/10
—Heather Min, Facebook
4. Dominion
What Is It: A medieval, card-based game that pits monarchs against each other. Comparisons have been made to Magic: The Gathering.
The Objective: Build a deck that will help you achieve supremacy.
Players: 2–4
Board Game Geek Rating: 7.74/10
—Emily Aust, Facebook
5. Power Grid
What Is It: A race to bring electricity to every city.
The Objective: Bid on newer and more efficient power plants, collect resources to fuel power plants, and expand your grid!
Players: 2–6
Board Game Geek Rating: 7.98/10
—Belinda Louise Obfish, Facebook
6. Quelf
What Is It: A party game that has players drawing cards and performing outrageous tasks.
The Objective: Be the first to reach the last spot on the board.
Players: 3–8
Board Game Geek Rating: 5.48/10
7. Android: Netrunner
What Is It: A two-player card game in which a runner (hacker) faces off against a futuristic megacorporation.
The Objective: Different depending on who you're playing as. Win by either stealing (runner) or scoring (corporation) agenda cards.
Players: 2
Board Game Geek Rating: 8.10/10
—Samantha Holley Filkins, Facebook
8. Tokaido
What Is It: A game in which all players travel down the same stretch of coastal Japanese road.
The Objective: Experience as many things as possible. The traveler who has acquired the most experiences by the time everyone reaches the end is the victor.
Players: 2–5
Board Game Geek Rating: 7.06/10
9. Catan
What Is It: A settlement-building game in which players compete for control of the resource-rich Island of Catan. Use the earned resources to build roads, settlements, and cities.
The Objective: The first player to acquire 10 victory points wins.
Players: 3–4
Board Game Geek Rating: 7.31/10
10. 1313 Dead End Drive
What Is It: A 3D board game in which players are assigned one of a handful of available characters. When the game begins, nobody knows who is controlling which character.
The Objective: Reveal everyone's identity before yours is revealed.
Players: 2–4
Board Game Geek Rating: 5.73/10
11. Shadows Over Camelot
What Is It: A medieval, semi-cooperative board game.
The Objective: Complete quests! Each player is a Knight of the Round Table and you must work together to get things done. But beware of your fellow knights — there might be a traitor in your midsts.
Players: 3–7
Board Game Geek Rating: 7.16/10
12. Anomia
What Is It: A card-based, categorical word association game that is equal parts stressful and hilarious.
The Objective: Collect cards by winning head-to-head challenges with other players. The player to earn the most cards wins.
Players: 3–6
Board Game Geek Rating: 6.70/10
13. Balderdash
What Is It: A round-based party game in which players are tasked with creating fake definitions for lesser known words.
The Objective: Earn points for separating the actual definitions from the fakes and for fooling your opponents with convincing false definitions. The first player to make it to the end of the board wins.
Players: 2–6
Board Game Geek Rating: 6.39/10
15. A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (Second Edition)
What Is It: Exactly what the name suggests. Play as one of the major houses as you race for the throne of Westeros left vacant by the death of Robert Baratheon.
The Objective: Control the most cities and strongholds. Rule Westeros.
Players: 3–6
Board Game Geek Rating: 7.77/10
16. Forbidden Island
What Is It: A cooperative treasure hunting and exploration game set on a sinking island.
The Objective: Collect all four treasures on the island before you succumb to its dangers.
Players: 2–4
Board Game Geek Rating: 6.89/10
—Marie-Claude Bennett, Facebook
17. Terra Mystica
18. Puerto Rico
What Is It: A farming and city-building game set in Puerto Rico.
The Objective: Develop Puerto Rico. Players take on the role of colonial governors as they compete to develop Puerto Rico before their rivals do so first.
Players: 2–5
Board Game Geek Rating: 8.12/10
—Kristin Blais, Facebook
19. The Castles of Burgundy
What Is It: A dice-rolling and civilization-building game set in medieval Burgundy, France, where aristocrats race to turn their princedoms into kingdoms.
The Objective: Victory points are awarded throughout the game for various actions and then at the end of the game for leftover resources. The player with the most wins.
Players: 2–4
Board Game Geek Rating: 8.10/10
20. Ticket To Ride
What Is It: A railroad expansion strategy game in which players race to claim train routes across the early United States.
The Objective: Earn the most points by connecting destinations.
Players: 2–5
Board Game Geek Rating: 7.50/10
—Danielle Davis-Brewer, Facebook
21. Seven Wonders
What Is It: A civilization building game in which each player takes on one of the seven great cities of the ancient world.
The Objective: Amass the most victory points.
Players: 2–7
Board Game Geek Rating: 7.85/10
22. Hive
What Is It: An atypical, tile-based strategy game with board game elements similar to chess.
The Objective: Surround your opponent's queen to win the game.
Players: 2
Board Game Geek Rating: 7.34/10
23. Race for the Galaxy
What Is It: A card-based, intergalactic civilization building and space exploration game.
The Objective: Build an empire. The player to earn the most victory points wins.
Players: 2–4
Board Game Geek Rating: 7.79/10
24. Twilight Struggle
What Is It: A two-player, territory-seizing and holding board game in which the Cold War gets a do-over.
The Objective: Win the Cold War. One player is the United States while the other is the Soviet Union as you re-work your way through the second half of the 20th Century.
Players: 2
Board Game Geek Rating: 8.34/10
—Kurtis Ziegler, Facebook
25. Pandemic
What Is It: A cooperative board game in which multiple diseases have broken out worldwide.
The Objective: Players must work together to treat and manage hotspots while searching for cures.
Players: 2–4
Board Game Geek Rating: 7.67/10
—Chris Gera, Facebook
26. Paperback
What Is It: A card-based word game where players take on the role of author.
The Objective: Acquire letter cards to build words (write books) and wild cards to earn victory points. The player with the most victory points wins.
Players: 2–5
Board Game Geek Rating: 7.44/10
—Jon-Michael Poff, Facebook